The Italian Army of World War I

Osprey Men at Arms #387

by David Nicolle, Raffaele Ruggeri (Illustrator)

The dilemma of the young Italian kingdom and the experience of her army in World War I (1914-1918) were unique among the combatant nations. Late to enter the war against the Central Powers, she faced a massively defended Austro-Hungarian front in the north, including strong mountain features, as well as distractions in the Balkans and a simultaneous rebellion in her Libyan colony. Costly and repeated battles on the Isonzo front culminated in the disaster of Caporetto in October 1917, followed by a remarkable revival and eventual victory in 1918. This concise study describes and illustrates the Italian Army's campaigns, organisation, uniforms, weapons and equipment – including the famous 'death companies' and Arditi assault troops.

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

48 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 2003

About the author

David C. Nicolle is a British historian specialising in the military history of the Middle Ages, with a particular interest in the Middle East.

Reviews

[Joe Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Typical of Osprey’s Men At Arms series

[Matthew Dambro · Rating 4 out of 5]

The standard Osprey Men at Arms monograph; it is primarily used by modelers and collectors of militaria. It was never intended to be a history of operations. The plates are beautiful and the description of the uniforms was valuable to me. I have a photo of my paternal grandfather circa 1917 sitting for a formal portrait in his Italian uniform. The information in this volume helps me explore the my family history.

[Greatredwarrior · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a book, this was extremely disappointing. A short (50 pg) booklet that had very little to do with the Italian Army of WWI. It had a lot to do with the Style and fashion accessories of the Italian Army of WWI. There was a brief historical overview of the Italian operations throughout the war. Best of all (in the whole booklet), there was a lot of talk about Italian Operations in Albania and the Balkans, and their conflict in Libya during the war.

The greatest lack of the book was there was almost no discussion of weapons and equipment, even though there are so many interesting things you can talk about given that the Italians had strong and capable armored cars and some of the first self-propelled artillery. But sadly those parts are glossed over.