Weapon 1st World War. Weapons of Italy

Before World War I, Italy was part of the Triple Alliance, which opposed the Entente, and therefore the Germans and Austrians were confident that with the outbreak of the war, the Italians would stand in the same ranks with them. However, the descendants of the warlike Romans did not rush into the flames of battle; They began negotiations with both blocs, figuring out which side was more profitable for them to be on. The straightforward Germans did not promise anything to the cunning ones, appealing to their honor and allied obligations, but the British and French promised “manna from heaven” (in the form of additional territories - naturally, after the war). As a result, Italy, having betrayed the Triple Alliance, went over to the side of the Entente and entered into battles against its neighbors, the Austrians. And in vain: having disgraced itself with betrayal, Italy did not receive a meter of additional land from the new allies at the end of the war. Involuntarily I remember the Russian proverb: “There is a cunning man for every cunning…” Well, then you know...
The Italian army of this period was equipped with generally good weapons, but its fighting qualities left much to be desired. This was not due to the quality of the hardware, but to the “human factor”: Italian soldiers fought reluctantly, were not distinguished by tenacity and great courage in battle, preferring mainly defense rather than offensive.

Carcano rifle M.1891


Caliber, mm 6.5x52
Length, mm 1295
Barrel length, mm 780
Weight without cartridges, kg 3.8
Magazine capacity, 6 cartridges per pack
The Italian rifle of the 1891 model of the Carcano system, often also erroneously called Mannlicher-Carcano and Paraviccini-Carcano, was developed by engineer M. Carcano at the state arsenal in Terni and adopted by a commission led by General Paraviccini. Along with the rifle, new 6.5 mm caliber cartridges (6.5x52) with a sleeve without a rim and a long, relatively blunt-pointed jacketed bullet were also adopted. The name of the famous Austrian weapons designer Ferdinand von Mannlicher is associated with this rifle because it uses his burst-loading system magazine, albeit modified (most likely borrowed from the German M1888 rifle). Otherwise, the Carcano system rifles have very little in common with the Mannlicher system rifles. M91 rifles were produced in both infantry versions (with a long barrel, designated Fucile di Fanteria Mo.1891) and carbine versions. Carbines were produced in two types: cavalry (Moschetto Mo.91 da Cavalleria) was adopted for service in 1893, it had an integral folding bayonet; another carbine - for special troops (Moschetto per Truppe Speciali Mo.91, or M91TS), adopted in 1897, equipped with a regular detachable bayonet.
Carcano system rifles have a longitudinally sliding rotary bolt. The barrel is locked by two lugs in the front part of the bolt; the base of the bolt handle serves as the third (safety) lug. The integral box magazine holds six rounds per pack, which remains in the magazine until all rounds are used up. After the last cartridge leaves the magazine, the pack falls out of it down through a special window under its own weight. Unlike the original Mannlicher system pack, the Carcano system pack does not have a “top” or “bottom” and can be inserted into the magazine on either side. The manual safety is located at the rear of the slide, and has two positions, up (safety on) and right (fire). Rifles of the 1891 model had barrels with progressive rifling; since 1938, all rifles of both 6.5 mm and 7.35 mm calibers had barrels with a constant rifling pitch. The sights on the rifles are adjustable and open. All rifles and carbines, except cavalry ones, had mounts for a standard bayonet. Cavalry carbines of the 1891 model had permanent needle bayonets. folding down and back, under the barrel.
It is interesting that although the vast majority of armies in the world followed the Germans in switching to pointed bullets, the Italians retained blunt-pointed bullets for their 6.5x52 mm cartridges. This is explained by the fact that the Italian 6.5 mm bullets had a large lateral load (the ratio of mass to the cross-sectional area of ​​the bullet), and as a result, a good trajectory flatness, and also gave low recoil.


Cavalry Carbine Carcano


Special forces carbine Carcano

Machine gun Fiat-Revelli mod. 1914


Caliber, mm 6.5x52
Length, mm 1180
Barrel length, mm 654
Weight with water, without cartridges, kg 22.0
Machine weight, kg 21.5
Machine type tripod
Rate of fire, rds/min 470
Initial bullet speed, m/s 640
Combat rate of fire, rds/min 300
Magazine capacity, 50 rounds (10 sections of 5 rounds each)

