My uncle fought Germans and Italians during the war. He said the Italians were better soldiers than the Germans and the Americans, and the only reason anyone was able to beat them was because their highest officers were political appointees who didn't know what they were doing. In fact, I think the commander of all the Italian forces in North Africa was about 90 years old and had never commanded anything previously. That guy spent the whole campaign sending his troops into situations that no army could have won.
@@Nellis202 He was a US Army paratrooper. Everything I know about him is from other family members, as he passed before I was born. He did make it home though, with a steel plate in his skull. Apparently, his early death was a direct result of injuries during the war.
Grazie ! Dopo tutti gli insulti distribuiti '' gratuitamente '' anni fa sul soldato Italiano , adesso arrivano gli apprezzamenti per questi ragazzi che con armamento e ufficiali inadeguati hanno saputo conquistarsi il rispetto dei loro CAVALLERESCHI AVVERSARI ( mai nemici )
@mwbright Marshal Italo Balbo was the first overall commander in N. Africa, and then Marshall Rudolfo Graziani assumed power after his death. Neither of them were "about 90 years old." The following statement you made is also incorrect: "That guy spent the whole campaign sending his troops into situations that no army could have won."
@@capoislamort100 The what? 😂😂 Are you comparing thousands of Italians and other nationalities with the Division Azul? Only couple hundreds spaniards participate there, Spain was mostly not present in WW2, only couple hundreds soldiers took part in the conflict.
Unlike the Germans , the Italians did not kill their captives and refused to hand over any Russian prisoners to the Wehrmacht once they learned what the fate of the poor Russian prisoners would be.
@Nellis202 My friend's dad was a child during WWII in a village occupied by italians and he has fond memories of italian soldiers that were always kind to children , even giving them treats.
Giusto, primo perché uccidere un uomo che si è arreso è inumano, e c'è la guerra di per se che è inumana e poi perché un prigioniero è protetto dalla convenzione di Ginevra.
Italian men are brave and honorable. Mussolini was a martinet and the Italian economy and military were not equipped to keep pace with Hitler’s maniacal plans. But there is no cowardice among Italians. The whole “Italy was worthless in WW2” reveals the ignorance of anyone who puts it forth. I’m American; relatives in both WW2 theaters. No Italian heritage. But I love and admire Italy. It is a treasure to the western world.
My late father was a soldier during WW2. He'd tell me that serving in Northern Africa all he and his group mostly did was shoot at empty beer cans and constantly retreating. He came from a poor family. In winter time the family would circle around closely their cow in stable to stay warm. His other brothers were sent off to Greece. When the Italians surrendered and told to lay down their weapons, my uncles were lined up and machime gunned down by the Nazis. After my said all the bodies were bulldozed off the cliff. Sorry to get off track but it's hard to see neo nazis still parading around. My maternal uncle went underground as a partisan. Doing his best to stay alive In my mom's hometown of Crespanno del Grappa the nazis hung the young 18 year olds in the the town square Anyways that's just a small part of my heritage. Im first generation in the U.S. Have stayed with my Italian cousins several times over the years. Memorable times were hiking up Monte Grappa overlooking all the small towns at it's base. At the top, Cima Grappa is the WW1 memorial of all the fallen Italian soldiers that defended Italy from the invading Austrians. So much history.
my Father was a member of the ; Regia Aeronautica ( Italian Air Force ) , stated in Scuteri Albania on to Giannina Greece , Dniperpetroski Ukraine and Stalino Russia .those are the Cities I remember mentioning .
My family moved to the US from Italy decades ago, my father and uncle are US Marine Corps combat veterans but my great grandfather was an Italian soldier in WWII. He served after 1943 so he actually served against the germans and he was captured. Had to walk all the way home after the war ended
My great grandfather was a tenent of the Alpini, "tridentina" brigade, one of a few man returning from the nikolajewka battle, i still remember the painting of him and the russian sword near the chimney...
lol, not kidding, i have thought about that for 20 years. a friend at the time told me a story of his uncle in russia that would make a great movie. never got that screen play going though
Here’s an interesting link to the Italian retreat from Stalingrad titled “Breakout from Saturn”. What they had to endure was brutal. Most never made it home. th-cam.com/video/jUW-vmrGAmc/w-d-xo.htmlsi=6dUFAxNDh9tiBj8I
The Italian foot soldier in both World Wars fought well, contrary to common myth. Their problems were consistently the result of poor leadership and corruption in every aspect of Italian society, government, and the military. This resulted in generally poor weaponry, unreliable supply, and mediocre to miserable leadership. The higher the ranking the worse the performance. You only have to look at Italian valor and doggedness in the Alps in WWI and their defensive tenacity in North Africa to see the great potential of these troops. Italy then as now, was not a meritocracy. Officers were promoted depending on their connections, not their performance or ability. This continues to be true of every part of Italian society, which goes far to explain the miserable condition of Italy overall today. Similar problems permeated South Vietnam and you know what happened there.
very interesting fotage ive never seen bofore, very cool👍..... by the way the picture you show when talking about the romanians are actually bulgarians
8:08 Poor dude, having to haul a gun piece like that by himself haha. It's weird our forces nowadays don't have any weapons like that at the platoon and company level. Just mortars and MMG's. Mostly LMG's actually.
