I have 4 relatives who fought in WW2 as part of the italian army. One fought in Albania and then in Russia as part of the Alpine divisions. He lost in life in Russia in 1943. Another one fought in Albania and survived the war. Another one again had quite an eventful experience. He fought in Egypt where he was taken prisoner in December 1940. Later on, when the Axis forces advanced again into Egypt, he was freed alongside other italian and german POWs. After several months he was sent back to North Africa, where he was taken prisoner again in Tunisia in 1943, when the last Italo-german forces were defeated. This time he was sent to Australia, to a prisoner camp. He came back home only in 1947. Poor dude was traumatized because he shot an english soldier who was captured and later died due to the injury, during a fight in Africa. Being a strong believer in christian values he always wondered whether god would have forgiven him. Last relative who fought in the war was very lucky. I dunno where he fought or if he fought at all, but at some point after Italy signed the peace with the allies he, alongside many italian soldiers, was taken prisoner by the german soldiers and sent to a prison camp in Austria. Near the end of the war some prisoners tried to escape, also killing some german guards in the attempt. Some managed to flee, but unfortunatly my relative was captured and sent back to the camp. He and some others were about to be executed, and the german officers asked them if they had a last wish. He asked for a cigarette and started smoking. While he was smoking a german officer arrived at the camp driving a car and started announcing something in german. The german troops started yelling stuff but the other prisoners didn't understand what was going on, until someone who knew german translated and said peace with germany had been signed and war was over. The soldiers just forgot about the execution and let the prisoners go. My relative felt so lucky that he went to german soldier who was supposed to shoot him and asked him the bullet that he was about to shoot. The soldier agreed and gave it to him, my relative kept it with him for all his life as some sort of lucky charm. I still have it in my library to this day

"Bad equipment": My grandfather was a German soldier but he had to drive an Italian tank (Fiat, I think). The tank broke down all the time and he missed a lot of battles, spending his time in repair shops instead. Back then he was so ashamed of this that he often didn't even mention driving a tank at all when he met friends or relatives, because they would immediately ask if he drove a Panther or a Tiger or something. But later on he became very thankful. And I am thankful too, maybe I owe my life to this small, ill-designed and poorly constructed tank.

My brother in law's father was an Australian soldier guarding a group of Italian prisoners in North Africa when one yelled out 'hey Bill'. It was a guy he went to school with from an Italian family, he went back to Italy for a holiday and was drafted into the Italian army. True story.

My uncle, who fought in the war, said 'People who say that Italians couldn't fight never fought the Italians'.

I’m so happy to see this channel almost hit 1 million subs. Been here since day 1. Who else discovered this channel by accident and now love this?

My paternal Grandfather was a soldier in the Italian army in North Africa. My maternal Grandfather was an 8th Army Desert Rat. They both got on like a house on fire.

Mark, for giving the Italians a fair judgment you have my sympathy.

My Father fought the Italians and Germans all the way through Africa and Italy. He very much respected the Italians

History has shown time and again to NEVER underestimate your enemy.

British Field Marshal Slim of Burma fame was said to be "tolerant of most things but he would never allow Italian jokes in his presence." He fought against them in Abyssinia. General O'Connor who led Operation Compass respected the Italians as he fought with them during World War 1.

It is the first time I believe that I hear a renown historian speaking well of the Italian army in 1939-1943. I praise Mr Felton. My grand father fought the Italians on the Mont Cenis in 1940 and always reported they were fighting courageously, attacking the fort he served in uphill with little chance of success. And they were average alpine troops, not the Bersagliere. Hearing the comments post war, my grand father had the impression he fought a full regiment of Arditi!

I read all the stories about Italian 'cowardice' then (some 30 years ago) read the history of the 2nd Battle of El Alamein and how the Ariete (132nd) Armored Division basically fought nearly to the death at some 20:1 odds holding off the British 8th Army for an entire day allowing the rest of the DAK and Italian 20th Corps to retreat. Nothing cowardly about it. It should also never be overlooked that most of the Italian armed forces operated without appropriate stocks of fuel (and Germany wasn't sharing) which compounded things.

