Mussolini's War: Fascist Italy from Triumph to Collapse, 1935-1943
- Downloads：6130
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-26 09:51:17
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：John Gooch
- ISBN：014198029X
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
'It is hard to imagine a finer account， both of the sweep of Italy's wars， and of the characters caught up in them' Caroline Moorhead， The Guardian
From an acclaimed military historian， the definitive account of Italy's experience of the Second World War
While staying closely aligned with Hitler， Mussolini remained carefully neutral until the summer of 1940。 Then， with the wholly unexpected and sudden collapse of the French and British armies， Mussolini declared war on the Allies in the hope of making territorial gains in southern France and Africa。 This decision proved a horrifying miscalculation， dooming Italy to its own prolonged and unwinnable war， immense casualties and an Allied invasion in 1943 which ushered in a terrible new era for the country。
John Gooch's new book is the definitive account of Italy's war experience。 Beginning with the invasion of Abyssinia and ending with Mussolini's arrest， Gooch brilliantly portrays the nightmare of a country with too small an industrial sector， too incompetent a leadership and too many fronts on which to fight。
Everywhere - whether in the USSR， the Western Desert or the Balkans - Italian troops found themselves against either better-equipped or more motivated enemies。 The result was a war entirely at odds with the dreams of pre-war Italian planners - a series of desperate improvizations against Allies who could draw on global resources and against whom Italy proved helpless。
This remarkable book rightly shows the centrality of Italy to the war， outlining the brief rise and disastrous fall of the Italian military campaign。
From an acclaimed military historian， the definitive account of Italy's experience of the Second World War
While staying closely aligned with Hitler， Mussolini remained carefully neutral until the summer of 1940。 Then， with the wholly unexpected and sudden collapse of the French and British armies， Mussolini declared war on the Allies in the hope of making territorial gains in southern France and Africa。 This decision proved a horrifying miscalculation， dooming Italy to its own prolonged and unwinnable war， immense casualties and an Allied invasion in 1943 which ushered in a terrible new era for the country。
John Gooch's new book is the definitive account of Italy's war experience。 Beginning with the invasion of Abyssinia and ending with Mussolini's arrest， Gooch brilliantly portrays the nightmare of a country with too small an industrial sector， too incompetent a leadership and too many fronts on which to fight。
Everywhere - whether in the USSR， the Western Desert or the Balkans - Italian troops found themselves against either better-equipped or more motivated enemies。 The result was a war entirely at odds with the dreams of pre-war Italian planners - a series of desperate improvizations against Allies who could draw on global resources and against whom Italy proved helpless。
This remarkable book rightly shows the centrality of Italy to the war， outlining the brief rise and disastrous fall of the Italian military campaign。
Reviews
Donald Luther
，
The title of the book is ‘Mussolini’s War，’ and， as should be expected， it give a top-down view of the wars of Fascist Italy from the invasion of Ethiopia to the fall of the dictator。 It examines strategy at the highest levels throughout out the period 1937-1943， including the highest-level political-military conferences held between the Axis powers during World War II。While most histories of that great conflict frequently gloss over Italy’s actions during the war， this volume gives a much bette The title of the book is ‘Mussolini’s War，’ and， as should be expected， it give a top-down view of the wars of Fascist Italy from the invasion of Ethiopia to the fall of the dictator。 It examines strategy at the highest levels throughout out the period 1937-1943， including the highest-level political-military conferences held between the Axis powers during World War II。While most histories of that great conflict frequently gloss over Italy’s actions during the war， this volume gives a much better picture of how the Fascist state made the decisions it did。 The reader sees that， in Italy’s wartime adventures before 1940， she seemed well-led， capable and successful， through the period of her support for the Nationalist forces in Spain。 After declaring war against France and Britain in 1940， however， Italy’s lack of materiel， resources （except， it seems， for manpower）， an industrial base， and quality military leadership， coupled with the over-bureaucratized government that characterised Fascist leadership， all combined to hinder Italy’s ability to make war—modern war—effectively and efficiently。But wait， it gets worse。Italy’s lack of a technological industrial base will force Mussolini’s army， navy and air force to use antiquated materiel （much of it from the period of World War I and before）， to pirate weaponry from defeated powers such as France， and to rely too heavily on Germany’s unreliable and unresponsive military logistics to carry out her plans。Even further， the lack of co-ordination of military planning and appropriation of available resources will further undermine Italy’s war effort。 Italy and Germany had agreed that they would operate independently of one another in terms of the military objectives each decided upon， though they would support one another in achieving those objectives。 And once Italy found herself overburdened by the tasks she has taken on （invasions of Greece and Yugoslavia; the invasion of Egypt）， Germany would eventually take on the responsibility for completing that which her partner had begun。 Towards the end of her involvement in the war， this meant that Italy would be less a partner and more a subordinate。The portraits drawn of the principal Italian commanders of her armed forces fill in a large gap in the general information broadly available on the war。 We see the egos， the frictions， the strategies developed and the compromises made （and at what cost） that helped shape rise and fall of Italian arms in the Fascist period。 。。。more
