Kung Karl said:
He he. Yeah, probably.
But what I want is the italians to name one example were they aided the Germans instead of holding them back? The germans bailed them out everywere.
well, there were the Italian undersea comandos, the Decima Mas (X Mas or 10th Light Flotilla). Among other things they were planning a raid on New York when Italy switched sides. If they and their equipment had been ready by 1940, the war in the Med. might have been radically different.
from
http://www.comandosupremo.com/Decima.html
The Duke of Spoleto, who was a motor boat enthusiast, helped dream of the idea of a naval assault unit for the Italian Navy. These units utilized Explosive Motor Boats, Torpedo Boats, Miniature submarines and the infamous Human Torpedos (AKA: SLC or Maiale). By the end of the war, these units would sink, or severely disable, 86,000 tons of Allied warships and 131,527 tons of merchant shipping.
...
The 10th Light Flotilla was responsible for 28 ships sunk or damaged in World War Two. These ships include the battleships HMS Queen Elizabeth, HMS Valiant, cruiser HMS York and 111, 527 tons of merchant shipping.
And, I'll give you a couple more examples for kicks.
North Africa:
Folgore (para), Littorio (armour), Ariete (armour), Bologna (mot.), Giovanni Fascisti (inf.). Shortly before Rommel arrived in Libya the Italians began to send over new divisions (some of which are named above). These divisions were nothing like those which launched the first invasion of Egypt. They were far better equipped (they had m13/40 tanks, semovente 75/18 self propelled guns, and more artillery). These divisions made up the vast majority of the axis forces in North Africa and fought well, Rommel couldn't have won without them.
the Black Sea:
the Germans actually asked the Italians for help in the Black Sea. The Italians sent midget submarines and torpedo boats, which performed well.
Russia:
The Corpo di Spedizione in Russia (CSIR, or Expeditionary Corps in Russia), which was later made into the 8th Army, performed extremely admirably. After the war the Russian High Command did a study and concluded that the only axis division which had not at some point been defeated in battle by the Russians was a division of Italian Alpini (mountain troops). The 8th Army was mostly destroyed north of Stalingrad but it performed well in the war all things considered. Also, the Italians made the last two cavalry charges in history, both of which were succesful, including one in Russia in which 800+ mounted Italians routed 5000+ Siberian infantrymen.
Yugoslavia:
the Germans weren't the only invaders of Yugoslavia, and both the Italians and the Germans moved through with roughly equal ease. Furthermore, the Italians bore the brunt of the anti-partisan war. Control of the country was really only lost after Italy surrendered.
www.comandosupremo.com is a great website on Italian WWII history, and it has a nice forum.
