square official

[Exatem]

heroes (2nd part)
(... follow)

on November 15, 1940 Badoglio and Keitel met in innsbruck and established that the Germans would send some departments of stuka and a battleship, after the Italians would take marsa matruh. but the 3rd armoured division was sent to Russia and the attack on marsa matruh did not occur, indeed, the English passed to the counterattack. you will have to wait on 12 February of 41 to see rommel and d.a.k. (deutches afrika korps).
when rommel sees Italian wagons l3/35 comments:”already to hunt the natives in the savannahs of the etyopia were anti-diluvian and too light means". to the rams know that the “scans of sardines” or “steel waxes”, as “simpactically” are nicknamed the l3, are the object of derision by the ally, but sarcastic comments do not affect the morale of the division. In fact, despite the appetizing evaluation, it is rommel himself who directly disposes of the ram by aggregating it to the 5th light of d.a.k. In fact, reworked by surprise el agheila on 24 March, the field marshal entrusts to the Italians the task of protecting, with eighty of its small wagons, the German flank in rapid advance thus allowing the grip of marsa el brega on 2 April. rommel is not a type to grant support and decides a daring maneuver whose objective is derna. This involves crossing the desert and is not recommended by the same supreme command. but the 5th light and the ram, after a glimmering march, cross the sea of sand and on 7 April at the railway hub of el mechili, the 8th regiments receive the baptism of fire bringing a great success. over 2,000 Englishmen are prisoners. It is an all-Italian victory that honors the ram but that the British still attribute to the Germans today (this is a very frequent case in the history of the world war. the English, even in the clashes at sea, have always recognized with difficulty, if not even tacited or denied, the Italian successes preferring rather attributing them to germany or to case).

the general dancer, is the new commander of the ram, and he strives to train men and improve the material. In the first case, taking stock of the experiences matured with rommel, the tank is no longer used as support for infantry, but as a means equipped with great operational autonomy that allows deep bets in enemy territory. for the material instead it relies on the new wagon m13/40 that the national industry can produce at the rate of 65 per month. Compared to the previous m11, the wagon has the advantage of being equipped with an excellent cannon, the 47/32 revolving turret. It is a cannon capable of drilling a armor of 50 mm at 500 meters away. the autonomy has increased by about two hours and the armor is heavier. the 125 cv motor is to diesel cycle therefore reliable and not subject to fire (advance not recently for a tank). but these are the only positive aspects.
the Italian wagon in fact has the worst ratio power/weight (now down to 8,9 cv/ton) between all the wagons both allies and enemies and in fact, the maximum speed does not exceed 30 km/h.

at the beginning of November the division counts 137 chariots (i.e. 10% less than the organic) but receives the support of the 32 company autoblindo bersaglieri with 20 ab41.
the 9 derna is reached, the divisions of the axis join to the "brescia" and attack tobruk, bardy falls on 13 and sollum on 14. practically in no more than three weeks the cirenaic is reconquered. a couple of days spent reorganizing and on the 23rd, the ram resigns in motion heading towards the border about 80 km away. rommel wants to prevent the enemy from entering Cyrenaics and encircling it but the ram is forced to divide by the presence of a South African brigade. the clash begins in the early hours of the afternoon and surprises the enemy. the Italians/Germans make more than 5000 prisoners while other British are forced to reverse sidi rezegh leaving on the ground a large number of weapons, means and supplies that the Germans appropriate to leave to the Italians a small part.
but six days before rommel gives the assault to tobruk, the alert armed by the start of the “crusader” operation. strong of 700 tanks of the 4^ and the 7^ division, the British advance on three columns of which one, bets on bir el gobi where the ram is located. at noon of 19, the 156 crusader of the 2nd armoured brigade are in sight of the artillery and the targets.
combat is violent and bloody. the enemy is able to open a path towards the north convinced that the road to bir el gobi is defended only by a few companies of “Groin soldiers” (so the English call the targets).
On the other hand, the crusaders are in front of 100 m13/40 of the rams ready to fight. after two hours of clashes, the English return unfairly closed in the Italian curd. in the evening 76 English tanks were destroyed against 57 Italians (some but will be recoverable). “The evening of bir el gobi the ram is no longer a sum of men and cannons. Now it is a spiritual unity made of how much of heroic lives in everyone’s soul, from the general to the soldier.” Tobruk, however, remained in enemy hands and represents a constant threat also because it can be supplied by the sea. In fact, while in the evening of 26 we are preparing to attack the sector that goes from sidi omar to the reduced nipple, comes an unexpected order. the ram is called back, tobruk in fact, has broken the encirclement by joining with the vii armata. to sidi rezeg 400 wagons were gathered against which the panzer group is taking, immediately the support of the Italians. during the transfer the column is attacked by the shooting of British batteries and by groups of enemy tanks that become more and more numerous hand as it approaches to tobruk. the goal is however reached on the night of 30, with the Germans who managed to divide the enemy forces. the race of the ram was slowed not only by the enemy, but also by the m13 who, called to travel large distances at high speed, have highlighted all their limitations. faults, avaries, more or less severe breaks plague a wagon designed for infantry support and not for racing war. However, the delay does not prevent the division from contributing to the operation.
In the evening, when the cannon is silent, there are no winners or winners.
received the change from the "trieste", the raft begins to retreat under the continuous disorder of the British artillery and of the raf. forced to open the road fighting, leaving behind of itself small improvised cemeteries, unusable wagons and destroyed cannons, the raft reaches the night of 7 December bir el gobi where the regiment " fascist youths" has been trenched.
the English, who fear the Italian division rightly, try to undermine their morals with radio broadcasts in Italian where they are defined "galeotti discarded to be sent to the rescue of mussolini's boys ".

but the ram doesn’t need motivation. needs replacements to compensate for too many gaps between its files. the vii battalion no longer exists, even the vii is near to extinction, the 32° with the “scans of sardines” is dissolved and the 8th bersaglieri is a regiment that exists only on maps. It remains that the extreme sacrifice of which all his men are well aware. in the morning of 8 the Italians wait for the imminent attack that does not happen. the English, in fact, preferred to avoid the clash with the rams, trying to add them. so the day sees the fold towards gebel while the enemy forces proceed parallel to the west. It is born continuous scaramucce and real clashes until the 13 the English are attested to the in the gazala at altitude 204 from which they can favorably use the artillery. the ram can not put together more than 20 wagons that however launch to the attack but are rejected with losses.
it will take the stukas after two days to dismiss the enemy.
(follows...) )

 

[numero1]

Sorry, the first date is wrong in the year..... 1949 .......:tongue:

for the remainder always very interesting.... even if I would soon have something to say here......... Let's see:

Hi.

