"Italian Co-Belligerent Forces" Topic
10 Posts
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Bunkermeister | 26 Mar 2023 7:10 p.m. PST |
In reading about the Italian Campaign in the Official US Army History of WWII, Salerno to Cassino, they mentioned Italian infantry as co-belligerent forces. Any photographs of them? What uniform did they wear, what helmet, what weapons did they carry? I suspect they were like the Free French with nearly all US kit but with the occasional Italian cap, or helmet, maybe Italian SMG or British Bren or something like that. But that's just a guess on my part. Is there an Osprey book? Thank. Mike Bunkermeister Creek |
Frederick | 26 Mar 2023 7:53 p.m. PST |
As I recall the Italian Co-Belligerent Army initially used their Italian uniforms but as time went on they had British uniform, helmet and kit – I am guessing likely British small arms as well given that their artillery were all British 6 pdrs and 25 pdrs link link |
slugbalancer | 27 Mar 2023 3:01 a.m. PST |
The book The Allied Forces in Italy 1943-45 by Guido Rosignoli has some info on them. link |
79thPA | 27 Mar 2023 6:13 a.m. PST |
Interesting. I don't recall ever hearing of these guys. |
Andrew LA | 27 Mar 2023 7:55 a.m. PST |
There is a very good article about the "Allied" Italian army after 1943 by Greg Novak in Commmnd Post Quarterly No.10 with unit organisations etc. Initially they used Italian weapons, equipment, uniforms etc but by the fall of Rome in 1944 these had run out. The British then took over the job of re-equipping the Italians so they would have used British battledress and equipment with Italian rank badges and shoulder patches. All Weapons would have been British including artillery (they did not give them tanks or armoured cars). The Bersaglieri attached their traditional feathers to British helmets. |
deadhead | 27 Mar 2023 8:28 a.m. PST |
The Co-Belligerent forces (Army, Navy and Air Force) get much less attention than their fascist equivalent further north, but performed creditably in the Italian campaign. Indeed British uniforms universally, (even paratroop units in UK kit) with the modifications for Besaglieri, Alpini etc. Osprey cover them, but only as a part of the entire war history. |
Martin Rapier | 27 Mar 2023 10:42 a.m. PST |
BD with Bersaglieri hats! Great fun. |
robert piepenbrink | 27 Mar 2023 11:24 a.m. PST |
Sadly, no joy for me, since in 6mm, you couldn't tell them from British, and they're only present in a slog of a campaign. But am I correct in my understanding that they were cadred from royal Italian units not captured by the Germans when the Armistice was proclaimed? And that no POWs were released to join them? Might be a chance for some "mix and match" if you built a platoon in 28mm. Mike, I think the agreement on the forces unable to arm themselves was that the US did France and Brazil, while the British did Poles, Italians, Czechs, Dutch and such--with, of course, all tanks coming out of US production. (You do see some oddities in high-number French units, since they raised more in 44-45 than the US had committed to provide equipment for. Hence the French armored units with German, British and 1940 French tanks, for example. |
Bunkermeister | 27 Mar 2023 3:06 p.m. PST |
robert piepenbrink I do 1/72nd scale figures so I am looking for some mix and match. It looks like Italian kit mostly for the first few months and then a mixture of UK and a little US kit, Thompson SMG for example. When I do a "national" unit equipped with "foreign" equipment I always give them a few guys with their national helmet, hat, maybe flag, and a vehicle or two. I know the Free French always seem to have a few guys with Adrian helmets, a kepi or two, and maybe and armored car they took back from the Germans. Mike Bunkermeister Creek |
Martin Rapier | 28 Mar 2023 1:05 a.m. PST |
Re the Thompson in Italy, British troops kept Thompsons in the Med until the end of the war, just as they did in the Far East. Some sort of supply issue/solution. In NWE I was generally Commandos who used them instead of Stens. |
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