War Through Italian Eyes

<p>There is a popular notion that the Italian armed forces of the Second World War were an inferior fighting force. Despite the vast numbers taken prisoner detailed studies of the experiences of these soldiers remain relatively uncommon and the value of this group to furthering our understanding of the Italian experience of war under Fascism is also rarely acknowledged. The existence in the National Archives of hundreds of pages of transcripts of covert British surveillance of Italian POWs has made it possible to engage with their experiences and opinions in much greater depth. The euphemistically termed ‘Special Reports’ present historians with a unique insight into how all levels of Italian soldiery viewed Fascist Italy’s experience of war 1940-1943. This book examines reactions to Italian political leadership the progress of the war as well as Italian soldiers’ ‘everyday’ views on sex war the enemy death food their allies bravery race and killing. These fascinating documents reveal the complexity of the outlook of these men which persistent – and influential – national stereotypes and historiographical trends fail to acknowledge. </p>