"Sir, their weapons are obsolete, their tanks aren't fit for purpose, their morale is low.... But god damn it, they look *fabulous* "

Italy also had terrible military leadership, German generals even said the Italian soldiers performed amazingly with German leaders

This film shows how brave those guys were, knowing their tanks were poor but pressing on despite the ods.

My father was born during the invasion of Sicily and almost lost his life. The hospital was being bombarded as my grandma was giving birth

"Others gave up without a fight". My grandfather was there. He told me years ago that they had a 90 mm AA gun with only 10 shells. They shot all they got and then tried to defend the position with their rifles but they had low ammo, too. So they simply gave up after some hours of fight. We still have a photo of him sitting in front of an american soldier who took him in pow.

Finally someone who don' t trashtalk about italians in WW2 and tell history how it should be, not like so many that are just blinded by Hollywood movies or random """"historian"""" youtubers. Bravo and keep up your documentaries, i love them!

My maternal grandfather fought alongside the Italians as part of the Afrika Korps, and I know he rated them as getting great and courageous allies, whilst thinking incredibly highly of the British and ANZACs whom he was captured by in Tunisia 1943. It was always a strange feeling growing up with grandfathers on both sides of the war, but I learned a lot about how much respect they had for one another and that led me to become a better person in many ways. It certainly led to my love of channels like this where I can see a great historian in pursuit of the truth. I love learning from here.

My father fought with the Eight Army in the Western Desert during WW2. He had a high regard for the Italian soldier & told me once that the Italian soldiers almost beat them in a couple of battles. It was only the Germans retreating that saved the British forces as the Italians kept fighting in a hopeless position until ordered to withdraw by Rommel himself.

"Ferrea mole, ferreo cuore" "Iron bulk, iron heart" Italian tankers motto

As he says, they were fighting a war they were unprepared for.......That is the first and most deadly mistake you can make......

As Italian I thank once again Dr. Mark Felton for his historical researches and films: they are always well balanced as only a British man might be. I am particularly grateful to Dr Mark Felton for the history about the Italian Army in Japan, after the 8th of Semptember 1943, when suddenly the Japanese Army because ... how to say... not friendly to Italy... that was a completely unknown story to me... I believe that the greatest achievement of European Union, among many failures (first of all the elephantiac bureaucracy) is the fact that nowadays no European man of whatsoever country would ever imagine or think about an European war among European states. Europe is the lighthouse of the Western Civilization and persons like Dr Mark Felton or our Italian historian Dr. Alessandro Barbero are the new Heroes of our Common Memory. Let all remember, what Marco Tullio Cicerone said already couple of thousand years ago: *Nescire autem quid ante quam natus sis acciderit, id est semper esse puerum* Which means, more or less: "ignoring whatever happened before you were born, it means to be always a baby". Thank you very Dr Felton!

That Chad R35 that got nearly to the beach was pretty heroic. Remember they were defending their homeland.

Rommel thought well of Italian soldiers under his command in North Africa. As long as they were competently led

The Italians and also Spanish volunteers fought well in Russia during the war . I could be wrong but I think the last horse cavalry charge of WW2 was by the Italians against a Russian artillery position - which they took . Brave lads .

That driver of Navarri's tank had some brass ones. He had to know he would be killed restarting that tank.

Another great forgotten bit of history shared by Mark Felton. The Italians did get a bum rap in history. Their elite naval commando units certainly gave the Royal Navy a hard time!

"Italian Armoured Death Ride" sounds like a good name for a band.

For the life of me, I cannot understand why someone would dislike Dr. Felton’s material. Pure history without bias; what we need more of. They’ve got to be trolls. Thank you again Mark!

The driver got out to re-start the tank with a crank-handle while under fire...!

Mark, a great irony here is that some 1.5 Italian-Americans served in US forces during WWII, some 10% of the total, many of them first generation like a few of my uncles. So likely there were some in Patton's forces in this very battle. At that time, our family had members on both sides of the ocean in both the Italian army and the US Army and Marines. My father's first cousin, Carmine Pirro, a US Naval Seal, went MIA on the beach at Anzio in early 1944, not far from his parents home town. Reflect on the irony of this. My uncle Pasquale was killed on Luzon in 1945 as a member of the 35th US Infantry Regiment. I appreciate the suffering of the victims of the War, and such dark forces unleashed left little option. But let's not forget that this is no longer a way to resolve our problems in an interdependent world at the level of existential crises we now face. I challenge you to post in your stories here some examples where nonviolent tactics and heroism were also effective in some instances during the war. These stories deserve to come to the light.

