The Hollow Legions: Mussolini's Blunder in Greece, 1940-1941 - gebunden oder broschiert

Published in 1972 in hardback (with dustjacket, design by Stanley Hickson) by Chatto & Windus, London and 336 pages long, this book provides a dramatic day-by-day account of the Greco-Italian war: Mussolini's ill-timed and ill-planned military adventure in Greece in 1940-41. The conflict began in October 1940, following an Italian ultimatum to the Greek Premier, Metaxus. The Italian forces who marched into the desolate mountain valleys of the Greek-Albanian border just as winter began were badly equipped and badly led, no match in that terrain for the Greek firepower and tactical expertise. The campaign lasted months, until Hitler's legions invaded the balkans from the north next Spring, to wrest a victory for which Mussolini vainly tried to take credit. The grandiose self-deception of Mussolini, imagining himself able to make war - even a minor war - independently of Hitler; the incompetence, short-sightedness and petty ambition of his generals; and the resignation and courage of the rank and file of the Italian army: all point to a theme of brutal contrast in the narrative. The author, a well-known Italian political journalist, makes use for the first time of all the documentary material on the campaign, including memoirs by the chief participants and letters and diaries of ordinary soldiers in the ranks; he has also drawn on Greek sources, including the private diary of Metaxus. His book is not just an objective indictment of Mussolini and many of his lieutenants, but is a valuable contribution to the history of the Second World War. Contents: Preface. 1. Dictator v. Dictator. 2. Contingency G. 3. Nonexistent Treachery. 4. Fateful Blunders. 5. Unarmed Goliath. 6. "So It's War". 7. Forward through the Mud. 8. Soddu's Telephone Message. 9. Cavallero's Hour. 10. "Put an End to this Passivity". 11. The Spring Offensive. 12. How They Lived and Died. 13. The Wall Moves. 14. The Long Armistice. 15. Epilogue. Appendix. Notes. Bibliography. Index.