Italy in Arms

(See Cover)

For all his cheek-puffing and chest-swelling, his bellicose roars of Roman conquest from the balcony of the Palazzo Venezia (TIME, June 17), Dictator Benito Mussolini last week did not hurl his Italian war machine into World War II in German Blitzkrieg style. He had entered the war not to fight so much as to share a victory. Waiting for that time, he naturally edged into action cautiously. He laid some mines, dropped a few bombs, fired a few torpedoes, started a few tanks rolling in the remote Somalilands (see above). His people were not spoiling for a fight and he appeared to be spoiling only for the spoils.

The hard-pressed Allies exchanged a few sharp jolts with him in northern Italy, Libya, Eritrea. The British clamped shut, at Gibraltar and Suez, the gates of their Mediterranean cage for Mussolini. This action cut off Italian East Africa from Rome. The Allies rounded up throughout the world such Italian merchant ships as did not scuttle themselves or hole up in neutral ports, including the Umbria en route to Eritrea through the Red Sea with 5,000 tons of air bombs and thousands of bags of cement.

But hundreds of German officers and troops were reported moving into Italy as mentors for the Italian Army. Grand Admiral Erich Raeder appeared there to advise the Italian Fleet. Large numbers of Italian officers & men were reported moving into Germany through the Brenner Pass, to make the Axis effort look more joint.

Little old King Vittorio Emanuele III was pressed into service. This pint-sized (5 ft. 3 in.) King, who really prefers peace-- and for whom the Italian people preserve filial affection, was strutted off in all his regimentals to some secret "zone of operations" where he proclaimed: "Soldiers of the land, sea and air.

"As Supreme Chief of all armed forces, in accordance with my sentiments and the traditions of my house, I return among you as I did 25 years ago. . . .

"I am thinking of you deeply while you are sharing with me our profound attachment and complete dedication to our immortal country. Gird yourselves to face difficult tests, together with allied Germany, with uncrushable faith in mastering them.

"Soldiers of the land, sea and air, united to you as never before, I am certain that your bravery and the patriotism of the Italian people will again assure victory to our glorious arms."

Personnel. The High Command of those glorious arms was announced by First Marshal Mussolini: Chief of the General Staff -- Marshal Pietro Badoglio.

Chief of Staff for the Navy -- Admiral Domenico Cavagnari.

Chief of Staff for Air -- General Francesco Pricolo.

Under Marshal Badoglio was a vice chief of the General Staff, General Ubaldo Soddu, but the Army's No. 2 man and field chief was Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, commanding the divisions along the French frontier. Crown Prince Umberto commanded an Army facing toward Yugoslavia where danger seemed small indeed this week. Commanding a southern defense corps headquartered in Sicily was Marshal Emilio De Bono, a white-bearded little Fascist oldster who planned and provoked the Ethiopian War, then botched it. Commanding in Libya was that "accomplished ruffian," Air Marshal Italo Balbo, Libya's Governor.

Badoglio. Of these Army heads, far the ablest and most experienced is Pietro Giuseppe Vittorio Luigi Badoglio, 68, Senator, Marquis of Sabotino, Duke of Addis Ababa. He has fought in all Italian wars since Emperor Menelek of Abyssinia whipped the Italians in Eritrea in 1896 and he, a lieutenant of artillery, helped save the town of Adigrat. He was credited with planning the victory of Zanzur in 1911, which wrested Libya from Turkey. His capture of Mt. Sabotino from the Austrians in 1916 led to the victory at Gorizia and won Colonel Badoglio his generalship. His Second Army was the one which cracked worst at Caporetto but this is excused by his admirers on the ground that he took over the command from a sick predecessor on a few days' notice, that the Austrian surprise attack centred on him. He helped General Armado Diaz and the Allied rescue staff (including France's Weygand) reorganize the Army on the Piave, and planned the final push at Vittorio Veneto in October 1918 which knocked Austria out of World War I. He has been Chief of Staff intermittently ever since, with time out to visit the U. S. (1921), govern Libya (1928-33), finish De Bono's job in Ethiopia. He masterminded Franco's victory in Spain (though he refused to campaign, saying: "I have never been a chief of mercenaries") and studiously applied lessons learned there about mechanization.

Taciturn son of humble parents in Italy's fightingest province, Piedmont, his greatest talents are for organizing and understanding Italian peasants. Boccia, their game of bowls, is his favorite and at it he, big-handed and muscular, is a champion. He also excels at bridge, is said never to overbid. Among military men he rates high as an able, likable professional. France's Gamelin was his good friend, though they differed on war of position v. war of motion.