 

[Exatem]

Sorry, the first date is wrong in the year..... 1949 .......:tongue:

for the remainder always very interesting.... even if I would soon have something to say here......... Let's see:

Hi.

I corrected the date.
What's wrong?

 

[numero1]

Nothing, there's nothing that goes:smile: ...it's just that I wanted to fit in with some detail, for example the English command was not yet monty but auchinleck, when we talk about the North Africa everyone thinks about the first and never remember the second, that instead (chronologically speaking) put the first.
But secondly, I think I'd "short" your narrative, so....

Hi.

 

[Exatem]

Nothing, there's nothing that goes:smile: ...it's just that I wanted to fit in with some detail, for example the English command was not yet monty but auchinleck, when we talk about the North Africa everyone thinks about the first and never remember the second, that instead (chronologically speaking) put the first.
But secondly, I think I'd "short" your narrative, so....

Hi.

I haven't talked about the English commanders yet, I would have done it in the next part that I later publish.
However, Sir Claude John eyre auchinleck was born in aldershot in Hampshire on 21 June 1884. He served as a major sub-chapter from 1936 to 1938, then, during World War II, he was appointed head of the British expeditionary body in Norwegian home forces (April 1940), and later, head of the British forces in India until July 1941, where he was appointed commander-in-chief in the Middle East, replacing wavell.
in November 1941 the offensive called "the operation crusader" against the forces of the axis leading the armed to free besieged tobruch and to repel the Italian-German troops of rommel to el-agheila. but the German counterattack forces the British to retreat. On 25 June 1942, he personally assumed command of the armed lavii, leading it to the el alamein line.
but churchill, who changed generals with the same ease with which the famous cigar lit, in June of 41 destitui’ wavell from the command of the Middle East and in August 1942 aunchileck replaced them with the general Alexander, as commander in chief of the Middle East and montgomery, as commander of the armed viii.
aunchileck resumed in 1943 the command of forces in India, maintaining it until 1947. was promoted to Marshal in 1946. After the end of the war, he no longer returned to the land, as a sign of protest against churchill, who exonerated him from the command of the armed viiii. died in marrakech on 23 March 1981.

I would like to point out that the "narration" is not mia.
On the contrary, I always hope to be able to involve and intervene anyone who wants it.
Bye.

 

[Exatem]

heroes(...cont'd)

While what remains of the division is encamped in marsa el brega and uadi faigh, at tripoli comes indenne the convoy m43 departed from Italy and that transports the necessary supplies to reconstitute the vii and the ix battalion, while the x takes the place of the extinct vii. also are assigned the iii group armored “horse-weed” on the autoblindo ab41, the iv battalion “granatieri di sardegna” and two groups with the new semovente 75/18 nicknamed “bassotto”.
It is a happy realization obtained by combining the hull of the m13/40 with the reliable 75 mm cannon. deadly in the counter-carro shooting, low on the ground (only 1,85 m) will be higher than the equivalent opposing means.

also the command summit has changed, the general ballot has replaced the general de stefanis.
but there is no time to rest. rommel, having heard of the opposing weakness and its difficulties of supply due to the stretching of the lines, decides to take advantage of the moment and from 21 January from start to the second advanced of the cirenaica that catches surprise the enemy.
the ram on the 25th is antelat, on the 29th to bengasi, on the 31st to bark then, after seven days of rest, it pushes up to signs north. at this stage the 75/18 are distinguished by eliciting great admiration and impression among enemies.
a big problem is represented by the prisoners who must be set up towards the rear. often, because of lack of means and stocks, they are forced to share life, and therefore the dangers, of the Italians. but at the time of leaving ours, the prisoners of the commonwealth often make themselves protagonists of unexpected gestures. “The escort arrived this morning. I witnessed a very unusual show. our chariots and prisoners greeted with great friendliness, changing addresses and memories. some have even embraced. a few days of life in common and of common danger to convince them that there is a stronger human solidarity than that of politics. ”now that rommel has regained the gebel, we are in early February 1942, prefers to stop without touching the offensive that could prove decisive. awaits the supplies that thanks to the unbroken flow guaranteed by our marina, come by sea from Italy. Also the ram can enjoy this break and manages for the first and only time, to complete the number of tanks previewed in organic, that is 52 per battalion. she was also assigned a group of 90/53, a cannon so successful, to remain organic until the seventies.
but the news are not only in Italian field.
the British now have the “grant”, an American cart with 6 cm of armour and a piece from 75 in the house. Moreover a new anti-tank piece makes its appearance. is the temutissimo 76/55 a tense shot able to destroy a m13/40 from 5,000 meters with only one shot. It is from this moment that on our wagons there are sacks of sand and cracks to increase protection. recourse to these means of fortune causes a decay of performance due to weight gain and the division command orders their immediate removal. but in battle they will reappear.

at the end of May rommel feels ready for the final assault on the egitto. the first phase of the plan previews the sinking of the central line to the south of el agheila and then ascend behind bir hacheim. to this task is destined the ram.
on the morning of May 25 the Italian division leaves el mechili with in the head the armor of the "horse nest" followed by three battalions carts of the 13th regiment, the semovents, the towed artillery, the trucks of the 8th bersaglieri and finally, the psalms.
is an impressive show of strength.
at the dawn of the aftermath is reached the trenched field of wrinklehet el atasc of bir hacheim. the ram is in order of battle. the English open a deadly landing fire while the ix ends in a minefield and must stop by putting in difficulty the wormhole. At the same time the British planes appear. the rams take several hours but finally, it manages to break between the enemy rows capturing numerous prisoners.
is a victory has cost dear. over 50 tanks of the battalion have been destroyed, half of the officers are dead, many are wounded or made prisoners. Then it will be known that the cause of such a hard confrontation was due to a German route error on the right of the ram that forced the Italians to deviate ending on the most fortified sector of the enemy.
between 27 May and 11 June the ram fights at trigh nizzo, sghifet es sidra and again at bir hacheim then points on tobruk contributing to its fall on 21 June. the ram would have the right to a well-deserved rest but rommel does not intend to give up the grip on the enemy in course towards the egitto and sends to the chase the infinite armoured departments. fall sidi el barrani, bug bug, marsa matruh. on 30 June alessandria is only 150 km.
here rommel is the protagonist of a mistake, he does not care about the state of the troops and underestimates the state of the enemy. orders the attack on the line from el alamein to el qattara about 60 km away. the ram is not waiting for the trieste and with only 30 tanks left, on 3 July you have to protect the German wagons north. alam nayl finds itself isolated and under the fire of the 2nd New Zealand division, attacked simultaneously by the 4th battleship and the 7th British motorized. in the clash loses 22 tanks and 29 cannons, the targets suffered 600 fallen. what remains of the division manages to fold and group to el dabà to reorganize. but there is no time, on 14 July the ram is again online and 22 rejects an enemy attack. follows about a month of relative calm then, between August 30 and September 2, rommel again attempts to break the forehead. but the battle of alam halfa ends with the return to the starting positions.

and’ the last initiative of rommel, from that moment the initiative passes in hand to the British.