On the eve of World War I, a fairly successful heavy machine gun of the Giuseppe Perino system was tested in Italy; however, it did not enter service with the Italian army. In the 1st world war Italy entered armed with Maxim and Vickers machine guns, and from its own designs, the Fiat-Revelli M1914 (created on the basis of the experimental Revelli machine gun of 1907–1912 chambered for the 6.5 mm M95 “Manhiler-Carcano” cartridge). This model became the first mass-produced Italian-made machine gun.
Its automation worked due to the recoil of a semi-free bolt with a short barrel stroke. The disadvantage of the weapon was that when firing, the bolt buffer rod suddenly jumped out of the box between the control handles and was a source of constant irritation for the machine gunner; in addition, it caused clogging of the mechanism. Sand and other particles stuck to the oiled rod, and were pulled into the even more oiled mechanism box; as a result, delays became inevitable. The magazine (hopper) contained 10 sections of 5 rounds each. After five shots from one section, the feed lever latch was activated, shifting the magazine one step to the right - the Italians had a real passion for non-standard magazine systems that complicated the design. The barrel cooling system, in addition to a casing with a capacity of 5 liters, included two outlet hoses, a condenser tank and a hand pump for pumping water into the casing. The machine gun was placed on a tripod with two short front and long rear legs, and a sector vertical aiming mechanism. In 1917, the machine gun was converted into a manual one - replacing the water cooling with an air one, the machine gun with a bipod, and the butt plate with a butt. With a bipod, such a machine gun weighed 9.9 kg.
It was an extremely unreliable weapon. Therefore, production of the machine gun was stopped immediately after the end of the war, but after adopting several new models, the Italians already in 1935 modernized some of the old Fiat Revellis and used them in World War II.

Submachine gun Villar-Perosa "Revelly" mod. 1915


Caliber, mm 9
Length, mm 533
Barrel length, mm 320
Unloaded weight, kg 6.5
Curb weight, kg 7.41

Continuous type of fire

The Italian army was one of the first to use submachine guns. The submachine gun was designed by B.A. Revelli and produced by Villar-Perosa. It was also produced by Fiat, so it could also be called “Fiat, model 15”. The weapon was a pair of two submachine guns, united at the back by a butt plate with two vertical handles similar to some heavy machine guns (for example, the Maxim machine gun). The launching devices are separate, i.e. shooting could be carried out either from any one barrel or from two at the same time. The shutters are semi-free. When fired, interacting with their protrusions with the bevels in the grooves of the stationary bodies, they rotated around their longitudinal axis by a certain part of the revolution and, thus, their withdrawal slowed down. When loading, the bolts were retracted using S-shaped levers. The food was supplied from two open-end (sector) magazines, with a capacity of 25 rounds each, adjacent to the top; the cartridges were extracted downwards. The submachine gun was equipped with a bipod and sometimes a shield. It was used in infantry, armored units and aviation, but due to a number of identified significant shortcomings (a very high rate of fire, and hence low accuracy and high waste of ammunition, as well as the excessive weight of the weapon), it did not receive recognition and its further use was discontinued.

Submachine gun Beret M.1918 mod. 1918


Caliber, mm 9
Weight, kg 3.3
Length, mm 1092
Type of fire automatic
Rate of fire, rds/min 900
Magazine capacity, 25 rounds

The submachine gun was designed by Tulio Marengoni and manufactured by Beretta. Caliber: 9 mm pistol cartridge (Bergmann). The principle of the automation device is a fixed barrel and a free shutter, opening with a slowdown. The barrel is made longer than a pistol barrel: 400 mm. The magazine for 20 rounds is placed on top, so the sight and front sight are located on the side of the barrel, on the right. Stock with a short fore-end. Under the barrel there is a folding triangular bayonet 200 mm long. The submachine gun with a bayonet weighs 3170 g. The folded bayonet is placed along the fore-end. Spent cartridges are thrown down through a window cut into the receiver and fore-end.
Design disadvantages: aiming from the side of the barrel is inconvenient, the magazine standing on the receiver blocks the field of view to the left of the target, the weapon’s too large caliber does not contribute to the best ballistics.
Advantages of a submachine gun: a long sighting line promotes accurate shooting, an elongated barrel increases initial speed, the light weight of the weapon improves the portability of the latter, the lightweight folding bayonet deserves attention, it can be useful in hand-to-hand combat and, finally, the submachine gun has a very small percentage of delays when firing.
The author does not know whether this submachine gun managed to get to the front and take part in battles.

Officer's weapon

9-mm revolver Bodeo mod. 1889


Double action trigger
Caliber, mm 9x19
Weight without cartridges, g 908
Length, mm 180
Barrel length, mm 92
Drum/magazine capacity 15

Created in 1889, the Pistola a rotazione revolver, Bodeo system, modello 1889, became the service weapon of the Italian army in 1891 and remained so until 1910, when it was replaced by the Glisenti automatic pistol. However, this revolver was never declared obsolete or obsolete. It remained in the personal use of many officers for a long time, and during the 1st World War it was armed with most sergeants and soldiers who were supposed to have short-barreled weapons (machine gunners, artillerymen, signalmen, drivers, etc.). From the very beginning, the weapon was produced in two versions: the officer's model had a trigger guard, the soldier's model had no guard, with a folding trigger (shown in the photo). Most Bodeo models had a faceted barrel, but in 1922-1927 revolvers with a round barrel were produced (the so-called “Modern” model). Today, Bodeo revolvers are often called Glizenti M.1889 revolvers, but this is incorrect - the Glizenti company was only the first to launch the production of this revolver. In general, Bodeo revolvers were produced by a number of companies, not only Italian, but even Spanish. "Bodeo" was in the army reserve until the end of the Second World War.

