Today In History

I think that, in Allies point of view, the question was to not taking any risk and save allied soldiers lives as much as possible, at least it's what i understand in their arguing. But, if it's really the case, all the global campaign of Italy should have been considered a bit more, let's say seriously. If they really wanted to save soldiers lives, maybe there were other ways for that. C'mon, they didn't have any map ? They didn't noticed that the way to Rome was totally blocked by this mountain, known since the Ancient Rome? For me, it seems that they did act as if they discovered this major obstacle, and the key defensive position it represents, only once they have their nose on it. And they sent waves and waves of infantry assault on this mountain, the Gurkhas, the New Zealanders, the US Texas Division, and so much others, with the bloody results we know. Just basic and primal use of cannon fodder. Strange way to save soldiers lives, really, doubtless General Nivelle would not have done anything else. Also, i think they're not much to recognize that it was, finally, the intelligent maneuver of French General Juin that permitted to unblock this dramatic situation ...

Nik, they wanted save European soldiers lives. And for this reason they sent Colonial troops. Maybe they thought that Italy was not so important to sacrifice European soldiers lives. Maybe they thought that English, French and other european lives were more important than Indian or Moroccan lives. I don't know.
But those soldiers committed lots of bad stuffs here. They liberated us, ok, but they raped many women and many young girls. We call it "marocchinate" (maroquinades in French).
There's also a movie with Sophia Loren, La Ciociara ("Ciociaria" is the historical name of the Province where I live), about these brutal episodes.
However it's the war. Italian soldiers did bad stuffs in North Africa as well.


Monument called "Mamma Ciociara", in a small town not far from mine:

Yeah, this point about rapes is all along the war, in Berlin, in Italy, also in Normandy, on every sides. Another "beautiful" aspect of the war ...

Nothing new present days with some of the UN "peacekeepers" troops ...

Why "wrong side"?
There is no good or bad side. They had Mussolini, and Italians just love him, same like in germany where Hitler was loved by peaople.

Well, the Armistice of Cassibile was signed on September 3, 1943 and, at this date, the Italian forces stopped hostilities with the Allies, so i don't know if it can go with the battle of Cassino PS : More, it's precisely because of this remission of the Italian forces that there were these elite German forces in Italy, the paratroopers of Kurt Student at Monte Cassino and the forces of Albert Kesselring in Anzio, who both demonstrate very high skills and intelligence in combat, one has to admite it. /PS

Also, about this question of "wrong side", i think that, if (very) basically this war was a war between fascism and democracies, i think that fascism was the "wrong side" ...



EDIT : Once for all, global Thank you to all the people who participate to discussions on this historical forum.