(follows...) )

 

[Exatem]

heroes(...cont'd)

Meanwhile, in June 1941 the then commander of the Middle East wavell is replaced by churchill with the general Alexander, the only one to whom the Prime Minister will always reserve a treatment of this. in August 1942 the heads of cunningham, Leese, ritchie and aunchileck also fell, replacing them with Marshal Montgomery, as commander of the armed viiii.
in the following months the ram is “uncovered” at the southern end of the line near el qattara. there are also the “pavia” and the 21st panzer while the “folgore” is lined up. as already the 7th, even the 8th carts no longer exists. talking about battalions or divisions is a real euphemism seen the losses suffered the previous months. Only the 3^ nizza is in satisfactory conditions and has 30 armor ab41. to understand how much the division has weakened, it is enough to see that there are little more than 100 tanks while the “bass” are only 24 (of which however 8 in the command-car version and therefore devoid of the cannon). m13/40 were replaced by m14/41 recognizable by sand filters. These wagons represent a slight evolution of the previous ones, demonstrating all their weakness when faced with the American “sherman” equipped with rotating turret and 75 mm armour.
on the night of 23 October thousands of bullets fall on the Italian-German lines. is the beginning of the battle of el alamein. even if not directly invested by the attack, the “littory” and the 15th panzer have lost 120 tanks. rommel, aware of the danger of escaping the south front, recalls the 21st and the ram. the column marches on the evening of 26 to arrive at the dawn of the next day in the area of deir el murra. the wagons assume the formation of battle and, after the preparatory shooting of the artillery, they launch to the attack colliding with the violent enemy reaction that forces them to back. on the morning of 2 November the Lithium and the Triest are rejected with very serious losses, then it is necessary to fold saving the salvage while the enemy must be held and engaged. for this, which appears as a suicide mission, can be counted only on the ram. rommel then recalls her, leaving in her place the nizza and the lightning that until now fought man against chariot, landing the step to the enemy. the ram, with the 111 remaining carts and 12 semovents, moving northwards reaching between bir and abd and deil el murra at dawn.
the ram still has 24 hours of life.
at the dawn of 4, the division is back on the march and shortly after the first angry enemies are spotted. the ram must fight on an arc of 180° against the 7th British corral division and part of the 10th, against sherman wagons, stuart and, anti-tank cannons including the deadly “25 pounders”. at the end of the battle the dead and dispersed were 20 officers, 270 sub-officials and tankers, wounded 4 officers and 37 subordinates.

the rambling ceased to exist on 21 November 1942.
rommel commented: “With the rambling we lost our oldest Italian comrades, to whom, we must recognize it, we had always asked more than they were able to do with their evil armor.” Although many Germans joked that "the Italian wagons were equipped with 10 marches, one forward and nine backwards" the reality is that our conditions were of absolute inferiority both towards the enemies and those of our allies. poorly armoured, insufficiently armed and with very limited visibility. few had the radio so a commander was forced to throw orders by signaling with the puppets from the turret or flashing in bites. much of the artillery went back to before 1918. "In spite of the artillery they showed their courage and continued to recharge the batteries until they were literally crushed by enemy tanks." "three British tanks advanced: They were equipped with speakers who sent admiration messages for the courage of the enemies, fully encircled, and offered them honorable conditions to cease hostilities, threatening total annihilation if they refused. the parachutes shouted "follow" and opened fire. tanks retreated. then they prevailed thirst and hunger". at the end of the battle of el alamein, the officers of his majesty wanted to make the honor of the weapons to the tricolored banner.

on the shrine of el alamein is written: “lucky luck, not value”. in reality too many other things were missing, as well as good luck, to our soldiers.

n.d.a. phrases in lanes, are taken from “diary of a fighter in northern Africa” – Longanesi.

 

[numero1]

I thought the story was yours:redface:

It doesn't matter however is a very good narrative but....... to want to be lazy and if my memory does not deceive me:

1) auk before being siluted definitively commanded for a certain period monty, you should see the dates well

2) the rank of monty (at the beginning of the battle of el-alamein) was not of general but of lieutenant-general

3) the British also won because in the first days of the battle rommel could not command his troops

a circumstance that will then be repeated in Normandy.

Hi.

 

[Exatem]

I thought the story was yours:redface:

It doesn't matter however is a very good narrative but....... to want to be lazy and if my memory does not deceive me:

1) auk before being siluted definitively commanded for a certain period monty, you should see the dates well

2) the rank of monty (at the beginning of the battle of el-alamein) was not of general but of lieutenant-general

3) the British also won because in the first days of the battle rommel could not command his troops

a circumstance that will then be repeated in Normandy.

Hi.

1) I try to see if I find any answers but in the books I have, for now, I have not found overlaps of dates. I'll check.

2) in 1934 he was appointed colonel; three years later he was promoted general of brigade and in 1938 general of division. in August 1944 became Field Marshal therefore in africa should already be general.

3) in fact rommel was not in africa but I do not think that in the end the result would be very different.

I don't like monty much.
market garden, indeed garden, was a "failure" his.
"montgomery cares more than not to lose a battle than to win it," said of him, "Count who was not at all sympathetic".

Bye.

 

[numero1]

market garden, in belgium?

If I'm not mistaken, the operation managed half the targets set at first were too ambitious, and so the Germans managed to partially re-enter the attack.

always if I don't remember the last one they tried to save the saver but they couldn't.

You know those of Anders, who died in 1980 in London.

Hi.

 

[numero1]

1) I try to see if I find any answers but in the books I have, for now, I have not found overlaps of dates. I'll check.

2) in 1934 he was appointed colonel; three years later he was promoted general of brigade and in 1938 general of division. in August 1944 became Field Marshal therefore in africa should already be general.

3) in fact rommel was not in africa but I do not think that in the end the result would be very different.