Sai Vogirala
，
I was excited to read this book since the Italian role in World War 2 does not get nearly the same amount of coverage in literature as its Axis allies。 John Gooch did a great job of incorporating a high level of detail that truly gave me new insight into a narrative I knew little about。 Due to this level of detail， there are numerous key figures that play a pivotal role in Italy's actions。 It can get a bit confusing to keep track of all the key figures， so this is definitely a book that requires I was excited to read this book since the Italian role in World War 2 does not get nearly the same amount of coverage in literature as its Axis allies。 John Gooch did a great job of incorporating a high level of detail that truly gave me new insight into a narrative I knew little about。 Due to this level of detail， there are numerous key figures that play a pivotal role in Italy's actions。 It can get a bit confusing to keep track of all the key figures， so this is definitely a book that requires a greater level of focus。 The weak structure of narrative made it tougher to follow along。 Many times the story didn't 'flow' smoothly and the abrupt transition of topics didn't make sense。 Despite the weak structure of the narrative， I would still recommend any World War 2 history enthusiast to read this book due to the rich level of detail。 。。。more
Boudewijn
，
A comprehensive account of Il Duce's disastrous attempt to make Italy a great power。In this book， John Gooch chronicles Mussoline and his forces in the events leading up to World War II and World War II itself。 It shows Mussolini and his delusions on the role Italy could play and - without clear focus or strategic insight and chronical shortage in resources - becoming more and more dependent on Germany for fuel and weapons。The book starts with the Second Italo-Abyssinian War in October 1935， whe A comprehensive account of Il Duce's disastrous attempt to make Italy a great power。In this book， John Gooch chronicles Mussoline and his forces in the events leading up to World War II and World War II itself。 It shows Mussolini and his delusions on the role Italy could play and - without clear focus or strategic insight and chronical shortage in resources - becoming more and more dependent on Germany for fuel and weapons。The book starts with the Second Italo-Abyssinian War in October 1935， where two hundred thousand soldiers of the Italian Army attacked and defeated obsolete Ethiopian forces。 It then deals with Italy's role in the Spanish civil war before it turns to the start of World War II。The successes in Abyssinia and （to a lesser extent） the Spanish civil war lead to Mussolini's overconfidence in the ability for the Italian army to wage a modern war。 It also brings to the fore the Italian generals （Rodolfo Graziani and Pietro Badoglio to name a few） and the personal rivalries between them。At the outbreak of World War II， it becomes quickly clear that the army is no match for the modern armies of France， Russia and the British。 The Italian army is characterised in bureaucratic inertia which makes coordinated actions nearly impossible。 Continual shortage in commodities like steel， coal and above all oil makes warfare more and more impossible。 Due to Mussolini's erratic decisions， where his political ambitions do not match the army's capabilities， Italy is sucked into campaigns across north and east Africa， Russia and the Balkans， so the only way that Fascist Italy could earn her place was by depending ever more on Germany。 Italy has the men， but lacks the material and resources。 In the end， the reader will start to wonder how Mussolini was able to hold on to power for such a long time， because after reading this book you wonder how such an incompetent man， without any grasp of strategy， was able to plunge Italy into such disaster。Do not expect a detailed description of the actual battles - large battles are often described in just a few paragraphs。 Instead， the story focusses on the strategic level and logistical issues and resources。 Detailed statistics are given on nearly everything: numbers of tanks， aircraft， ships even to things like boots and bullets， and production figures for materials like steel and copper。 This I found very informative and any book detailing such an approach for any of the other major participants in World War II will earn a place on the top of the list of my to-read shelf。So all in all truly deserving a five star rating - a great description of Italy's grand strategy and a much needed introduction to Mussolini's disastrous leadership。 。。。more
Gabriel Stein
，
Excellent This is an excellent book。 It does make you wonder why Italy， not went to war， that’s understandable， but why Italy thought that it could achieve anything。 As an aside， the character of Mussolini is also fascinating。 In fact， he resembles no one as much as Donald Trump。 Not to say that Trump is a fascist （he is not）。 However， the same disregard for fact， the same living in a make-believe world， the same lack of attention。 Strongly recommended
Ian
，
