H. James Burgwyn - Mussolini Warlord: Failed Dreams of Empire, 1940-1943

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H. James Burgwyn

Mussolini Warlord

Failed Dreams of Empire

19401943

Enigma Books

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Published in the United States by

Enigma Books

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First Edition

Copyright 2012 by H. James Burgwyn

e-ISBN 978-1-936274-30-7

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the written permission of Enigma Books.

Publishers Cataloging-In-Publication Data

Burgwyn, H. James, 1936-

Mussolini warlord : failed dreams of empire, 1940-1943 / H. James Burgwyn. -- 1st ed.

p. : ill., maps ; cm.

Issued also as an ebook.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Mussolini, Benito, 1883-1945--Political activity. 2. Dictators--Italy--20th century--Biography. 3. Italy--History, Military--1914-1945. 4. Warlordism--Italy--History--20th century. 5. World War, 1939-1945--Diplomatic history. I. Title.

DG575.M8 B87 2012

945/.091/092

To Enrico Ferranti

It is my pleasure to acknowledge the help I have received from many sources.

Several respected colleagues generously agreed to read portions of the book that pertained to their areas of expertise, despite the demands of their own professional commitments and scholarly projects.

Thomas Schlemmer graciously shared with me the gold-mine of information he has gathered on the Italian campaign in the Soviet Union. He offered cogent insights on military events, war crimes, and Fascist troops enamored of the Fascist creed. No better place to do this than in a Munich Bierstube during Oktoberfest!

Pier Paolo Battistelli accorded me the full benefit of his unsurpassed mastery and understanding of the Italian military during World War II, putting to rights many factual errors. With unfailing patience, he responded to every request or question I had.

The gifted young Italian scholar Amedeo Osti Guerrazzi, in addition to providing me with important information on Italian occupation policies in Yugoslavia, shared his insights into Mussolini and Fascism, as well as his passion for scholarly studies. I remember with pleasure the many lunches we shared after navigating the narrow, snaking roads outside the German Historical Institute in Rome.

Filippo Focardi, who, along with the distinguished German historian Lutz Klinkhammer, pioneered studies on the general cover-up of Italian war crimes, offered me sage advice on how to strengthen my discussion of Italian counter-insurgency.

Elisabeth Giansiracusa provided valuable research assistance in Rome. She skillfully mastered the labyrinthine archives in the Italian Foreign Ministry, ferreting out important information from the recently openedbut still disorganizedAlbanian papers. Likewise the Greek files in the military archives.