Italian Small Arms of the First and Second World Wars

Italian Small Arms of the First and Second World Wars
Author: Ralph Riccio
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2014
Genre: Firearms
ISBN: 9780764345838

This is the first comprehensive work, in either English or Italian, to address Italian small arms used during World War I and World War II. It describes each weapon and covers the developmental history and use of all Italian designed and produced pistols, rifles, submachine guns and machine guns used during both conflicts, as well as prototype weapons and foreign weapons used by the Italians. Other appendices cover bayonets, accoutrements, markings, ammunition, small arms manufacturing facilities, Italian small arms designers, production summaries, and collector's notes. It includes many previously unpublished photographs and background information on small arms producers, ammunition production facilities, and designers. In addition to the new material, it also corrects previously published errors about Italian weapons. AUTHOR: Ralph Riccio spent twenty years as a U.S. Army military intelligence officer. He has written numerous magazine articles, many in Italian, as well as having authored several books dealing with Italian and Irish military equipment and history. His native Italian fluency has enabled him to develop extensive contacts with Italian military history experts and to delve deeply into research on Italian weapons and history. This latest book on Italian military small arms is the culmination of years of research on the subject. ILLUSTRATIONS: 608 b/w and colour photographs

Italian Partisan Weapons in WWII

Italian Partisan Weapons in WWII
Author: Gianluigi Usai
Publisher: Schiffer Military History
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2016-12-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780764352102

This book covers all classes and types of small arms, from pistols to heavy machine guns, known to have been used by the Italian partisans during WWII. It provides a brief history of the origin and development of the partisan movement in Italy following the 8 September 1943 armistice between Italy and the Allies and subsequent occupation of the northern portion of the country by Germany. There are many relevant examples of correspondence between partisan units relating to acquisition, distribution, use, maintenance, and problems encountered with the various types of small arms available. The majority of the pages of this book are dedicated to a complete, thorough, and extensive coverage of each individual type of weapon known to have been used by the partisans, including specifications, supported by current as well as vintage photographs showing the weapons in use by the partisans.

The Italian Army In North Africa

The Italian Army In North Africa
Author: Walter S. Zapotoczny Jr.
Publisher: Fonthill Media
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2018-08-17
Genre: History
ISBN:

Previously unpublished analysis of why and how the Italians foughtA look at the role the Italian Army played in North Africa as part of the Deutsches Afrika Korps (German Afrika Korps)In spite of poor leadership, the Italian soldier performed well against all odds in North AfricaProfusely illustrated with many rare and unpublished images ‘The German soldier has impressed the world, however, the Italian Bersagliere soldier has impressed the German soldier.’ Erin Rommel aka ‘The Desert Fox’ When most people think of the Italian Army in North Africa during the Second World War, they tend to believe that the average Italian soldier offered little resistance to the Allies before surrendering. Many suggest that the Italian Army performed in a cowardly manner during the war: the reality is not so simple. The question remains as to whether the Italians were cowards or victims of circumstance. While the Italian soldier’s commitment to the war was not as great as that of his German counterpart, many Italians fought bravely. The Italian Littorio and Ariete Divisions earned Allied admiration at Tobruk, Gazala and EI Alamein. The Italian Army played a significant role as part of the German Afrika Korps and made up a large portion of the Axis combat power in North Africa during 1941 and 1942. In the interest of determining how the Italian Army earned the reputation that it did, it is necessary to analyse why and how the Italians fought.

Panzer Commander

Panzer Commander
Author: Hans Von Luck
Publisher: Dell
Total Pages: 377
Release: 2013-10-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 0804151970

A stunning look at World War II from the other side... From the turret of a German tank, Colonel Hans von Luck commanded Rommel's 7th and then 21st Panzer Division. El Alamein, Kasserine Pass, Poland, Belgium, Normandy on D-Day, the disastrous Russian front--von Luck fought there with some of the best soldiers in the world. German soldiers. Awarded the German Cross in Gold and the Knight's Cross, von Luck writes as an officer and a gentleman. Told with the vivid detail of an impassioned eyewitness, his rare and moving memoir has become a classic in the literature of World War II, a first-person chronicle of the glory--and the inevitable tragedy--of a superb soldier fighting Hitler's war.

