Why Did Italy Join Operation Barbarossa?

Italy in World War II was with the Axis Powers after signing the Triparte Pact. That didn't automatically mean that Italy had to join the German invasion of the USSR that started on 22 June 1941. Yet, Mussolini was willing to send the Italian Army to the Eastern Front. This formation was known as the Italian Expeditionary Corps (Corpo di Spedizione Italiano in Russia, or CSIR). One year later the The Italian Army in Russia (Italian: Armata Italiana in Russia; ARMIR) was set up.
History Hustle presents: Why Did Italy Join Operation Barbarossa?
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SOURCES
- Joining Hitler's Crusade. European Nations and the Invasion of the Soviet Union, 1941 (David Stahel) Italy (Thomas Schlemmer).
- The Unknown Eastern Front. The Wehrmacht and Hitler's Foreign Soldiers (Rolf-Dieter Müller).
IMAGES
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MUSIC
"Constancy Part One" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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Freesound.org.
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[@HistoryHustle]

Why Hungary Joined Operation Barbarossa: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqfYfoRshLtneKM

[@georgedoolittle7574]

The War for Italy who was the primary instigator of a World War 2 in the first instance made no sense unless they sent their 8th Army into Southern Russia to "fight for an independent Ukraine." Same said be true of all the rest of Continental Europe save Finland in point of fact. More to the point all of the strategies, tactics, equipment etc was all to be learned and gotten from Southern Russia as there was no way to defeat the Anglo-American Armies and Navies in North Africa after Pearl Harbor. "No choice" either then or now absolutely.

[@dangr3957]

The stupid government thought it was a good idea to erase Trianon. My great grandfather died there he was really young.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for your replies.

[@georgedoolittle7574]

@GreatEurasia it's not that Italy "wanted" an Independent Ukraine it's just that in this one Region they could be seen as defenders of a people who were being attacked ... yet again ... "by the aggressor" thus making all of the Axis Powers a defender of something here is all I'm saying. "Purely political" I agree and in no way a good military strategy for the defense of Italy proper...but given the events of World War 2 up to this point absolutely this had to be done in a formalized sense ("History of the Italian 8th Army in Russia.")

[@georgedoolittle7574]

@GreatEurasia the Russian Generals did that's for sure. "All to wage Wars of Defense in their Far East" most assuredly at first absolutely.

[@Gmac86.]

Apparantly the Italian Army fought better than they are now given credit for, indeed being mentioned positively in many German dispatches from the eastern front. The troops however, we’re let down by poor equipment and leadership…. Could you go into this in more detail please? Big fan from Ireland, keep up the great content!

[@ziliodavide18]

Most of the Italian generals were still used to XIX century tactics (advance and occupy enemy territory, not knowing how to maintain or defend it), and they didn't understood modern tactics such as the use of small and mobile forces, with the result that during operation Compass Italian army was destroyed by smaller but very mobile British forces. We had some good weapons and vehicles of course, but they were wrongly used: for example, the excellent MAB 38 SMG was very poorly distributed because the high commands thought that Italian soldiers would have wasted ammunitions, with the only result of being widely used by partisans and German occupation forces after 1943, while in USSR almost every soldier was equipped with the PPSH 41. We still had some good generals such as Giovanni Messe, probably the best Italian general in WW2, or Valentino Babini (also known as "barba elettrica", electric beard) who was the commander of armored forces in Libya and understood the importance of using tanks in mass formations. Italian soldiers were very brave though they lacked proper training: a manual distributed by the US army depicted the Italians as great workers and brave soldiers but with poor commands and training.

[@hakon_brennus_wolff106]

Same story in North Africa. I’ve read several positive accounts of Italian forces from German generals. But their equipment and leadership were garbage.

[@daviddoran3673]

Ireland also!!!! See my comment above ..

[@silver3331]

Exactly I hear people saying “ThE ItAlIaN TrOoPs WeRe BaD” no it was just bad logistics and poor leadership

[@theangrylizard1990]

There were a lot of reasons. Some were mentioned here already (equipment, outdated tactics etc). Here are a couple more: the Italian military basically bankrupted itself in the Spanish Civil War by overextending itself and by suffering losses they were ill-equipped to recover from; the Italian navy in particular never bothered repairing the wear and tear suffered by their ships in the blockades and thus they were easy pickings for the British Royal Navy in the Mediterranean. Second, the officers in the Italian army were mainly from the North, while the enlisted were mainly from the South. There’s a huge cultural and linguistic divide between these regions that stands even today and back then, the Northerner officers regarded their Southern men as lower than dogs; they didn’t mind treating them as cannon fodder.

[@grassic]

The last large scale cavalry charge in history was made by the Savoia Regiment of the Royal Italian Army on the Eastern Front in 1942 against entrenched infantry, it was successful but costly, maybe you could do an episode on that? German officers watching it said "These kinds of things, we do not know how to do any more."

[@gumdeo]

The final chapter of the old-style warfare.

[@HistoryHustle]

Indeed.

[@danielefabbro822]

Well, it cost us a lot of horses but about human lives... Just a platoon. 🤔

[@HoLSurena]

My grandfather was part of the italian force send to Russia from the very beggining. According to him at first the people was very entusiasthic because the fight against communism was the objective of the fascism from the very beggining. But as the war keeps harder and harder the morale of the troops inevitably fell more and more. Totally wish to see more about the italians in eastern front

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for sharing.

[@mukhtarsyajaratun1025]

And they are more effective on beating communism because they were determined on their approach, as we saw how the Reich and Italy effectively aid the Spanish Nationalist with proper equipment, tanks and modern aircraft thus turning the tide of the war.