1) Yes I was wrong, auk had already been replaced by alexander, who had as a nominal opponent not rommel but cavalry

2) I confirm Lieutenant-General

3) rommel was in africa but had health problems in the first days of the decisive battle.
the command was first detected by georg stumme, then by von thoma and finally returned to him, although as you say probably the outcome would not have been different.

one of my sources:http://www.librimondadori.it/web/mondadori/scheda-libro?isbn=978880449579
ciao

 

[Exatem]

cardboard shoes...and panettonitwo episodes, without connection between them, capture the attention of hitler in May 1941.
the initiative of rudolf hess on the British skies and the sinking of the bismarck in the northern Atlantic.

but while the loss of the magnificent battleship can be presented by propaganda as a kind of epic enterprise, the initiative of hess, to propose an offer of unauthorized peace to the English, makes the Nazi dictator rage and surprises his direct collaborators.
hitler considers his deputy's mad attempt as a real betrayal and makes him call it by goebbels as the “consequence of hallucination”.

hess is not only the vice of hitler, it was the writer of the mein kampf dictated in the prisons of landsberg, it was the chamber of the regiment list during the First World War, is probably the only person that hitler considers a friend.

the costly, in human terms, invasion of clay, cost the loss of 4,000 German paratroopers of the 7th division of the general kurt student, a veteran aviator of the great war, reports to the mind of the fhurer the massacre of ypres from which he and hess had survived. until then the Wehrmacht, in 21 months of war, gave a demonstration of strength and superiority so as to be considered unbeatable. German losses until then were minimal; 17,000 dead and dispersed in polonium, 3,600 in Scandinavia, 45,000 france and low countries, 151 in Yugoslavia and less than 5,000 in Greek and clay. At the same time, the army's actual army was from 3,75,000 in 1939 to 5,000,000. the lutwaffe has 170.0000 men and the marina 400,000. to these numbers it is necessary to add the army of the Nazi party, that is, the waffen ss that from 5,000, have become 150,000. from 106 divisions, 10 of which armoured and 6 motorized, has passed to 180 divisions of which 12 motorized and 20 armoured even if to multiply the number of divisions, has halved the number of tanks that constitutes each of them.
despite the German army is the strongest under many points of view. Now hitler dreams, with the barbaric operation, of bringing the svastica in the territories he already considers his.

Stalin's Russian.

often we consider the German intervention in the Balkans in aid of the weak Italian ally, as an unforeseen and unwilling diversion, as a break on the planned timetable.
In reality the Balkans campaign had ended faster than the German generals themselves had predicted. the success obtained had not affected the start date of the barbaric operation as the adverse weather conditions were affected. In fact, the Germans found great difficulty in aligning themselves in Poland because of the delay of the disintegration. the rivers in full prevented the crossing and made in order to postpone the beginning of operations to the third week of June.
the predictions of Germanic commands on the outcome of the imminent invasion were far too optimistic. hitler himself said to rundstedt, commander of the South Army Group, “It will be enough to kick the door and the whole shack will roll down.” hitler believes that the Soviet people live crushed under the brutality of the Bolshevik tyrant and that the red army, deprived of its generals by the Stalinist purges of 1937-38, is that weak army humiliated by the tiny Finn in '39. In fact, in order to ensure political supremacy, Stalin had charged, tried and executed more than half of the high-level commanders of his armed forces, beginning with the head of the Turkish Major State representing the group of former Zapatista officers. was shot together with seven other generals on 11 June 1937. 3 marshals of 5, 13 of the 15 army commanders, 110 of 195 generals of division and 186 of 406 general brigade. the massacre then continued with political-administrative representatives.
Stalin recognized the need to reform the red army, which had been reduced by the bad figure against Finland. He accepted the good advice of timosenko and recognized the value of elements such as zukov and rokossovsky.

in the spring of 41 the actual red army comprise almost 240 divisions, 24,000 armored vehicles including many excellent t34s, about 10,000 aircraft. In short, stalin as force can be considered superior to hitler but cannot compare itself as a strategist. Thus the Soviet forces are dispersed by deploying them to defend the boundaries despite the concept of defence in depth and counterattack with the reserves. stalin also ignores information about his aggressive intentions, until then, ally defining “provocations” relationships in that sense.

on 22 June from the northern sectors of occupied cycoslovacchia, almost 4 million German soldiers organized in 180 divisions, 3.350 tanks, 7,200 guns, supported by 2,000 aircraft and 14 Romanian divisions (followed by Finns, Hungarians, Slovaks and the Spanish blue division), kicked off the German offensive. in that morning alone the 3rd Luftflotte destroys to the ground 528 Russian planes and lowers 210 in flight. at the end of the day the red aviation has already lost 1,200 aircraft.

Italy is also part of the expedition.

mussolini decided that Italy cannot remain foreign to the Russian campaign and ordered the preparation of the csir (Italian shipping body in Russian). the best units of the Royal Army were chosen.
the divisions of pasubio infantry (79° and 80° rgt. infantry and 8° rgt. divisional artillery) and torino (81° and 82° rgt. infantry and 52° rgt. divisional artillery) and the celere division (3° rgt. bersaglieri, rgt. the cavalry savoia cavalry and lancieri di novara, rgt. each infantry division is also flanked by a legion of black shirts. the Italian shipping body, under the command of the general harvest, gathers about 62,000 men with 5,500 vehicles and more than 4,000 quadrupeds between horses and mules; It can also count on a small support air force, consisting of about 80 aircraft between hunting, reconnaissance and transport.
in 1939 the Italian infantry still does not have its own means of transport. regiments are inserted within armored and celery divisions or have to support divisional services. some infantry divisions receive the name of “self-transportable” only because they are prepared for the use of means of transport.
in 1941 the army’s motorization recorded a general improvement. Moreover, the vast flat extensions of the Soviet republics are particularly suitable for the use of mobile infantry formations. Therefore, once the participation in the barbaric operation has been decided, Italy has strengthened its intended units as much as possible.
(follows...) )

 

[Exatem]