When ex-Corporal Mussolini marched on Rome in 1922, Marshal Badoglio, stanch monarchist, begged for a battalion of Royal Carabinieri to "sweep away these Black Shirt upstarts." He openly opposed the Ethiopian adventure until it became his duty to finish it. Although his heart may not be in this war, he is too good a soldier not to put his best brains and best effort into it.

Forces. Although it is fashionable to belittle Italian soldiering (Aduwa, Caporetto, Guadalajara), Italy has many troops whose valor and ability should not be underrated. As a result of the Spanish War she has thousands of seasoned officers and men. Besides the Piedmontese and Sardinians, her 50,000 Alpini are first-class, easily on a par with their cousins among the French and Bavarian crags. More spotty are the Arditi divisions, supposed to be shock troops picked for bravery from the general run of infantry. Of 1,500,000 soldiers Italy had under arms last week, about 700,000 were believed to be on the "Littorio Line" from the Riviera to Switzerland, 300,000 farther east (or going up to Germany) under Crown Prince Umberto, 220,000 (black & white) in Libya, 100,000 in Italian East Africa, 100.000 in Sardinia and Sicily, 80,000 in Albania.

Italian divisions have but two regiments each, 10,000 men. Three semi-mechanized celeri (swift) divisions are built around light tanks, horse-drawn and motorized artillery, with Bersaglieri (sharpshooters) on bicycles, motor trucks, motorcycles. Three armored divisions, and six armored regiments have heavier (eight-to-twelve-ton) break-through tanks, besides assault tanks, infantry in trucks, an engineer company with bridging equipment, anti-tank and anti-aircraft units.

All troops are accompanied by bands, to give them rhythm, by which the High Command sets great store. When their band is out of earshot, men are taught to hum to themselves as they fight (a form of self-hypnosis also inculcated by the Germans).

Italian field artillery is curious in being both lighter and heavier than that of most other armies. Instead of the 75-mm. gun common to France, Britain and the U. S., a 65-mm. howitzer is the standard battery weapon, yet each infantry battalion also has nine big 81-mm. mortars. Their antitank and anti-aircraft guns are only 20-mm. (the French 253 proved too light against German tanks), but their machine guns are .50 calibre. Each battalion has 27 automatic rifles (very few).

On land, sea and air the Italian forces are geared rather for hit-&-run tactics than for direct attack. Their aircraft, many of them of wooden construction, hold records for speed and altitude. Their cruisers and destroyers are supposed to go in heavily for smoke screens and seldom venture beyond the range of supporting torpedo planes from land bases. Lightly armored, many of the cruisers sacrifice radius of action for speed as high as 40 knots for the light types. These are for fighting in the Mediterranean, along with swarms of 50-knot motor torpedo boats and small submarines. Other cruisers, designed to raid on the high seas if and when Gibraltar and Suez are forced, can range 10,000 miles without refueling, and the big Italian submarines can cruise 15,000 miles, if and when England is blockaded.

To quench the thirst of fighting men and machines in her desert countries and rocky islands, Italy's Navy has a unique class of water tankers. Italy's two new battleships of 35.000 tons, the Littorio and Vittorio Veneto (with two more coming up) are, until Britain's King George V class takes the sea. the world's most powerful. Italy's Navy is thus well equipped in most departments, needs only to be tested now in battle.

Objectives. An important moment to Italy last week was "non-belligerent" Spain's sudden occupation of international, demilitarized Tangier*on the African shore, west of the Strait of Gibraltar. Marshal Badoglio's older son is secretary of the Italian Legation in Tangier. Ostensibly there are only 1,000 Italians in the population of 75,000, but there are 12,000 Spaniards, and across the Strait, Spanish demonstrators last week shouted, "Gibraltar for Spain!" Just east of Tangier along the coast in Spanish Morocco loomed great coastal guns installed there for Spain by Germany, breasting the British guns on Gibraltar. Opening the western gate of her Mediterranean cage is one of Italy's prime aspirations, and the sidling maneuvers last week of Italian submarines (some of which put into Spanish ports) and planes made it look like an early objective, an easier one without the French Fleet to aid the British.

In his war speech ("The watchword is only one, categoric and binding: CONQUER!") Mussolini said Italy's continental objectives would be sought first. maritime ones later. This turned all eyes toward expected action on the French Riviera and Alpine border--Nice and Savoy. But last week when France gave up, all the Italians had to do was march in.

Corsica, which produced Napoleon, who Mussolini insists was Italian, is an objective Italy should have little difficulty achieving. Malta, which belonged to the Knights of St. John before Napoleon took it in 1798, is solid rock and should come harder. Last week she let Corsica wait like a ripe plum, bombed Malta 25 times and laid mine barrages stretching both sides of it to bisect the Mediterranean and divide the enemy warships (see map, p. 25}.

Algeria and Tunisia, old parts of the Ottoman Empire, Mussolini thinks belong as rightfully to him as to France, which got them by force of arms (Algeria 1830.

Tunisia 1881 ). His mine barrages last week walled in Bizerte, the main French military base in Tunisia, which was also air-bombed heavily.

Most desirable to Italy are Egypt and the Suez Canal, the one rich in cotton, the other vital to reach Italy's present holdings in eastern Africa. Britain got sole sway over Egypt (which both Rome and Napoleon held in their day) in 1882 when France and Italy declined to share the expense of pacifying the country after it revolted against the extravagant grandson, Ismail, of able old Mehemet AH Pasha, who whipped the Turks. Toward these well-guarded objectives Mussolini reconnoitred but moved scarcely at all last week. He did launch an armored column to take Djibouti, French terminal of the railroad from the Red Sea to Addis Ababa, and bombed Aden, British control port opposite Djibouti. His object apparently was to meet blockade with blockade, bottle up the British and what was left of the French in the Middle East and harass them until Hitler should complete Ms smash in Europe.

Waiting-for-Christmas. Before going out of action, the French joined the British in giving Italy a copious taste of air-bombing at Turin (home of Fiat motors), Milan and Venice. French cruisers and destroyers shelled the Ligurian coast (San Remo to Elba), the Italians replying with coast guns and torpedoes, claiming two destroyers struck.

Losing the French Navy would seriously affect Britain's fortunes in war with Mussolini through a vast 40,000-mile theatre stretching from Gibraltar to Aden, because all land forces involved therein must be supplied by sea. Commanding the British naval forces based on Alexandria was Vice Admiral Andrew Browne Cunningham, who last week had to report the torpedoing of the anti-aircraft cruiser Calypso, apparently during action against Italy's Libyan base at Tobruch. His ships sank several Italian submarines and the old cruiser San Giorgio remodeled for coast defense. The British said they were mining the approaches to Venice and the waters around Italy's heel.

The R. A. F. in the Middle East concentrated last week on Italy's Libyan and Eritrean bases, while South African bombers attacked in southern Ethiopia and Jubaland. Patrols of Lieut. General Henry Maitland Wilson's Egyptian command (40,000 strong) took two Italian forts and 200 askari prisoners on the Libyan border.

All this was no major conflict, but it was plain that Mussolini's waiting-for-Christmas policy would not work against the British. For anything he takes from them he will have to fight. To their scorn for Italy's passive game, Marshal Badoglio has a pat answer: they also serve who only stand and wait. The Allies thought it splendid of Italy to stay neutral last time until 1915, and then join them instead of the Kaiser. That released several French divisions for the first Battle of the Marne. Waiting again, Italy has again picked a winner, but this time not the Allies.

Berlin's English-language broadcaster, Lord Haw-Haw, last week restated Rome's case in terms requiring no Italian editing:

"The Italian Armies [last time] were required by their allies to assume tasks out of all proportion to their strength, and because they suffered reverses, which in the circumstances must have overcome even the bravest, they were stigmatized as poor fighters, or even as cowards.

"The descendants of the men who had conquered Britain and Gaul were expected to listen to these taunts and be grateful. Now, thanks to Mussolini, they have recovered the circumstances in which the martial glory, inherent in this long-abused race, can display itself as never before.

"The world will once again hear the tramp of the dauntless Roman Legions. The flashing eagles have been raised aloft to restore to Italy her historic position in the world."

*His majesty was credited in Nice last week with insisting that French civilians be given 48 hours to evacuate the Riviera and Alpine border before Italian bombings

*The 225 sq. mi. around Tangier were internationalized in 1904 when France and Spain partitioned Morocco. The U. S. joined 26 other nations in the Act of Algeciras (1906), which followed Kaiser Wilhelm IPs insistence that the Sultan of Morocco continue to rule, though under French-Spanish protection. Thus the U. S. is represented in the international assembly which legislates for Tangier and the U. S. Consul is a member of the governing Committee of Control.

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