Unlike many of the warring powers, Italy really did not have all that much in the way of elite units. The Germans had their paratroops and the British the SAS, but Italy did not have much in the same vein. About the closest they got was a naval unit that operated high speed boats with charges installed and what were effectively manned torpedoes.

This unit was pretty much it at the start of Italy's participation in WWII in June of 1940 and the one that had the most success, though not as much as they had initially hoped. The high speed boats were not suicide boats with the crew bailing from the boat prior to impact in a stern section that separated from the rest of the boat. Even more successful were the manned torpedoes. These played Havoc with the British in the Mediterranean with some spectacular successes at Gibralter and Alexandria. These were initially towed into position but later, submarines were outfitted to carry them. Even after the armistice, the boat unit was still  active, albeit not as successful as the earlier incarnation of the unit. Midget submarines were also used and transported to the Black Sea, again with little in the way of success.

Italy also had paratroop units based on the German successes, but like all of the specialized units, there were not conceived until after the war started and saw little use as intended. They were intended to capture air bases during the invasion of Malta, a campaign that was never carried out and were expended as regular troops in Tunisia and Sicily.

The same goes for the special Naval Landing Force troops  as well as other specialized units. These troops were poorly trained, underequipped for their jobs and never got the chance to operate as intended. After the armistice, several of these units were reformed under the control of the Germans, but since they were rarely trusted, did little of any importance.

The authors cover the full spectrum of these troops and a goodly portion of the book delves on the 10th MAS with their manned torpedoes and attack boats as they were the ones with the greatest success. As the Elite series is as much a uniforms and troops weapons/equipment book as anything most of the photos concentrate on that aspect of things. There are the usual superb full color plates to go along with this, so those who are figure modelers will find much interest in this title.

I learned a great deal I did not know from this book and found it to be not only an interesting read, but a look into what could have been. It is one I can easily recommend to you for a look at a little known aspect of Italian military history.

April 2013

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