Does Graziani get a bad rap?

[gloriousbattle]

Not as far as his being a brutal commander in Africa.  I imagine we can all agree he was a pretty bad guy.  Rather, I am talking about his quality as a field commander.

Granted, his record wasn't stellar, but he did not want to go into Egypt after the British, knowing his under-mechanized army would get badly mauled - which it did.  However, a general does not always get to pick his battles.  Also, he performed very well at Garfagnana, and sent the British and Americans reeling.

In all, while I don't think he was one of history's great generals, I think he was a competent commander, and not worthy of the "worst general of WW2" charge, that I have often seen thrown in his direction.

[gloriousbattle]

In case anyone is wondering why I'm bringing this up, when it is not really my gaming area, I just got done watching "Lion of the Desert."  This is a nice interwar movie about the conquest of Libya, with two excellent actors, Anthony Quinn and Oliver Reed in the pivotal roles.  Well worth weatching.

[carlos marighela]

That is a fun film. Bankrolled by the late Moammar Gaddafi as it happens.

Graziani was a war criminal, any bad rap he gets, sits easily with me. That said few enough Italian soldiers get their due credit and are too readily sterotyped as losers. Piss poor equipment, logistics and organisation doesn't help.

As an aside, I used to go out with a woman whose father was captured in 1941. Silly bugger escaped and after various perambulations ended the war fighting as a partisan on the Allied side. I say silly bugger because if he had stayed captured he probably would have got to Australia 20 years earlier than he eventually did and saved on the fare into the bargain.  

[gloriousbattle]

That is a fun film. Bankrolled by the late Moammar Gaddafi as it happens.

Are you serious?  That is a fun fact, but is it rumor, or do you have a source?

I'd love to know.

[carlos marighela]

Absolutely serious. It's a fairly well known fact, have a quick google. Not sure why it would surprise. It was shot in Libya, finanaced by Libya, cast of thousands involved Libyan troops IIRC and the film portrays a wily Libyan leader defying the West. As it happens Italy did something similar in the 1930s, Mussolini making  available a whole army division as extras for the making of Scipio Africanus, the story of a wily Roman leader who, yada, yada, yada.....

[gloriousbattle]

Huh.  Somethin' new every day!