[@Darkthrone-qi1ic]

My grandfathers brother was a sergeant in the 8th Alpini regiment. He was killed somewhere on the Don river during operation little Saturn in December 1942.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for sharing this. The Italians suffered grave losses there.

[@seanmcmullen4274]

yes. please! There are very few videos about the Italian army on the eastern front. please make some more

[@HistoryHustle]

Will do!

[@Jonathanbegg]

I never knew the Italians had fought in Russia. Thanks for explaining this little-known aspect of the war.

[@tancreddehauteville764]

Just another suicidal act from a regime hellbent on destroying itself. Had those soldiers been used in North Africa they would have held up the allies there for months.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thank you, Jonathan!

[@josefranciscoghignattiwart1754]

There is a famous movie of an marrieód italian soldier ( interpreted by Marcelo Mastroiani) and his wife( interpreted by Sofia Loren) who was waiting for him after the end of second war. After the siege of Leningrado he was in prison and decided to be there in Russia. His wife decided to go in the east to find him. And she finally found him with another family! And.....

[@websurfer191]

I think that the Italians were pretty capable soldiers. I think a lot of the issues they had were that of poor leadership from their officers and sub-standard equipment. I also believe that after many military defeats the solders lost faith in Mussolini.

[@utenteantimoralismo8549]

Mussolini was good, but not his generals.

[@HistoryHustle]

Soon more on the Italian army in WW2.

[@atbtrendy9932]

@@utenteantimoralismo8549 Mussolini was Just as bad

[@utenteantimoralismo8549]

@@atbtrendy9932 no he did great before ww2

[@SimoNemo7]

My grandpa was a young boy during WW2 in northern Italy. To this day, he still doesn’t eat potatoes because that’s all he had during the war. Anyway, Italy actually had a pretty good army for the time. Their problem was they were spread to thin in Africa and outmatched by the British there. They had a terrible time in the Balkan’s and Greece due to mountainous terrain and really only fought on the eastern front to “fight communism”. All in all Hungary, Italy and Romania all had a difficult time on the eastern front due to lack of enough modern military equipment and overall for the most part the generals were not great like that of Germany for example.

[@lawrencerogers576]

Thanks, Stephan. Look forward to hearing about Italians on the Eastern Front. Enjoy your lectures.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thank you, Lawrence.

[@jackmoorehead2036]

You are much appriciated, these short, neat descriptions you are giving are what folks need to get them going on history hunts of their own. I read in the responses some had fathers and grandfather's there with the Italians, one didn't even know Italy was even there. This kind of eye opening talk you give will send a few if not many on their own voyage of discovery into history.

[@HistoryHustle]

Hi Jack, thanks for replying!

[@robertm.8653]

Amazing video! Any nation that joined the fight against USSR besides Germany is a great subject for videos where the motivation is unraveled . Thank you for this great video, and happy holidays!!!

[@HistoryHustle]

As always Robert: thanks and happy holidays!👍

[@surinfarmwest6645]

Mussolini wanted another flashy hat to wear, he did have quiet a large collection but not a Russian bear fur one.

[@HistoryHustle]

You can put it that way.

[@74sampson]

Awesome show, love the no sound track that so many Doc use and abuse to create unwanted Drama. Very informative talk, Well done.

[@74sampson]

Love maps too :)

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks 👌👌

[@ChrisCovExhall]

I'm interested. I know some Italian cavalry charges on the Eastern Front were remarkable.

[@HistoryHustle]

👍

[@messservice]

Barbarossa is an italian translation of Redbeard emperor of Germany during the middle ages and nearly lost his life during a campaign in Northern Italy trying to subdue the ligue of towns that wanted more freedom

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for sharing.

[@fredazcarate4818]

Young man thank you for producing another gem. This part of history is often ignored in both the U.S. and Great Britain. God bless you and your entire family. And Merry Christmas!

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks, Fred! Happy Holidays 👍

[@DRFelGood]

Stephon, Another Brilliant knowledge moment 👍 thank you for sharing ❤️ my best always 💪 =) Jesse 🚒

[@HistoryHustle]

Many thanks as always, Jesse!

[@eddieoi9444]

Before people criticise the Italians remember that their troops surrounded Italian Jews and told the Germans they were not going to allow them to be taken away...

[@HistoryHustle]

Sure an interesting topic also.

[@woodenseagull1899]

Stefan. Your research is exceptional. A clear, unique accent adds to your knowledge and interest. As an Englishman that lived during those times I have always had an interest in that complicated Continent. I have heard it described by the eminent Canadian Professor Jorden Peterson as "The Tower of Bable" A Continent always building edifices, to be knocked Down!

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for your reply, John.

[@jimhamrick5207]

More on the Italian forces in the USSR would be appreciated.

[@HistoryHustle]

👍

[@donatoferioli7426]

Thanks for covering this subject. Look forward to more content

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks Donato. Here are some more videos you may find interesting. Italian Army of WW2: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGSQgmWOYsemY7M Mussolini's Fall from Power: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJOocmSgpNd2rrM

[@kentkirkland7230]

Heel Goed. Don't stop now. Greetings from Connecticut, USA

[@HistoryHustle]

Good 👍

[@hakon_brennus_wolff106]

Japan joining the operation would’ve made much more sense from a strategic standpoint, but Japan was terrified of the Soviets after getting their ass kicked at Kalkhin Gol.

[@powersell8589]

yea japan joining would have been the only way to take down the soviets

[@Ramtin-Blue_rose]

@@powersell8589 Easy to judge at hindsight !

