The Italian army performed badly in World War II, in the battle against the Ethiopian tribal army, in the invasion of Greece, in the epic Battle of Stalingrad on the Soviet-German battlefield, in many battles, the Italian military did nothing, but in today's post-World War II, people familiar with this history always ridicule these teammates and wonder why Germany chose such an outrageous ally in World War II.
In fact, this is a false proposition, the important problem of Germany in World War II is that he actually has no choice, Germany and Italy are an Anglo-Saxon squeezed together group, so for Germany, World War II is actually a continuation of World War I, from the ideological, geopolitical considerations, Italy is the only country that Germany can win in Europe, Germany's military success in the early stage of World War II was achieved in an extremely bad political, diplomatic environment, and throughout history, it can be seen that the Axis Powers' European lineup has long been doomed.
One. The same ideology gave rise to the German-Italian pact
1． The harm of germany and Italy by the Treaty of Versailles
When studying the history of World War II, never forget the words of French Marshal Foch: "This is not peace, this is a twenty-year truce." After the victory of the Allies in World War I, the excessive weakening of Germany that France hoped for was opposed by the British and Americans, and the offshore balance was an old Saxon play, just as After Napoleon's defeat, Britain refused to weaken France too much and let Russia grow.
Versailles' insult to Germany was deeply rooted in the marrow, which was an important reason why corporal moustaches were able to rise rapidly in Germany, as the country with the best performance in World War I, the militarist atmosphere, the cession of land and huge reparations made the German people suffer, and they were treated as colonial natives.
And Germany's defeat was mainly due to blockade and internal rebellion, defeated by hunger, rather than the rout of the western battlefield, and the deep depression of every German can be imagined. The situation was similar between Italy and Germany, where Italy, as the victorious power, was regarded as a second-class country by France and Britain in the division of power in post-war Europe, and they gained nothing except a few insignificant German colonies, and Italy, like Germany, was desecrated and right-wing forces grew wildly.
2． Fascism and Nazism
Mussolini's march to Rome was the culmination of the Italian right-wing movement, the axe wrapped in sticks, a symbol of totalitarianism and violence from the Roman period onwards, the self-proclaimed successor of the Hiero civilization, who found the lost dignity of the nation from classicism, and the whole people quickly became fanatical.
National Socialism is the full name of the Nazis, and like fascism, totalitarian rule, hatred of the Bolsheviks and Jews, hostility to democratic politics, is an important symbol of National Socialism, the Germans from Hitler's self-struggle, from the imaginary struggle for living space, from the hatred of the Jews, to release the resentment accumulated in the First World War, to find the reason for the defeat of the First World War, and to meet the new war with a fighting hatred.
Totalitarianism, militarism, the preaching of national superiority and hostility to democratic politics and communism are characteristic of fascism and nazis, who invariably find the way to national salvation in the midst of economic crises; the difference is that Germanic hatred is deep, war preparations are meticulous and conscientious, and national character is suitable for modern warfare with precise coordination. Italy's hatred was vain, and its overly enthusiastic and impulsive national character, combined with painful memories of the First World War, made him unprepared for a bloody battle.
3． Ideological similarities make it a natural ally
The high degree of proximity of German-Italian ideology has allowed them to walk together quickly, which is understandable. The representatives of democratic politics, Britain and France, along with their little brother Poland and a low-country country, Greater Germany, which integrated the Czech Republic, Austria, Denmark's Germany and Italy, and the Soviet Union in the East, the three war beasts had rapidly emerged, and World War II was not caused by a misjudgment of Hitler's reaction to Britain and France in his invasion of Poland, but from an ideological point of view, from 1936 onwards, a bloody battle was inevitable.
Italy is indeed not good at fighting, but after all, he is also an important industrial power in Europe in World War II, sea and air power is an important threat to the Allies in the Mediterranean region, taking ten thousand steps back, Italy is about to collapse again, in the war he still effectively guaranteed the security of Germany's southwest and southeast directions, which is also an important strategic reason for the Germans to contribute to the death of the Allies after the Sicily landing.
Two. A natural combination of geopolitics and Germany and Italy
1． Italy has a stranglehold on France
After the rise of Germany, the traditional friendship between France and Russia and France and Poland was repeatedly emphasized, and the successor of Russia, the Soviet Union, naturally did not have the need to maintain traditional friendship with France because of France's interference in Tsarist Russia during the revolution, but Poland was still France's blood alliance.
