Italians on the Eastern Front - CSIR 1941 - 1943

Today, we will talk about the Regio Esercito's actions on the Eastern Front from 1941 to 1943. It's absolutely fantastic to be here posting videos again, and I hope to be able to put out even more content in the upcoming weeks.
Sources
www.unirr.it/storia/c-s-i-r#f...
expo.fsfi.it/firenze2015/exhib...
www.unitalianoinrussia.it/201...
it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpo_d...
If you'd like to help out, here's my Patreon!
patreon.com/Stern334

Пікірлер: 71

  • @gese2gese862
    @gese2gese862 Жыл бұрын

    would appreciate more video content of Italians on the Eastern Front during the Dec1942 period. Great video!

  • @NikhilSingh-007

    @NikhilSingh-007

    Жыл бұрын

    Yeah, Operation Little Saturn.

  • @mwbright
    @mwbright Жыл бұрын

    My uncle fought Germans and Italians during the war. He said the Italians were better soldiers than the Germans and the Americans, and the only reason anyone was able to beat them was because their highest officers were political appointees who didn't know what they were doing. In fact, I think the commander of all the Italian forces in North Africa was about 90 years old and had never commanded anything previously. That guy spent the whole campaign sending his troops into situations that no army could have won.

  • @Nellis202

    @Nellis202

    5 ай бұрын

    What army was your uncle in , British , Russian ?

  • @mwbright

    @mwbright

    5 ай бұрын

    @@Nellis202 He was a US Army paratrooper. Everything I know about him is from other family members, as he passed before I was born. He did make it home though, with a steel plate in his skull. Apparently, his early death was a direct result of injuries during the war.

  • @aldolamberti3855

    @aldolamberti3855

    5 ай бұрын

    Grazie ! Dopo tutti gli insulti distribuiti '' gratuitamente '' anni fa sul soldato Italiano , adesso arrivano gli apprezzamenti per questi ragazzi che con armamento e ufficiali inadeguati hanno saputo conquistarsi il rispetto dei loro CAVALLERESCHI AVVERSARI ( mai nemici )

  • @MrMenefrego1

    @MrMenefrego1

    2 ай бұрын

    @mwbright Marshal Italo Balbo was the first overall commander in N. Africa, and then Marshall Rudolfo Graziani assumed power after his death. Neither of them were "about 90 years old." The following statement you made is also incorrect: "That guy spent the whole campaign sending his troops into situations that no army could have won."

  • @banmadabon

    @banmadabon

    24 күн бұрын

    @@MrMenefrego1 Balbo was gunned down on his plane by Italian flak (Mussolini didn't like his increasing popularity and "clipped" his wings)

  • @Desmo900SS
    @Desmo900SS Жыл бұрын

    Interesting video. Good footage of Italian troops in action. 👍

  • @SternOnYoutube

    @SternOnYoutube

    Жыл бұрын

    Thank you!

  • @vanishingfolklore
    @vanishingfolklore Жыл бұрын

    Some books on the topic translated to English : Few Returned by Eugenio Corti , Seargent in the Snow by Mario Stern

  • @SternOnYoutube

    @SternOnYoutube

    Жыл бұрын

    I've read Sergeant in The Snow by Rigoni Stern. That's where the channel's name comes from! I'll probably make a video on him and his memoirs soon.

  • @Nellis202
    @Nellis2025 ай бұрын

    Unlike the Germans , the Italians did not kill their captives and refused to hand over any Russian prisoners to the Wehrmacht once they learned what the fate of the poor Russian prisoners would be.

  • @daniby9894

    @daniby9894

    Ай бұрын

    @Nellis202 My friend's dad was a child during WWII in a village occupied by italians and he has fond memories of italian soldiers that were always kind to children , even giving them treats.

  • @francescomartella9048

    @francescomartella9048

    24 күн бұрын

    Giusto, primo perché uccidere un uomo che si è arreso è inumano, e c'è la guerra di per se che è inumana e poi perché un prigioniero è protetto dalla convenzione di Ginevra.

  • @richardricks5734
    @richardricks57348 ай бұрын

    Enjoyed this documentary very much. Thanks for posting. Italian contribution to WW2 pre and post 1943 is fascinating.

  • @stironeceno
    @stironeceno Жыл бұрын

    my Father was a member of the ; Regia Aeronautica ( Italian Air Force ) , stated in Scuteri Albania on to Giannina Greece , Dniperpetroski Ukraine and Stalino Russia .those are the Cities I remember mentioning .