[@powersell8589]

@@Ramtin-Blue_rose true with the succes germany had before barbarossa everybody thought that they would win

[@dantecaputo2629]

I actually think that even had Japan joined it wouldn’t have been enough. The Japanese Army was stuck in a nightmare quagmire in China, and advancing through Siberia would have been even more hellish then advancing through Belarus and western Russia

[@tefky7964]

@@dantecaputo2629 It wouldn´t be about advancing into Soviet land,but about keeping Soviet units in Siberia. Without Japan in war against USSR,but with non-aggresion pact,Soviets could take these units to the west.

[@kudoodle1085]

It would be nice to hear more about the Italian faction on the Eastern Front and how they did compared to their German counterparts. Also I just noticed. History Hustle has 99.1k subscribers 🥳. We are half way there

[@michealohaodha9351]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/hmXVXqapYrSJipY Decent chat here on the CSIR

[@HistoryHustle]

We did it: 100K subs! :D

[@chrisleach8009]

Thanks very much another well produced and informative video.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks, Chris!

[@hopel4822]

More content not just on the Italians, but also the Romanian and Hungarian troops on the eastern front would be much appreciated! Also, whatever Bulgaria was doing for the war after the Greek campaign was over

[@HistoryHustle]

Will do! Actually: here's one about Bulgaria: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mmPSoIqXpNuCmpY

[@benketengu]

Thank you very much for putting together this video I always learn a lot from you.

[@HistoryHustle]

Great to read, Paul. Thank you.

[@stironeceno]

One of those members of the Italian forces on the Eastern front was my Father , member of the Regia Aeronautica , mostly stationed in Ukraine . Kiev , Stalino , Dniperpetrovski .

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for sharing.What can you tell us about his experiences?

[@stironeceno]

@@HistoryHustle , I know in the beginning of the war he was stationed in ; Vallona and Scuteri in Albania . Giannina in Greece and like I said after that in few places in Ukraina and Russia . In September of 1943 after the surrender of Italy to the Allies , till 1945 he join the Italian Partisan and staid till the end of the war . while in Ukraine , learning few local folk songs was one of the pleasant things , he like the Peoples he met , but mostly was bad , some extremely bad things he experienced on the Eastern Frond and back in Italy , and I don't want to get into it , it would take too long .

[@HistoryHustle]

Very interesting to read. Many thanks for sharing this.

[@stironeceno]

@@HistoryHustle , no problems , On my Mother Family was even more interesting ,with the Italian side and the German side ....Crazy stories to say the least .

[@Will-ux1dg]

Once more another great video. So you interesting and informative.

[@HistoryHustle]

Many thanks, Will!

[@gigabyte2324]

Very informative. Thankyou.

[@HistoryHustle]

👍

[@DavidJones-oc3up]

Great history lesson. I learned some new here. Keep them coming! Thanks.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks, David!

[@aalb1873]

Italian Army mainly fought in the low Don river basin between eastern Ukraine and Russia to support Germans in the Stalingrad campaign. As the Wehrmacht and the Romenian Army even the Italian Royal Army ended up being overwhelmed by the Red Army and had to fight hard to be able to retreat without being captured. One of the most remembered battles of the Russian campaign in Italy took place in Nikolayevka (which is located near Belgorod) the 26 January 1943. The Italian Royal Army managed successfully to break through the enemy lines to avoid the encirclement by the Red Army but at a very high price of human losses. In the whole Russian campaign about 100,000 Italian soldiers died, many missing and others were captured.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for your information. Hope to cover more on that in the future.

[@danielefabbro822]

My grandfather served in Russia too. But he never came back. In recent years Russians have found his dogtags into a mass graveyard full of Italian soldiers corpses. They tried to sell the dogtags on eBay. I ask myself why there's no respect for the dead ones. For us Italians, those who are dead must not be disturbed in every case, whatever it happens. They deserved a proper funeral and the eternal peace, instead they received nothing. Not even the respect that soldiers who have fought and died for their countries deserves. Imagine how I feel when I hear or I read someone saying that we Italians was "cowards" or "traitors".

[@скайс]

​@@danielefabbro822Пришли поддержать геноцид советского народа, внеся свою лепту в гибель 28 миллионов человек - действительно, почему этих солдат не уважают?

[@patrickyorke3028]

Great vid, thanks for producing it. Would be great to hear anymore about the Italians on the Eastern Front.

[@HistoryHustle]

Great, Patrick. Thanks!

[@bradv9449]

Thanks for the history lesson.

[@HistoryHustle]

👍

[@blue-skyuniform]

i want to know more about the Italian army in the USSR, do also a video about what of uniforms thay wear, rifles tanks I know so little how the army of Italy did in the USSR

[@michealohaodha9351]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/hmXVXqapYrSJipY Here's another good talk on the Italians from another channel.

[@blue-skyuniform]

@@michealohaodha9351 thanks

[@HistoryHustle]

Soon more on Italy's WW2 army.

[@fraulens]

Looking forward for more episodes about Italy in WW2! My grandfather fought in Russia, in the summer and autumn 1942. He was part of the 4th Alpine Division, deployed on the Don bend. He got wounded by a mortar shell on November 10th and got evacuated right before the Soviet offensive begun.

[@HistoryHustle]

Many thanks for sharing this with us, Matteo. He was lucky. Did you ever meet him? If so, what did he tell you about his experiences? Love to know.

