Italy surrenders
I have never had much time for the cliché, 'lions led by donkeys', so often applied to British soldiers of World War One. It was not coined at the time, but probably originates in a German comment on French generals in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71.
In any event it is an unhelpful piece of shorthand. It lumps together generals of a wide range of competence who, along with their allies and opponents, most of whom did no better, strove to cope with a terrible war at a time of far-reaching change.
Yet having jettisoned the expression as far as one war is concerned, I am tempted to use it for one aspect of another. Every time I visit the World War Two battlefields near Rome, I am struck by a sense of gloom which even the inspiring landscape fails to lift, and by a conviction that, here at least, some Allied generals failed the men they led.
'I have never had much time for the cliché, "lions led by donkeys" ...'
The road to what was little short of hell was certainly paved with good intentions. Axis surrender in North Africa in May 1943 was followed by the Allied invasion of Sicily. Although the campaign was marred by friction between British and American commander which contributed to the escape of many of the island's defenders.
It did, however, did strike a fatal blow at Italian self-confidence, which had been wobbling for some time. Mussolini was deposed and the new government made secret peace overtures.
There was so much pressure to take advantage of the changed situation, that the Allies landed in southern Italy in September without a clear strategic aim. They even considered landing at airfields around Rome with Italian connivance. However, they wisely discarded this plan as too risky.
The Germans reacted so swiftly when Italy surrendered that the Allies were actually able to gain little advantage. Italian troops were disarmed and treated harshly if they fought against the Germans. Yet the Allies had secured Italian beachheads but the one at Salerno was only achieved with much difficulty in the face of fierce counter-attacks.
In Italy, the Allies now found themselves committed to a campaign which had possessed great political attractions but now offered manifest military disadvantages.
There was, for a start, no prospect of Italy ever becoming more than a subsidiary theatre. Plans for the invasion of France were well under way. Amphibious resources would shortly be diverted for the Normandy invasion. These would have been a considerable advantage in Italy, for they would have given the Allies the potential to hook round German defensive lines.
Secondly, assertions that Italy was the 'soft underbelly' of Europe came easiest to those whose maps lacked contours. Italy's mountainous backbone sends rib-like ridges down to the coast to both east and west. Rivers flow between the ridges. An attacker advancing from the south is confronted by a heartbreaking sequence.
Behind every ridge lurks another river, and behind that river lurks another ridge. Climate conspires with terrain to make Italy an unpleasant place to fight. Summers are blazing hot, whilst winters are freezing cold.
Published: 2001-08-01
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