(...cont'd)

on 10 July 1941 begins the departure from Italy. by rail is reached the elongation and from there, forward with own means. the German command immediately asks to be able to employ the Italians to help their troops to eliminate the Soviet resistance between the dniester and the bug. the first to be involved is the pasubio division that, alongside the 30th grouping of artillery and a company of motorcyclists, attacks the Russians to pokrovskoje and to jasnaja forcing them to fold.
the Italian armoured component - if so can be defined - consists of the group squadrons of cavalry san giorgio, equipped with 60 light tanks l3 (in versions 33, 35 and 38) that departed from the Romany, support the division pasubio.
all the tiny l3 end destroyed by enemy fire or stopped by irreparable faults and avaries; for this reason all the remaining staff is used first as a flattened infantry and later, returned to Italy.
the new assignment assigned to the c.s.i.r., is the occupation of the great basin of the donez, with all its industries and rich of raw materials of vital importance. at the end of August 1941, all Italian troops rejoin the dnieper river; Meanwhile the Italian shipping body in Russian has passed to the dependencies of the German armoured group of von kleist and remains subordinate to this for about a year. While the German armoured group fights victoriously in the kiev area, our three divisions are launched southward, towards dniepropetrovsk, with a front of operations of a hundred kilometers. in the days 29, 30 and 31 September all the csir is involved in the battle of petrikovka, where, activating an enveloping manoeuvre, the enemy forces are disembarked and captured over 10,000 prisoners. but at the beginning of October the rains begin that turn the slopes into mud pantani aggravating further movements and logistic transport.
the movement begins on 9 October with the action against the bridge head of pavlograd, and sees engaged a German division, the group cc.nn. cutting, a artillery group and a group of bikers. the bridge head of pavlograd falls after three days of bitter fighting and the avant-gardes of the 1st German armored enter into mariupol.

the Italian shipping body must now conquer the important center of stalin.

the celery division with the cavalry savoy regiments and novara lancieri begins the advance on 13 October, followed by the 3rd bersaglieri regiment, while the pasubio division remains blocked at pavlograd waiting for the geniers to build a new bridge over the river. on the 20th, the 3rd bersaglieri occupies sofja and, on the same day, takes the possession of the station and the important railway knot of stalino, while the Germans occupy the remaining areas of town. all set targets are achieved despite the successful defence.
without granting a truce or rest, the command of the 1st German army orders the c.s.i.r. to take and occupy as soon as possible much of the area of the donez, including the cities of rykovo and gorlovka, and the remarkable industrial and mining complexes.
on 1 November the 3rd targets, with a bold action, disembark the resistance of three enemy divisions and occupy the city of rykovo and the surrounding areas while the following day the regiments 79° and 80° of the pasubio, fighting home against an extremely avid resistance, occupy gorlovka. The 80th Infantry Regiment of the Pasubio, which has been encircled by strong Soviet forces, is able to break isolation and return to gorlovka. it is necessary to consolidate the positions reached since the enemy continues to give signs of aggression.

the first cycle of operations of Italian units on the Russian front with definitely positive results, also according to the demanding ally.

after the first phase of the campaign, characterized by long movements on impractical roads and under the attack of the Soviet air force, the advance of the axis forces slows down due to the increasing resistance of the enemy and the arrival of the cold season. during the winter our shipping body will be watered in the cities and villages creating a defensive line to cornerstones waiting for spring to resume operations. but the Soviets, more accustomed and better equipped than ours to the harsh winter climate, take advantage of this moment of stasis of the operations to launch a heavy attack that will be called "the battle of birth".
at dawn of December 25, 1941, after a preparation of artillery, attack the forehead of the 3rd bersaglieri regiment and cc.nn group. cutting.
fighting is particularly hard but between 26 and 28 December the divisions pasubio and celere start to counterattack, regaining the initial positions, but without being able to advance. At the end of January 1942, the Soviets attacked by breaking down the German lines and penetrating about a hundred kilometers into the Germanic rear.

with the spring and summer of 42 Germans and Italians resume the advance while clashing with the increasing Russian resistance. between May and June the 8th army of General Gariboldi, called armir, incorporates the csir and receives reinforcements and replacements. in the first half of July, they resume the Italian activities towards the don. the Armir, now fully in operation, occupies the mining basin of the mius conquering the center of krasnyi luch. until the end of the month the Italian units are engaged, in the elimination of the Soviet caposaldo in serafimovic. the clash occurs between the Chilean division and Soviet units supported by T34 tanks. after 5 days of bitter fighting the celery division kicks out Soviet forces from serafimovic, who had become a threatening bridgehead here of the river.
on August 20, 1942 the Soviets once again gain the donor and launch an extremely violent attack against the industry held by the sforzesca, expanding it to the field of the pasubio: is an alternation of victories and defeats where the positions are lost and immediately recaptured with counterattacks; in the framework of these operations is inserted the charge led by the cavalry savoy, under the command of Colonel bettoni, that on August 24 in isbuscenskji loaded and dispersed three Soviet battalions.
the Russian winter is about to arrive and the excavations for the shelters necessary to survive the temperatures of thirty and forty degrees below zero.
at the end of all movements, the final position of the 8th army on the average don is as follows: the tridentine north, with the 2nd Hungarian army on the left side, then the julia, the cuneense, then the cosseria, the ravenna; here the 8th army is interrupted by the 298th German division, to resume with the pasubio, the torino, the celere and the sforzesca; at the end of the line to the south, with the 3rd Romanian army on its right.

among the reinforcements coming from Italy there are also the Alpine divisions of which is expected to be used in the mountains of the Caucasus. are poorly equipped departments and this deficiency is apparent when they are facing the enemy in the plain under numerous losses. among the reinforcements comes also the 120° motorized artillery regiment and the xiii group semovents of cavalry of the alessandria regiment with 19 semovents l40 from 47/32 and the lxvii battalion bersaglieri motocorazzato on light wagons l6/40.
at the entrance to the war of Italy, the Royal Army had a large number of light l3 wagons practically unusable in combat.
studies were in progress for their total replacement but lacked a means that satisfied the new specifications.
no prototype had in fact been enough to pass the field tests.
in March 40 the fiat and the antaldo presented a prototype that obtained homologation; the carriage l6/40 (light paper from 6 tons of 1940). the wagon, 3,82m long, 1,86 wide and 2.175 high, weighed in order of combat 6,840 kg. the motor was a spa 18 vt to 4 cylinders and 68 cv, fueled to gasoline and with a maximum speed on road of about 42 km/h. the armament was limited to a 20/65mm Breda 35 and a 38 8mm Breda. the armor went from 6 to 40mm and the crew was two men. the wagon was afflicted by considerable limitations and was always lower than both German and enemy vehicles. In particular, it was unstable because of the high baricentre, the insufficient armor and armor, the too narrow cingles did not allow to face soils of poor consistency.
in July of 42, the lxvii battalion bersaglieri motocorazzato, with 55 l6/40 is sent on the eastern front.
witnessing the improvisation with which decisions are made, the wagons arrive in Russian with desert camouflage in sand yellow.
crews are forced to cover the hulls with mud to improve camouflage. but the biggest problem is facing the t34 with the 20mm cannon. after the overcoming of the donetz river and the victorious resistance to the Soviet counter-offensive, with the arrival of winter the Armir trenches along the don. armoured and motorized forces now have few vehicles and even less fuel.