[@fraulens]

@@HistoryHustle Oh I did meet him for several years, before he passed away. And even if he kept telling me his war stories, it took me a while to really understand the meaning of his experiences. Luckily my grandma revived his stories long after he died, so that I could never forget what he went trough. He was drafted in spring 1940, prior to the Italian offensive against France. He never understood this "fratricidal" between Italian and French, as himself spoke a bit of French. He recalled that the conditions of his battalion ("Battaglione Saluzzo" or "Saluzzo Battalion") were "miserable", almost no rations and very few ammunition. Despite being late June, the Alpine passes were still covered in snow and they had no winter gear (of course, it was "summer"!). No wonder that all the attacks failed but luckily for him, the battle of France lasted only 2 days (the Italians attacked on June 22nd and on the 24th there was already the ceasefire). In late December of the same year he was sent in Albania. The rains and cold weather of the previous weeks "turned streets and mule tracks into rivers of mud". For one week they had to survive with what they had, as no supplies could reach their positions from the rearguard. According to my grandma, he always remembered how on Christmas eve, he and his fellow Alpini prepared a small Christmas tree using the leftovers of the wood used to build up the trenches and decorated it with postcards from home and rifle shell cases. He also described the Greeks as "ferocious fighters" and he always praised the Italian artillery for stopping a Greek attack on December 28th ("Thank God we had our guns backing us up" my grandma told he used to say when talking about those days). He then spent the rest of the winter on the front, partecipating in a few patrols to scout the Greek lines. When his battalion was sent to the rearguard, he particularly enjoyed receiving the mail from home. Apparently, for those times, it must have been the most exciting moment for a soldier to hear from and send letter back home. In March 1941, his whole battalion detached to the "Special Alpine Division" and was transferred to the Yugoslavian border, where "again we had to dig trenches and dugouts, as if the [Italian] High Command had run out of sappers". And according to my grandma, when "the order to advance arrived, he and his fellow soldiers were so happy to get on the move again". But I cannot tell you more about his experiences there as he never told too much about them. He spent more than one year back in Italy before being committed to the Russian front. As a convinced fascists as many of his time, he welcomed the German invasion of Russia with enthusiasm and "could not hold his excitement when the Cuneense Division was sent on the Eastern front". During the long train journey, he and the other men of the Battalion used to joke about the spoils of war, as some of them were even dreaming of moving into Russia after the final victory. During the long marches from Izyum to the Don river, "they used to sing to motivate themselves" and "they did not care if the order came to take up positions along the Don instead of being sent in the Caucasus" (words of my grandma). Arrived on the Don bend on September 29th 1942, he was deployed in Novaja Kalitva and there his loyalty to the fascist regime begun to crumble. He described the Russian people as "simple, friendly and willing to share all what they had, at least with us" unlike "the Bolshevik evils described by the propaganda". He recalled seeing many "beautiful Russian young girls" when not busy in the frontline in guarding his outpost or digging trenches and even some locals who joined the Sunday mass. He was particularly impressed by how those people could survive with so little and yet never complain. While he never saw the Russians, he always spoke about them with great admiration. Already a few days later after the arrival of the battalion to the new positions, they had to get used to the sporadic sniper fire coming from the enemy lines. The Russians were "unpredictable, especially in their night raids. You always had to be on your toes and sound the alarm at the slightest sign of danger". From time to time, he was busy "exchanging rifle shots with the enemy patrols" when the Russians were probing their lines. To avoid a drop of morale during these long days on the Don, the capitain of his company "kept us busy either with rearguard duties or improving the fortifications and communication lines with our neighbouring Corps". And when not busy in "bringing supplies, ammunition or the mail, the Russians would keep us busy with machinegun bursts and mortars fire". He was standing as a sentinel in one forward outpost on November 10th, when a sudden mortar shell explded right in front of him, wounding him on his left shoulder and arm. He was quickly transported to Luhansk where from there got evacuated back to Italy. He fully recovered in May 1943 and by then rumours of what happened to the Alpini in Russia quickly spread throughout the Country. Disillusioned by the fascists regime, he joined the partisans operating in Piedmont in December 1943 and survived the war to tell the tale. If you will ever do a video about foreigners in the Waffen SS, I may tell you the story of my other grandfather ;)

[@HistoryHustle]

Hi Matteo, extremely interesting to read. Many thanks for sharing this.

[@philipryan25]

Very interesting and informative, looking forward to more 👏👏👍

[@HistoryHustle]

Great to read, Philip. Thanks.

[@nickpapagiorgio5056]

Great video professor Stefan!!!!

[@HistoryHustle]

Many thanks!

[@jdewitt77]

Very well presented video. You are accurate in what you say.

[@HistoryHustle]

Many thanks!

[@robju6054]

Very interested to see more of the alpini troops on the eastern front. Thanks

[@markusz4447]

They would havee been good in the Kaukasus mountains

[@robju6054]

There is a song entitled l’Ultima Notte

[@HistoryHustle]

Soon more on Italy's WW2 army.

[@peterhughes8699]

Excellent video and yes I'm very interested in more on Italian campaigns in USSR

[@HistoryHustle]

Great! 👌

[@weswatkins2810]

As always both informative and entertaining, a great video! Looking forward to many more!

[@The-Gadget-tag]

Super interesting! As said before, I love the enthousiasm of you! Keep it going!

[@HistoryHustle]

Thank you, Jur!

[@daveanderson3805]

I think that the problem lay with Mussollinis ego It kept writing cheques that his military and economy had no hope of cashing

[@HistoryHustle]

Hi Dave, that did play a part.

