What Are You Currently Reading? 2014

[Firn]

Firn,

Thanks for that discovery. One to add to my list.

...

The Italians were in the Crimea campaign and the siege of Sevastapol before the campaign towards the Caucasus and Stalingrad.

Glad to help. I don't know how the translation is. In the orginal dialects play a considerable role, just as the Italian army slang of that time.

I'm not sure about the Crimea one but as Alpini or mountain troops they were earmarked as far as I know for the Caucasus before getting used to hold those extended lines along the Don. Which also meant that they were not only relatively badly equipped as was usual for Italian forces, but also very lightly. If the anti-tank situation was dire for the standard German infantry divisions it was even more so for the Italian mountain ones. Leadership, up from the junior level and morale were problems for Italian troops, less so arguably for the Alpini. I think the rather competent Balck asked why an Italian should fight at the river Don - a question arising also in that book not only once...

Still it seems that the company of Stern wasn't doing badly and did more then it's share in breaking blocking positions, sometimes with German armored and combined fire support.

Writing from a German camp after refusing to join in 1943 he doesn't shy away from describing the nasty and criminal stuff comitted by others or unknowns which is usually omitted if done by one's side. No surprises there, especially if at best the discipline broke down in some of the troops of the various nations or it was seen as 'military necessity'...