7.63 mm Mauser pistol S.96 M.1905
(Germany for Italy)


caliber - 7.63 mm
weight – 1.1 kg
Magazine capacity – 6 rounds
initial bullet speed – 420 m/s
sighting range – up to 1000 m

The Mauser S.96 pistol is one of the most famous and popular weapons. It was produced as a civilian pistol, intended for travelers and tourists. The German military was not interested in these weapons and did not adopt them. But the Mauser attracted the attention of the military of some other countries. In particular, Turkey and Italy wanted to purchase this pistol for their military personnel (although both countries bought Mausers in small quantities as an experiment). When ordering their batch, the Italians chose to purchase the Mauser S.96 model 1898 with a reduced magazine, and asked to shorten the barrel of this version to reduce the size of the weapon. This is how the 1905 model appeared, which in the same year went into service with officers of the Italian Navy. A total of 6,000 pistols were supplied to Italy.

9-mm pistol "Glizenti" mod. 1910


Caliber, mm 9 glisenti
Length, mm 207
Barrel length, mm 102
Weight without cartridges, g 850
Drum/magazine capacity 7

The "Factory d'Armi Glisenti" entered the handgun market, establishing for the Italian army the production of the Bodeo revolver model 1889, which is often called the "Glisenti" M-1889 revolver. At the very beginning of the 20th century, the company was significantly transformed and began to be called " Societa Sideurdzhika Glizenti". She began her activities with the development of an automatic pistol. Rumors about a new Italian service pistol began to spread back in 1903, and in 1906 Glizenti purchased the appropriate machines and equipment in the UK to organize production. Organization of production, however , turned out to be associated with significant difficulties, and in the end the company had to purchase from Germany optional equipment. As a result, production of a pistol chambered for an unusual 7.65 x 22 mm cartridge with a bottle-shaped cartridge case began only at the end of 1908. The first samples of the 1906 model did not satisfy the Italian military, and the pistol was upgraded to chamber a 9-mm cartridge, similar in size to the German 9-mm Parabellum cartridge, but featuring a reduced charge that provided less powerful recoil. This variant became known as the 1909 model, and was adopted by the Italian army in 1910.
The limitation of charge power was dictated by the design of the Glizenti pistol. The pistol frame had a drop-down design: when the spring latch was opened, almost the entire left side of the frame was removed. In fact, the frame did not have a left side at all, which negatively affected the rigidity of the structure as a whole; In addition, the left side of the receiver almost did not rest on anything. During operation, the side plate gradually became loose, and the frame began to “play,” which noticeably worsened the operation of the automation. The trigger mechanism of this weapon was also very strange, because during recoil the striker was not cocked. In order to fire a pistol, you had to press hard on the trigger, which first cocked the firing pin, compressing the mainspring, and then released it. Because of this, the trigger had too long a stroke, and significant effort was required to fire a shot. The safety function in this model was performed by a lever forming the front side of the handle.
Glizenti pistols were produced until the early 1920s, although starting in 1916 they were significantly replaced by Berettas. These latter became standard army weapons in 1934, but the Glisenti M-1910 was used in the Italian army until 1945. In 1912, the company released an “improved” Brixia model, but the army was not interested in this new version. A certain number of samples were nevertheless tested, but this design was rejected.

Pistol "Beretta" mod. 1915


Caliber, mm 7.65 auto, 9 mm
Length, mm 149
Barrel length, mm 85
Weight without cartridges, g 570
Magazine capacity 7

The first Beretta was a wartime product, so it was not distinguished by the quality that characterized all the company's previous products. And yet, the “Beretta” M.1915 turned out to be a fairly successful design, which attracted the attention of the military. It was a blowback pistol chambered for three different cartridges: 7.65 "auto" (.32 automatic), 9 mm "Glisenti" and 9 mm "Short" ("Short").
The Beret's bolt-casing had a specific shape and covered the barrel only from the sides, leaving its upper surface open. The detachable barrel was attached to the frame with a pin. The spent cartridges were thrown outside the weapon when struck by the firing pin, which moved forward from the bolt, encountering the trigger during recoil. A separate window for ejecting cartridges was located in the upper part of the bolt casing. Pistols designed for 9-mm cartridges were distinguished by a powerful return spring, the presence of a spring buffer that compensated for the recoil of the bolt-casing, and an improved reflector design. Both modifications had a noticeable protruding safety on the left side of the frame, which also served as a bolt stop, facilitating disassembly.
The Beret, designed and made hastily, turned out to be, however, best weapon than the standard Glisenti army pistol. The popularity of the Beret grew rapidly; front-line officers preferred 9-mm models, staff officers preferred the lighter .32 caliber. Already during the war, the Bereta very noticeably supplanted its competitor, and in the 20s it completely took its place, becoming the main standard weapon of the Italian army.

The maximum capabilities of Italian troops are participation in collective police operations in developing countries

Italy is one of the largest NATO and EU countries in terms of population, economic size and, accordingly, military potential, although, of course, it has not been spared by the pan-European trends of a significant reduction in the armed forces. The country has a very powerful military-industrial complex, capable of producing military equipment almost all classes.

