Dropped once, never fired.
During both wars in fact, in WWI they played both sides before joining the Allies who offered them the better deal - not that either side actually wanted them, they just didn't want to have to keep an eye on their respective border with Italy. Then there was the first time they came up against decent troops... the only thing that delayed the German advance through northern Italy was the amount of prisoners they took.
The Italians did perform absolutely abysmally in the war. A few isolated units (the Bersaglieri) fought well, but the vast majority were just rank amateurs at warfare. I think that perhaps this is why historians tend to deride the Italians under Mussolini generally. You have, essentially, three military campaigns undertaken and three failures (North Africa, Southern France and the Balkans). Oh, and let's not forget how the Italian air force bombed their own ships during the Battle of Taranto.
During both wars in fact, in WWI they played both sides before joining the Allies who offered them the better deal - not that either side actually wanted them, they just didn't want to have to keep an eye on their respective border with Italy. Then there was the first time they came up against decent troops... the only thing that delayed the German advance through northern Italy was the amount of prisoners they took.
*MySmiley*
Robert Graves "There is no money in poetry, but then there is no poetry in money, either."
Henning Mankell "We must defend the open society, because if we start locking our doors, if we let fear decide, the person who committed the act of terror will win"
Robert Graves "There is no money in poetry, but then there is no poetry in money, either."
Henning Mankell "We must defend the open society, because if we start locking our doors, if we let fear decide, the person who committed the act of terror will win"
A.J.P. Taylor, The Origins of the Second World War
- 11/05/2011 04:55:49 PM
1270 Views
Interesting - I'm about two thirds of the way through it at the moment
- 11/05/2011 05:18:36 PM
691 Views
"Great minds think alike" or "Fools seldom differ"?
- 11/05/2011 08:03:52 PM
720 Views
I always fear the latter
- 12/05/2011 12:12:29 AM
729 Views
Ah, this reminds me of the old jokes
- 12/05/2011 04:58:07 AM
700 Views
Italian army rifle for sale...
- 12/05/2011 10:22:50 AM
777 Views
I was forced a few years back in a discussion on wotmania to look into Italy in WW1.
- 12/05/2011 10:20:29 PM
900 Views
Is it an academic work?
- 11/05/2011 05:23:11 PM
673 Views
This is a pain in the ass...
- 11/05/2011 10:31:09 PM
933 Views
I've heard Pat Buchanan talking about his book and wondered about it
- 11/05/2011 11:16:03 PM
839 Views
Re: I've heard Pat Buchanan talking about his book and wondered about it
- 12/05/2011 12:47:50 PM
844 Views