The Italian Army of World War I (Men-at-Arms, 387)

Normally, Dr. David Nicolle, a prolific Osprey author and specialist in ancient and medieval history, concentrates on pre-modern topics. However, in Osprey's Men-at-Arms #387, The Italian Army of World War I, Dr. Nicolle makes a rare sortie into describing a modern military organization. Certainly, the Italian Army of the First World War is a neglected subject and certainly deserves one or more volumes in this series. Unfortunately, Dr. Nicolle does not really have the knack for writing about this kind of subject and the coverage is less organized than in other similar volumes on First World War armies. The Italian Army of World War I fills the vacuum of a short, English-language summary of the Italian army in 1915-1918, but it skims the surface a bit too thinly in too many important areas. In terms of organization, The Italian Army of World War I begins with a short background on Italy's entry into the war, a chronology and the various fronts on which the Italians fought. Short sections then cover army mobilization and strength, line infantry, elite and specialist troops, weapons, cavalry and mechanized troops, artillery, engineers, support troops and colonial troops. The eight pages of color plates of uniforms are excellent and well worth the price of the volume. On the surface, this structure appears to address all the key points of the Italian Army in the First World - at least until one starts to compare it to other volumes in the same series. There are some glaring omissions - like an order of battle for the Italian Army in either 1915 or 1917-1918, or a table listing the rank structure. Certainly the most glaring omissions come in terms of the lack of detail in the area of military organization. Dr. Nicolle fails to discuss the organization of Italian divisions or corps in any detail, noting for example that Italian divisions started the war with an organic artillery regiment, but then failing to note how many artillery pieces or what caliber these included. Similarly, Nicolle discusses changes in the Italian infantry battalions, but fails to discuss changes at division or corps level. Readers are not even given an authorized strength for any units above battalion level, so it is difficult using this source to compare Italian units with Austrian or German units (where they smaller? Did they have less firepower?). Nicolle does note some of the changes toward a more all-arms composition in the Italian Army, with battalions including less infantry in exchange for mortars and machineguns by 1918. It is also significant that there is absolutely no discussion of doctrine in this study - certainly the author could have made at least brief mention of the underpinnings of Italian strategy in the war. Readers might also note that Dr. Nicolle treats the Italian theaters of war rather oddly, with equal attention given to the Isonzo and Balkan fronts, with virtually no mention of the Trentino front. The inclusion of the Libyan campaign - all two pages - was a waste of space, since the Sanussi tribesmen opposing Italian colonial rule were certainly not part of the Central Powers, nor was fighting there part of the First World War. Somehow, the author also managed to make it through this study without mentioning that Italy suffered over 460,000 military deaths in the war, yet found the space to tell us about what kind of buttons the Italian Army wore on its jackets. In sum, this volume lacks the detail and specificity of other similar Osprey short studies of First World War armies, and wanders about in search of relevance.

Typically well done "cliff notes" for the topic. Contra some, the discussion of Italy's war in Africa against Ottoman-allied rebels make sense.

This is a great reference book to have on hand for any study of the First World War, especially the southern (Austro-Italian) front. The involvement of Italy in the First World War is an interesting story.Italy was first inclined to support the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria in the period of time leading up to 1914. However, when the First World War broke out in August/September of 1914, Italy did not join the fighting. Indeed in May of 1915, Italy was actually wooed to the other side--the side of the Allies (Britain, France Serbia and Imperial Russia)--by Allied promises of more territory (the Trentino region of northern Italy and city of Trieste and its environs in northeastern Italy) being added to the Italian nation at the end of the war.

After reading this book my understanding of this nations commitment during WW 1 is more clear. The reader gets to see the many attemps by this nation to capture territory from the Austrains and Hungarians. The organization and the offensives are described in great detail. I liked the shake up that happened in the Italian military after many unsuccessful attempts at capturing territories.

THIS IS THE ONLY SOURCE AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH I COULD FIND ON THE ITALIAN ARMY OF WWI. IT IS TYPICAL OSPREY IN THAT THE COLOR PLATES ARE USEFUL TO A POINT. MOST OF US WANT PICTURES OF PRINT LINE SOLDERS AND NOT PRIESTS AND OTHER NON-COMBATANTS. BUT OSPREY USUALLY INCLUDES SEVERAL.

Well written and informative overview on a subject that I hadn't seen covered in other publications. My first book from the Osprey Man at War series.

Good basic reference. Very little about soldier's small arms.

The entire Men at Arms series are fascinating books with incredible detail. If you are a newbee to military history or an expert, you will love reading these.

Interesting brief account of the little known participate of the First World War. The colour illustrations are useful for a wargames. Recommend.

these books are always worth getting, full of information and good phote's

good back ground to the history

well easy book to read and full of information on the subject

very good book! Magnificent plates in full colorthe text is full of informationa good description of the italian army of ww1