Italy's Performance in World War II

"If war breaks out, Italy had better remain neutral, which may contain the enemy's 10 division. If it joins the other side, Germany can defeat it with only five divisions, but if it joins Germany, Germany will use 20 divisions to protect it. " This is a popular joke in Germany before the war. I wrote this joke from the beginning, which may have been a joke at that time, but judging from the result of World War II, this prediction is really unfortunate. If Italy can be good at neutrality, its contribution to Germany will be far greater than its participation in the war.

When Germany and Italy concluded the so-called "Iron Treaty" in May 2 1, 1939, Mussolini ended the war in Ethiopia in May 1936, took part in the Spanish Civil War in April of the same year, and invaded Albania. After years of war, he proposed that peace in Europe should persist until 1944. Seeing that the Germans were in full swing on the European continent, Mussolini felt that he would lose the opportunity to share the fruits of the war if he didn't participate in the war at this time, so he finally declared war on France in June 1940 and launched Italy's first attack in World War II on the 20th. The ending is very sad. . The Italian army was easily repelled by the weak French defenders. At this time, France signed the surrender, and Italy's first attack fell through. Mussolini lost face. Then its two offensives (against Greece and North Africa) only contained Germany. Hitler strictly forbade Italy to take any action in the Balkans to ensure the implementation of the war plan of invading Russia, but 1940,/kloc-0 10 on October 28th, the Italian army entered Greece, which completely disrupted Hitler's strategic plan, so the incompetent Italian army gave the British a chance to make a comeback temporarily. Hitler had to leave "Barbarossa" to clean up the mess in the Balkans, and then a coup took place in Yugoslavia, which increased the cost. 194 1 On April 6th, 2008, the Germans attacked. 17, Yugoslavia was conquered. On April 27th, the Germans entered Athens. A seemingly beautiful victory (especially a surprise attack on Crete) is actually not worth the loss.

1) The time to launch the war of aggression against Russia dragged on.

2) After the Battle of the Balkans, a part of the German army (Creste) immediately invaded the Russian southern line, and it was too late to rest, which affected the operation.

As for what the landlord said, soviet strike? Italy didn't go. He was busy with the chaos in North Africa, and the British beat him out of the water and abandoned his helmet and armor, which made Hitler send Rommel to North Africa to pull back the situation. If Rommel is in the Soviet-German battlefield, his value should be far greater than his role in the desert.

On the contrary, Italy made an indirect contribution to its allies:

1) destroyed Hitler's plan to isolate Britain by indirect route.

2) Give Britain a chance to rebuild its morale after the fiasco.

3) The Battle of North Africa made the Allies come in handy and laid the foundation for the future.

Why the performance of the Italian army is so bad, even disgusting, Marshal Kesselring has a detailed explanation in his memoirs, which is summarized as follows:

1) Italy has never taken a serious attitude towards war, which is related to its nationality.

2) Mussolini's achievements are superficial and cannot stand the test.

3) Italy has no intention to make full use of the war potential, resulting in a lot of waste.

4) Italian officers lack professionalism and do nothing.

In a word, Italy's participation in the war is harmful to Germany. In World War II, its role was often to "help the enemy". Sun Tzu said, "The Lord will build an army without anger and will not fight the enemy." Mussolini, on the other hand, was emotional, but the decision of state affairs should not be impulsive, and he must be calm and rational. "Nothing is difficult in the world, if you put your mind to it" is Italy!