(follows...) )

 

[Exatem]

(...cont'd)

On December 11, at the same time as the encirclement of stalingrad, the Russians launch an offensive called “small saturno” against our lines, in particular against the sector held by the ravenna division with the aim of destroying its positions.
the attack puts hard test the Italian departments that after resisting numerous assaults, on 19 are forced to reverse. the torino division begins the fold in column on 21 December 1942 preceded in the march from the 298th German division. along the fold collects elements of the ravenna division and the pasubio division but 22 to arbusov, are blocked by a new Soviet attack. The targets have the burden of covering the fold but the overwhelming Soviet superiority and the rigours of winter caused incredible losses between men and materials.
many means are abandoned due to lack of fuel and mechanical failures. the last wagons and semoves are lost during the retreat of the Armir.

on 23 December, the situation is now unsustainable. what remains of our troops is the risk of total annihilation.
when the flags of the regiments have already been burned so as not to make them fall in enemy hands, with a surprise action the Italians break the encirclement and favored by the fog, resume the way of the retreat reaching after three days between snowstorms and fighting, tcertkowo.
here, the column can afford a little rest even if surrounded by Soviet motorized troops. despite the desperate situation, more than ten thousand men managed to break the encirclement and on January 16 they enter belowodsk finally rejoining the forces of the axis organized on the new defensive line.
Meanwhile the mountaineers of the tridentine, the cuneense and the julia still remain along the banks of the river don, in a position that, given the developments, no longer has any tactical sense, paying a naive price in human lives and meriting the unanimous recognition of enemies and allies.
"on the front of the average don is particularly distinguished the Alpine julia division" is proclaimed twice in those days in the bulletin of the German supreme command while Moscow radio recognizes that "only the Italian alpine body must consider itself unbeaten on the Russian front".on 17 January 1943, the order to fold is finally reached for the Alpine army.
the survivors of the Alpine divisions and of the divisions to them mixed, which until that moment have resisted all the Soviet attacks, therefore they put on the march, on foot or with the few means left in efficiency, in the weather and in the cold of the prohibition of the Russian winter, to seek salvation out from the sack in which the enemy has locked them, fighting against the Soviet motorized forces that chase them.

They face 150 kilometers of retreat between weather, enemy attacks and a thousand other difficulties.

the first lights of the dawn of 26 January 1942 the battalions vestone and verona with part of the valchiese throw themselves to the attack of nikolajewka and advance under the support of a battery of the bergamo group, despite the Soviets have a large number of cannons, mortars, machine guns as well as tanks. while the hours pass on the nikolajewka front rib the head of the column of the retreating Alpine divisions.
the general reverberi climbs on a German track moving towards nikolajewka and leads the assault. at that time came the battalions and valcamonica and immediately join in the fight while the two pieces of the bergamo group are placed in the front line between the mountaineers shooting with zero rise.
the enemy finally yields and retreats from nikolajewka, where our soldiers find some refreshment and shelter before the resumption of the march.
on 31 January 1943 the column reaches Shebekino, outside the sack, except among the friendly lines.

the campaign of Russia of 1941-43 became the symbol of Italian military inpreparation in World War II.
the classic image is that of the Italian fairy semi-assisted, with cardboard shoes and the rifle mod.91 made useless by the ice.
the regime, and with it the military leadership, would have sent to the disembarkation an entire army not equipped to face temperatures that in the steppe also reach -40°. in addition to the clothing not suitable to protect men from the Russian winter, not suitable armored means, artillery, individual weapons.
the mountaineers and their mule, trained and equipped troops to operate in the mountains, sent in Ukrainian plains against Mongolian troops accustomed to rigid climates; light tanks from 3 and 6 tons against the powerful t34; musket against katiuscia (the “stalin organs”); and then efficient mitra ppsh (the peppers), coats and boots lined with fur, a logistic service unable to provide supplies to the troops on the don ... everything contributed decisively to the catastrophic retreat and the destruction of 10 among the best divisions of our army.

but did logistic services fail so miserably in Russian?
really the major state was so negligent not to prepare to take the necessary measures to the csir (Italian shipping body in Russian) before and to the Armir (Italian army in Russian) after?

already in the Greek countryside the equipment supplied was unsuitable. on a total of 63,000 injured, 12,300 freezing cases had occurred. for this reason the major state disposes of a revision of the equipment to be distributed to soldiers who proved useful during the first months of the Russian campaign. the supply program for the csir had begun already from August 41 and commissions of purchase were instituted in Romany and Hungarian. in particular the kit of individual clothing for the troops of the general masses, provided: hat, fur cap, balm and earbud, coat with fur or vest, socks, mountain boots of bigger size so as to allow the use of a double pair of socks, shoes with fur inside and wooden sole, sleeping bags.

reached in September-October 1941 the dnieper line, the csir provides to replace the summer uniforms with the winter ones and the renewal of the shoes now worn by long marches. the distribution of the dress was just reached the mining area of the donez. between August 1941 and June 1942 freezing cases were 3.614 on a total of 62,000 men belonging to the csir. Considering that in the winter of those years there were 16 consecutive days with temperatures never greater than -20° with peaks of -30° it can be said that the measures adopted were valid.

the organizational effort was there and was remarkable.

distributed clothing types offered substantially good proof with the exception of footwear. also from the exchange of experiences carried out by the Germans in Finland (officials and German sub-officials were sent to attend courses held by Finnish instructors experts in dealing with very rigid climates) was taught.

the serious responsibilities are therefore to be attributed to the operating commands and first, to the commander of the Armir, the general gariboldi, and to the general responsible for the understanding of the 8th army, which, were excessively parsimoniosi in the distribution of the equipment lying in the warehouses of the commissioner.
wool garments were distributed to the troops on the don only in November when it was already snowing and the temperatures were precipitated (day 9 touched the -23°) at 15 November only 30% of the troops had fur coat while at the end of the month tens of thousands of garments remained unused in the deposits.
perhaps the fear of having to face another winter in a campaign that was predicted long and wearable led to save the material. to this we must add the scarcity of fuel, for which we depend entirely on the Germans, that it seasoned the ability to transport the supplies. in any case tons of materials were found by the Russians in the bases of rossoc, kupijansk, kantemirovka, tcertkovo and millerovo despite the Italian attempt to destroy them.

