New book - Italian Co-belligerent units equipment

[Luigi Manes]

Thank You, Hanno!

My review:

ITALIA 43-45 I mezzi delle Unità Cobelligeranti – Italy 43-45: AFVs and MVs of co-belligerent units.

Full English Texts: Paolo Crippa, Luigi Manes. Colour profiles: Ruggerò Calò.


I wrote this book with my friend Paolo Crippa, great connoisseur of armored formation raised by Italian Social Republic. Being Italian, I always thought that the role of my country during World War Two is very complex. What tends to be remembered is that Italy changed side. But the specific events that led to the Armistice, the impact of it on Italians, the battles fought by Italian Co-belligerent Army and Resistance are less familiar facts. The book focuses on the history of Italian ground forces alongside the Allies during the 1943-45 campaign and the weapons of these units. After the Armistice, many Italian soldiers having escaped the Germans, in Italy and abroad, immediately reacted and sometimes formed some armed units in agreement with local resistance movements. The facts of Lero and Cefalonia are notorious but how many people have heard of ‘Garibaldi’ and ‘Italia’ brigades in former Yugoslavia or ‘Gramsci’ Battalion in Albania? And of ‘Maiella’ and ‘Gordini’ partisans integrated in the British Eighth Army? Single chapters of this book deals with the Army units: First Motorised Group, Italian Liberation Corps, Combat Groups ‘Cremona’, ‘Folgore’, ‘Friuli’, ‘Legnano’, ‘Mantova’ and ‘Piceno’. The book also talks about Auxiliary Divisions and other regular Army and partisan formations. In order to expand the knowledge regarding this neglected subject, the outfit described in the book includes artillery pieces, armoured fighting vehicles, softskins. From December 1943 to August 1944, the co-belligerent units employed Italian equipment. After the summer of 1944, the four Combat Groups of Italian Royal Army that participated in the decisive Allied offensive in Italy, were entirely equipped with British, Canadian and American built guns and vehicles. The book features a part dedicated to the colours and camouflage and a part dedicated to soldiers’ uniforms.

138 pag. Illustrated with 100 black and white photos and 28 wonderful colour profiles. Published September 2018 by Mattioli 1885.

https://mattioli1885.com/libro/itali...obelligeranti/



Regards,

Luigi