Italy adopted the French Adrian helmet in WW1, and was soon producing a version of their own by the wars end, in construction, it resembled more the later French 1926 model, a single stamped bowl with brim and a seperate comb attached. In WW2 these were used for 2nd line units like those encountered in Sicily .

I was told a story by an Italian veteran. He said when he and his crew were sent to pick up his new tank, they found the armour had fallen off. The armour was attached with nuts and bolts which had worked themselves lose during the voyage from Italy to Africa. So before they could do anything, they had to reattach the plates. For some strange reason he said he never had much confidence in the protective abilities of his tank.

Many thanks for this video. My father was Lieutenant in Divisione Livorno, 33th Regiment.. he told me a lot of memories about the Battle of Gela. I’m always proud of him. Two years ago I went with my family to Sicily for holidays and.. sure, we were not so far from Gela, so we went to see around the sites of the Battle. With us a sicilian friend, very passionate about Second World War history, in particular of Operation Husky. It was a very emotional visit for me.

Its so refreshing to see videos like this that actually show Italy and her military might instead of just memes and jokes. Thank you for this, please keep it up 👍🏽🇮🇹

My great grandfather fought in the Charge of the Savoia Cavalleria at Izbushensky one of the Royal Italian Armies finest hours. He was part of a cavalry charge which routed a numerically superior Soviet force while sustaining few casualties. Considered one of the last great cavalry charges. He told me they would sing Imperial Roman Army chants as they went into battle. He would escape to Colombia after WW2 with other Italians. He had alot of memorabilia of Soviet,German and Royal Italian pieces.

The Italian military suffered from three problems. The first problem was their equipment. With a few exceptions their equipment was either antiquated or poorly designed. Logistics, while the Italians actually had a very good truck made by Fiat there just wasn't enough of them. Leadership, the fat cats at the top just weren't up to the task. Lower ranked officers were usually pretty good and the troops when abley lead and reasonably equipped performed as well as any other Army in World War II. As for the morale issue the Italians just didn't have their heart and the war fighting on the Axis side.Add to that the Germans treated them like a redheaded stepchild and you have a recipe for disaster.

I heard the Italians were exceptional gunners as well. Good Pilots too.

Thank you Mr Felton, for having the decency of saying what can be easily heard in this video. Your kindness and honesty are an excellent match to your competence and skill as an author and videographer. Cheers and take care,

Refreshing to have the Italian Military as a subject on your channel. Perhaps some stories related to the Japanese Military. Great story..thank you.

Proof that any tank can be a 'Tiger' when the other side has almost nothing to stop it.

My dad was in a mechanized infantry battalion under Patton. He was in North Africa and in Sicily. But he never talked about those experiences, not a single word. So the only insight I have into those battles is second hand. Thanks for a good presentation, Mark.

Thank you Mark Felton, in the name of many italian soldiers who fights with honour.

My father flew in an RAF Beaufort torpedo bomber squadron stationed on Malta in early '42. He said he was very impressed with the courage displayed by the Italian aircrews that flew over the Island. He said they had to fly through some pretty horrendous flak and although they'd lose numerous aircraft during these raids they'd just close up the gaps in their formations, stay on course and keep going.

5:43 The helmets were not French but rather (Italian) WW1 issue. The "Coastal Divisions" (Divisioni Costiere) were issued very old equipment.

Thank you, Sir, for the respectful explanation about the Italians.

Well done Mark. As a retired US Army Armor officer and Vietnam combat veteran I never knew this and can always count on you to teach me something with every video you make sir. Take care and God bless.

The Italians called their own tanks “self propelled coffins.”

Remember this at El Alamein, germans run when they understood how overwhelming where the odds, the italians fight until certain units lost 95% of their complements, and only surrender when they where out of water/ammo.

