Italians in North Africa

[Sinewgrab]

So, in my group of gamers, someone decided we needed to get North Africa started for our Bolt Action gaming.  Since everyone else is continuing their forces from the Western Front (British, American, German), I, who had been using Partisans (see my WWW2 'Cult" army here: http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=92143.0 if you'd like) and had a couple Italian tanks, fell into the Italians for this as well.  Besides, I kinda like the look of their vehicles.

I don't have any of my infantry ready yet, but I just finished off all of the vehicles I have been collecting in the last few months as I sell off less interesting projects.

This is a mix of Company B, Blitzkrieg, and Warlord models.

First off, a truck with an anti-aircraft gun.




An M13/40



An M11/39

 

Another M13/40 - one is Warlord, the other Blitzkrieg.  Very different...
 
 

A Semovente 75/18

 

A pair of 47/32s - one of which I am using as a command vehicle.
 
 

A 90/53 - I loved the look on my friend's face when I dropped this down when he though he had me by bringing a Tiger.
 
 

And you have to have transports, right? Can't expect the Bersaglieri to walk, can we?


And we now have the cute factor - CV-33s.  These things were so freaking small.  My Prius is bigger...
 

And the group shot, with a Princess Leia for scale, because, well, reasons.  I don't have any of my infantry done yet.


Avanti Savoia!

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Very good.

[Helen]

Excellent start to your collection. You need some L6s for the lancer units.

[Marine0846]

Very nice painting.
Love them.

[Sinewgrab]

Excellent start to your collection. You need some L6s for the lancer units.

I have one for my Cultists, but were there really many L6-40s in North Africa?  The things I am reading seem to differ heavily on that?

[Helen]

I have one for my Cultists, but were there really many L6-40s in North Africa?  The things I am reading seem to differ heavily on that?

approx 20 for El Alamein and perhaps additional for Tunisia.

[Harry Faversham]

Love the look of that Eyetie tackle...
they look like the kind of tanks we all drew as kids in skool!

[Sinewgrab]

Very nice painting.
Love them.

Thanks - I'll have to bring them along for one of the games I run.  Maybe fighting hordes of Undead or an invasion of aliens...

approx 20 for El Alamein and perhaps additional for Tunisia.

Huh.  Can you (or anyone paying attention) recommend reading material on it?  It seems to me everyone assumes the conflict didn't really matter until Rommel got there, and that seems very slighting of the Italian Army.

[Quendil]

Very nice, I am just building up some Italians myself

[ork56]

Nice stuff, I am drawn to a faster grouping of AS41 and Saharianas, which I think look amazing. Interesting on the difference in the tanks-I will have to have a closer look, thanks for pointing that out.

[Helen]

Huh.  Can you (or anyone paying attention) recommend reading material on it?  It seems to me everyone assumes the conflict didn't really matter until Rommel got there, and that seems very slighting of the Italian Army.
[/quote]

i get back to you.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Huh.  Can you (or anyone paying attention) recommend reading material on it?  It seems to me everyone assumes the conflict didn't really matter until Rommel got there, and that seems very slighting of the Italian Army.

The only book I have is the Armour In Battle: Wavell's Offensive by Bryan Perrett published by Ian Allan in 1979.

[Ballardian]

 There is a reasonable Osprey book 'Italian soldier in North Africa 1941–43 By Piero Crociani, Pier Paolo Battistelli' - which has the advantage of being quite cheap & readily available. There's also Ian Walker's 'Iron Hulls, Iron Hearts: Mussolini's Elite Armoured Divisions in North Africa' covering, unsurprisingly, Italian armour - I'm not so sure about this ones availability though.

[Poiter50]

I have Iron Hearts, a good read, details the poor tactics used initially and the realisation that they needed to be adapted just as the Brits did in their contacts with the DAK. Ex

[Dent]

Have a look at:

Mussolini's Afrika Korps: The Italian Army in North Africa, 1940-1943