Soviet troops managed in many cases to seize intact deposits and came to launch on the soldiers of the retreating axis, ironic posters of thanksgiving for Christmas gifts (they were recovered even large amounts of panettoni) caught in the Italian warehouses.

 

[numero1]

[

Hitler si è infatti convinto che il popolo sovietico viva schiacciato sotto le brutalità del tiranno bolscevico e che l’Armata Rossa, privata dei suoi Generali dalle purghe staliniste del 1937-38, sia quel debole esercito umiliato dalla minuscola Finlandia nel ‘39. Infatti, per assicurarsi la supremazia politica, Stalin aveva fatto accusare, processare e giustiziare, più della metà dei Comandanti di alto livello delle sue forze armate a cominciare dal Capo di Stato Maggiore Tuchacevskij che rappresentava il gruppo di ex ufficiali zaristi. Fu fucilato assieme ad altri sette generali l’11 giugno 1937. Seguirono la stessa sorte 3 Marescialli su 5, 13 dei 15 Comandanti d’Armata, 110 su 195 Generali di Divisione e 186 su 406 Generali di Brigata. Il massacro poi continuò con rappresentati politico-amministrativi.
Una volta sfogati odio e rancori, Stalin riconobbe la necessità di riformare l’Armata Rossa reduce dalla pessima figura rimediata contro la Finlandia. Accettò i buoni consigli di Timosenko e riconobbe il valore di elementi come Zukov e Rokossovskij.

(cut)

Inoltre Stalin ignora le informazioni relative alle intenzioni aggressive del suo, fino ad allora, alleato definendo “provocazioni” i rapporti in tal senso.

(Segue...)

Yes, Stalin was stoned when hitler attacked, he didn't want to believe it.
I have always wondered about the Soviet generals, whether we were lucky or not?
I better explain to myself with his stalin purges allowed people like zukov and Rokossovsky to go to the command.
what was instead precluded by the existing military spheres.
so (beyond the human judgment on those poor) stalin did something wrong or not?
If there were the old commanders the war would have ended sooner or even the Russian would have been defeated? with deep consequences on all war.
and so we had our share of luck or not.
I know that with the hindsight, etc. etc. but it is a particular that I have often asked myself.
Hi.

 

[numero1]

(...cont'd)

the serious responsibilities are therefore to be attributed to the operating commands and first, to the commander of the Armir, the general gariboldi, and to the general responsible for the understanding of the 8th army, which, were excessively parsimoniosi in the distribution of the equipment lying in the warehouses of the commissioner.

Mah mah... In my opinion, in part second when I read (in his time) bedeschi and rigoni stern.
I made this opio.
Hi.

 

[numero1]

(...cont'd)

at the first lights of the dawn of 26 January 1942 the battalions vestone and verona...........

26 January 1943 :biggrin:

and in the meantime the uranus operation, led by rokossovsky, had also begun (and perhaps even finished).
that will give the final bat to von paulus in stalingrad.
Hi.

 

[Exatem]

Betasomsome of us were transferred to betasom. It is the Atlantic base of bordeaux made available from the fall of 40 after an Italian-German commission, of which were part the admired parona and weichold, visited some French ports of the Atlantic coast, chose it as the basis for the Italian submarines.
supermarin approved this choice and established that from 1 September 1940 the command of the Atlantic submarine group was constituted in burgundy, then replaced with: superior command of the Italian underwater forces in the Atlantic.
As regards the strategy, this would have been decided in common with the German navy, but from the tactical point of view the submarines of the two countries would have operated under the responsibility of their respective commands.
the new base received the code name of betasom, result of the union between the initial letter of the name of the city of burgundy, translated into Greek (beta) and the first part of the word submarine. the base was officially inaugurated on August 30, 1940 with the arrival of the admiral parona. the Germans assigned to the Italians two passenger ships, the French transatlantic "de bold", of 18,435 tons and, in October, the German piroscafo, "usaramo" of 7,775 tons. the de bold, besides the radio station, housed the infirmary. the reinforced concrete building of the marine station was transformed into housing, while other buildings were used for offices and warehouses.
were assigned to betasom 35 officers, including 3 army officers for the departments of the San Marco Battalion and 426 Navy personnel. in total, the force of military and civil personnel assigned to the services of the base assumed to about 800 men, including the mining company of the battalion san marco of 225 men dedicated to the internal vigilance of the base, while externally the vigilance was of German relevance. In addition, the Germans had installed six 88 mm anti-aircraft batteries and 45 20 mm guns and guaranteed anti-aircraft service and naval escort along the roundabouts and in the bay of biscail.
Following the clearing of the mass base, four more boats reached betasom, bringing the number of submarines to 31. These were: "guglielmotti", "archimede", "ferraris" and "perla".
the order to leave towards the france, was given by the submarine command maricosom, when the situation of the Italian colony was defined. decided to evacuate what remained of the colonial underwater component so as not to fall into English hands. the submersible parties from slaughter between 1st and 4th March 1941, out of the red sea reached the Indian Ocean, continued through the Mozambique channel and, after carrying out the planned refueling in the southern Atlantic, passed to the west of the islands of the green head and the Azores, finally reaching bordeaux after having traveled 12,700 miles. very important was the role played by the ship corsara "atlantis", and the German oil tanker "nordmark", which took care of the supply at the top sea of the four units.
Finally, on 20 February 1943 the "cagni" arrived in burgundy, which, on 6 October 1942 from the maddalena, had crossed the gibilterra strait and carried out a mission of 136 days along the coasts of southeastern Africa.
in July-August 1941, due to the negative trend of the Mediterranean war, Maricosom called in the Mediterranean ten of the submarines operating in the Atlantic. They returned: "pearl", "guglielmotti", "brin", "argo", "velella", "dandolo", "emo", "otaria", "mocenigo", "veniero". to betasom remained 11 submarines: balves, barbarism, moronins, wins, hats, fins, archimedes, baths, torellis, cups, while the giuliani was used at the school for submariners of goetenhafen on the baltic sea; returned on 23 May 1942 to burgundy.

the base will be used until September 8, 1943, when the Germans will requisition the only two submarines present in rada at that time, the bathers and the finzi. a particular story had 5 submarines: barbaric, hats, jellies, tors, nipples, who departed for missions in the extreme east.
the tazzoli disappeared in Atlantic around 20 May 1943, during the journey to syngapore, as well as barbarism, which ceased to give news on 15 June 1943, while sailing towards Indonesia.
the giuliani arrived to singapore on 26 July 1943 and after the armistice was delivered by the Japanese to the Germans, who renamed it uit-23; was sunk in the canal of malacca on February 14, 1944 by the British submarine "tallyho".
the torelli, arrived to singapore on 25 August 1943, was also delivered to the Germans, who renamed it "uit-25".
not different was the fate touched to the caps, landing on 23 July 1943: after the armistice was reused by the Germans under the name "uit-24"; it was demolished by the Americans at the end of the war.

