Italy WW2

[Emmersonforest4]

Inspired by Yorkshire Gamer completely after I had a gentlemen’s war painted for me. I saw his Italian army and thought it was ace. So I’ve started along the same project. I don’t get het up on scales as long as they are vaguely similar. So I have a mixture of empress, warlord, Perrys, wargames Atlantic and some independent 3D resin models. Just thought I’d share some photos. Also a question from me as well, did the carabinieri have a desert uniform? I literally couldn’t find it anywhere and on their service record it said they weren’t in the desert. So my apologies to anyone who loves historical accuracy I totally understand why you do but I couldn’t leave those models behind and I really wanted them in my desert army.

[Emmersonforest4]

Photos attached

[Emmersonforest4]

More photos

[Tom Dulski]

Oh they look great, I really dig the Africans with the Fez's.

[warburton]

Nice 

[italwars]

Also a question from me as well, did the carabinieri have a desert uniform? I literally couldn’t find it anywhere and on their service record it said they weren’t in the desert. my.

Yes they actually sported a tropical/desert uniform and they also fought in the Lybian Desert .. At  Eluet El Asel in 1941 , the elite "Carabinieri paratroopers" Btg lost half his numbers in a rear guard action.
Unfortunatly they did nt wear the iconic (not for me) tricorn called "Lucerna" but, instead, steel helmets, cork helmets and normal desert uniform with distintive black and red should boards, silver/white braids on collar  and headgear with grenade with flame insigna . The tricorn type "lucerna" was used, during some guard duties and prisoner escort, even at front, but only in WW1..In WW2 they are just some few picts of Carabinieri in "tricorn" in guard duty but not at front, in occupied France, Balkans and Italy but certainly not in action.

Pictures of "carabinieri paratroopers btg " show very relaxed  campaign appearance including bare torsos and shorts..some men of that btg had been equipped with canvas pouches similar to the british ones and very different from those provided to other italian units..some "paratrooper helmets" with front padded protection appears in a few picts of that btg....Many picts show carabinieri (both from paratropeers btg. and normal ones) equipped with a cavalry/artillery type bandolier pouches..As concern small weapons, the pourcentage of Beretta MAB 38 smg was higher among carabinieri  if compared with other troops. but probably, in Western Desert,  only Carabinieri, Assault Engineers, San Marco marines and Folgore paratroopers ,  had been provided with such an unreliable automatic weapon..rest of carabinieri armed with Breda LMGs and short Carcano M91 short musket (also distributed to majority of colonial troops, cavalry, art. crews, drivers, paratroopers and, to some extent, also to bersaglieri and alpini) ..some with foldable bayonet.

[Emmersonforest4]

Awesome thank you for this. That information is so detailed thank you for taking the time to write. Yeah I thought it would be strange for a bicorn hat to be worn in the desert. So I am just going to presume these are behind the lines troops in their off duty uniform.

I have some San Marco marines that I am going to paint up. I may get some Paracadutisti as well and paint them up as Carabinieri. They are a such a wicked army to paint. I have a box of fasciti and Bersaglieri to build up as well.

[italwars]

. I have a box of fasciti and Bersaglieri to build up as well.

I really want to congratulate you for your  project and interest for our Army that fought in Western Desert
As you talked about bersaglieri and "fascisti" i don't guess to which unit you refer as "fascisti"..maybe the "Black Shirt Militia"?  but may i suggest you a less known but very iconic unit..the "Giovani Fascisti Regiment".?.they were not , despite the name, a National Fascist Party 's militia..far from that..they were all very young volunteers (in fact the only unit in the WW2 Italian Army made out of volunteers only) , recruited among well educated university students milieux or even school boys  , all very motivated trained and lead by few aged Royal Army reserve officers, possibly WW1 veterans..not fascist party menbers..in fact the real "Fascist " branch of the Italian military forces where the so called "black shirts"..that's to say only militia soldiers, not particularly well trained and led by amateur political officers..so they weren't trusted among  the Italian Army ..in fact the "Young Fascist Reg" was more or less forced to accept to be named "fascist" in order to be included among the troops sent to Africa (you can detect from the picts that the collars of their uniform show the white/silver stars of the Royal Army and not the "fasces" of the PNF Black Shirt militia)
Once into action, even if poorly equipped, dressed with used uniforms and having distributed old weapons, some even stolen, by them, from WW1 museums and stocks before their departure from Italy, they fought galantly at Bir El Gobi in 1941 and sucesfully repulsed, with molotov cocktails,  47mm AT guns and helped by only a pair of M14 tanks short of fuel and ammo  and some Bersaglieri MMG  crews, far superior and  better equipped British armored forces ..Note: about 30 years ago i had the pleasure to have a talk with a survivor of that very unit and battle (Bir El Gobi) and he told me that the great accuracy of their few, probably obsolete,  47mm AT guns,  was partly due to the fact that all the crews menbers where all enthousiastic engeenering university students, in one case, even lead by their professor!.

The GG FF fought, with distinction,  until the end up to the last campaign in Tunisia fighting  overwehlming New Zealand forces at Enfidaville and even after the last of Afrika Korps troops had already surrendered and, finally,   becoming   the most decorated unit that fought in the African front together with the Folgore paratroopers..probably they did'nt get, after the war, contrary to the Folgore paras, the attention they deserved just for reasons connected to the "politically correct" approach that drives the medias.

if you can find some French Colonial Zouaves separated heads with fez type headgear (Gripping Beast/Woodbine Designs make them among their WW1 French range) you can easily convert your Warlord Bersaglieri or other 28mm Italian Infantry into those "Giovani Fascisti" that , despite the African sun, never avoided, even in action, to wear their distinctive black fez;  they had been nicknamed, by their British opponents,  "the Mussolini boys"

[Emmersonforest4]

THank you for this information, I really like that unit. I have a box of warlord with those caps in it. So I am defineetly going to that unit. I am loving the history lessons and thank you again for taking the time to make me more knowledgable.

[italwars]

You’re welcome ..in case you need any infos on Italian uniforms, battles ecc ..feel free to ask me even PM

[CapnJim]

Your Italians look good.  Well done!

[Emmersonforest4]

Cheers Capn! Thank you for the feedback

[HerbertTarkel]

Lovely force and project!

[robh]

Nice collection and some really interesting history in the thread.

My Grandfather was in the RASC attached to 7th Armoured from 1940 and served through the entire Desert campaign. He always said not to believe the populist view of the Italian Army that we were brought up with in the 60s and 70s.

[italwars]

Interesting witness from your grandfather ..7 th armored div early period 1940 is my favorite British unit ..I’m just painting their reconnaissance Rollls Royce armored cars..fascinating but very difficult to paint, even in 1/72, their beautiful  camouflage counter scheme . battle relates and maps, unit histories  for 1940 italian offensive toward Egypt  and subsequent British counteroffensive , are very scarce in Italian literature …I’m relaying principally on British and Australian ones.