The level of combat training of the personnel of the Italian army is traditionally considered low (it was such during both world wars), but now it has decreased throughout Europe, so Italy has practically ceased to stand out from the general background for the worse. Like most southern European countries, Italy does not recycle, but leaves in warehouses a significant part of obsolete and decommissioned equipment.

Ground forces for last years experienced many organizational transformations, this moment divisions have been restored in them, of which there are three. In addition to them, the ground forces include three separate brigades and four commands.

The Tridentina division is a mountain infantry division and includes the Alpine brigades Taurinense and Julia. The Friuli division is “heavy”, it includes the Ariete armored brigade, the Pozzuolo de Friuli brigade, and the Sassari mechanized brigade. The "Aqui" division is "medium" - with the "Garibaldi" brigades, the mechanized brigades "Pinerolo", "Aosta".

Separate brigades - the Folgore parachute brigade, communications and electronic warfare brigades. Commands - special operations, army, air defense, support.

In addition, the carabinieri (two divisions, one brigade, regional units) can be considered as another component of the ground forces. Like the French gendarmerie, they are subordinate to the command of the Armed Forces, but at the same time they solve a variety of police tasks throughout the country as a whole. The Carabinieri are armed with a number of armored personnel carriers, light aircraft and helicopters, which are included in the total number of equipment (discussed below). At the same time, the level of their combat and especially moral and psychological training is higher than in the army.

Carabinieri during a special operation in southern Italy. Photo: Pier Paolo Cito/AP

The tank fleet of the Italian army consists of 200 self-produced C1 Arietes, created on the basis of the German Leopard-2. In addition, 576 obsolete German Leopard-1s (121 A5, 455 A2) remain in storage.

Often considered as a “wheeled tank” fighting machine with heavy weapons (BMTV) B-1 "Centauro" with a 105-mm cannon. There are 320 of these BMTVs, with another 80 in storage.

The arsenal consists of 32 combat reconnaissance vehicles (BRM), 449 domestic infantry fighting vehicles (249 Freccia, 200 VCC-80 Dardo), up to 4 thousand armored personnel carriers (230 Swedish Bv-206, 1323 American M113, 586 domestic VCC-1, 1267 VCC-2, 672 Puma, 57 Fiat-6614, 17 American amphibious AAV-7). Some armored vehicles, primarily armored personnel carriers, are in storage.

Artillery includes 260 old American self-propelled gunsМ109 and 70 newest German РzН-2000 (155 mm), 164 British towed FH-70 (155 mm) guns (265 domestic М-56 (105 mm) and 54 American М114 (155 mm) in storage), up to 1.5 thousand mortars, 22 American MLRS MLRS (227 mm).

There are 32 of the latest Israeli Spike ATGMs, 858 American Tou, 1000 old French Milan.

Ground-based air defense consists of 18 batteries of the American Hawk air defense system (126 PU), one battery of the latest French SAMP/T air defense system (6 PU), 50 domestic short-range Skygard-Aspid air defense systems, 128 American Stinger MANPADS, 64 domestic air defense systems SIDAM.

Army aviation includes seven light transport aircraft, 59 AW129 Mongoose combat helicopters, and more than 300 utility and transport helicopters.

The Italian Air Force has six commands: combat; tactical; educational; rear; two regional (northern and southern).

In service there are 73 of the latest European Typhoon fighters, in the production of which Italy itself participates (60 IS, 13 combat training IT), 80 German-British-Italian Tornado IDS bombers (four more in storage), 28 domestic MB339CD attack aircraft , 57 Italian-Brazilian AMX attack aircraft (including 12 AMX-T combat trainers; another 44, including 11 AMX-T in storage). 21 extremely outdated American F-104 fighters remain in storage, which, due to their high accident rate, earned NATO pilots the “honorable” nickname “flying coffin” in the 1960s and 1970s. The combat aircraft also include two outdated Breguet 1150 Atlantic basic patrol aircraft (another 15 are in storage).

Italian-Brazilian AMX attack aircraft. Photo: Ariel Schalit/AP

The Air Force is armed with four Boeing 767MRTT tankers, 90 transport aircraft, 41 MB-339A combat trainer aircraft (another 24 in storage), 30 SF-260EA trainers, and three newest M-346 trainers.

Italy is one of two NATO countries (the other is Great Britain) that received combat drones (UAVs) from the United States - five RQ-1B and one MQ-1B Predator, two MQ-9 Reaper.

At the Aviano airbase, 50 B-61 nuclear bombs are stored for the US Air Force, and at the Gedi Torre Air Base there are 20 similar bombs for the Italian Air Force itself.

The Navy is the most powerful branch of the Italian Armed Forces, and all its combat units are built in its own shipyards.

There are two new submarines of the Salvatore Todaro type (German project 212; two more are under construction), four Sauro types (another is used as a training submarine, two have been withdrawn and are in storage).

The Navy operates the aircraft carriers Cavour and Giuseppe Garibaldi. These are the only Western aircraft carriers that, in addition to carrier-based aircraft, carry not only short-range air defense systems, but also strike weapons, including anti-ship missiles (ASM). Essentially, they are like Russian ships of this class must be classified as aircraft-carrying cruisers. "Cavour", in addition, can be used as a universal landing ship. The decommissioned helicopter carrier cruiser Vittorio Veneto is in storage.

