Luck Was Lacking, but Valor Was Not

Luck Was Lacking, But Valour Was Not begins by examining a number of factors relating to the Italian army’s performance in the desert, including  assessments of the Italian soldier, leadership, training, organization and structure, equipment, the supply situation in North Africa, the ability of the Italian air force to support ground operations, and an appreciation of Italo-German relations in North Africa. It then describes the combat operations of Italian forces in the desert beginning with the early advance from Libya into Egypt in September 1940 and ending with the final Italian surrender to the Allies in Tunisia in May 1943.

The extensive appendices focus on organization and equipment, with tables comparing Italian, British and German armour and artillery in the desert. Taken as a whole, this volume presents an account of Italian ground operations in North Africa, from the time of their initial trouncing at the hands of the British Western desert Force in early 1941, through the see-saw battles of 1941 and 1942 when the combined Italo-German forces battled with the British, through the decimation of the Italian forces during the El Alamein battles in late 1942, and finally with the retreat to Tunisia and surrender of all Axis forces there in May 1943.

Luck Was Lacking, But Valour Was Not is the first English-language work to address in a systematic way the contributions of the Italian army to the North African campaign, and challenges the conventional wisdom that the German Afrika Korps was the pre-eminent Axis force in the desert.

"Luck was Lacking.....is a magnificent, albeit sad, epitaph for the Italian soldiers who fought and died in North Africa during the Second World War, and it fully deserves to be the title of a work whose fundamental mission is precisely to vindicate those combatants, who have been systematically ignored –if not ridiculed– by historiography." Desperta Ferro Contemporánea Magazine

"This book is a great place to start if you are like me and find your knowledge in Italian North Africa operations lacking. It certainly challenges some of the preconceived notions of their performance against the Allies and their working relationship with the DAK and may not be popular with those who have spent all these decades since war's end poring over those previous books. I know there are a few books out there with similar concepts as presented here, but I can only speak to what I have read here. The authors are thorough and definitely passionate on their work in this book- and they've certainly gotten me looking for some different Italian model kits from the one or two I have in the stash. Recommended for anyone interested in Italian operations and efforts in the North African front in WWII." AMPS

"...this is an important read for anyone interested in the war in North Africa." The NYMAS Review

"It's good to offset Allied and German interpretations of Italian military history with Italian interpretations." The Historical Miniatures Gaming Society

"......a good read with a free-flowing narrative supported by photographs and coloured pictures of equipment and uniforms.....firmly recommended." Martin Pike, Miniature Wargames Magazine

"....This is a gem of a book providing an alternative view on the North African war, and goldmine of information. Photos, many from private collections, maps, artwork." The Miniature Armoured Fighting Vehicle Association, Aug 24 & Model Military International Magazine Issue 122, 2024