[@tonnywildweasel8138]

Very interesting. Long ago I once read a diary of an Italian non-commissioned officer on the Russian front. (for the life of me, I can't remember the title/writer, sorry) Very interesting story. What I remember about it: their heart was soon out of the war, it simply became survival. (the writer did that) Keeping a front on behalf of Germany, while that was almost impossible from a military point of view. Lack of ammunition, food, everything really. While there was not really much respect for them by the Wehrmacht. Please continue, teach! Groet'n 🌷, T.

[@paulbove4794]

Sounds like you read Rigoni Stern's Sergeant in the Snow. It was one of the first accounts of fighting in the East by the Italian Army to be published in English.

[@tonnywildweasel8138]

@@paulbove4794 : Thank you !

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks, T.!

[@TheBigSleazy]

Would be definitely interested more Italians on the eastern front info

[@HistoryHustle]

Ok👍

[@jackavery7179]

Please more info about the Italians against the USSR

[@HistoryHustle]

Ok, you got it Jack.

[@mirtaaguinagalde8631]

Outstanding job as usual

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks!

[@alanstrong3295]

Italy did not have the manpower like Germany to give more punch to the axis.

[@HistoryHustle]

Believe so too.

[@GunnyKeith]

OUTSTANDING TOPIC AND COVERAGE. ITS LIKE YOU READ MY MIND

[@HistoryHustle]

Many thanks, Keith👍

[@pablodesilvestro831]

Soo interesting to see this in depth well researched questions, awesome work! Nice to see how fast you went from 40k to 100k 🔥

[@HistoryHustle]

Amazing right. Thanks Pablo!

[@gibraltersteamboatco888]

Thanks for another great video. BZ. More of the Italians on the eastern front would be great. Mussolini was a chest beater dripping with machismo. From commandeering the special Alfa Romeo meant for the King of Italy to expecting to name his own successor. Mussolini at first agreed that Italy must not go to war, “then he said that honor compelled him to march with Germany.”

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks again for replying, BZ!

[@MegaKonradb]

Regarding the topic of Italian Army in Russia - I strongly recommend a book my Marek Sobski called "Mussolini's Eastern Crusade". I'm now in the middle of it. I could send it to you however I think it would be more affordable to simply buy it on Amazon :)

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for your reply!

[@lucaschiantodipepe2015]

I met 25 years ago the reverend Pintonello (very old) , the italian chaplain that survived in the Russian campaign. He joked repeating always "we ate there iceballs and not meatballs". The paradox is that Mussolini was the leader of the radical faction of the socialist party For years, 1901-1914. His government was one of the first in Europe to recognize in the early 20th the Soviet Union.

[@HistoryHustle]

Interesting to read. Thanks for your reply!

[@centurian54]

Very interesting. Thank you. More on Italy in Russia please.

[@HistoryHustle]

👍 Thanks for commenting!

[@daviddoran3673]

"Death on the Don" by Jonathan Trigg explains parts taken in Barbarossa by Germany's allies ( except the Blue Division ) and their utter destruction.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks!

[@coling3957]

idk why Italy wanted expansion in Europe. they'd already colonised New York and Chicago...

[@jonathanduplantis1403]

Ha, and Montreal

[@maxhouse2409]

The families found that the fascists cramped their style. USA government enlisted efforts from Lucky Luciano.

[@HistoryHustle]

I see.

[@alessandrom7181]

Those were South Italians.

[@BrendenParker]

Yes please can you do more about the Italians on the Eastern Front. How they performed, battles fought, advances, retreats, etc, and the end game.

[@HistoryHustle]

Hope to cover more soon. Later this month one more video about the Italian army will be released.

[@stevepringle2295]

Yes please do more episodes of the AMIR in the CCCP

[@HistoryHustle]

👌

[@walsch80]

My grandfather said that A.M.I.R was simply a craziness. Without technology and right clothes was just a lost battle. The only thing that permitted him to return home was his background. He was hunter from the italian Tyrol. He was able to speak italian and german perfectly and as like alpinist he was used to survive during the cold winter near Dolomites..

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for sharing.

[@Arcangel77able]

Your grandfather was lucky, not everyone in the 8th Army had that preparation and ability (training and linguistics).

[@walsch80]

@@Arcangel77able yes, that's right. Just few people like him were able to return...

[@timothychivers7324]

I never knew that about the Italians

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for watching.

[@Tonyx.yt.]

during the lather phase of the operation little saturn, none other than italian army was able to broke soviet encirclement and allowing dozen of thousands of axis (mostly italian and hungarian) escape, this is know as Battle of Nikolayevka

[@HistoryHustle]

Have to check this out. Thanks!

[@gibraltersteamboatco888]

Congrats 100K subscribers

[@HistoryHustle]

Yes! We made it. Many, MANY thanks for your ongoing support and replies and insights and sophisticated English I do not always grasp :)

[@gibraltersteamboatco888]

@@HistoryHustle "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."

[@luxembourgishempire2826]

Interesting question

[@HistoryHustle]

👍

[@shutup2751]

were italians aware of activities of the einsatzgruppen ?

[@HistoryHustle]

Good question! Hope to discover this and cover it on the channel.

[@serdradion4010]

Germans lacked the infantry on the Easter Front, especially after the winter 41/42. So they asked the Mussolini,and he accepted. At first, Italians in CSIR had only 3 divisions,all motorized. Motorization with the trucks was very important, since entire division was able to move fast and avoid encirclement, destruction and capturing. With ARMIR, big mistake was made. Contingent was increased on 10 divisions, with 7 new non motorized divisions. That resulted in casulties and destruction of entire divisions.