Those feathers on the helmets were a really bad idea in combat. The Russian sees the feather coming up ahead of the helmet and he's already got that SVT-40 aimed in the right place as soon as the face is showing.
Said the coward with the profile picture of who sent to death millions of christians (against us, that only lost thousands) 2000 years of history you didn’t even open a page Ill bet 😂
They are positive because the italians on the eastern front fought nothing short of amazingly, while most other belligerants complained of being outgunned we were fighting the soviets with L6 light (very light) tanks, and advancing along with our allies with their strict tight schedule, for that matter. Pretty much the same for the north african campaign (as our german allies were about 30-40 thousand men), less the ridicolous and frankly unjustifiable defeat of the early invasion of Egypt, where that pr**k Mussolini was sent to work some of our lousiest units rather than the motorized and armoured divisions of the Po Army, "because the british are about to negotiate anyway".
would appreciate more video content of Italians on the Eastern Front during the Dec1942 period. Great video!
Yeah, Operation Little Saturn.
My uncle fought Germans and Italians during the war. He said the Italians were better soldiers than the Germans and the Americans, and the only reason anyone was able to beat them was because their highest officers were political appointees who didn't know what they were doing. In fact, I think the commander of all the Italian forces in North Africa was about 90 years old and had never commanded anything previously. That guy spent the whole campaign sending his troops into situations that no army could have won.
What army was your uncle in , British , Russian ?
@@Nellis202 He was a US Army paratrooper. Everything I know about him is from other family members, as he passed before I was born. He did make it home though, with a steel plate in his skull. Apparently, his early death was a direct result of injuries during the war.
Grazie ! Dopo tutti gli insulti distribuiti '' gratuitamente '' anni fa sul soldato Italiano , adesso arrivano gli apprezzamenti per questi ragazzi che con armamento e ufficiali inadeguati hanno saputo conquistarsi il rispetto dei loro CAVALLERESCHI AVVERSARI ( mai nemici )
@mwbright Marshal Italo Balbo was the first overall commander in N. Africa, and then Marshall Rudolfo Graziani assumed power after his death. Neither of them were "about 90 years old." The following statement you made is also incorrect: "That guy spent the whole campaign sending his troops into situations that no army could have won."
@@MrMenefrego1 Balbo was gunned down on his plane by Italian flak (Mussolini didn't like his increasing popularity and "clipped" his wings)
Interessante
Enjoyed this documentary very much. Thanks for posting. Italian contribution to WW2 pre and post 1943 is fascinating.
I always felt sorry for Italians on the eastern front, cause they had to suffer the russian winter like nobody else.
Indeed, the Spaniards got hit pretty hard too.
I hate Stalin. Instead of hanging all the Italians on Russian birches, he released these scum from Russian camps.
@@capoislamort100 The what? 😂😂 Are you comparing thousands of Italians and other nationalities with the Division Azul? Only couple hundreds spaniards participate there, Spain was mostly not present in WW2, only couple hundreds soldiers took part in the conflict.
Unlike the Germans , the Italians did not kill their captives and refused to hand over any Russian prisoners to the Wehrmacht once they learned what the fate of the poor Russian prisoners would be.
@Nellis202 My friend's dad was a child during WWII in a village occupied by italians and he has fond memories of italian soldiers that were always kind to children , even giving them treats.
Giusto, primo perché uccidere un uomo che si è arreso è inumano, e c'è la guerra di per se che è inumana e poi perché un prigioniero è protetto dalla convenzione di Ginevra.
Interesting video. Good footage of Italian troops in action. 👍
Thank you!
Italian men are brave and honorable. Mussolini was a martinet and the Italian economy and military were not equipped to keep pace with Hitler’s maniacal plans.
But there is no cowardice among Italians.
The whole “Italy was worthless in WW2” reveals the ignorance of anyone who puts it forth.
I’m American; relatives in both WW2 theaters. No Italian heritage.
But I love and admire Italy. It is a treasure to the western world.
Some books on the topic translated to English : Few Returned by Eugenio Corti , Seargent in the Snow by Mario Stern
I've read Sergeant in The Snow by Rigoni Stern. That's where the channel's name comes from! I'll probably make a video on him and his memoirs soon.
My late father was a soldier during WW2.
He'd tell me that serving in Northern Africa all he and his group mostly did was shoot at empty beer cans and constantly retreating.
He came from a poor family.
In winter time the family would circle around closely their cow in stable to stay warm. His other brothers were sent off to Greece.
When the Italians surrendered and told to lay down their weapons,
my uncles were lined up and machime gunned down by the Nazis. After my said all the bodies were bulldozed off the cliff.
Sorry to get off track but it's hard to see neo nazis still parading around.