History We don't get to know anywhere else .Most soldiers from every nation fought bravely and many died unrecognized for their valiance and none more so than the Italians . This has to be probably one of the Best Channels on KZfaq , Facts ! Not Speculation or Hype . Thanks Mark , Stay Safe & Stay Well !

I'am austrian and my advise is as follows - never underestimate the alpini

love you Mark!! I'm an Italian American and love learning about this stuff.

You had me at Italian armored death ride.

Have read many accounts from Canadian and other regiments that fought across Italy in WW2, including a history of the famed First Special Service Force. The fighting was brutal and daunting and it was a toss up as to which were the tougher opponents, the Germans or the Italians.

One thing I really like about Felton's videos is that you give credit and always mention the presence of minor countries (ex. Italy, Canada, Australia etc.) instead of lumping them in with bigger powers. I appreciate the academic honesty and it adds a lot to your integrity.

“The German soldier has astonished the world; the Italian Bersagliere has astonished the German soldier” -Erwin Rommel/someone who wasn’t Erwin Rommel

Cool story. But even if they had Panthers, I don't see how a handful of tanks could capture and hold a town without logistics and infy.

Professor Felton always goes above & beyond with his history of WW2 . Thank you Professor for your shear brilliance particularly in covering areas like the Italian combat academy with wrechet equipment yet totally fighting hard against the allies?

Great episode! It shows that the Italian tanks did NOT have 5 gears (1 forward and 4 reverse). I loved the bit about the starting handle, like my dad's Singer car had. Unfortunately, he did not get shot in the head.

My father was actually there in Sicily as part of the U.S. 7th Army, so some of those machine gun bullets raking the tanks might have come from his 30-cal Browning (he was a squad leader, and gunner, of a 5 man machine gun squad).

You say: "Some Italian soldiers wore French helmets". Actually, those are Adrian helmets of French design, that were standard Italian equipment in the Italian Army in Wolrd War One and until the Thirties.

Hi Dr. Felton, I'm Italian and this is one of my favourite war stories... Thank you so much for this amazing video! 👍👋 P.S. sorry for the bad english

My US Marine unit was temporarily sharing an outpost in Iraq with an Italian Carabinieri unit. Super nice guys, interesting equipment, better rations which gladly traded for. One our guys was from Italy and spoke the language too. It felt good to represent the US with honor and professionalism.

The two man crew was enough to make this a horrible tank and the fact that the Italians still managed to use it well is a great feat

The biggest problem with the Italians wasn't their lack of bravery, poor equipment, or iffy feelings about being aligned to Germany, it was the extremely poor leadership from the officer corps which would not break from the ww1 battlefield tactics. The Italians performed well under German leadership even up to the end of the war in northern Italy

I always had a feeling that there was an element of stretching the truth to say the least about the perceived "cowardess" of the Italian Armed Forces. The bravery of Italian Midget Submarine crews is another thing that has been overlooked

The Italians were let down by circumstances that aren't their fault; circumstances many nations in the war suffered from at various times, if only people bothered to read up on such things a bit more. In my case, one of my favourite generals, Wavell, has his amazing achievements in Africa seriously discounted because the Italians aren't taken seriously as an opponent for him, when in reality his achievement was pretty astonishing.

Thank you so much, Dr. Felton, I grow tired of the seemingly never-ending disparaging remarks made by both so called 'Historians' and the average Joe alike. I look forward to hearing more stories of WWII Italian valor on your (truly outstanding) channel in future episodes. Much respect, Dr. Felton.

When properly led, the Italians fought well.

My Grandpa was part of the 🇨🇦 forces that liberated Italy. He would never discuss the war. I only knew he had enlisted underage by a few years & he drove a jeep. (And that after the war he would not eat corned beef under any circumstances !) Videos like this help give me an idea of the general circumstances he was possibly in.

What a ride. It's a shame that the last guy died. He was one brave tanker. I remember from my time in NATO that the Italians had a reputation of being a little bit crazy. I'm glad we have them on our side now!

The Decima (X) MAS, Decima Arditi, Paracadutisti, San Marco, even their Bersaglieri were to be feared and respected.

