Italian Armoured & Reconnaissance Cars 1911–45
Italian Armoured & Reconnaissance Cars 1911–45

Author: Filippo Cappellano

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2018-07-26

Total Pages: 49

ISBN-13: 1472824350

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The first Italian armoured cars were used in the war in Libya in 1911-12 against the Ottoman Empire. With few tanks being developed, the Italians relied instead on the development of more mobile armoured cars like the Ansaldo Lancia 1 Z, during World War I, but post-war the army, focusing on the Alpine battlegrounds of Italy's northern borders, did not consider armoured cars suitable for reconnaissance duties. The experience of the Spanish Civil War would provide the much needed last push for the Italians to develop modern armoured cars. The result were the famous AB 41-43 models, which fought against the British in North Africa and Marshall Tito's forces in Yugoslavia, along with other vehicles such as the AS 36 light armoured car. Using detailed colour plates and contemporary photographs, this book examines the development of the Italian armoured car in the two world wars and the inter-war years, from the deserts of North Africa to the slopes of the Alps.

Italian Medium Tanks
Italian Medium Tanks

Author: Filippo Cappellano

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2012-12-20

Total Pages: 84

ISBN-13: 1780961235

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Several factors delayed and greatly hampered the development of an Italian medium tank during World War II. The first was the strategic stance of the country, focussed on a war against neighbouring countries such as France and Yugoslavia, and ill-prepared for a war in the Western Desert. Since these European countries bordered with Italy in mountainous areas, light tanks were preferred as these were deemed much more suitable for the narrow roads and bridges of the Alps. Furthermore, development was hampered by the limited number of Italian industries, whose production was also heavily fragmented. All these factors delayed the development of the first prototype of an Italian medium tank – the M 11 – which would only appear in 1937 and did not enter production until 1939. Although technically inferior to their German and Allied counterparts in 1941–43, the Italian M tanks proved to be quite effective when used by experienced crews with adequate combat tactics. In fact, their major shortcoming actually proved to be their limited production figures. While production was limited, innovation was not and, between 1941 and 1943, several experiments were carried out on the Italian tanks that produced interesting prototypes such as the anti-aircraft semovente.

The Italian Army In North Africa
The Italian Army In North Africa

Author: Walter S. Zapotoczny Jr.

Publisher: Fonthill Media

Published: 2018-08-17

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Previously unpublished analysis of why and how the Italians foughtA look at the role the Italian Army played in North Africa as part of the Deutsches Afrika Korps (German Afrika Korps)In spite of poor leadership, the Italian soldier performed well against all odds in North AfricaProfusely illustrated with many rare and unpublished images ‘The German soldier has impressed the world, however, the Italian Bersagliere soldier has impressed the German soldier.’ Erin Rommel aka ‘The Desert Fox’ When most people think of the Italian Army in North Africa during the Second World War, they tend to believe that the average Italian soldier offered little resistance to the Allies before surrendering. Many suggest that the Italian Army performed in a cowardly manner during the war: the reality is not so simple. The question remains as to whether the Italians were cowards or victims of circumstance. While the Italian soldier’s commitment to the war was not as great as that of his German counterpart, many Italians fought bravely. The Italian Littorio and Ariete Divisions earned Allied admiration at Tobruk, Gazala and EI Alamein. The Italian Army played a significant role as part of the German Afrika Korps and made up a large portion of the Axis combat power in North Africa during 1941 and 1942. In the interest of determining how the Italian Army earned the reputation that it did, it is necessary to analyse why and how the Italians fought.

The First Italian Armoured Cars
The First Italian Armoured Cars

Author: Luca Stefano Cristini

Publisher:

Published: 2023

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9788893279888

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In this first volume devoted to Italian armoured cars, we begin by presenting the earliest and oldest ones. In the beginning, these were mainly models that remained at prototype level, or vehicles produced in very low numbers. Of the many, we have devoted some space to the oldest blindos such as the Bianchi, which was already present in the Italo-Turkish conflict, or the Fiat-Terni Tripoli born in 1918. We then move on to the legend of the Lancia 1Z, a successful vehicle that was born in the First World War and remained operational until 1945! It was a massive vehicle, entirely of Italian design. To share much of the book we close with the Fiat 611 armoured car built in 1932, as was often the case with Ansaldo at the time, and specifically designed for colonial use. It operated mainly in the A.O.I. together with its older sister Lancia 1Z and fast tanks. Over twenty plates of colour profiles by the author complete this book.

