ISBN 1-904897-01-0
ix + 480 pages

Foreword; Introduction; photos; maps; tables; charts; diagrams; color plates; Index

   This was not the only handbook on foreign military forces prepared and published by the U.S. Army during the war, nor is it the only one reprinted. Readers can still track down, for example, fairly recent commercial printings of Handbook on German Military Forces and Handbook on Japanese Military Forces. The British War Office also published similar handbooks on French, German, and Soviet forces. Most of those reprinted handbooks are available through Battery Press.
   All of the handbooks share a couple of common traits. First, each one attempted to gather, organize, and present all the information about the armed forces of a particular nation. Second, they all suffered to some extent because certain information could not be discovered during wartime conditions and because some information could be misinterpreted by analysts preparing the volume. Those drawbacks were especially true when a handbook covered the military forces of an enemy nation.
   As far as Allied planners and commanders were concerned, this volume on the Italian armed forces was probably something of a bust. Because it was prepared while Italy remained an Axis power, the information could not have always been one hundred percent accurate or complete. In addition, because Italy surrendered within about a month of the handbook's publication date, the information retained little relevance for Allied officers who faced German forces almost exclusively during the remainder of the campaign in Italy.
   All these years after the war, however, readers and researchers will want to look at this book from a different perspective.
   The book is divided into twelve chapters, with one covering the Regia Aeronautica but nothing on the Italian Navy:

Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Recruitment and Mobilization
Chapter 3. Organization
Chapter 4. Services, Supply, and Transportation
Chapter 5. Ranks, Uniforms, and Insignia and Identification
Chapter 6. Armaments and Equipment
Chapter 7. Air Force
Chapter 8. Tactics
Chapter 9. Permanent Fortifications
Chapter 10. Camouflage
Chapter 11. Abbreviations
Chapter 12. Miscellaneous

   Each chapter is divided into one or more sections. For example, chapter 3 includes fourteen sections, such as Command and Staff, Administration, Higher Units, Infantry, Cavalry, etc. The information in each section ranges from fairly general to more detailed. Here's an example of what the handbook has to say about employment of Italian cavalry in one sub-section, in this case not all of it extremely timely or precise:

   81. Employment.—a. General.—The principal mission of the Italian cavalry is that of reconnaissance, and, in case of necessity, to exploit advantages, close gaps, etc. It maneuvers mounted and fights mounted or dismounted. Horse cavalry frequently acts as mounted infantry or as dismounted machine-gun squadrons, in support of other units. Most cavalry depots have formed dismounted squadron groups which are employed on coast or home defense, mainly in southern Italy and the Islands. Its fire power has been lessened by the withdrawal of the squadron of light tanks from the regiment and the transfer of this squadron to the light tank regiment of the armored division.
   b. In Albania and Greece.—Although there were three cavalry regiments in Albania at the beginning of hostilities, their use was limited. A very limited secondary use of the Italian cavalry was evident during the first phase of the Italian penetration. The same inactivity was noted during the period of Italian retirement. During the period of Italian defense, the presence of cavalry was established only in mountainous regions.

   On the other hand, information about armaments and equipment tends to be considerably more detailed. The information on signal communications, for example, contains numerous illustrations, diagrams, and much tabular data about a variety of specific types of equipment.
   Several more or less comparable volumes about various aspects of the Italian ground forces have been produced in English by other publishers. Some of the material in those volumes overlaps the contents of this Handbook on the Italian Military Forces and some of the material nicely complements what's in this book. Here's a quick rundown of how this handbook compares to some other volumes about the Italians. Note that other than Trye's book (and he almost falls into this category), these are essentially hobbyist publications, which tends to sum up the state of English-language research on the Italian war effort.
   Italian Order of Battle (three volumes) by George Nafziger and Italian Order of Battle by Victor Madeja. These volumes focus almost exclusively on OB and TOE data with identification, commanders, components, brief battle history, etc for multitudes of Italian units. The WWII handbook doesn't attempt to identify nearly as many formations, and its TOE data, while quite impressive, extends only to generic tabular data rather than specific names/IDs for components of individual units. Madeja's book also includes some of the same color plates of Italian uniforms from the handbook.
   Mussolini's Soldiers by Rex Trye. Trye's book looks at the Italian Army mostly from the vantage of the individual soldier, what he wore, and what he could expect (such as rations) while he served. Even so, there's considerable overlap. Trye outlines the organization and doctrine of infantry, cavalry, armor, and other kinds of units, and he gives specifications for various Italian armaments, but—again—with an emphasis on individual weapons and gear. Mussolini's Soldiers includes some of the same color plates of Italian uniforms along with a considerably wider selection of photos of Italian militaria.
   Mare Nostrum by Jack Greene, which is a revised edition of his earlier Handbook on the Italian Army in World War II. Greene takes a slightly different approach, looking mostly at units (and battles) of the war in North Africa and including some data about German forces. He provides some generic TOE data, many organigrams, and in-depth OB/TOE information for specific battles. Unlike the other volumes, the author also covers Italian naval and air forces in the Med and North Africa. He ties everything together with brief essays on topics related to Mussolini's units.
   Where does that leave the Handbook on the Italian Military Forces? Clearly there has not yet been one thorough, complete, and professional compendium of detailed data about the Italian armed forces in the English language that reigns as the leading source, nor has their been the number of books on the Italian military to compare with the avalanche of material on American, British, or German forces. That's all the more reason—although Battery's reprint suffers slightly from its wartime origins, and although it partly overlaps newer material from other sources—this volume will unquestionably expand the knowledge of all but the most expert of Italian military enthusiasts.
   Not to be missed by anyone studying the Italian armed forces.
   Available from online booksellers, local bookshops, or directly from Battery Press.
   Thanks to Battery for providing this review copy.