There are four modern destroyers - two each of the Andrea Doria and De la Penne types; in storage - two old Audace-class destroyers.

In service are two newest frigates of the Bergamini type (Italian-French project FREMM, four more are under construction), four Artillere types, eight Maestrale types.

Submarine of the Salvatore Todaro class.

The Navy, as well as the Coast Guard and the Finance Guard, have more than 300 corvettes, patrol and patrol ships and boats.

There are four Lerici-class minesweepers in service (two more are in reserve) and eight Gaeta-class minesweepers, and three San Giorgio-class helicopter-carrying landing ships.

Naval aviation is armed with 16 AV-8B Harrier fighters (including two TAV-8B combat trainers) with vertical take-off and landing for two aircraft carriers. It also includes 17 basic patrol and transport aircraft, 58 anti-submarine helicopters (12 AW101, 41 AV-212, five NH90NFH), four AW101 AWACS helicopters, 38 transport and multi-purpose helicopters.

The Marine Corps consists of the San Marco Regiment. It is armed with 40 VCC-2 and 18 AAV-7 armored personnel carriers, 12 mortars, and six Milan ATGMs.

Italy is one of three European countries (the other two are Great Britain and Germany) on whose territory there is a group of US troops. It includes the 173rd Airborne Brigade of the 7th Infantry Army (Vicenza), the 31st Fighter Wing of the 3rd Air Force (Aviano, in service with 21 F-16s), a squadron of nine basic patrol aircraft P-3C ( Sigonella). Gaeta (near Naples) is the headquarters of the 6th Operational Fleet of the US Navy.

In general, the current potential of the Italian Armed Forces is quite sufficient to solve the only problem within NATO and the EU - limited participation in collective police operations in developing countries. The Italians will not have to solve any other problems in the foreseeable future.

In September, while spending my next vacation in Italy, I was lucky enough to discover Rome, where I had been for the fourth time, from a new side. It turns out that in this city they are also blocking roads for the passage of motorcades of officials who wanted to lay wreaths at the eternal flame, they can also cordon off the central square for a military parade, naturally creating traffic jams, attractions are closed to tourists, and they are also rehearsing drill training right on the city streets.

I witnessed two small (by our standards) military parades over the course of several days, which gave me the opportunity to take a closer look different types ceremonial and everyday uniforms of various branches of the Italian Armed Forces. Well, at the same time compare our and Italian military fashion. Unfortunately, no matter how much I tried to Google, I did not find a single guide or article on the types of forms, so my conclusions will be intuitive and based only on external signs. Do not judge strictly:)

In general, the Italian armed forces consist of four branches of the military: land, naval, air force and the Carabinieri Corps.

We saw the first mini-parade next to the Quirinal Palace, which now serves as the residence of the President of Italy. Probably, in our realities it would be something like demonstration performances of the Presidential Regiment.
To the sounds of a military band, identically dressed boys and girls marched in front of the palace and descended into the underground catacombs of the castle, passing along the neighboring street.

Military band of the presidential regiment. The musicians were the first to leave:

At the head of the formation are handsome guys with the flag of the country. The length of the beard and the form of shaving, apparently, are not determined by the charter. The color of the form, by the way, indicates that these are ordinary ground troops, but the fact that they serve in the Presidential Palace clearly cancels their regularity.

It is very strange that men and women have exactly the same cut of trousers and shirts.
And at the same time, the uniform fits objectively better on men. Each fighter not only has a machine gun, but also a solid dagger for potential close combat.

One of them noticed me... :)

The second parade took place around famous monument Vittoriano. In order to hold this parade, traffic in one of the central squares of Rome - Piazza Venezia - was blocked for about an hour or an hour and a half. Naturally, significant traffic jams formed on all adjacent streets and alleys, since this is an intersection with one of the most intense traffic in Rome.

Here, by the way, is Piazza Venezia.

On a hot September afternoon, to the sounds of a military band, several detachments of different types of troops emerged from the Vittoriano building. And again, to the sounds of a military orchestra, the soldiers beautifully marched exactly to the center of the square. While no one had yet started taking photographs, I ran like crazy along the newly blocked roadway and photographed people in unusual uniforms.

Judging by the color scheme of the uniform, red and black, the honorary carabinieri were the first to march. And actually the question has arisen, why are there fur hats in Italy?

"Love girls, simple romantics, brave pilots and sailors..." :)
So, snow-white sailors...

I can assume that they were followed by those same brave pilots...
Check out the vintage boots.

And then came some very strange guys. I really can’t guess what kind of military this is.
Their captain had a mop on his head. No, really, it’s a mop, these are now sold in all hardware stores. And the guys in the ranks had dust collection brooms attached to their heads...

Maybe these are fighters for purity?? But anyway they are wonderful!!

The higher ranks were noticeably worried: probably due to the fact that the servicemen were not dressed for the weather; it was about 35 degrees outside, and someone buttoned up and wearing a hat would definitely faint.