[@HistoryHustle]

People sometimes have the tendency to reply before watching the video. I don't get this. Most of the time they share over-simplifications. In this case: Mussolini already accepted before the 1941-2 winter. Please watch the video if you haven't seen it already and share your thoughts on it afterwards. Thank you.

[@Sizt]

No reason to have all divisions motorized, if you can`t supply them with oil, spare parts, new trucks and tanks.

[@serdradion4010]

@@Sizt Motorization of units is done regardless to the supplying conditions of the unit. It increases the operatve tactical value of the unit, enabling the strategic planing on advanced level. Around 50% of infantry motorized is the lower safe level, but it varies by the tactical situation. Nowdays all infantry must be mobile in some way, check Iraq, Afghanistan. Purpose of motorization is to increase the survivability of the unit, prevent the capturing and the destruction.

[@comradeconnolly4538]

The Italian military was capable, but their shitty leadership, weak production base, and struggling logistical lines made it so almost every long-term fight would go poorly in their favour. I think outside the conquer of a small British colony in East Africa, all other long-term engagements Italy would lose. This doesn’t mean they were an incompetent force though. In short-term engagements, Italian forces could use surprise and mobility to their advantage. Italian frogmen sabotaged British capital ships in harbour at Egypt, and Italian Calvary units stalked British tanks in Africa and struck when they were repairing, and another Calvary detachment performed well as a flanking unit against the Soviets, working in tandem with Germans and Romanians. So there was no short supply of Italian heroism or courage, but Italy had definitely bitten off more than it could chew.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for sharing your insights on this.

[@kenford6163]

Yeah the mob, for instance.

[@jazzshowroom2877]

Very interesting. Please do continue with your historical survey content of Fascist Italy's strategy and deployment in Soviet Russia.

[@HistoryHustle]

Awesome 👍

[@robertbertagna1672]

i never did know tha italy was involved in germany russia campaign good presentation thank you for the presentation.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks, Robert.

[@wulfric58]

Good stuff Stefan. Looking forward to seeing further content on the Italian contribution in the East. Why Japan wasn't involved in the Far East as well is a wonder, but I guess Hitler didn't want to see non-Europeans controlling the vast resources east of the Urals.

[@scottabc72]

Hitler hoped for Japanese help from the start and desperately wanted it when things started to bog down. But the Japanese were in no position to take on the Soviets in an extensive land war as they found out in Khalkin Gol. The Japanese Navy was pushing aggressively for action against vulnerable Dutch and British colonies and their position was also politically stronger after the Army's earlier failure against the Soviets.

[@markusz4447]

@@scottabc72 Don't forget that supplying the IJA in china was already difficult enough. facing hordes of well supplied and motivated sovjets in siberia, hundreds of miles from the few ports would have been a nightmare.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for your reply.

[@pirangeloferretti3588]

When I was a teenage I had the chance to know one of the 'Boys of (18)99' survivor of WWI and a couple of old men who had survived the Barbarossa expedition. The boy of '99 was vrey proud to recount his experiences during the war; the two survivors from the Russian expedition were never able to give me any anecdote of their experience, they would crack up in tears almost immediately and just no longer wanted to talk. It made a great impression to me, because they were strong men who had built their families and successful businnes (after the war), but after so many years (more than 40 years) their eyes were filled with tears and just couldn't speak.

[@sandymiller870]

At a dinner with Churchill, Ribbentrop had said that, in a future war with Britain, Germany would have the Italians on its side. Churchill, referring to Italy’s poor record in the First World War, responded with one of his devastating verbal flashes: “That’s only fair - we had them last time.

[@HistoryHustle]

I'm not sure if these had dinner. Churchill became MP when Britain was already at war with Germany, but perhaps you're right!

[@javierperalta7648]

By 1941 the Axis seemed to be like NATO, a broad alliance of anti-Soviet states. The war against the UK seemed to be almost over or secondary

[@HistoryHustle]

Find this an over-simplification of things.

[@Gutbomber]

Nice video!!

[@HistoryHustle]

👍

[@Karthagast]

There was another minor reason. After the end of the Greece campaign, much of the Italian army didn't really have much to do. The North African theatre of operations didn't allow for large escale deployment of troops. In North Africa what was needed were armoured and motorised units, in limited number due to supply constrains, rather than a large quantity of mostly infantry troops, that would add little value to the Axis forces there while notably worsening the supply issue. Therefore in June 1941 there was a number of Italian infantry divisions having not much to do, apart from garrisoning Yugoslavia and Greece, a task that could be well performed by garrison divisions, so called "Divisione Costiere" (Coastal Divisions), a type of unit different from the regular infantry divisions. The newly opened Russian theatre of operations seemed perfect for using that number of Italian infantry divisions.

[@HistoryHustle]

Not sure the Italian army had 'not much to do'. They had for example their hands full on Yugoslavia where resistance was rampant.

[@Karthagast]

@@HistoryHustle Yugoslavia? Actually not so much. The Italian army was tasked to control only the coastal area. The rest of the country was responsability of Germany, Croatia, Hungary and Bulgaria.

[@mikewest5529]

Hell yeah!! 100k Ohhh celebration!!!!

[@HistoryHustle]

We did it. MANY THANKS for your great words and enthusiasm. I'm extremely grateful for it.

[@mikewest5529]

I think Italy joined because you need 100k subs!! That’s the real reason!!

[@HistoryHustle]

Hahah, love this comment. Thanks. SOON!

[@mikewest5529]

@@HistoryHustle Soooooo close!!! 99.9k

[@sensibleshinchan1019]

I think Mussolini wanted to strengthen his alliance with Germany (this comment was made before watching the complete video)

[@HistoryHustle]

Okay, there is more to it so please watch the video if you haven't.

