Italian Army Elite Units & Special Forces 1940–43

Osprey Elite #99

by Pier Paolo Battistelli, P. Crociani, Johnny Shumate (Illustrator)

This volume by leading Italian historian, Pier Paolo Battistelli, looks at the elite and special forces units of the Italian Army during World War II (1939-1945). This includes a vast array of troop types including paratroopers, assault engineers, sea-landing and swimmer units, long-range recce and ski units, and even hand-picked Fascist 'Mussolini' units. It also delves into the specialist tank and armoured units that were created to emulate the German armoured units. The Italian units discussed here enjoyed mixed success but the volume does draw attention to the incredible hard fighting done by some, particularly in the deserts of North Africa and the frozen wastelands of Russia. Illustrated with rare archival photographs and specially commissioned artwork this is a fascinating insight into a little-studied aspect of Axis forces.

Genres: Military History, Nonfiction, History, World War II

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Pier Paolo Battistelli earned his PhD in Military History at the University of Padua. A scholar of German and Italian politics and strategy throughout World War II, he is active in Italy and abroad writing books and essays on military history subjects.

Reviews

[Hamish Sidgwick]

Very interesting book, although admittedly I was disappointed at the relative lack on depth of information for each unit. There are units discussed here which are rarely featured in popular history or other academic writings, so it is worth the read, and overall I would recommend it to anyone who is studying the Italians during the Second World War.

[James Yee]

Wasn't sure what to expect with this one since you don't hear too much about elite Italian units in WW2. There was some new info, like the existence of such units. But not very much interesting details about them. Since many of the units only existed for a few years as the title implies, there wasn't much they could do in their short lifespan other than form, train, fight, and for the most part get destroyed. If anything, you learn more about the various uniforms and insignia they wore.

You can probably skip adding this one to your library.

[Alex MacKenzie]

The term Elite in this book refers to those units & formations with superior performance, as well as training and weapons. Included are a few armoured & motorized formations, Paratroops, Guastatori Assault Engineers, together with lesser-known special units such as the X Arditi Regiment, Monte Cervino Ski battalion, Blackshirts Sea-Landing Group, and Frecce Rosse foreign volunteer battalions.
Recommended.

[This is V!]

Little but detailed book with plenty of pics