My maternal uncle went underground as a partisan. Doing his best to stay alive
In my mom's hometown of Crespanno del Grappa the nazis hung the young 18 year olds in the the town square
Anyways that's just a small part of my heritage.
Im first generation in the U.S.
Have stayed with my Italian cousins several times over the years.
Memorable times were hiking up Monte Grappa overlooking all the small towns at it's base.
At the top, Cima Grappa is the WW1 memorial of all the fallen Italian soldiers that defended Italy from the invading Austrians.
So much history.
Well done. Giovanni Messe was Pugliese as well.
Yes , he was competent , unlike the arrogant northerners !
@@Nellis202 Drop the pipe...
Bravisimo!!
Thank you for the amazing content.
my Father was a member of the ; Regia Aeronautica ( Italian Air Force ) , stated in Scuteri Albania on to Giannina Greece , Dniperpetroski Ukraine and Stalino Russia .those are the Cities I remember mentioning .
Amazing content, suprised you dont get more views.
A great little video.
Excellent!
My family moved to the US from Italy decades ago, my father and uncle are US Marine Corps combat veterans but my great grandfather was an Italian soldier in WWII. He served after 1943 so he actually served against the germans and he was captured. Had to walk all the way home after the war ended
My great grandfather was a tenent of the Alpini, "tridentina" brigade, one of a few man returning from the nikolajewka battle, i still remember the painting of him and the russian sword near the chimney...
Thank you for the video.
Thanks for the comment!
I really want to see a movie about the Italians in the Eastern Front.
lol, not kidding, i have thought about that for 20 years. a friend at the time told me a story of his uncle in russia that would make a great movie. never got that screen play going though
Here’s an interesting link to the Italian retreat from Stalingrad titled “Breakout from Saturn”.
What they had to endure was brutal.
Most never made it home.
th-cam.com/video/jUW-vmrGAmc/w-d-xo.htmlsi=6dUFAxNDh9tiBj8I
The Italian foot soldier in both World Wars fought well, contrary to common myth. Their problems were consistently the result of poor leadership and corruption in every aspect of Italian society, government, and the military. This resulted in generally poor weaponry, unreliable supply, and mediocre to miserable leadership. The higher the ranking the worse the performance. You only have to look at Italian valor and doggedness in the Alps in WWI and their defensive tenacity in North Africa to see the great potential of these troops. Italy then as now, was not a meritocracy. Officers were promoted depending on their connections, not their performance or ability. This continues to be true of every part of Italian society, which goes far to explain the miserable condition of Italy overall today. Similar problems permeated South Vietnam and you know what happened there.
very interesting fotage ive never seen bofore, very cool👍..... by the way the picture you show when talking about the romanians are actually bulgarians
The troops fought well but were led badly.
Badly, but not under Giovanni Messe
Utter BS
Giovanni Messe was a great general though
The axis alliance of Italy took part in the invasion of Russia in 1941they fought all the to starlingrad
8:08 Poor dude, having to haul a gun piece like that by himself haha. It's weird our forces nowadays don't have any weapons like that at the platoon and company level. Just mortars and MMG's. Mostly LMG's actually.
Perhaps the context is well set and you may refer to the CSIR as Italians.
Those feathers on the helmets were a really bad idea in combat. The Russian sees the feather coming up ahead of the helmet and he's already got that SVT-40 aimed in the right place as soon as the face is showing.
Yes… that being said the feathers are, of course, a matter of tradition & pride for the Bergsaliere regiments.
You must be the smartest guy in the family ehe ahahahaha
Mi dispiace ma non parlo l'inglese 😢😢😢😢😢😢
usa la traduzione dei sottotitoli
Italians are not warriors. They are musicians, cookers, poets and architectures!
Bullshit. You don't know medieval and modern history
Tell that to the Romans!
in fact you were in Lepanto
Said the coward with the profile picture of who sent to death millions of christians (against us, that only lost thousands) 2000 years of history you didn’t even open a page Ill bet 😂
Italy tried to fight a modern war with toy weapons....They were right to hang Mussolini up by his heels.....
They would have done better with pizza cutters
"You go to war with the army you have."
- Donald Rumsfeld
and yet managed to pose a serious threat for the allies for the whole war
I never heard much good about Italian troop in the war!Prove me wrong!
@@tomfilipiak3511 You're perfectly right, as you said you just "heard". Maybe you should read some books or watch non biased videos.
These reports are so positive you would think Italy won the war.
They are positive because the italians on the eastern front fought nothing short of amazingly, while most other belligerants complained of being outgunned we were fighting the soviets with L6 light (very light) tanks, and advancing along with our allies with their strict tight schedule, for that matter.
Pretty much the same for the north african campaign (as our german allies were about 30-40 thousand men), less the ridicolous and frankly unjustifiable defeat of the early invasion of Egypt, where that pr**k Mussolini was sent to work some of our lousiest units rather than the motorized and armoured divisions of the Po Army, "because the british are about to negotiate anyway".