Italian Colonial Troops 1882–1960 (Men-at-Arms)

Following the unification of Italy, its government joined the European scramble for empire. Italy would seek its share in North and East Africa, eventually building a substantial oversea empire. To seize and hold such lands required troops, and the Italian government soon learned that local troops armed with modern European weapons could provide significant military heft.This brief but interesting Osprey Men-at-Arms series book provides details on the recruiting and organization of Italy's colonial troops. The narrative covers a bewildering number of units, frequently reorganized based on Italy's finances. However, the collection of period photographs and modern color plates of uniforms and equipment is excellent. Recommended to students of the period.

Osprey section on military units provides accurate and detail info from these units. Before reading didn't know anything about the 13 divisional size units provide by locals that helps the Italians in WWW2. Great drawings and pictures make this a go to book on this subject.

This should have been the 1st in a series of 3 or more books. They tried to pack far too much information into this single book resulting in a compact history lacking in details. While the period photos are interesting and the color plates good, they cover a period of 78 years. There were lots of changes and variations during that time frame. Anyone, such as myself, looking for detailed information on uniforms and equipment are likely to be disappointed.

The treated topic would have required at least 2 volumes, to make matters worse the authors dwelt on sterile lists of denominations and units, leaving out some of the more interesting uniformological aspects (such as the color codes of the sashes), moreover space was wasted to describe units that have no connection with the colonial theme. In conclusion, a vast and interesting argument treated badly both for reasons of space and for a confused description.