Comments on: Gaps and Surfaces, Reconnaissance Pull, and Attack by Infiltration

By: Toddy Cat

Toddy Cat — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 20:58:49 +0000

“Capturing 3,000 men with a single platoon, as Rommel was able to do, suggests that Italian resolve was more or less totally lacking.”

The Italians lost hundreds of thousands of men in pointless attacks on the Isonzo, so I imagine that by Caporetto, their morale was pretty much shattered. No shame there — everyone’s morale broke eventually in WWI, except for the Americans (who weren’t involved long enough) and the British — and the British came really close in March 1918…

By: Bert E.

Bert E. — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 19:34:04 +0000

Rommel was only a lieutenant during the Italian campaign and yet was such an intuitive and successful commander that this was all possible.

One might reason that with an opponent of such low caliber as the Italians, success was more easily obtained. Capturing 3,000 men with a single platoon, as Rommel was able to do, suggests that Italian resolve was more or less totally lacking.

German troops under the command of Rommel were also malnourished and unable to maintain that Blitzkrieg style of offense to the liking of Erwin, but adequately enough.