It cannot be overstated how brave they were to keep going in the face of naval artillery rounds landing around them. In the same battle a column of far superior German Tiger tanks was repulsed by gunfire from the cruiser USS Savannah.

Thank you SO MUCH for your high-quality documentaries. Much better than anything on television these days. Thank you, such a bright light!

Another example of Italian bravery is the Siege of Giarabub.

Italian frogmen were way ahead of the allied in WW2

Despite everything the Italian Army fought bravely.

Dr. Felton's Channels are easily some of the greatest educational tools on the internet

Thanks for covering parts of war that are generally "forgotten" on purpose

Here before Mark reaches 1M Subs!

When I see a Mark Felton video I can’t click any quicker

You've got to appreciate the fact that the allies took help from the american mafia to establish a connection with the Sicilians..

As always, your objective and even-handed approach to events not only does you credit, it also results in a very informative and educational piece. Thanks Mark.

It’s really great to hear more about the Italians and about the stuff they did which seems to be glossed over.

I love everything about this KZfaq channel, keep it up!

I found your channel about 3 months ago and have been binge watching most of your videos and it's refreshing to watch something educational that gives me that old History Channel Documentary feel. Can't wait for you to hit 1 Million Subs you deserve it Mark have a good rest of your day and thank you for providing us with these videos.

I love this. Reminds me of the good old Battlefield series. Low-key effects/music, lots of original footage. No more drama than that which has already been provided by history. Thumbs up =)

Italy squandered the resources needed to properly upgrade their equipment when they committed so heavily to the Spanish Civil War. They were essential to Franco's victory but that favour was never properly returned.

Hey Mark I just got this notification its says it has been up 3 minutes and you already have 850 views that's pretty damn good buddy. Cheers

The story of little obsolete Italian tanks taking on bigger enemy tanks....is pretty much the entire Italian Ww2 experience.

The Italian who got out and actually managed to restart the tank manually under heavy fire must've been some soldier...

I am amazed at how allied propaganda still permeates the western ethos even in the 21st century. Not just from WW2 but even those who still believe propaganda from the Napoleonic wars. Napoleon Bonaparte was not abnormally short. The paradigm created by the media and Hollywood in particular; has become unshakeable in movie audiences. This channel, along with those open minded individuals who watch, subscribe and comment are to be commended for their objectivity.

Rommel considered the Ariete and Trieste Divisions among the best formations under his command.

My most sincere respect and gratitude for your words about the Italian Army and soldiers during WW2. They honor, gained and defended at an high cost of blood and lives, is attacked on daily bases by everyday historians, ww2 videogames players and illiterate people. I really hate to read such unrespectful comments, especially in regards to those who lost their lives in such brave combats. Thanks for giving back something to their memory.

This channel is a gold mine!

A new Mark Felton video! It makes my afternoon.

Mark, I’d love to here more stories from the invasion of Sicily. It’s a campaign that’s often glossed over, especially here in America. My grandfather participated in the invasion, serving as a sailor aboard the USS Andromeda. I never met him, but my dad tells me that, as an Italian-American, he was very proud of his role in helping to liberate “the old country.” Incidentally his-and my-last name is Messina.

Amazing research, writing and editing. Always fully appreciated. Thank you.

Mark, my father-in-law fought in the R.E. in Yugoslavia against Red partisans, and the R.S.I. 3rd Regiment, V Company. He was an officer and never once said anything about low moral, or spoke against Mussolini. He was a solider and did his job. I know through my own research that most officers did not really fight in the front leading their men, but my father-in-law did. Wounded a total of five times leading his men and earned two Silver Medals for Valor and both were stripped from him due to his service with the R.S.I. And they always followed him no matter what. He was honorable and fought a clean war. He improvised, adapted and overcame everything despite the odds against him and his men. Although he was captured by the Germans he held no ill will towards them. He escaped in 43 and continued to fight against who was invading his country and that is about it regarding what is popularly believed. When it was all over, he was tried here in Italy and reduced in rank to Lt. and even-though he was set free he was still harassed by the Red Italian Partisans after the war when he was unarmed. Lucky for him he was not killed. I always like your videos, especially those about the Italians. Too many historians have simply written them off as a bunch of cowards. Thank you for keeping it real.