Naval Weapons of World War One

Naval Weapons of World War One
Author: Norman Friedman
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 1531
Release: 2011-12-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 1473816661

An in-depth reference to the naval weapons used by Britain, Germany, the US, and the other combatants in the Great War, with photos: “Superb…invaluable.”—History of War Although the Great War might be regarded as the heyday of the big-gun at sea, it also saw the maturing of underwater weapons, the mine and torpedo, as well as the first signs of the future potency of air power. Between 1914 and 1918 weapons development was both rapid and complex, so this book has two functions: on the one hand it details all the guns, torpedoes, mines, aerial bombs and anti-submarine systems employed during that period; but it also seeks to explain the background to their evolution: how the weapons were perceived at the time and how they were actually used. This involves a discussion of tactics and emphasizes the key enabling technology of fire control and gun mountings. In this respect, the book treats the war as a transition from naval weapons which were essentially experimental at its outbreak to a state where they pointed directly to what would be used in World War II. Based largely on original research, this sophisticated book is more than a catalogue of the weapons, offering insight into some of the most important technical and operational factors influencing the war at sea.

Hitler's Italian Allies

Hitler's Italian Allies
Author: MacGregor Knox
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2000-10-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781139432030

Fascist Italy's ultimate defeat was foreordained. It was a pygmy among giants, and Hitler's failure to destroy the Soviet Union in 1941 doomed all three Axis powers. But Italy's defeat was unique; the only asset that it conquered - briefly - with its own unaided forces in the entire Second World War was a dusty and useless corner of Africa, British Somaliland. And Italy's forces dissolved in 1943 almost without resistance, in stark contrast to the grim fight to the last cartridge of Hitler's army or the fanatical faithfulness unto death of the troops of Imperial Japan. This book tries to understand why the Italian armed forces and Fascist regime were so remarkably ineffective at an activity - war - central to their existence. It approaches the issue above all from the perspective of military culture, through analysis of the services' failure to imagine modern warfare and through a topical structure that offers a social-cultural, political, military-economic, strategic, operational, and tactical cross-section of the war effort.

Armies of the Italian Wars of Unification 1848–70 (1)

Armies of the Italian Wars of Unification 1848–70 (1)
Author: Gabriele Esposito
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 50
Release: 2017-08-24
Genre: History
ISBN: 1472819519

In the 1840s, post-Napoleonic Italy was 'a geographical expression' – not a country, but a patchwork of states, divided between the Austrian-occupied north, and a Spanish-descended Bourbon monarchy, who ruled the south from Naples. Two decades later, it was a nation united under a single king and government, thanks largely to the efforts of the Kings of Sardinia and Piedmont, and the revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi. This book, the first of a two-part series on the armies that fought in the Italian Wars of Unification, examines the Piedmontese and Neapolitan armies that fought in the north and south of the peninsula. Illustrated with prints, early photos and detailed commissioned artwork, this book explores the history, organization, and appearance of the armies that fought to unite the Italian peninsula under one flag.

Weapons of World War II

Weapons of World War II
Author: Alexander Lüdeke
Publisher: Parragon Pubishing India
Total Pages: 326
Release: 2011
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781445424354

This book describes the weapons and vehicles of all the countries that fought in World War II in a clear and comprehensive manner. It offers an excellent overview of the divers weaponry used by both the Axis Powers and the Allies, with everything you might want to know about the development and deployment of each type of weapon along with the relevant technical specifications.

The White War

The White War
Author: Mark Thompson
Publisher: Basic Books
Total Pages: 466
Release: 2009-03-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 0786744383

In May 1915, Italy declared war on the Habsburg Empire. Nearly 750,000 Italian troops were killed in savage, hopeless fighting on the stony hills north of Trieste and in the snows of the Dolomites. To maintain discipline, General Luigi Cadorna restored the Roman practice of decimation, executing random members of units that retreated or rebelled. With elegance and pathos, historian Mark Thompson relates the saga of the Italian front, the nationalist frenzy and political intrigues that preceded the conflict, and the towering personalities of the statesmen, generals, and writers drawn into the heart of the chaos. A work of epic scale, The White War does full justice to the brutal and heart-wrenching war that inspired Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms.