DrG
Active Member
I admit I am not a keen reader of post-war memoirs, given that quite often they were written under the heavy influence of the political climate and/or dictated by the will of casting a positive light on the author's deeds during and before the war. Not rarely, unless they had been written by a ghostwriter, they are also books of very limited stylistic appeal (with two notable exceptions, "Sciacalli addosso al S.I.M." by gen. Mario Roatta and "Pelle d'ammiraglio" by adm. Alberto Da Zara, which are very enjoyable).
Instead, I find extremely interesting the diaries and collections of private letters by military leaders, provided they haven't been altered of course. As far as I know only a handful of such books have been published by Italian military leaders. If anybody can add further books to the following list will be wellcome.
Instead, I find extremely interesting the diaries and collections of private letters by military leaders, provided they haven't been altered of course. As far as I know only a handful of such books have been published by Italian military leaders. If anybody can add further books to the following list will be wellcome.
- Ugo Cavallero, "Diario 1940-1943": it is a diary fully centered on marshall Cavallero's activity as Chief of General Staff, without any intimate remark. It is absolutely a must read, given that it provides a day-by-day account of its author's point of view on the Italian strategy. At the same time, Cavallero was rather myopic in his approach: for example, when he acted as commander of the Army Group of Albania in the winter 1940-41 he devoted only a handful of lines to the other theaters of war, but he was very detailed with regards to the Greek campaign. When he returned to Rome his focus was centered on North Africa and especially on the logistics for most of the time, therefore he left the Balkans and Russia in the background. Naval and Air matters were often neglected or simply delegated to the respective chiefs of staff or their second in command (adm. Sansonetti and gen. Santoro).
- Giovanni Messe, "Lettere alla moglie": the collection of marshall Messe's letters to his wife, covering the Greek, Russian and Tunisinian campaigns. This book is very interesting about the personality of the author, even though the intimate passages have been cut (the book has been edited by his very old son, with a rather unimpressive introduction by prof. Giusti), while it is of limited interest with regards to military operations. It is useful, instead, to understand how the author cared for his soldiers, his faith in the political leadership and his rather bad relations with colleagues.
- Mario Roatta, "Diario. 6 settembre-31 dicembre 1943": I haven't read it, so I can only report a friend of mine's comment, who has found it a rather intimate book, useful to understand the author's personality and mood, but with only a handful of passages of broader historical interest.
