ITALIAN OFFICER - WWII

The Kingdom of Italy entered World War II in 1940, with an armed conflict with France and Great Britain. Of course, the Italian officer corps stood at the head of the Italian army of 59 divisions. In fairness it must be said that despite the exceptions, a significant part of it in the 1920s and 1930s was more concerned with the experiences of the Great War than considering what the future war might look like. Still, the main strength of the land forces was primarily infantry and artillery, even if steps were taken to motorize and mechanize the Italian army. It should also be added that probably several of the highest Italian commanders were aware of the lack of economic and military preparation of Italy for the war and were reluctant to the conflict with France and Great Britain. The Italian officer corps also had serious problems with the adequate motivation of its soldiers, despite a few glorious exceptions (Bersalier units or the Folgore division). Despite the generally gloomy image of the Italian officer corps, there were glorious exceptions, such as Gen. Giuseppe de Stefanis - a World War I veteran, commander of the 24th Infantry Division in 1941 during the fighting in Greece (where his division did very well), and later inter alia, the commander of mechanized units (eg 132 "Ariete" Panzer Division), and finally the Italian XX Corps during the fighting at El-Alamein.