Steel Centurions, Italian Armoured Formations of the Second World War 1940-43, By Paolo Morisi

ColHessler · Oct 5, 2023

Length: 439 pages, including index

Morisi gives us a thorough picture of the forming of Italy's armored forces, starting with World War I, and Italy buying French Schneider and Renault tanks for training, but Italy ends up not using them in battle. Armor gets the short shrift between the wars between hidebound older generals who don't think a mountainous country like Italy could use tanks, as well as tight military budgets which don't allow for much development.

It's in Ethiopia and Spain that, especially the latter, that Italy's small force of lightly armed tanks gets used, and ignites interest in the upper echelons of command, but nothing really comes of it.

Morisi then gives us a breakdown of each campaign, from 1940 in Southern France, to Greece and Yugoslavia, plus a brief talk about the Italian part in Russia, and how Italy's light and underpowered tanks fared, from bad to middling results. Most of the work talks of course about North Africa. Italy invades Egypt in 1941 and gets as far as Mersa Matruh before their supply line gives out. The British push them back, then Rommel comes.

The Italians learn the hard way how they should have done better with tank design and engines but make up for it with the Semovente self-propelled guns, akin to the German Sturmgeschutz, both with 75mm and 90mm guns, as well as a 90mm dual purpose gun mounted on a truck chassis.

Morisi devotes a whole section to the El Alamein battles and breaks down day-by-day battles with the Italian and British formations. From there, we go back to Tunisia and fight the Americans, who in their manuals give some praise to Italian anti-tank vehicles and the Semovente.

From there, we have the Sicily operation, and the charge of Italian manned Renault tanks at Gela. Italy tries to reform armored forces with the Blackshirt Armored Division and the 135th Armored Division. Italy falls before they can do anything.

We have some black and white photos in the middle of the book of vehicles and personnel, and in the back, some dispatches from Rommel praising the Italian fighting spirit, plus a roll call of honor for officers and men who received the Medallia d'Oro, most posthumously.

He does mention the P-40 tank, which would have brought Italy on par with Allied tanks but gives no pictures of it. Plus, there are some problems in translation with regard to sentence structure, but overall this would give the reader and very good picture of what Italian tankers had to use and deal with. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.