the adventure of the Italian submarines used in the battle of the Atlantic, with a sumptuous budget, succeeding in the complex to destroy 109 merchant ships, for a total of 593,864 tons, damaging other 4 boats and an English destroyer.

the "to win", commanded by janfranco gazzana priaroggia, was the best non-German submarine of World War II, succeeding to destroy 17 enemy hulls, for a total of 120,243 tons. The 32 submarines at betasom dependencies carried out 197 war missions. the total stay at sea exceeded 6,000 days, during which over 990.000 miles were traveled.

of the 32 submarines operating in the Atlantic, 16 were lost
1) tarantines, sunk near burgundy for torpedoing on 15-12-1940.
2) brown fairy, sunk off the Irish, between 31-10-1940, and 5-1-1941
3) dwarves, sunk in the northern Atlantic, between 3-1 and 20-2-1940.
4) slaughtered in the northern Atlantic between 7-2 and 6-4-1941.
5) glaucous, self-tank in the central Atlantic, 27-6-1941.
6) white, sunk for silution in the bay of biscail on 5-7-1941.
7) shack, sunk for spur in the bay of biscalia, 8-9-1941.
8) malaspine, sunk for imprecise causes, between 8-7 and 18-11-1941.
9) Ferraaris, self-tired in the central Atlantic, 25-10-1941.
10) marcones, sunk in the central-eastern Atlantic, between 28-10 and 4-12-1941.
11) bald, self-floated in the central Atlantic, on 15-7-1942.
12) Morosini, sunk for imprecise causes, between 8-8- and 10-9-1942.
13) Archimedes, hit by plane bombs in Brazilian waters on 15-4-1943.
14) nipples, sunk for imprecise causes, in the bay of biscalia, between 17-5 and 31-8-1943.
15) from winnings, sunk in the Cape area finish on 23-5-1943.
16) Barbarian, sunk in the central-eastern Atlantic between 16-6 and 31-8-1943.

 

[Exatem]

Italian aliwhen in July 1940 the victorious French campaign ended with German troops attested along the coasts of the sleeve, the world expected nothing but the invasion of England.
but hitler, as at dunkerque when he stopped his panzers allowing the retreat to the allies, he tentennava.

Perhaps there was a way out, a proposal from the British Government for a peaceful solution to conflict.
but this proposal never came. churchill hoped for an imminent war entrance of the United States and hitler feared the crossing of the sleeve surely contrasted by a superior English navy in men and means.
kriegsmarine did not have the necessary means to tighten the island in a naval block, so he opted for a mighty aerial offensive. “The vanher, supreme commander, has decided that a look in the graveland is possible provided that air superiority can be achieved and certain conditions can be realized...” so took over the operation “sea lion” and the okw began to emanate the necessary directives. the landings of the bridgehead, planned in 90,000 men and 650 wagons under von rundsted, would have occurred in three areas between folkestone and brighton. to these would have followed other landings until reaching 260,000 men while other fake landings in Scotland would have distracted the royal navy.
However, every land operation was subordinate to the total control of the skies by the luftwaffe and for this reason, the German air forces were organized in three “lutflotte” of about 3,000 planes thus subdivided: 1,400 bombers, 300 beaten bombers, 800 fighters and 280 bombers.

to these forces the raf could oppose 1,200 planes of which 800 were hurricane hunting and spitfire.
on 10 July 1940 the “luftkrieg gegen england” began, i.e., the air war against the land. twenty dornier do 17, with the escort of 20 me 109 and 30 me 110, attacked ports and yards on the sleeve. until August the clashes went on with alternate results with 150 oerdites between the English and 260 among the Germans.
on 13 August the operation “adlertag” (on the day of the eagle) strongly wanted by goering in which 1,700 aircraft performed 2.119 actions without being able to conquer aerial supremacy. the 24th London suffered the first bombs even if consequently a mistake as clarified in a German communiqué. but churchill, despite the German apology, ordered a retaliation attack on the sedan.
even if material damage was insignificant, the psychological effect was devastating. hitler and goering were furious for the violation of the German airspace and ordered the suspension of military attacks to focus on the capital. London will be so attacked for 57 consecutive nights (from 7 September to 2 November) but this will perhaps represent the salvation of the English.

the raf had time to reorganize while the attacks strengthened the will of the people to resist the invaders.
Mussolini wanted to participate with his own contingent in the current battle, thus trying to elevate our country to great military power. in a speech he had to say “...in more than the blood shed in common and the sacrifices in common endured, makes solid and lasting or relationships among peoples...”Thus the aeronautical direction constituted the cai (Italian air body) and with two bombing departments, a hunting department and, a reconnaissance squadron, began the Italian adventure on the skies of England. the cai had his command at bruxelles while the departments had different locations.
when our planes arrived at their destinations, it was the end of October, the battle of the land had now entered the so-called “third phase”.
bombings hammered English soil and our planes were assigned targets in the south-east of the country. After two initial missions, the result of which was quite negative, on 11 November an operation was planned against a naval convoy exited from the Gulf of Thames. British radars drove the fighters against ours and 2 aircraft did not return while 17 others suffered damage.
our fighters, lower cr42 both for armament and for speed, managed despite the disadvantage, to hold head to the British inflicting different losses.
on November 23, the cr42 were intercepted by 14 spitfires against which they engaged a furious battle, succeeding to destroy 5 and harming another 2. but the efficiency of our aircraft was increasingly precarious until on 21 December the cai ordered another mission then, with 50% of the unusable means, the operations were suspended.
on 2 January 1941 the last mission was carried out, then the departments returned to Italy except two hunting squadrons that remained in Belgium until 15 April.
Overall we lost 8 planes, 20 men plus 6 wounded.
bombing missions were 315 hours when we dropped 54 tons of bombs.
ours destroyed 20 enemy planes.

 

[Enigma]

the general reverberi climbs on a German track moving towards nikolajewka and leads the assault.

inciting his mountaineers to the assault screaming "tridentine ahead!"enigma (former military service at the tridentine alpine brigade as complement officer)


p.s. I can advise you the lecturing of "100 thousand ice pumps" and "the sergeant in the snow" are very raw and touching. . .