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Italian civilians were except for committed Fascists not overly enthusiatic about the War. These was, however, no real resistance to the War. Allied flyers shot down would be turned in by the public. The situation became more complicated when Italy surrendered to the Allies. Then a Resistance began to organize. Civilians until the Allied invasion were relatively unaffected by the War, except through family in the military and increasing shortages that began to become severe by 1942. This changed with the Allied landings (Septenber 1943). As bad as the situation was for the Allied troops who were constantly forced to assault well prepared German positions, the suffering of the Italian civilians is especially sad. The Italians suffered from both German execution squads and Allied bombing. [Atkinson] The race-obsessed NAZIs were never overly friendly with the Italians. After the surrender, the Germans were outraged and looked on the Italians as traitors. There were several massacres of Italin civilans and countless uneported incidents. As the fighting gradually moved north up the Italian peninsula, Italian villages and towns were devestated with substantial civilian casualties. The basic problem fir the Italian people is that the campaign lasted so long. After the Normandy breakout in France, the country was liberated in 1-2 momths as the Allies mived north toward Germany. In Italy it took almost 2 years. Many towns and villages were left in rubbles as the Allies drove north. And even after the fighting moved north, civilians faced major problems with shelter, food, and warter.
Italy did not declare war because there was any popular desire for War. It was a personal decesion taken by Fascist Dictator Benito Mussolini (June 1940). As the German Panzers raced through France, Mussolini was afraid of losing out in the spoils. Italian civilians were except for committed Fascists not overly enthusiatic about the War. And thevcountries Italy fought (Britain, Greece, the Soviet Union, and Anerica) were not countries toward which the Italians had any illwill. There was in fact more popular animosity toward ttheir ally--MAZI Germny. Italians in particular had no desire to fight America. Many Italians had lived in America or had relartibes there. These was, however, no real resistance to the War. Allied flyers shot down would be turned in by the public. The situation became more complicated when Italy surrendered to the Allies. Then a Resistance began to organize.
Civilians until the Allied invasion were relatively unaffected by the War, except through family in the military and increasing shortages that began to become severe by 1942. And the Allies began to bomb targets in Italy, although not with the ferocity of the raids in Germny.
The Allies began the Italiam campaign, putting land troops ahore on the European mainland (September 3). Units of the British 8th Army were the first to go ashore, landing at the toe of the Italian boot--Operation Baytown. The Allies hoped that the Germans would rush south to engage the British, but Kesserling did not take the bait. A British fleet sailed into the harbor of Taranto at the arch of the Italian boot--Operation Slapstick (September 9). The Germans were not present and the Italians having surrendered did not resist. The British were able to disembark troops onto the docks unimposed. The U.S. 5th Army commanded by Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark landed at the Gulf of Salerno in force--Operation Avalanche (September 9). The Germans occupied Fome (September 10). The Germans made no real effort to oppose the British landings in the south, but reacted in strength to the American landings. The Germans fought delaying actions in the south against the British and concentrated their forces on the Americans at Salerno.The situation for Italian civilians This changed with the Allied landings (Septenber 1943). As bad as the situation was for the Allied troops who were constantly forced to assault well prepared German positions, the suffering of the Italian civilians is especially sad. The Italians suffered from both German execution squads and Allied bombing. [Atkinson]
The race-obsessed NAZIs were never overly friendly with the Italians. After the surrender, the Germans were outraged and looked on the Italians as traitors. There were several massacres of Italin civilans and countless uneported incidents.
As the fighting gradually moved north up the Italian peninsula, Italian villages and towns were devestated with substantial civilian casualties. The basic problem for the Italian people is that the campaign lasted so long. After the Normandy breakout in France, the country was liberated in 1-2 momths as the Allies mived north toward Germany. In Italy it took almost 2 years. Many towns and villages were left in rubbles as the Allies drove north.
And even after the fighting moved north, civilians faced major problems with shelter, food, and water. Where ever the Germans made a stand there was devestation. The Allies used havy artillery and aerial bombing to duslodge the Germans. But even if the town and village was mot destroyed there were severe food shortages. Food was in short supply even before the Allied invasion, in part because so many farm sorkers wre vmobilized. After the invasion, the fighting further disrupted agriculture. In addition the Germans had internned the Italian Army and deported it to labor camps in the Reich. This meant there was a continuing shortage of farm labor. American food aid prevented starvation, but food was in short supply in both German controlled northern Italy and Allied-controlled southern Italy. In the North civilians had to fend for themselves as the Germans did nothing to help feed Italy. I'm not sure if they shipped food to the Reich as was their normal occupation practice. Wenote GI rations appearing in civilan hands in the south. We are not sure to what extent this was black market sales or Army policy. There were large shipmenbts of American food aid. The Germans destroyed basic city services as they retreated north. American and British engineers wirked to restore warter and other services. American food aid continued after the War. The Food for Peace was an outgrowth of the Marshall Plan to help rebuild war torn countries. Much of the food in the early years of the pogram went to Italy, Japan, Germany, Austria, England, and Finland.
Atkinson, Rick. The Day of Battle: The War in Socily and Italy, 1943-1944 (Henry Holt: 2007), 791p.
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