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The conversations of lower-ranking Italian POWs, too, show how much their perception of the war differed from that of their German allies. Planes shot down, ships sunk, and decorations won play no significant role in their discussions, and the same is true for concepts like honor, bravery, and the “fatherland.”⁷³⁵ Italian POWs focused on the hair-raising deficiencies that became apparent with every major military engagement. For instance, in March 1943, a lieutenant colonel captured in Tunisia related: “Our army has become a mere gang of adventurers. They should all be brought to trial, at least from a military stand-point. And I should be in with [Italian supreme commander in North Africa] General BATISTICO himself. I wish an inquiry could be opened into all their doings in AFRICA: how they behaved in various circumstances; it was disgraceful! Nearly everybody in the army will tell the same sad story of corruption and disorganization. It would almost be better if we had the English or the Russians in ITALY.”⁷³⁶

The Italian military leadership and the Italian state were perceived as being so corrupt and incompetent that they, and not the Allies, were sometimes considered the true enemies. From the point of view of ordinary Italian soldiers, only a “fesso” (idiot) would sacrifice himself for a system that did not represent one’s own interests in the slightest.⁷³⁷

The only Italian soldiers who told stories of a type comparable to those of Wehrmacht soldiers were members of the special forces.⁷³⁸ Paratroopers, fighter pilots, and submarine crewmen did tend to talk about their own achievements, their weaponry, and the challenges they had to overcome to fulfill their missions. It was important for them to be seen as good soldiers, corruption and incompetence notwithstanding, and they often spoke of ideals such as bravery and devotion to duty. In this vein, a U-boat officer of the watch remarked in 1941: “One must win the war, and do one’s part even if one is anti-fascist.”⁷³⁹ In April 1942, in a conversation between two Italian pilots, one did invoke instances of heroism in battle: “We scored a direct hit and when we came back on the scene there was no more cruiser to be seen. So many of our people wanted to change their jobs because torpedo-carrying aircraft are so dangerous. This last time we were to be in the air for six hours. We were to do BEYROUTH, PORT SAID, ALEXANDRIA. CAIRO. Our pilots are very young, but amazingly brave. They throw themselves on their targets. We did four torpedoes at RHODES. Do you know Captain BUSSATI? He was a torpedo aircraft ace.”⁷⁴⁰

Members of these units often made the impression of being the most committed fascists. On August 31, 1943, after running through the list of their own achievements, two submarine captains discussed the general situation: “Had we had four or five divisions of young Fascists like those who fought in AFRICA, those English Gentlemen could never have landed! Just look—in AFRICA fourteen tanks with crews of young Fascists went out to fight a hundred and forty English tanks, and I can well believe it!”⁷⁴¹

Bravery seems to have been an important point of reference for committed fascists. Nonetheless, in contrast to their German counterparts, they refused to fight to the bitter end when all seemed lost. For them, World War II was effectively decided when the Allies captured Sicily. The only choice was to sue for peace. The vast majority echoed the sentiments of Italian commander and short-lived prime minister of fascist Italy Pietro Badoglio: “ ‘We must end the war with honour.’ He is an old soldier, and he will never accept unconditional surrender.”⁷⁴² In fact, Italy never capitulated unconditionally, but negotiated an armistice with the Allies. The two submarine captains were probably not all that proud of the chaotic end to Italy’s participation in World War II, which saw the Italian king and Badoglio fleeing. What’s important, however, is that Italian POWs had no stake in any apocalyptic scenarios about fighting down to the last bullet or drop of blood.

Yet despite all the differences, we should not overlook a certain amount of common ground in the values of German and Italian soldiers. Italian soldiers were noticeably impressed by the superior fighting ability of their German allies, who were otherwise not very well liked.⁷⁴³ With reference to the conquest of Crete, one Italian navy man remarked: “It’s phenomenal! The Germans are the only ones who fight through to the end; even if they are cut to pieces they go on until they have smashed through. Neither we Italians, nor the Japanese, and still less the English, can do it.”⁷⁴⁴