[@sensibleshinchan1019]

@@HistoryHustle I watched the video two days ago Stephan! It was another great video by you, which showed me other reasons why Mussolini chose to do so. Thank you for the information Stephan! (Im LYNX RAZOR's 2nd account by the way!)

[@sensibleshinchan1019]

@@HistoryHustle yesterday was the second time I watched the video

[@anonymousdetective3786]

Good job on the 100k subs!

[@HistoryHustle]

Many, MANY thanks for your support.

[@davidmulhall2710]

Very interested to hear more about the Italians on the eastern front.👍thx

[@HistoryHustle]

👍

[@mnk9073]

Italian Soldier 1: Man I hate sand, desert warfare sucks! Italian Soldier 2: At least we're out of the snow, remember Greece? Italian Soldier 1: Right, I felt like Napoleon invading Russia... Italian Soldier 2: Good thing WE are not gonna do that. _a few moments later_ Il Duce: Hey you guys, guess what my homie Hitler just did!

[@HistoryHustle]

Lol

[@theangrylizard1990]

Great video as always! I was waiting for you to mention Italy’s less-than-amazing performance in North Africa and you got there around 6:55 or so. :) I would argue the only country less capable of waging a war in three different theatres at the time than Germany was Italy; and while Hitler was a megalomaniac, Mussolini had attention deficit disorder and just had no idea what the “big picture” was like.

[@markusz4447]

I would argue that around 99% of the countries involved and non involved in ww2 would have been equally not capable of waging war in three different theatres as Italy. Actually considering The systemic flaws, strategic miscalculations, inherent faults of their ideology and lack of ressources, the Germans did amazingly "well" fighting on so many fronts for such a long time.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for replying.

[@theangrylizard1990]

@@markusz4447 well, throwing the first punch is a good way to win a fight; and it kind of helped that Germany did so after "promising" peace to all the Western allies and making a non-aggression pact with the USSR that they had every intention of violating. It didn't hurt Barbarossa either that the Red Army had been decimated first by Stalin's purges and later by an embarrassingly badly fought war against Finland (one they only "won" because there were only so many Russians that could die before the Finns ran out of bullets). Once the Soviets learned that war was kind of a serious thing, the British re-armed, and the Americans joined the fray; Germany's initial good performance was pretty much exposed as a sham. Nazi Germany won their initial battles the same way Lance Armstrong and Tom Brady won so many championships; by cheating.

[@markusz4447]

@@theangrylizard1990 well yes your first punch argument is true . And I am quite shure that soviet analysts were aware that peace with germany was not going to last forever, they just didn't think they would attack before signing peace with britain. The red army learned a lot from the winter war and was certainly better off after. As to your cheating remark... well it's a war of life and death... there is no such thing as cheating I guess

[@pascalscholten4001]

Hoi Stevan, Ik zou graag meer willen weten wat de italianen in barbarossa vooral hun calvarie eenheden. Janusz Piekalkiewicz heeft enkele stukken hierover geschreven.

[@HistoryHustle]

Ik zal er eens onderzoek naar doen.

[@pascalscholten4001]

@@HistoryHustle Top. Ik waarder je intresse van je volgers. Trouwens ik ben een document van je aan het maken over de reeds verschenen onderwerpen op youtube.

[@juanporzio5990]

As an italian son, I Could say that war was visualized as inevitable. Their fathers went to WWI and of course they will go to another war. But, the memories of the trench warfare was very clear and the people was against the war. However in 1940 the German victory over France was very entusiastic to they, and most think in a short war. He told me that the “Camisa nera” were very patriotic an fanatized, and they were the first to die in 1940 trough 1942. He told me about Barbasetti and Italo Balbo, died over Tripoli by their own FLAK. After that, the common soldiers were tired of the war and only want to survive, unless a few heroic actions, like the torpedo men at Alexandria port. This was, in my view, the suoerb Commando action of the entire war, but the Western films (americans and british) only inligth their (very poor and exagerated) commando actions. Regards from Uruguay!

[@HistoryHustle]

Many thanks for sharing this.

[@Arcangel77able]

Tus Padres tenian / tienen, un concepto muy preciso de la situacion, evaluaron muy bien lo que paso. El Duce al ppio de la guerra en las fronteras de Libia, Alpes, Grecia tenia, un solo comentario: " eviten los incidentes a toda costa " , Por la aparente e inminente victoria final alemana, Italia se metio en el " purgatorio" de cabeza a una Guerra Mundial. Alli fue un discurso dstinto, repetitivo, " atacar, atacar" " ¿ porque no atacan ? ". Si Italo Balbo , el numero " dos" del regimen era muy popular ( demasiado para el gusto del Duce) ¿ raro que las baterias del Crucero " San giorgo" confundiera la silueta de un SM 81 ( o SM 79 ¿'?) de transporte ........

[@Arcangel77able]

La accion de los comandos de la marina de Guerra italiana: X MAS, en el puerto de Alejandria, es sin duda, una de las mas exitosas de la 2 GM. TRES O CUATRO EQUIPOS, de dos buzos c/u en lo Torpedos Mailae, dirigidos, llegaron a Alejandria a Bordo del Submarino Scire, franquearon las defensas, Pusieron cargas en los acorazados HMS Queen Elizabeth y HMS Valiant, asi como a un enorme Petrolero/ cisterna de escuadra, hundiendo a los tres, en aguas someras/bajas del interior del puerto. Esta accion en Diciembre de 1941, cambio completamente el equilibrio naval del Mediterraneo.

