Reviews
"A very good book, for the very serious student of Fascism, Italy, or the Second World War." -The NYMAS Review, 'Scholars have attempted to explain Fascist Italy's foreign and military policies in isolation from one another. But Benito Mussolini dominated both, and the Duce of Fascism was no split personality. John Gooch's pioneering study covers both key aspects of Fascist policy on the basis of extensive research in the difficult-of-access archives of the armed forces and foreign ministry. The result is an unprecedented achievement: a meticulous account that ties together diplomacy, deployment planning, the organizational agendas and force structures of the three services, and the dictator's often bizarre policy inspirations.' MacGregor Knox, The London School of Economics and Political Science, "Scholars have attempted to explain Fascist Italy's foreign and military policies in isolation from one another. But Benito Mussolini dominated both, and the Duce of Fascism was no split personality. John Gooch's pioneering study covers both key aspects of Fascist policy on the basis of extensive research in the difficult-of-access archives of the armed forces and foreign ministry. The result is an unprecedented achievement: a meticulous account that ties together diplomacy, deployment planning, the organizational agendas and force structures of the three services, and the dictator's often bizarre policy inspirations." - MacGregor Knox, The London School of Economics and Political Science, 'John Gooch has once again proven himself to be one of the major military historians of twentieth century Europe. This study represents a significant contribution to our understanding of the interwar history of the Italian military and its relationship to Fascist foreign policy before the smashup of 1940. It is particularly good at laying out the dysfunctional nature of Italian foreign and military policies. What is of great use to our historical understanding of the period is that Professor Gooch has provided both context and understanding to the military side of the equation, which has all too often been lacking in the study of Mussolini's Italy.' Williamson Murray, Institute for Defense Analyses, "...the wealth of new evidence Gooch provides makes his latest work a useful source for scholars of the Second World War and modern Italian history." --Nicolas Virtue, University of West Ontario: Canadian Journal of History, Scholars have attempted to explain Fascist Italys foreign and military policies in isolation from one another. But Benito Mussolini dominated both, and the Duce of Fascism was no split personality. John Goochs pioneering study covers both key aspects of Fascist policy on the basis of extensive research in the difficult-of-access archives of the armed forces and foreign ministry. The result is an unprecedented achievement: a meticulous account that ties together diplomacy, deployment planning, the organizational agendas and force structures of the three services, and the dictators often bizarre policy inspirations. MacGregor Knox, The London School of Economics and Political Science, 'John Gooch has written a thorough and fully documented study of Italian military policy during Mussolini's Fascist rule. Gooch's work makes untenable the common, if condescending or escapist, view that this regime's warring was no more than a joke. Yet his rich detail does make manifest the innumerable and unresolved contradictions, both structural and personal, that dogged the ideologically driven efforts to raise Italy above its habitual role as the least of the Great Powers. Here, Gooch comprehensively shows us, was a war-mongering dictatorship destined to lose its serious wars' Professor R. J. B. Bosworth, School of Humanities, The University of Western Australia, "In his masterful and highly detailed study of Italian diplomacy and military power under fascism, John Gooch examines year by year and in great detail the interaction between Il Duce's foreign policy goals--from 1922 to Italy's entry into the Second World War in 1940--and the response of the army, navy, and air force as they sought to accommodate Mussolini's ever evolving ambitions...Mussolini and his Generals is at once a history of Italian foreign policy and its military strategy. It is the definitive work in English on this subject." The Historian, Alexander De Grande, North Carolina State University, "John Gooch has once again proven himself to be one of the major military historians of twentieth century Europe. This study represents a significant contribution to our understanding of the interwar history of the Italian military and its relationship to Fascist foreign policy before the smashup of 1940. It is particularly good at laying out the dysfunctional nature of Italian foreign and military policies. What is of great use to our historical understanding of the period is that Professor Gooch has provided both context and understanding to the military side of the equation, which has all too often been lacking in the study of Mussolini's Italy." - Williamson Murray, Institute for Defense Analyses, "John Gooch has written a thorough and fully documented study of Italian military policy during Mussolini's Fascist rule. Gooch's work makes untenable the common, if condescending or escapist, view that this regime's warring was no more than a joke. Yet his rich detail does make manifest the innumerable and unresolved contradictions, both structural and personal, that dogged the ideologically driven efforts to raise Italy above its habitual role as the least of the Great Powers. Here, Gooch comprehensively shows us, was a war-mongering dictatorship destined to lose its serious wars." - Professor R.J.B. Bosworth, School of Humanities, The University of Western Australia, '…immensely thorough, an unprecedented analysis of the underlying causes of Italian military failure' Times Literary Supplement