Italy’s participation in WW2 has not been the subject of many books in English， and I have seen this one described in the press as the “definitive history” of the subject。 It also covers Italy’s military adventures during the 1930s。 The story is told very much from the strategic perspective。 This isn’t a book where you will hear the voice of the ordinary soldier， nor does it really get down to even the tactical level。 Quite large battles are often described in just a few paragraphs。 Instead， thi Italy’s participation in WW2 has not been the subject of many books in English， and I have seen this one described in the press as the “definitive history” of the subject。 It also covers Italy’s military adventures during the 1930s。 The story is told very much from the strategic perspective。 This isn’t a book where you will hear the voice of the ordinary soldier， nor does it really get down to even the tactical level。 Quite large battles are often described in just a few paragraphs。 Instead， this book looks at the high-level decision making that guided （if that’s the right word） Fascist Italy’s conduct of the wars it was involved in。 There’s a huge emphasis on logistical issues – transport， materiel， the supply of raw materials etc。 I suppose these are the sort of things the General Staff would have concerned themselves with。 The book is informative， but personally I also found it quite dry， and over-heavy on statistics。 There’s a mass of the latter， covering everything from numbers of trucks， tanks， aircraft， ships etc， to things like boots and bullets， and production figures for materials like steel and copper。The book starts with Fascist Italy’s initial military successes during the 1930s; the conquest of Abyssinia; its participation in the Spanish Civil War; and the occupation of Albania。 These victories were achieved against opponents who were poorly equipped and poorly organised， or in the case of Albania， offered little resistance。 Italy’s subsequent invasion of Greece was disastrous。 In facing the British， and subsequently the Soviets and the Americans， the boot was on the other foot， with the Italians facing modern armies who in most respects were better equipped than they were。Mussolini is portrayed as someone who fantasised about recreating the “Mare Nostrum” of the Roman Empire。 He wanted Italy to control the whole North African coast from Morocco to Egypt; also Yugoslavia， Albania and Greece; the south coast of France; and Malta and Gibraltar。 On top of all that， Mussolini felt obliged to support Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union， in recognition of Hitler having rescued him in Greece and North Africa。 He seemed completely unable to concentrate on one objective at a time， constantly switching priorities and throwing military planning into confusion。 The Italian economy， the weakest among the Great Powers， was of course quite unable to support his grandiose ambitions。 The final section of the book provides a useful summary of how Italy’s campaign was doomed to disaster， the character of Mussolini himself being not the least of the reasons why。 。。。more
Colin
，
An informative， largely narrative account of Italian military campaigns from the invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 to the armistice with the Allies in 1943。 Rather plodding in places but there was fascinating detail about the armed forces commanders and the horror of the conflicts in Greece， North Africa and Russia。 For me， the most revelatory aspect was the account of the partisan conflicts in the Balkans。 Recommended。
Borna
，
Comprehensive overview of Italy in late 30s and early 40s
Stephen King
，
This is a comprehensive and detailed military history of engagements fought by the Italian armed forces from then early 1920’s until the end of WWII。 As a British reader， my knowledge of WWII has been generally though the Allies’ perspective so it was interesting to view this though the minor partner in the Axis forces。 Gooch is an expert on Italian military history and there is plenty here for the avid military historian from the detailed internecine squabbles of Italian generals to the minutia This is a comprehensive and detailed military history of engagements fought by the Italian armed forces from then early 1920’s until the end of WWII。 As a British reader， my knowledge of WWII has been generally though the Allies’ perspective so it was interesting to view this though the minor partner in the Axis forces。 Gooch is an expert on Italian military history and there is plenty here for the avid military historian from the detailed internecine squabbles of Italian generals to the minutiae of quartermaster supplies in the North African theatre。 For myself there was sadly too much of an emphasis on WWII and very little （comparatively） on the Ethiopian war and Italian East Africa。 Donald Trump shares much of the capriciousness of Mussolini as I write from a 2020 perspective。 Bombastic， a self proclaimed expert on every topic and vain。 I doubt， however， that they will share the same endgame but will no doubt share a similar space in history。 。。。more
David Wasley
，
Mussolini's vision of an empire was way beyond the military and economic capacities of Italy。 Some of his key decisions such as declaring war on the Allies were plain crazy。 This book is a very detailed account of one overly ambitious action after another， with the inevitable results。 It is hard to conclude other than that the Duce was mad。 Mussolini's vision of an empire was way beyond the military and economic capacities of Italy。 Some of his key decisions such as declaring war on the Allies were plain crazy。 This book is a very detailed account of one overly ambitious action after another， with the inevitable results。 It is hard to conclude other than that the Duce was mad。 。。。more
E。 Kahn
，