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World War II Partisan Warfare in Italy, by Pier Paolo Battistelli & Piero Crociani

Discussion in 'ETO, MTO and the Eastern Front' started by ColHessler, Oct 16, 2019.

  1. ColHessler

    ColHessler Member

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    Length: 64 pages

    Osprey Books can be a hit and miss affair, and this is one of the misses.

    The authors forget how little space they have to work in, and try to cram in too much.

    We start with September of 1943, and Italian troops who aren't rounded up by the Germans melt into the hills to carry on the fight. The Germans, and their Italian Fascist allies, don't react quickly enough to the new foe. A bewildering array of forces, on both sides of this, both Communist and democratic partisans, and Axis units, both police and military, end up slugging it out, while the Allied front claws its way up the peninsula. The SOE and OSS provide advice and support to the freedom fighters, whom the Germans contemptuously call "bandits".

    Our first sign of trouble, for the reader that is, is the nearly two-page table of abbreviations we have thrown at us early on. Plus there are two maps with a lot of dots and numbered circles to denote anti-partisan operations and liberated zones.

    The illustrations are terrific and give us good detail on patches and uniforms. We also get a nice set of photos of the antagonists.

    Overall, I give this 2.5-stars. It has some good insight into tactics, but overall, be prepared to flip back and forth a lot.
     
    belasar likes this.
  2. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    Does it mention the Mafia?
     
  3. ColHessler

    ColHessler Member

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    Sicily had already been liberated, silly.
     
  4. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    But the legend is the Mafia did partisan work against the Germans before the invasion of Sicily. I have this on good authority, a somewhat loud and rather tipsy Sicilian in the town of Corleone.
     
  5. ColHessler

    ColHessler Member

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    The book covers the time from after the Italian surrender in September of 1943.
     
  6. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    Ah, danke.

    I've never heard a Sicilian tell a lie, of course.
     
  7. bronk7

    bronk7 Well-Known Member

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    ..I have an Osprey Military book Normandy 1944....about 90 pages and sounds just like your book ....just an ''overview'' type of book
    ..I enjoyed Italy's Sorrow..it had some partisan warfare in it/etc
     

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