When war broke out in 1939, Hitler created ‘Strafbattalion’ (Penal Battalion) units to deal with incarcerated members of the Wehrmacht as well as ‘subversives.' His order stated that any first-time co
When most people think of the Italian Army in North Africa during the Second World War, they tend to believe that the average Italian soldier offered little resistance to the Allies before surrenderin
In the early morning hours of 16 December 1944, the 28th Division received a message from higher headquarters telling them to "hold at all costs." From 05:30 a.m. on the 16th until sometime in the aft
A group of determined young human torpedoes and assault swimmers fought bravely for Italy in the Second World War, inspiring fear and respect from the British Navy. The actions of these few men severe
Accounts of brutality fill the history of warfare. The behavior of any human being is, of course, a very complex phenomenon, whether in war or in peace. Historians in large part have described in deta