  • @JAR98
    @JAR98Ай бұрын

    My family moved to the US from Italy decades ago, my father and uncle are US Marine Corps combat veterans but my great grandfather was an Italian soldier in WWII. He served after 1943 so he actually served against the germans and he was captured. Had to walk all the way home after the war ended

  • @BadRussian77
    @BadRussian77 Жыл бұрын

    I always felt sorry for Italians on the eastern front, cause they had to suffer the russian winter like nobody else.

  • @capoislamort100

    @capoislamort100

    Жыл бұрын

    Indeed, the Spaniards got hit pretty hard too.

  • @user-ld9hx7eh8b

    @user-ld9hx7eh8b

    9 ай бұрын

    I hate Stalin. Instead of hanging all the Italians on Russian birches, he released these scum from Russian camps.

  • @francisdrake7060

    @francisdrake7060

    5 ай бұрын

    ​@@capoislamort100 The what? 😂😂 Are you comparing thousands of Italians and other nationalities with the Division Azul? Only couple hundreds spaniards participate there, Spain was mostly not present in WW2, only couple hundreds soldiers took part in the conflict.

  • @kitlykee1381

    @kitlykee1381

    2 ай бұрын

    ​@@francisdrake706045000 is not a few hundred. However, didn't over 400,000 Italians serve in the east?

  • @xspectre8934
    @xspectre8934 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you for the amazing content.

  • @Roriksteadhorsethief
    @Roriksteadhorsethief Жыл бұрын

    Amazing content, suprised you dont get more views.

  • @liftwaffe.8150
    @liftwaffe.81504 ай бұрын

    My great grandfather was a tenent of the Alpini, "tridentina" brigade, one of a few man returning from the nikolajewka battle, i still remember the painting of him and the russian sword near the chimney...

  • @chrislondo2683
    @chrislondo26837 ай бұрын

    I really want to see a movie about the Italians in the Eastern Front.

  • @r.s.334

    @r.s.334

    Ай бұрын

    lol, not kidding, i have thought about that for 20 years. a friend at the time told me a story of his uncle in russia that would make a great movie. never got that screen play going though

  • @vanishingfolklore
    @vanishingfolklore Жыл бұрын

    Well done. Giovanni Messe was Pugliese as well.

  • @Nellis202

    @Nellis202

    5 ай бұрын

    Yes , he was competent , unlike the arrogant northerners !

  • @banmadabon

    @banmadabon

    24 күн бұрын

    @@Nellis202 Drop the pipe...

  • @robvig60
    @robvig608 ай бұрын

    Bravisimo!!

  • @gvbrandolini
    @gvbrandolini3 ай бұрын

    Interessante

  • @NikhilSingh-007
    @NikhilSingh-007 Жыл бұрын

    Excellent!

  • @robertcameron2808
    @robertcameron2808 Жыл бұрын

    A great little video.

  • @wadejustanamerican1201
    @wadejustanamerican1201 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you for the video.

  • @SternOnYoutube

    @SternOnYoutube

    Жыл бұрын

    Thanks for the comment!

  • @danburanzon910
    @danburanzon910Ай бұрын

    My late father was a soldier during WW2. He'd tell me that serving in Northern Africa all he and his group mostly did was shoot at empty beer cans and constantly retreating. He came from a poor family. In winter time the family would circle around closely their cow in stable to stay warm. His other brothers were sent off to Greece. When the Italians surrendered and told to lay down their weapons, my uncles were lined up and machime gunned down by the Nazis. After my said all the bodies were bulldozed off the cliff. Sorry to get off track but it's hard to see neo nazis still parading around. My maternal uncle went underground as a partisan. Doing his best to stay alive In my mom's hometown of Crespanno del Grappa the nazis hung the young 18 year olds in the the town square Anyways that's just a small part of my heritage. Im first generation in the U.S. Have stayed with my Italian cousins several times over the years. Memorable times were hiking up Monte Grappa overlooking all the small towns at it's base. At the top, Cima Grappa is the WW1 memorial of all the fallen Italian soldiers that defended Italy from the invading Austrians. So much history.

  • @brentclackson7009
    @brentclackson7009 Жыл бұрын

    The troops fought well but were led badly.

  • @TheDanks

    @TheDanks

    8 ай бұрын

    Badly, but not under Giovanni Messe

  • @nukekidontheblock8349

    @nukekidontheblock8349

    6 ай бұрын

    Utter BS

  • @catcannon9064
    @catcannon906410 ай бұрын

    very interesting fotage ive never seen bofore, very cool👍..... by the way the picture you show when talking about the romanians are actually bulgarians

  • @delivererx
    @delivererx4 күн бұрын

    Perhaps the context is well set and you may refer to the CSIR as Italians.

  • @Armored_Ariete
    @Armored_Ariete11 ай бұрын

    my great uncles fought with the alpini to the don, were led back to concentration camps in germany and siberia

  • @user-qh7ex3nv9p
    @user-qh7ex3nv9p4 ай бұрын

    The axis alliance of Italy took part in the invasion of Russia in 1941they fought all the to starlingrad

  • @jonny-b4954
    @jonny-b49546 ай бұрын

    8:08 Poor dude, having to haul a gun piece like that by himself haha. It's weird our forces nowadays don't have any weapons like that at the platoon and company level. Just mortars and MMG's. Mostly LMG's actually.

  • @aidsskrillex327
    @aidsskrillex327 Жыл бұрын

    Those feathers on the helmets were a really bad idea in combat. The Russian sees the feather coming up ahead of the helmet and he's already got that SVT-40 aimed in the right place as soon as the face is showing.

  • @robvig60

    @robvig60

    8 ай бұрын

    Yes… that being said the feathers are, of course, a matter of tradition & pride for the Bergsaliere regiments.

  • @nukekidontheblock8349

    @nukekidontheblock8349

    6 ай бұрын

    You must be the smartest guy in the family ehe ahahahaha

  • @francescomartella9048
    @francescomartella90486 ай бұрын

    Mi dispiace ma non parlo l'inglese 😢😢😢😢😢😢

  • @banmadabon

    @banmadabon

    24 күн бұрын

    usa la traduzione dei sottotitoli

  • @user-nr5tp2jo3u
    @user-nr5tp2jo3u3 ай бұрын

    Italians are not warriors. They are musicians, cookers, poets and architectures!

  • @977Hendrix

    @977Hendrix

    2 ай бұрын

    Bullshit. You don't know medieval and modern history

  • @SER540x

    @SER540x

    2 ай бұрын

    Tell that to the Romans!

  • @fabriziopastorino3792

    @fabriziopastorino3792

    Ай бұрын

    in fact you were in Lepanto

  • @KeyserSoze-vi6xe

    @KeyserSoze-vi6xe

    27 күн бұрын

    Said the coward with the profile picture of who sent to death millions of christians (against us, that only lost thousands) 2000 years of history you didn’t even open a page Ill bet 😂

  • @brex50
    @brex50 Жыл бұрын

    Italy tried to fight a modern war with toy weapons....They were right to hang Mussolini up by his heels.....

  • @sharonrigs7999

    @sharonrigs7999

    Жыл бұрын

    They would have done better with pizza cutters

  • @estatesales9818

    @estatesales9818

    Жыл бұрын

    "You go to war with the army you have." - Donald Rumsfeld

  • @stralabastro142

    @stralabastro142

    Жыл бұрын

    and yet managed to pose a serious threat for the allies for the whole war

  • @tomfilipiak3511

    @tomfilipiak3511

    Жыл бұрын

    I never heard much good about Italian troop in the war!Prove me wrong!

  • @stralabastro142

    @stralabastro142

    Жыл бұрын

    @@tomfilipiak3511 You're perfectly right, as you said you just "heard". Maybe you should read some books or watch non biased videos.

  • @PaulMcCartGuitarTracks
    @PaulMcCartGuitarTracks Жыл бұрын

    These reports are so positive you would think Italy won the war.

  • @giuseppeboemi927

    @giuseppeboemi927

    Жыл бұрын

    They are positive because the italians on the eastern front fought nothing short of amazingly, while most other belligerants complained of being outgunned we were fighting the soviets with L6 light (very light) tanks, and advancing along with our allies with their strict tight schedule, for that matter. Pretty much the same for the north african campaign (as our german allies were about 30-40 thousand men), less the ridicolous and frankly unjustifiable defeat of the early invasion of Egypt, where that pr**k Mussolini was sent to work some of our lousiest units rather than the motorized and armoured divisions of the Po Army, "because the british are about to negotiate anyway".