The guard of honor was beautifully lined up on the stairs. It’s immediately obvious that everyone doesn’t have to be in perfect physical shape: there’s a boy with cheeks too ;)

Unfortunately, there was no way to get closer to them. Very nice police officers tried to disperse the crowds of tourists with very gentle movements and push them to different sides of the street.

Well, the less pretty representatives law enforcement Italy looked with tension in the direction where their colleagues were rapidly gaining popularity points and catching the languid sighs of tourists;)

Well, after a while, those who caused all this fuss appeared. Naturally, it was a motorcade with darkened windows (Yes, yes, there are those in Italy too). He was accompanied by carabinieri on motorcycles. This one here is straight out of Terminator 2.

These guys moved in sync.

Well then, the mighty of the world they came out of the machines. And we went to take part in the parade.

But here is the actual reason for the transport collapse in the very center of Rome. As you know, it is on Vittoriano that the monument is located Eternal Flame.

After the Italian anthem played, the military received the command “at ease”, and the official men quickly retreated.

After that, everyone abruptly gathered and, to the beat of a military drum, everyone marched in the same direction from where they had appeared. In total, one of the central squares of the city was blocked for about 40-50 minutes. As soon as the platoons began to leave the square, traffic began to open

First there was a military band.

Blue, the traditional color of the sky, belongs to the Air Force without division into positions.

White - to sailors.

Well, at the end there were people in swamp-colored uniforms. And I'm confused about the colors again.

Well, what stands apart from this entire collection of uniforms for employees in the Eternal City is the clothing of the representative of the local traffic police, the traffic policeman and his snow-white gloves. In especially difficult moments, for example, during the morning rush hour, there are several such traffic controllers at each intersection in Venice Square. They stand on a high bedside table, but often because of the buses that drive around Rome no worse than mopeds, it is not visible.

These are the guys you can meet on the streets of Rome. The Vatican's Swiss Guard stands apart, but that's another story.

Abyssinia

The area of ​​Abyssinia was 3.5 times larger than the area of ​​Italy (without colonies). The capital Addis Ababa was located almost in the center of the country. Abyssinia could become a resource base for Italy, since its depths were rich in minerals, including gold and oil. Varied climatic conditions countries and fertile soils made it possible to develop agriculture (2-3 harvests per year), cattle breeding, cotton growing, etc. Abyssinia was a poor agricultural country. At the same time, there was little bread and during the war it was purchased from Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. The main export goods were raw leather and coffee. Industry was present only in the form of crafts.

Abyssinia is distinguished by the fact that most of the territory is filled with highlands, on which rise terrace-like mountains with an average height of 2500-3500 meters. They are separated by a wide depression (fault) in the center of the country, which begins in the interior of Africa, in the area of ​​Lake Tanganyika. The depression ends at the Red Sea and divides the mountains into northern (Eritrean) and southern (Somali) ranges.

Mountain gorges are difficult to pass. The Eritrean mountains represent a series of lines for consistent defense with a front to the north and northeast. The northern part of the Eritrean Ridge is in Eritrea, which made it easier for the Italians to launch their offensive. The mountainous terrain of the country facilitated defense and guerrilla operations and at the same time worsened the possibility of using equipment. The most convenient zone for the offensive was the zone in the fault area. But here in the east was the Danakil Desert. Thus, for the blitzkrieg, troops were needed ready to fight in the mountain and desert theaters, and the corresponding equipment.

From the water's edges highest value played with the Takchese River and its tributaries. On the northern front, the border line was the Mareb River. Lake Tana, which was important for irrigating the cotton plantations of Sudan and Egypt (the Blue Nile flowed from it), was the subject of a dispute between England and Italy. On the Blue Nile in the Sennar region, the British built a dam in 1925 to irrigate fields. This grandiose structure gave Britain a reason to demand control over the water regime of the Blue Nile in northwestern Abyssinia. In the south, in the area of ​​the fault, a chain of lakes and a number of rivers flowing from the Somali ridge covered Addis Ababa from Italian Somalia. In many areas of the east of the country, during the drought period, there was an acute problem of water supply. Basic forested areas were located in the Takkaze River basin and along the rivers of the southern slope of the Somali Range. These forests allowed for guerrilla warfare.

From June to September came the so-called. the period of “big rains”, which created great difficulties in the use of mechanized transport, and also seriously increased the level of rivers and other bodies of water. Therefore, the Italian command planned a blitzkrieg to end hostilities before the onset of “big rains.” In addition, in the area of ​​the Somali Range and Addis Ababa there was still a period of “light rains” - from March to May (they were brought by monsoons from the Indian Ocean).

In Abyssinia, the road network was poorly developed. Almost all the routes were for pack transport. The so-called direction coincided with the northern operational direction. The "imperial" route is a caravan road from Eritrea to Addis Ababa. The same routes led from the south to the second most important city in Ethiopia - Harar. The road between Addis Ababa and Dessier, with proper repairs, allowed vehicular traffic. This road could be extended to the port of Assab, which the Italians took into account. The Ethiopian capital was connected by a single-track railway to the French port of Djibouti, but this road was a French concession. In addition, the Abyssinians could use two roads to communicate with the outside world (in conditions of war with Italy). Two roads went from Addis Ababa to Gallabat and Kurmuk (Sudan), one road from Harar to British Somalia. These routes could be used to obtain grain and ammunition. Thus, there was little communication in Abyssinia; this required serious road work and road protection from the Italians.