Italian Medium Tanks in Action
Italian Medium Tanks in Action

Author: N. Pignato

Publisher: Squadron/Signal Publications

Published: 2001-06-01

Total Pages: 50

ISBN-13: 9780897474269

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Royal Italian Army's 'M' series tanks began with the Fiat-Ansaldo M 11-39 in 1939 and continued with the M13-40, M 14-41 and the M 15-42. Medium tanks served on all Italian fronts during WWII. Although outperformed by most Allied armored vehicles, these tanks and self-propelled guns were Italy's armored defense throughout WWII.

Steel Centurions
Steel Centurions

Author: Paolo Morisi

Publisher: Helion

Published: 2019-05-19

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781911628811

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Forged on the battlefields of France, Greece and North Africa, the Italian Army's armoured units fought effectively despite inferior weapons and equipment and the challenging conditions that they faced This book describes the formation and battle performance of the major armoured units such as the Ariete, Littorio and Centauro divisions together with lesser known special forces such as the motorized X Arditi Regiment and the Raggruppamenti Esploranti, or special reconnaissance units. It traces their development during the 1930s to then focus on their combat experience in France, Greece, Albania, Yugoslavia, East Africa, North Africa, and Sicily. Finally, the book also describes the establishment of the 1. Divisione Corazzata M. Camicie Nere (M Blackshirts Armoured division) of 1943 which was fully equipped with German supplied tanks and self propelled guns. Covering the period between 1940 to 1943, the book reconstructs the history of these units by relying on their war diaries, official histories and other rare archival documents. In some cases, the book also draws from Allied or German archive documents. It is illustrated throughout with rare wartime photographs, maps and detailed descriptions of their formation, training, tactics, weapons and armour.

The Rolls-Royce Armoured Car
The Rolls-Royce Armoured Car

Author: David Fletcher

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2012-04-20

Total Pages: 99

ISBN-13: 1780964021

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The first Rolls-Royce armoured car was a privately owned vehicle fitted with a machine-gun and a limited amount of armour plate, used by the Royal Naval Air Service in Flanders in 1914. By 1915, nearly 100 had been built and turned over to the Army. From then on, as Sir Albert Stern said 'They searched the world for war', operating as far apart as the northwest frontier of India, the Middle East and southern Africa. The cars were fast, quiet and reliable but above all powerful. 'A Rolls in the desert is above rubies,' said Lawrence of Arabia. After World War I, the War Office continued to produce the Rolls-Royce while tinkering with the design. These further cars served all across the Empire, including in Ireland and even later Shanghai, returning for a final brief appearance in the early stages of World War II.This book tells the complete story of the Rolls-Royce Armoured Car, following its design and development as it fought from theatre to theatre during World War I and the turbulent inter-war years.

Tanks
Tanks

Author: Richard Ogorkiewicz

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2015-02-20

Total Pages: 476

ISBN-13: 1472813065

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

From an internationally acclaimed expert in the field comes a detailed, analytical and comprehensive account of the worldwide evolution of tanks, from their inception a century ago to the present day. With new ideas stemming from the latest academic research, this study presents a reappraisal of the development of tanks and their evolution during World War I and how the surge in technological development during World War II and the subsequent Cold War drove developments in armour in Europe and America, transforming tanks into fast, resilient and powerful fighting machines. From the primitive, bizarre-looking Mark V to the Matilda and from the menacing King Tiger to the superlative M1 Abrams, Professor Ogorkiewicz shows how tanks gradually acquired the enhanced capabilities that enabled them to become what they are today – the core of combined-arms, mechanized warfare.

Italian armoured units in France during the second world war
Italian armoured units in France during the second world war

Author: Paolo Crippa

Publisher: Soldiershop Publishing

Published: 2024-10-17

Total Pages: 173

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

During the Second World War, the contribution of the Regio Esercito’s armoured units on the French front was quite marginal and, for this reason, never examined organically. The deployment of tanks in the first days of the conflict in the Alps, however, should have offered important food for thought for the Italian Commands, because serious difficulties were immediately apparent both in the deployment of the tanks used, which proved to be totally inadequate, and in the tactics of armoured units, signs that were completely ignored and that the same errors were perpetuated in the subsequent phases of the conflict. After this early interlude, armoured units were only sent to France in November 1942, to garrison the coasts of southern France and Corsica, precisely with the task of garrisoning an occupied country and, consequently, never deployed in combat. The Armistice of 8 September 1943, however, marked a turning point: while the units deployed in southern France did not take part in any fighting and returned to Italy, the armoured units stationed in Corsica reacted to German attempts to seize key points on the island and engaged in long days of fighting against the former Allies, fighting that ended with the Germans abandoning Corsica.