Paolo Morisi Libri

"The North African campaign was one of the hardest fought episodes of the Second World War, yet the vital part played by the Italian Army - and in particular, its Folgore Parachute Division on behalf of the Axis Alliance - is frequently overlooked. Initially created to emulate the German Fallschirmjager in order to carry out the planned airborne attack against the British base of Malta, Folgore Airborne Division fought on the battlefields of North Africa - including the key Battle of El Alamein. This elite unit distinguished itself at El Alamein despite inadequate equipment and weapons while facing unfavorable odds. This book describes a paratroop unit that earned the respect of its Allied opponents during some of the hardest-fought engagements of North Africa... The volume draws heavily upon both Axis and Allied (Britain and New Zealand) archival sources such as the war diaries and the post-battle reports of the military units engaged in North Africa. It thus sheds new light into one of the most important campaigns of the Second World War. By drawing from archival sources from both sides, it also furnishes a more complete and balanced perspective on a critical juncture in the war such as the Battle of El Alamein"--Publisher information.

'Panzersoldaten!' covers the history of the Blackshirt Division during the campaign on the Eastern Front, focusing on its relations with the Italian Army, the history of the MVSN, and its ultimate retreat from the Eastern Front in 1943. This volume includes over 80 contemporary images.

This is the first account in English of a much-overlooked, but important, First World War battlefront located in the Italian Alps. The author's account includes the main operations and battle tactics of the special assault detachments such as the Italian Arditi units and the Austro-Hungarian storm troopers.

"The North African campaign was one of the hardest-fought episodes of World War Two, yet the vital part played by the Italian Army - and in particular, its Folgore Parachute Division on behalf of the Axis Alliance - is frequently overlooked. Initially created to emulate the German Fallschirmajäger (in order to carry out the planned airborne attack against the British base of Malta),Folgore Airborne Division fought on the battle fields of North Africa - including the key Battle of El Alamein. This elite unit distinguished itself at El Alamein, despite inadequate equipment and weapons, while facing unfavorable odds. This book describes a paratroop unit that earned the respect of its Allied opponents during some of the hardest-fought engagements of North Africa. The key theme of this book is the paratroopers' involvement in the Axis war effort, through an analysis of their training, weaponry and battle tactics; another key focus is an assessment of the Folgore's specific role during the majorbattless of the North African campaign ... By drawing from archaival sources from both sides, it also furnishes a more complete and balanced perspective on a critical juncture in the war, such as the Battle of El Alamein." -- From page [i]

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.