The country's population numbered 12 million people. The main core of the population was the Amhara group (5 million people). Their language was dominant. Feudal and patriarchal structures dominated in Abyssinia. There were major contradictions between the emperor (negus) and the major princes (races) on issues domestic policy, associated with the modernization of the country, with the creation of a centralized state, a regular army and reforms aimed at the final elimination of slavery. Certain races, dissatisfied with the policy of centralization and modernization of the country, which led to the loss of power and income, repeatedly rebelled and had connections with European powers interested in the weakness of Ethiopia. As a result, Italy could rely on Ethiopian collaborators, traitors who put their personal interests above national ones. In addition, contradictions grew between the feudal class and the mostly landless peasant masses. There have been uprisings in Ethiopia more than once.

Thus, the external enemies of Ethiopia could take advantage of some of the feudal lords who were dissatisfied with the modernization of the country, as well as national and religious contradictions. The country's technical backwardness, poorly developed transport and communications, lack of food security, and the presence of dependent tribes and slaves weakened the country's defense capability.

Benito Mussolini meets with Ethiopian traitors in Rome

The armed forces of the parties at the beginning of the war. Italy

The Italian command, preparing for war, proceeded from two main conditions. Firstly, due to political complications in Europe, it was impossible to weaken the armed forces in Italy. Therefore, new divisions were immediately formed to replace the divisions sent to Africa. As a result, the army in the metropolis not only did not decrease, but even increased. Mussolini boasted that he would keep the conscripts of 1911-1914 under arms. births as long as it deems necessary, and that “900 thousand soldiers fully ensure our security... They are equipped with the latest, produced... military factories,” which “have been operating at full speed for several months.”

Secondly, the need was recognized to send such forces to Abyssinia to end the war as quickly as possible. Already during the war, as it became clear that nothing threatened Italy in Europe and global community indifferent to the tragedy of Abyssinia (except for the USSR), Italy carried out additional mobilization and strengthened the colonial group.

Italian soldiers go to Abyssinia

Italian troops consisted of three types of divisions:

Regular troops consisted of mobilized soldiers. They had good combat training.

Blackshirt divisions - voluntary national security militia. These were armed units of the National Fascist Party, organized by Mussolini. They included representatives of the nationalist intelligentsia, retired officers, bourgeois youth, and landowners. The Blackshirts, although inferior in combat training to regular troops, had high morale, so they were included in army corps and task forces.

Colonial (native) divisions did not have a solid organization and were included in the regular troops. They were quite well prepared and had good knowledge of local conditions. But these units did not enjoy the full confidence of the command, so they were distributed between regular and fascist formations. Thus, the expeditionary army had a rather motley composition.

Italian artillerymen

The first mobilization order was announced on February 5, 1935. By the end of August 1935, the mobilization of troops originally intended for the war with Abyssinia was completed. In general, 5 regular, 4 blackshirt (fascist) and 2 native divisions were mobilized in several stages and sent to war. In addition, separate militia, police and native units that were not part of the divisions were formed and sent to the front. This amounted to more than 270 thousand soldiers. Together with the mobilized workers - 30 thousand Italians and 45 thousand local population of Eritrea and Somalia, up to 350 thousand people were concentrated on the Abyssinian front at the beginning of the war. Already during the war, Italy transferred reinforcements. Italian forces increased to 500 thousand people, including 9 divisions of the regular army (7 infantry, 1 Alpine and 1 motorized), 6 divisions of the fascist militia. At the end of the war, the expeditionary army consisted of up to 21 divisions, including 7 blackshirts and 4 colonials, 1 cavalry brigade and 35 separate battalions. Thus, Italy formed a powerful expeditionary army in order to end the war in a short time and not prolong the fighting.

The Italian troops were equipped according to local conditions. In addition, they tried to ensure that the conscripted contingents could quickly get used to local conditions. IN infantry divisions, which were transferred to the Eritrean (Northern) front, sent natives of the highland regions of Italy; troops destined for the Somali (Southern) front were replenished with natives of Sicily, as well as people who had experience living in the subtropical and tropical conditions of the South and Central America. Colonial (native) troops were replenished by the indigenous population of Eritrea, Somalia and Libya. The population of Eritrea and Somalia provided up to 15% of the expeditionary army.

Italy was preparing quite seriously for war; the lessons of the last war, which ended in defeat, were remembered. The troops underwent tactical training in high mountain areas. Special courses were organized for officers, many of whom knew the conditions of colonial service. The Italian General Staff issued special instructions for action in the Abyssinian theater. The troops were given the task that, having captured a certain area, they would carefully develop the occupied territory, build roads, bridges, and organize the work of the rear. It was necessary to continue offensive operations. Before the war, Italy organized an intelligence network in Ethiopia that studied the country, bribed feudal lords,
and conducted subversive propaganda. This activity was facilitated by the absence of Abyssinian security and the use of diplomatic, trade, and scientific research missions.