[@randomfaz3867]

Thanks for the video. I would be very interested to learn more about the italians on the russian front

[@HistoryHustle]

Will make these vids for sure. Thanks for watching!

[@liftwaffe.8150]

My grand grandfather joined the Germans on the front against soviets; he came back to italy in 1943 after nearly dying by the winter, stucked on a horse that took him to safe place

[@HistoryHustle]

Incredible, lucky man. Thanks for sharing.

[@carlhicksjr8401]

Seeing as Germany had bailed Mussolini out of TWO debacles in the Balkans and North Africa, yes Italy DID have to participate Barbarossa. That's not even getting into the ideological reasons [rabid anti-communist rhetoric, etc.] As for how good the Italians were, contrary to popular belief not all Italian units were garbage. German DAK veterans often commented at how steady Ariete was and Folgore had an excellent reputation, just to name two. Italy suffered from outdated doctrine, very poor equipment, and a megalomanical leader [whereas Germany only suffered one of those disadvantages] and this led them into battles they simply could not win.

[@HistoryHustle]

There is more to it. Please watch the video if you haven't.

[@humphreygokart2135]

I'm a Danish history teacher. My name is not Stefan, but I know that "Stefan is een paap" because I once read that on a toilet wall in Holland. Just thought I'd let you know. Great thread, btw. Makes you wonder noch einmal how mankind managed to get through that sick and twisted period of history. Boggles my mind to think it only ended 12 year before I was born.

[@HistoryHustle]

I can imagine. Thanks for replying 👍

[@pauloakwood9208]

I would be curious to hear a similar analysis for why Spain sent (volunteer) troops to fight in Russia. I can understand Italy and Hungry, but Spain was supposed to be a neutral country in WW II.

[@markusz4447]

because fascism?

[@markusz4447]

@ger du i agree. It's the simple answer to a multilayered question.

[@dongilleo9743]

Franco and Spain was forced to walk a narrow dividing line between the Allies and the Axis powers. Spain had suffered greatly during it's civil war, and was in no shape economically, militarily, or industrially to join in with the Axis. It was dependent on the U.S. for shipments of food and fuel to keep it's economy going; shipments Germany had no excess capability to make up for if the U.S. cut Spain off. The best Franco could do was offer up a division worth of troops. The 250th Infantry division (Blue) was trained and equipped by the Germans, and served on the Eastern front in the siege lines around Leningrad. By 1943, pressure from the Western Allies was growing on Spain to withdraw it's men from the war. By summer 1944, the men had returned to Spain, except for a small number who desired to stay and were transferred over to the Waffen-SS.

[@user-pn3im5sm7k]

@@markusz4447 Unlike the youth of today, most civilized peoples were willing to fight to the death to prevent bolshevism from overtaking Europe.

[@markusz4447]

@@user-pn3im5sm7k i would generalize it more. Many more were ready to die for their ideals, be that whatever ideology. Glad we live in a (for now) more peaceful time.

[@Bogdan_Sarasek]

I really like your videos!

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for replying 👍

[@georgemcmeechan2284]

Awesome again

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks, George!

[@virendrasharms1163]

Share more information .

[@HistoryHustle]

Soon 👍

[@seth8690]

great video pls more on italians in ussr

[@HistoryHustle]

👍

[@andre0000000007]

more on Italy on the eastern front pls. especially interested in the successes of the Savoia Cavalry regiment and the Alpini. apparently the russians themselves had great respect for the alpini and were stalled by them time and time again.

[@HistoryHustle]

Will do 👍

[@WarMonkeyOG]

Love these short history vids 👍🏻

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for watching!

[@thomasgonzalez7133]

Proud to be the 65th "Like " to this video. Stefan, keep up the great work!

[@HistoryHustle]

Thank you, Thomas!

[@daviddoran3673]

The Italians had to fight their way to the Don river....losing many men and almost all their obsolete tanks as they attempted to capture Odessa....by the time operations Uranus, Saturn and little Saturn came about they were hungry, emaciated, thinly spread, poorly clothed for the -20 temperatures and had just a handful of effective anti tank guns along 100's of miles of front.....

[@HistoryHustle]

Indeed, the Italians suffered big time on the Eastern Front.

[@luker6894]

Hallo good video

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks!

[@matthewwhitton5720]

My high school friends father was conscripted by the Italian Army to fight in the USSR. Her Dad was captured, and spent a few years as a POW, and was treated well. He did not dislike the Russians at all,.had no reason to, he said. They were defending their country. He said that the Italian soldiers were appalled at the grotesque savagery of BOTH the Heer and SS, and were aghast at having to expend so much energy and so many resources, on the Stalingrad Front, simply keeping the Hungarians and Romanians from actually fighting each other ! There were also, apparently, cases of zealous Italian Fascist officers…’ accidentally ‘…coming to grief at the hands of the troops.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for sharing this, Matthew!

[@danielarevalo6222]

very interested to know about the Italian campaign in the USSR. Specially, about the Soviet prisoners that were taken. What did they do with them? Send them to Italy or had them to the Germans?

[@brunobacelli5389]

Prisoners taken by Italians in Russia were handed to the Germans, prisoners taken by Germans in North Africa were handed to the Italians.

[@danielarevalo6222]

@@brunobacelli5389 awesome thank you

[@HistoryHustle]

Hi Daniel, hope to cover more on this in the future.

[@danielarevalo6222]

@@HistoryHustle all good. I enjoy your presentations. Excellent information and it’s great that you focus on some of the lesser known aspects of WW2. I look forward to it