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Infantrymen of the Air: An Operational History of the Royal Italian Airborne Forces in the Second World War, 1936-1943 Paperback – June 30, 2023

by Jeffrey W.S. Leser (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 6 ratings
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There is little written modern history about the Regio Esercito (Royal Italian Army) in the Second World War in the English language. Most readers’ knowledge of the actions of the R.E. are in works that focus on the Allied side of the conflict and are heavily dependent on Allied sources. While there are several recent works on the operations of the Regia Aeronautica and Regina Marina during the war, these tend to omit or only briefly mention the activities of the specialized units within those services.

Infantrymen of the Air is the first detailed account of one speciality within the Italian military: the paracadutisti (paratroopers). Many readers are aware of the exploits of the divisione paracadutisti «Folgore» at El Alamein, but few are aware that the paracadutisti were involved in all the major fighting in North Africa. There was the I battaglione paracadutisti libici that fought at Derna and Beda Fomm during Operation Compass. Then the Carabinieri dell’Aria stopped a pursuing infantry brigade during Operation Crusader. The remains of the «Folgore» continued to fight at Mareth and as the 285º battaglione «Folgore» at Takrouna. The divisione aviotrasportabile «La Spezia» is also addressed as part of an Italian airborne corps.

Infantrymen of the Air also addresses the Regia Aeronautica’s and the Regina Marina’s airborne units. The Regina Aeronautica (Royal Air Force) created the I battaglione paracadutisti d’assalto and battaglione «Loreto» both for use on the planned invasion of Malta, yet found themselves fighting bravely in Tunisia. The battaglione Arditi Distruttori della Regia Aeronautica (A.D.R.A.) conducted raids in North Africa and Sicily. Paratroopers require transport aircraft and the ability of the Servizi Aerei Speciali to support airborne operations is examined.

The parachutists of the Regina Marina (Royal Navy) are detailed as well in Infantrymen of the Air. The battaglioni P(aracadutisti) and N(uotatori) del reggimento «San Marco» were raised for special operations and the planned invasion of Malta. Both would see action in Tunisia in 1943.

Infantrymen of the Air presents the history of these units from their authorization to their final actions in September 1943. The book discusses the doctrinal underpinnings for the creation and employment of these units. Organizational charts and equipment authorizations are provided to explore their evolution. The training, both the failures and successes, are explained for the reader. Operations that were planned but never executed are also included in their story.

The combat history of many of these units are presented to English readers for the first time. Battles and actions are addressed based mainly Italian sources supplemented by Allied histories. Numerous maps accompany each account, allowing the reader to visually follow the ebb and flow of the events presented. In many cases these accounts go beyond what is offered in Italian language works, integrating Allied sources to a greater degree to present a more complete picture.

Infantrymen of the Air offers an excellent resource to the student of World War 2. It is hope that this book is the ‘must have’ work for anyone studying the history of the Italian paracadutisti during the war.
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  1. Print length
    542 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Helion and Company
  4. Publication date
    June 30, 2023
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1915113709
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1915113702
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jeff Leser is a retired US Army officer and a former Deputy Director at the US Army Command & General Staff College. During his military career, he earned the US Army Parachute Badge, Ranger Tab, and Air Assault Badge, as well as the German Army’s Parachute Badge. He has researched the Italian military during WW2 since the early 1980s and is currently the administrator of the Comando Supremo website. Leser has written several professional articles, co-authored a book chapter in Joystick Soldiers, and co-authored the book Italy at War.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Helion and Company (June 30, 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 542 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1915113709
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1915113702
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.36 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 6 ratings

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
6 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

A H Smith
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting topic /
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2023
Verified Purchase
This book deals with the Italian paratroops of WW2 and it is based on both British/Commonwealth and Italian primary sources. Like other Helion and Co. publications that I have read recently there are typos in the main text and in the footnotes that leads me to conclude that it was rushed through the editorial process.
I believe the book will be of interest primarily to those that have a general interest in Axis paratroop units rather than the specialists on Italy in WW2 because for the latter group the combat actions of the Carabinieri paratroopers or the Tonini unit are very familiar topics thus the book does not offer much that is new for an experienced reader.
The book's coverage of the birth and evolution of the Italian paratroops units is very interesting especially because the author cites primary sources but the accounts of the combat actions are limited (for example the Enfidaville/Takrouna battle is dealt in only one page). Moreover, most historical accounts are dry and do not include personal accounts of Italian or Allied soldiers or citations from Allied sources detailing the combat performance of the Italian units.
Finally some of the general considerations made by the author on Italian or Axis grand strategy are questionable. For example, author states on page 239 regarding the invasion of Malta that: "the fatal flaw in the Italian plan was to be dependent on Germany for its execution." This is an odd statement on a central topic of the book (Axis plans for Malta) considering that Italy was totally dependent on Germany for the operation (fuel, gliders, german paratroop units, air transports and the list could go on). There other questionable statements on the Greek campaign and on Malta. Some of the books conclusion remarks are also questionable since they lack a comparative perspective especially with regards to German paratroopers and how the German leadership and high command perceived the deployment of paratroop units after the high casualties sustained during the battle of Crete. Italian paratroop deployment after 1941 was limited just as much by German 'grand strategy' and by Italian/domestic factors. A comparative analysis bw Italian and German and Allied paratroop grand strategy, tactics and deployment would have added a welcome extra dimension to the book.
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Amazon Customer
2.0 out of 5 stars ok
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2023
Topic is interesting, the read was slow and I thought too much of the book was based on organizational issues of the Italian airborne units. The Italians were notorious in WW2 for having few resources and the troops were deployed in multiple theaters. Therefore why focus on orders of battles, organizational structures etc.. that were on paper only?
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jbm
5.0 out of 5 stars you are the best
Reviewed in Spain on August 16, 2023
Verified Purchase
acabo de recibir el libro y la verdad que me parece perfecto. Solamente lo he ojeado, pero me parece increible: muy buenas fotos, perfectos mapas( 53 mapas y a todo color), texto descomunal (como a mi me gusta, pocas fotos y mucho texto y mapas), muy buenos apendices, ordenes de batalla etc. La verdad que he seguido hace tiempo al autor en su blog, Comando Supremo Italy in II ww, sobre todo por sus crticas y comentarios sobre libros y entre ellos aparecia este, infantrymen of the air. Me parecian exageradas las criticas positivas que recibia este libro, pero me parece que se han quedado cortas. Por ultimo animar a Mr. Jeffrey W. S. Leser a que escriba la segunda parte del libro, osea paracaidistas italianos 1943-45, su participacion en la R.S.I. y con los aliados.
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kim worsch
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book
Reviewed in Sweden on July 20, 2023
Verified Purchase
A great book from Jeffrey W.S. Leser . A lot of information and many great maps in color. There are not a great number of photographs but they are relevant and have detailed captions. This book is superbly researched and well written account with a lot of info direct from Italian sources.

Being a ww2 buff since a long time ago, I have a huge collection of books but the one from the Italian side in English have been missing. Only in recent years some books have been released like some Osprey titles, the Seaforth:s Littorio class, Italian heavy cruisers etc. For the Italian parachute forces the somewhat biased The Italian Folgore Parachute Division by Paolo Morisi have been one of the few dealing with this subject.

I strongly recommend this book for anyone with interest in ww2 and the Mediterranean in particular. Hopefully the author will continue with this trend and release more books from the Italian side with this quality (hopping for a C3 book).
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