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A Honved.com "Mini-Site"
No military whose forces participated in the Second World War has,
perhaps, been as maligned as that of Italy. Even France, whose forces
failed in the defense of their home country through a combination of many
of the factors that later doomed Italy, and in a far shorter period of time at
that, has been painted in a generally heroic light compared to the activities
undertaken by the Italian forces during the Second World War.
Italian reasons for participation in the Second World War are complex,
and mired in moral ambiguity. The vast majority of Italians were hostile to
the ideas of Nazism, but at the same time had welcomed Fascism
(specifically the Stateist aspects of Fascism) as a means of rescuing Italy
from economic and political chaos following the First World War.
Initially, Mussolini had actually opposed the expansion of Germany and
Hitler's flagrant violations of the Treaty of Versailles, particularly during the
incidents along the Stresa Front. By the time of the Italian invasion of
Ethiopia, however, the political tables had turned and the Italians found
themselves supporting the very political movement which Mussolini had
once referred to as "a group of mindless thugs playing at being Vikings."
In Axis service, many Italian soldiers fought with great dignity and above
average professionalism, even while the ridiculously stupid decisions of
their politicians and senior officers continually doomed them to sacrifice
in the name of ideas that they did not always fully support or condone.
Later, when the war turned against Italy and the Italian government
switched sides, many of these same soldiers bravely sacrificed their lives
resisting the German takeover of the nation. Their reward for these
activities, in both instances, has been complete historical anonymity.
And no member of the Italian military has suffered so much from this
neglect as the Italian tanker.
This section will not attempt to justify - nor will it attempt to condemn - the
reasons for Italian participation in the war. Nevertheless,
some 80 combat effective divisions, more than 1.2 million men, and more
than 5,000 armored vehicles, supported by thousands of aircraft and a
powerful, modern navy operated under Italian colors during the Second
World War. These pages hope to explore at least one small portion of
these valiant men and their hollow legions.
Whilst this is an informal project, I do intend to post a bibliography once
the work on Avanti! has come close to an end point. Should you wish to
consult some of the same sources I have, I invite you to contact the
webmaster at matthias_corvinus@msn.com for further information. In the
meanwhile, there are a number of excellent websites, in particular
Comando Supremo, which are far more comprehensive than my own
small corner of the web and will help to get you started on further reading.
It includes some excellent historical background to the development of
Italian tanks, production figures, and other useful goodies.
perhaps, been as maligned as that of Italy. Even France, whose forces
failed in the defense of their home country through a combination of many
of the factors that later doomed Italy, and in a far shorter period of time at
that, has been painted in a generally heroic light compared to the activities
undertaken by the Italian forces during the Second World War.
Italian reasons for participation in the Second World War are complex,
and mired in moral ambiguity. The vast majority of Italians were hostile to
the ideas of Nazism, but at the same time had welcomed Fascism
(specifically the Stateist aspects of Fascism) as a means of rescuing Italy
from economic and political chaos following the First World War.
Initially, Mussolini had actually opposed the expansion of Germany and
Hitler's flagrant violations of the Treaty of Versailles, particularly during the
incidents along the Stresa Front. By the time of the Italian invasion of
Ethiopia, however, the political tables had turned and the Italians found
themselves supporting the very political movement which Mussolini had
once referred to as "a group of mindless thugs playing at being Vikings."
In Axis service, many Italian soldiers fought with great dignity and above
average professionalism, even while the ridiculously stupid decisions of
their politicians and senior officers continually doomed them to sacrifice
in the name of ideas that they did not always fully support or condone.
Later, when the war turned against Italy and the Italian government
switched sides, many of these same soldiers bravely sacrificed their lives
resisting the German takeover of the nation. Their reward for these
activities, in both instances, has been complete historical anonymity.
And no member of the Italian military has suffered so much from this
neglect as the Italian tanker.
This section will not attempt to justify - nor will it attempt to condemn - the
reasons for Italian participation in the war. Nevertheless,
some 80 combat effective divisions, more than 1.2 million men, and more
than 5,000 armored vehicles, supported by thousands of aircraft and a
powerful, modern navy operated under Italian colors during the Second
World War. These pages hope to explore at least one small portion of
these valiant men and their hollow legions.
Whilst this is an informal project, I do intend to post a bibliography once
the work on Avanti! has come close to an end point. Should you wish to
consult some of the same sources I have, I invite you to contact the
webmaster at matthias_corvinus@msn.com for further information. In the
meanwhile, there are a number of excellent websites, in particular
Comando Supremo, which are far more comprehensive than my own
small corner of the web and will help to get you started on further reading.
It includes some excellent historical background to the development of
Italian tanks, production figures, and other useful goodies.
| Early Beginnings |
The Italians began
experimenting with
armored vehicles
as early as 1916.
Their designs were
considered quite
advanced for the
time.
experimenting with
armored vehicles
as early as 1916.
Their designs were
considered quite
advanced for the
time.
AVANTI!- Italian Armored Vehicles of the Second World War
