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Re: Battle of France - Battle of Britain (was Fighter pilots' guts)
Erwin Rommel:
"The reason to the defeat of the Italian units at El Alamein in early July had nothing to do with the Italian soldiers as such. The Italian soldier was eager, unselfish and a good comrade, and performed a work which, under circumstances, was far above the average. The accomplishments of all Italian units, particularly the motorised units, surpassed everything which the Italian Army has performed during the last 100 years. We adimred several Italian officers and generals as men and soldiers.
The reasons to Italy's defeat may be found in the flaws in the country's military and civilian system as a whole, the inadequate Italian equipment, and the lack of interest in the war which was showed by many Italian commanders and statesmen."
(From "The Rommel Papers" in Desmond Young's Rommel biography. My translation from the Swedish edition, "Rommel", Stockholm, 1950, p. 294.)
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