** World War II -- Italian campsign impact on civilans








World War II Italian Campaign: Civilians (1943-45)

World War II Italian civilians
Figure 1.-This press photo photograph in 1944 shows an 8 year old Italian boy who had removed detonators from German hand grenades. It is not exactly clear why he did this, but as the the Allies moved up the peninsula there was huge quantities of ordinance scatted by both sides all over Italy.

Italian civilans began to feel te impsact of the War from a very early period. The first impact was war casualties and POWs. Then shortages began to appear. Ratiomimg became increasinly severe. As the Axis position in North Africa deteriorated, air strikes began on Italian cities. It was the Allied invasion of southern Italy that finally brought the war home to Italy. The home front suddently became the front line. Hitler was at first prepared to withdraw up the peninsula. Field Marshall Kesserling convinced him to contest the Allied invasiion even in the South and, as result, the American Salerno landings almost failed. Field Marshall Montgomery's slow progress to the south wa sanother factor What followed was a extended campaiugn all the way up the peninsula. Kesserling used the rugged Italian terraine to good effect iun slowing the Allied drive north. The Allies focused on the cross-Channel invasion of France were not prepared to commit sufficent forces to Italy to overwealm the German defences. The capaign proved deadly to Italian civilians. The Germans looked on them as traitors and took out their hatred on civilians. Civilians were brutalized even shot. And as the Resistahce began to form effective units, there were a number of German reprisals on whole villages andd hostages. These were conducted by the Wehrmacht, not the SS. Thus the Italian people experienced some of the same brutality thatv they had imposed on other people. The Germans turned towns and villages as strong points. The Allies used their advantages in artillery ad air power to pound the towns and villages where the Germans set up their defenses. And World War II ordinamnce could not be targeted with great precession. The result was not only wrecked towns, but terrible civilian casualties. Civilans were caught in crossfire as well as exposed to landmines. The Italian economy collapsed and even basic food stuffs became difficukt to obtain.

Home Front

Italian civilans began to feel te impsact of the War from a very early period. The first impact was war casualties and POWs. Then shortages began to appear. Ratiomimg became increasinly severe. Italy sid not have a strong economy before the war. And the War placed serious constrauints on the ecomomy, mobilization reduced svilian work force. Itaky was not sekd sufficent in food production and British baval operations made it difficukt ti import fiid. Italy akso was not self sufficent in energy (bnoth coak and oil), creating further economic problens for civikians. As the Axis position in North Africa deteriorated, air strikes began on Italian cities. Major targets included rail marshaling yards which were usually located in city centers. Italy did not have the same industrial infastructure that the air campaign against Germany was comcentrated.

Invasion

It was the Allied invasion of southern Italy that finally brought the war home to Italy. The Allies invaded Sicily (July 1943) and Italy itself (September 1943). The home front suddently became I Italy's front line. The Allies began the Italiam campaign, putting land troops ahore on the European mainland (September 3). Units of the British 8th Army were the first to go ashore, landing at the toe of the Italian boot--Operation Baytown. The Allies hoped that the Germans would rush south to engage the British, but Kesserling did not take the bait. A British fleet sailed into the harbor of Taranto at the arch of the Italian boot--Operation Slapstick (September 9). The Germans were not present and the Italians having surrendered did not resist. The British were able to disembark troops onto the docks unimposed. The U.S. 5th Army commanded by Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark landed at the Gulf of Salerno in force--Operation Avalanche (September 9). The Germans occupied Fome (September 10). The Germans made no real effort to oppose the British landings in the south, but reacted in strength to the American landings. Hitler was at first prepared to withdraw up the peninsula. Field Marshall Kesserling convinced him to contest the Allied invasiion even in the South and, as result, the American Salerno landings almost failed. Field Marshall Montgomery's slow progress to the south was sanother factor. The Germans fought delaying actions in the south against the British and concentrated their forces on the Americans at Salerno. The prize was Naples--the most important port in southern Italy. For four days vigorous attacks by German armor threatened the beaches. German Panzers for a time put the landings in danger. The beachead was finally secure untill the British hooked up with the Americans south of Salerno (September 16).

Campaign

What followed was a extended campaiugn all the way up the peninsula. Kesserling used the rugged Italian terraine to good effect iun slowing the Allied drive north. The Allies focused on the cross-Channel invasion of France were not prepared to commit sufficent forces to Italy to overwealm the German defences. THe Allies as a resultg made slow and costly progress up the peninsula, relying primarily on fire power to dislodge the Germans, Civilians suffered as a result. The campaign would thus last intil the end oc the War. The Germans in Italy would only surrender a few days before the overall German surrender. The Germans turned towns and villages as strong points. The Allies used their advantages in artillery ad air power to pound the towns and villages where the Germans set up their defenses. And World War II ordinamnce could not be targeted with great precession. The result was not only wrecked towns, but terrible civilian casualties. Civilans were caught in crossfire as well as exposed to land mines. The Italian economy collapsed and even basic food stuffs became difficukt to obtain.

