Customer Reviews

Dark Navy: The Italian Regia Marina and the Armistice of 8 September 1943

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This nifty work by O'Hara and Cernuschi tells the story of the Royal Italian Navy during the armistice of September 1943, as the subtitle suggests; yet the development of the intricate facts that led to the armistice do not just reside in the background: the "second" book is in fact an accurate history of the armistice itself that is tightly intertwined with the naval narrative. Moreover, the whole account is not just a summary of the most modern studies on the topic, presented in a form palatable to English readers; on the contrary the book offers an innovative and somehow unconventional view of those still controversial events.

The narrative has been enlivened by the insertion of selected anecdotes, which highlight the psychology of the drama's protagonists and clarify the atmosphere of those months better then lengthy discourses could have done.

Invaluable are the appendices, which reveal many little-known facts and untold stories of the naval units.

Worth mentioning are not only the pictures (some rare), but the three maps as well. These latter masterly show both the situation and the deployment of naval and ground units along and on the Italian peninsula (on which are clearly shown the main railroads and the mountain passes, so as to let the reader understand the problems faced by Italians, Germans and Allies with communications and movement).

A book which is a perfect complement of O'Hara's "Struggle for the Middle Sea", in order to better comprehend the turning point of the war in the Mediterranean.

The situation in Italy's high command was chaotic during summer 1943, and with the September armistice, events spun out of control. Caught between the maneuverings of the Allies and the Germans, various Italian commands and individuals scrambled along divergent paths with spotty coordination or even outright rebellion. Few English-language sources have attempted to detail the actions of Italy's naval units in this confused period, and most content themselves with a generalized and inaccurate distinction between units that "surrendered" and units that continued in Axis service. Dark Navy corrects the "surrender" misconception and details the actions minutely enough to count individual fishing vessels. Not even Sadkovich or the Bragadin translation approach such in-depth coverage. For readers dissatisfied with the glossing-over typical in most English histories, this book provides an authoritative inside look.

I probably own one of the large reference libraries on the subject and this is the first book that looks at the theater of operations rather than the individual players. Intertwining the furious battles and skirmishes between the Royal Navy and the Regia Marina with the German participation and France's important role was a brilliant idea that succeeds in giving a full prospective.
The reading is pleasant and, as in other works by the same author, fluid and captivating. Even if naval warfare is not your most favorite topic, this book will be enjoyable because it goes beyond the simple description of single events.
Often a forgotten theater of WW II, the Mediterranean was pivotal in prolonging the war and reshaping the continent. The `what if' are infinite and this book will give the tool to better understand not just the conflict, but how it evolved and its ultimate outcome with the reshaping of the balance of power.

very few books in english are available that are not glaringly written to highlight the Allies point of view of the second world conflict. This book is one of the few exceptions. Its narrative of the events in fascist Italy is well written, balanced in opinions and entartaining. Most of all, it renders a long overdue justice to a glorious Navy and Sailors.