re: #227 William Lewis

That would make sense. Especially if you consider the intensity of the fighting along the Gustav Line and Casino. Plus there were far more victims of German retaliation than when they were nominally allied. Last, ISTR that units of the Italian Army fought alongside Allied Forces and performed far more effectively (though at greater cost) than they did during the African campaigns. I’ll have to get out a copy of Rick Atkinson’s “The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944” again - best single volume on Italy I’ve found.

Remember the part in Catch-22 about the Italian civilians coming out of their houses to watch the allied planes overhead and getting blown to bits?