Germany's two-front war was a nightmare he could never completely escape. The situation in Italy is similar, Germany and France as competitors for European land power, Italy is an important containment of French power, from the Napoleonic era, northern Italy is the core interest of France, when the Austro-Hungarian Empire that occupied here was the main competitor of the French, and the Franco-Austrian contradiction was the focus of France's military struggle.
Bismarck once said, "As long as there is an Italian who beats the snare drum in the Alps, we will face many fewer Frenchmen on the Rhine." It is the best commentary on the German-Italian alliance, such geopolitics is insoluble, and Germany and Italy are destined to be grasshoppers on a rope.
2． Offshore balance in the UK
The British strategy for Europe was simple and clear, and he carried it out well for hundreds of years. It was the purpose of the Saxons to support the weaker side on both sides of the European struggle for hegemony. At the same time, the Anglo-German contradiction was the main contradiction of the great powers in World War I, and as a continuation of World War I and World War II, Britain's position was clear at a glance.
It should be pointed out that due to the cruelty of the First World War, the population of the main participating countries suffered heavy losses, and the British conservative tendency made his deep-seated assistance to France restrained, and the British had tended to reduce sacrifices and stick to the homeland, while working with the French Mediterranean Fleet to ensure the suppression of Italy's naval power and the protection of the African colonies. From Britain's point of view, Italy has always been a potential enemy country.
3． Russia itself is insecure, and the United States is insignificant
Countless people in the Western world are still condemning the famous Soviet-German non-aggression pact in World War II, which is ridiculous, because the Soviet Union had no allies in Europe before World War II because of its communist state system and the export of revolution.
The Intervention Army of Britain and France during the Revolutionary Period made the Red Soviet Union more inclined to maintain peaceful relations with Germany. If Hitler had not been for the hasty pursuit of the living space of the East by Nazi theory and hastily launched a war against the Soviet Union, the course of World War II would have been even more unpredictable, and in any case, the existence of the Soviet Union would have also tied Italy, which was coveting Greece and Yugoslavia, with German chariots.
As for the position of the Americans, due to isolationism and the containment of a large number of right-wing forces in the country, the Americans were insignificant in the early stages of the war, and the spokesmen of Saxon and Jewish capital who were eager to join the Continental Battlefield could only cautiously look for opportunities.
Three. German-Italian joint battle
1． The African Army and the Russian Italian Army
The Germans' excellent tactical formulation and campaign execution made him invincible in the early days of World War II, and Italy, which hitched a ride on Germany, lost face in the Invasion of France on the Franco-Italian Border, the invasion of Greece and the battle between North Africa and the British.
Countless stories of Italian soldiers surrendering without crowbars opening ammunition boxes, and the examples of a company in Italy captured by an Allied platoon circulated in the mouths of the Allies and the Germans, although many Italian divisions in North Africa performed decently, and in the Soviet-German hellish battlefield, the Italians in the Uranus Plan desperately defended the flank of Paulus's Sixth Army.
However, Italy continued the bad performance of the First World War against the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the army had no fighting spirit, the lack of courage and execution in the battle, these energetic young people in the fascist parade, on the battlefield seemed to have the greatest desire to get rid of the war quickly, they were the worst performing army in Europe in World War II, there is no doubt.
2． The union of the two countries also saved Mussolini from Hitler
When the situation changed delicately in World War II, the wise Italian field marshal arrested Mussolini and defected to the Allied side, and the Germans, with their usual courage and sophisticated plan, recaptured their old friends with paratroopers, slightly delaying Mussolini's destruction.
This was the last warmth between the German and Italian leaders, and the German armored division that entered Rome, led by Marshal Kettering, taught the Americans, the British and the Italians a lesson, and before the Normandy landings, the Italian mountain warfare had no decisive breakthrough on both sides except for the destruction of countless medieval monuments, which also made the Italians experience the power of the German Army for the first time.
epilogue:
The strength of the German army impressed everyone in the world during World War II, and it single-handedly competed with the army in the five permanents except China, and once had hopes of victory.
This has to be said to be a miracle in military history, but the military is a political continuation, and the strategic objectives of the Germans became confused after the capture of France. Therefore, in the war against the Soviet Union, no matter how brilliant the initial results, in fact, the overall defeat was trending.
Italy's military significance in World War II was limited, the only mediterranean fleet that took the shot was almost unsuccessful in the war, Germany's defeat was a political failure, from a diplomatic point of view, Germany had no room to choose allies, from an ideological and geopolitical point of view, the only one really suitable for the role of German allies was Italy.
The Germans had no choice but to charge against the democratic and communist shells with these soldiers, who did not know whether they were too naïve or too sophisticated, which had long been arranged by the German Third Reich.
Resources
History of world war II
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
History of Europe