German Atrocities

The Germans commited a string of attrocities against Itallian soldiers, Jews, and other civilians. The Italian campaign proved deadly to Italian civilians, not only necause they were caught on the crossfire of the Allies and Germans, but because of German attitudes toward the Itlalians. The actions agaomst civilians never approached that conducted in the East, but were substantial enough that they need to be documented for the historical record. The Germans and Italians had been allies, but they were never allies which much cared for each other. Mamy Italians saw the Germans as brutal barbarians and wondered why Mussolini had allied them with the Germans. The Germans saw the Itlalians as feckless and lacking the martial pirit needed to win the War. Abd to make matters worse, after the Itlalians surrendered to the Allies (September 1943) and tried to leave the war, the Germans looked on them as traitors. And they took out their hatred mot only on Itlalian soldiers, but also civilians. Civilians were brutalized even shot. And as the Resistahce began to form effective units, there were a number of German reprisals on whole villages andd hostages. These were often conducted by the Wehrmacht, and not just the SS. Thus the Italian people experienced some of the same brutality that they had imposed on other people and helped the Germans to impose on others. At least one author attributes responsibility to Field-marshal Kesselring. [Lamb] One of the best known is the Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre. [Hotvitz and Catherwood] Reserachers estimate that Research in 2016 funded by the German Government estimated the number of civilian victims of NAZI war crimes in Italy not including the Holocaust (except fpr hostahes shot) , was some 22,000 people. That is double previous estimates. Many were actions in retaliation for partisan attacks. This included rabfomnly selected cibilians and offten Italian Jews. [Armellini] Not included in this numbe rwas Italian military personnel killed by the Geramsn as part of yjeir sezure of the country (September 1943) and sime 40,000 who died in German captivity. [ "8. September ...."] Also not included in above numbers are some 30,000 Italian partisans who were killed during the War a part of military operations or summary executions. Very few Germams were ever tried for these war crimes.

Displaced Children

Italy entered the War in the wake of the successful German invasion of France. As a result of the starteling successful German offensives. The War was at first fought in distant locations and not Italy. Italy was not immediately affected, but unlike Germany which was more effectively despoiling occupied countries, serious shortages began to develop. Italy was not a wealthy country before the War and did not have an economy capable of supporting a prolonged war effort. The first major impact upon children were the war casualties. The Italian war effort did not go well. There were casualties in Greece (October 1940) and even more in North Africa after the failed invasion of Egypt (September 1940). The British struck back and took large numbers of Italians POWs (December 1940). Lossess only mounted with the Italian forces in Russia, Tunisia, and finally Sicily. And after Sicily lerft the War, the Germans interned the Italian Army, deporting them to grim labor camps in the Reich. Almost all of the Italians POWs taken by the Western Allies survived, but there were substantial mortality rates in the German camps, and few Italian POWs returned from the Soviet Gulag. This meant that large numbers of Italian children were left with only their mother to support them. And in a collapsing economy this was very difficult. The Allied invasion of Italy (September 3-8, 1943) commenced a military campaign which began at the tip of the Italian border and continued north to the Po Vally until the Germans surrendered (May 1945). The fighting devestated villages and cities all along the way. Large numbers of children were displaced as well as many orphaned. We have very few details on the dimensions of the problem are the measures taken by Italian authorities to deal with it at this time. We do known that an Irish priest, influenced by Father Flanigan's Boys' Town, organized Boys' Republic in 1945. The Catrtholic Church had programs to support war orphans. In many cases this mean children who had lost their fathers and the moter was unable to support them.

Refugees

The first Italian refugees were anti-Fascists. Mussolini's Fascist regime was, however, not as repressive or murderos as Hitler's NAZIs. So the the numner of political refugees were relatively small. The Jews were at first untouhed. As Mussolini and Hitler forged an alliance, Hitler pressured his ally to take repressive actions against Italian Jews. Mussolini obedently complied (1939). Mussolini joined the War (1940), but redisted deporting Italian Jews to the NAZI death camps. The war did not go well for Mussolini's Fascist armies. After a sea-saw campaign in North Africa the Italy lost itsLibyan colony and Axis armies surrenders in Tunisia (May 1943). The allies began bombing Italy. Naples wth its important port was the main target. The bombing was not nearly as intense as that directed at the Germans. As a result, there were relatively few refugees. Most of the people who lost their homes were cared for by family. Two months later the Allies landed in Sicily (July 1943). . With the gighting shifted to land combat, here were civikian refugees. The first refugee/displaved persons (DP) camps were set up by the Allies. After losing Sicily, the Fascist Grand Council removed Missolini from power. Next the Allies landed on the mainland (September 1943). The Italians switched sides and the Germans seized contol of most of the country. As a result of the fighting large numbrs of refugees fled the fighting or found themselves without food and water. The Allies would evetually set up 25 DP camps in Italy to care for refugees. American food relief was provided to Italian Government welfare organizations. This enabled large numbrs of Italians to survive without becoming refugees. The Germans and Fascists alo setup camps, but these were to repress anti-NAZI Italians and not to aid refugees. They also began roundig up and deporting Jews. The ground fighting would proceed slowly up the Italian Peninsula causing immnsedestruction and creating a huge number of rfugees.

Sources

Armellini, Arvise. New Study: Number of Casualties in Nazi Massacres in Italy Nearly Double as Previously Believed (Haaretz: April 5, 2016).

Horvitz, Leslie Alanand Christopher Catherwood. Encyclopedia of War Crimes and Genocide (2009).

Lamb, Richard. War in Italy 1943-1945: A Brutal Story.

"8. September 1943: Die italienischen Militärinternierten". Zwangsarbeit 1939-1945







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Created: 10:09 AM 7/14/2009
Last updated: 6:45 PM 3/11/2020