Given that Britain could cut off the main communication through Suez, Italy took seriously the preparation of the areas where the expeditionary army was concentrated in Eritrea and Somalia. If necessary, they were to become the main bases for the army. Ports were expanded, roads, airfields, etc. were built. First of all, the capabilities of the ports in Eritrea were increased. Thus, the main port of Massawa, after modernization, could receive more than 40 steamships per day instead of 2-3. The port of Assa was also reconstructed, and in Italian Somalia the ports of Mogadishu and Bandar Qasim. In addition to the existing railways, the Massawa-Asmara line was built, and the Mogadishu-Lugh line was under construction. Since the main forces were concentrated in the north, in addition to railway, the Massawa-Asmara highway and cable car were built. The ports of Mogadishu and Bandar Qassim were connected by a highway. An airfield network was equipped and communication lines were laid. To ensure a calm concentration of arriving troops in the border zone, small forts with wire fences were prepared. They were initially defended by colonial troops, and then regular units began to be located behind them. However, the Abyssinians did not interfere with the enemy; they only hastily strengthened their border posts.

Much attention was paid to water supply to the army, which was especially important in the eastern part of Ethiopia, where droughts occurred. Special units were introduced into the expeditionary army, which, on the one hand, were supposed to build a network of artesian wells, and on the other, to deliver water to the troops by tankers (200 vehicles, 2,500 liters each, for 10 thousand people) and transport aircraft in desert areas. To house troops in the hot regions of Eritrea and Somalia, barracks were built from materials with low thermal conductivity. At the main points of the colonies, warehouses for supplies were built and refrigerators for meat were placed. The ration of a soldier in the expeditionary army consisted of bread, meat, sugar, coffee, canned vegetables, fats and spices. The soldier's carryable supply consisted of 2 liters of water and a 4-day ration of food (crackers and canned food). To do this, it was necessary to reduce personal ammunition from 200 to 110 rounds.

The overall command of the Italian troops in East Africa was exercised by General Emilio de Bono (from November 1935 - Field Marshal Pietro Bodoglio). Italy deployed its main strike force in Eritrea, where 10 regular and fascist divisions arrived. Of these, the Northern Front was formed, consisting of first 3 and then 5 corps (75% of all forces of the expeditionary army). The front attacked Dessier (Dessie) and then the Ethiopian capital. At the end of the war, on the Northern Front there were 5 corps and two groups of generals Couture and Mariotti to secure the flanks. The southern front in Somalia was of auxiliary importance and was supposed to tie up as many Ethiopian troops as possible, advancing in the direction of Harer and Addis Ababa. Here the troops were united into two operational groups (up to two divisions). The southern front was commanded by Rodolfo Graziani. There was also a central operational direction (up to one division). The troops of the Central Front were supposed to secure the flanks and communications of the Northern and Southern groups and advance from the Assab area in the direction of Dessier.

+21

The Italian Armed Forces are: Navy, Army, Carabinieri, Air Force. The Italian Armed Forces also include the Financial Police Corps (Guardia di Finanza), the Military Corps of the Italian Red Cross, Volunteer Nurses, the Military Corps of the Italian Armed Forces, the Sovereign Order of Malta and the Military Ordinariate.

Every year, 1.7% of GDP is allocated to the army, which amounts to 20.7 billion US dollars.

Since 1999, compulsory military service has been abolished, and Italy has completely switched to a contract army. Now, the Italian Armed Forces consist only of voluntary mercenary military personnel with specialized knowledge in military affairs. Also, the Italian army consists of female personnel, which has already become a complementary part of the Italian Armed Forces, where women are not only engaged in logistics, but also enter the active forces, taking part in combat operations in which Italian troops participate abroad.

Military parade. Photo italyproject.ru

Compulsory military service was legalized during the reign of Napoleon, in 1802, although historians argue about this. Some argue that the author of this idea was Nicolo Machiavelli, who lived three hundred years before the famous French emperor.

It should also be noted that according to Article 52 of the Italian Constitution, every citizen is obliged to defend his Fatherland. This is his sacred duty to the country and society. Therefore, in the event of the outbreak of hostilities or in any other extreme situations that threaten the integrity of the country and the peace of its citizens, compulsory military service can be resumed. According to the Constitution of the country, the combat-ready population includes the male population aged 15 to 49 years.

After the army has become professional, a soldier can sign a contract for a period of five years, and after that extend it for one or two years (this contract can be signed twice). The wages of contract soldiers are several times higher than the amount that was paid to soldiers conscript service. According to 2006 data, young people serving in the army under contract received 1,000 euros, while soldiers carrying out compulsory military service earned 90 euros per month.

Italian police. Photo crimso.msk.ru

At the end of their service period, military personnel are discharged and can be hired into the police, civil defense, fire departments and security organizations. It is also worth noting the fact that military reform in Italy provides good prospects for women who can now serve in various branches of the military and occupy different positions and positions.