What do you think?
The Italian Navy In World War II
The Italian Navy in World War Two (1957)
380 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
About the author
Marcantonio Bragadin
5 books1 followerMarcantonio Bragadin was an Italian admiral of the Royal Italian Navy and the Italian Navy. He was also an essayist and the screenwriter of a number of war films
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 4, 2021
The Italian Navy in World War II covers what would be expected from the title – it starts with a brief chapter on preparations for war and the state of the Regia Marina before June 1940, and goes through until the end of hostilities in 1945, although with the focus on the period between June 1940 and September 1943. Given the scope of the book, the approach is understandably generally of an ‘overview’ nature, with occasional descriptions of more detailed actions. While it is a translated work, the quality of the translation is high, and the book is very accessible/readable.
It is very much and quite understandably from the Italian perspective, although there are a few errors of fact relating to Allied movements that could have been corrected even at the time, including from at least one source explicitly used for the book. Similarly (and in a manner mirroring the treatment of the Italians in many books written by authors from the then-Allies), the actions of the Allied navies are sometimes (and only sometimes) cast in an unflattering light not justified by events (the events, of course, not being presented in full in the book – sometimes possibly due to a lack of knowledge, at other times for less obvious reasons). There’s no question that the author sometimes overstates the Regia Marina’s achievements (for example “The Italian Navy had never dreamed that it would have to face the world’s most powerful fleet by itself” is a statement that has to be wilfully blind of the RN’s struggle in the Atlantic, the Channel and against the Luftwaffe. It is a shame the book couldn’t be more objective, but Bragadin is hardly lacking company on this count.
There are also the more understandable omissions relating to the limited information available to the author in the 1950s.
This is hardly surprising and quite standard for books of that vintage (as well as, and considerably less forgivably, books of far later publication!) The core value of the book is on the actions and experiences of the Italian Navy in World War II, and for this the book does a great job. It covers all of the major campaigns, and discusses them with a robust understanding of logistics and supply of which most naval campaigns revolve around.
As well as the text itself, there are a number of photographic plates interspersed throughout the book (with a handy index of illustrations at the front), appendices of tabular data and an index at the back. There are also good diagrams of the strategic movements of all the key actions. There is no bibliography, but as a translated work written not long after the war by someone who had been in the naval intelligence service, it’s fair to conclude that at least the Italian side of the story is robustly researched (and likely from primary documents).
Despite the occasional bias, the book is still excellent. Even after over half a century, it’s still a solid four stars now, and given the limited amount of information available on the Regia Marina in English, remains a valuable source.
It is very much and quite understandably from the Italian perspective, although there are a few errors of fact relating to Allied movements that could have been corrected even at the time, including from at least one source explicitly used for the book. Similarly (and in a manner mirroring the treatment of the Italians in many books written by authors from the then-Allies), the actions of the Allied navies are sometimes (and only sometimes) cast in an unflattering light not justified by events (the events, of course, not being presented in full in the book – sometimes possibly due to a lack of knowledge, at other times for less obvious reasons). There’s no question that the author sometimes overstates the Regia Marina’s achievements (for example “The Italian Navy had never dreamed that it would have to face the world’s most powerful fleet by itself” is a statement that has to be wilfully blind of the RN’s struggle in the Atlantic, the Channel and against the Luftwaffe. It is a shame the book couldn’t be more objective, but Bragadin is hardly lacking company on this count.
There are also the more understandable omissions relating to the limited information available to the author in the 1950s.
This is hardly surprising and quite standard for books of that vintage (as well as, and considerably less forgivably, books of far later publication!) The core value of the book is on the actions and experiences of the Italian Navy in World War II, and for this the book does a great job. It covers all of the major campaigns, and discusses them with a robust understanding of logistics and supply of which most naval campaigns revolve around.
As well as the text itself, there are a number of photographic plates interspersed throughout the book (with a handy index of illustrations at the front), appendices of tabular data and an index at the back. There are also good diagrams of the strategic movements of all the key actions. There is no bibliography, but as a translated work written not long after the war by someone who had been in the naval intelligence service, it’s fair to conclude that at least the Italian side of the story is robustly researched (and likely from primary documents).
Despite the occasional bias, the book is still excellent. Even after over half a century, it’s still a solid four stars now, and given the limited amount of information available on the Regia Marina in English, remains a valuable source.
July 27, 2018
While I did find the book useful and interesting there was too much of a pro-Italian bias for me to really enjoy or trust it. The author tends to distort generally accepted facts in ways to forward as positive an impression on the Italian war effort and on the Italian Navy in particular. It is understandable as the author did serve in the Italian Navy during this time period.
The book is useful in that it covers a myriad of lesser known operations such as the convoy battles to Malta and the actions on the various islands in the eastern Mediterranean. He does bring up the valid point the Italian fleet was not surrendered as it continued to function under its own flag and own crews. He also points out the crippling fuel situation which prevented the navy from using its assets to their full capabilities as well as vastly inferior search planes and their insufficient numbers. The lack of reliable reconnaissance from their search planes was a major handicap.
There are a couple minor errors but nothing that marred my overall impression of the book.
The book is useful in that it covers a myriad of lesser known operations such as the convoy battles to Malta and the actions on the various islands in the eastern Mediterranean. He does bring up the valid point the Italian fleet was not surrendered as it continued to function under its own flag and own crews. He also points out the crippling fuel situation which prevented the navy from using its assets to their full capabilities as well as vastly inferior search planes and their insufficient numbers. The lack of reliable reconnaissance from their search planes was a major handicap.
There are a couple minor errors but nothing that marred my overall impression of the book.
October 21, 2014
This is an English translation, published in 1957 by the U.S. Naval Institute. The Italian original appeared in 1948. It is a remarkably objective assessment of the Italian Navy's performance during World War Two, the politics that drove its operations, its strengths as well as its weaknesses.
Ah, the politics... The Italian naval staff had a sound understanding of the strategy and tactics that would have optimized the Navy's effectiveness. However, sound military advice was too often ignored, and the Italian Navy was sacrificed piecemeal, to little effect.
Ah, the politics... The Italian naval staff had a sound understanding of the strategy and tactics that would have optimized the Navy's effectiveness. However, sound military advice was too often ignored, and the Italian Navy was sacrificed piecemeal, to little effect.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews