Comments by "William Cox" (@WildBillCox13) on "One More Scramble in Africa - The Second Italo-Abyssinian War | BETWEEN 2 WARS I 1935 Part 4 of 4" video.

  1. Leave us not forget the Butcher of the Congo, King Leopold of Belgium. I think there was a contest, but I'm having trouble finding the rules.
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  2.  @jussim.konttinen4981  If I might be excused a short rant: "Forgive me, sir, but, as far as the south goes, the British stole it from the Boers with great loss of life, the invention of Concentration Camps, and systematic disenfranchisement of native peoples. And leave us not scruple against mentioning the Zulu war, or any of a dozen other bloody campaigns against indigenous peoples eager to form autonomous nations or tribal preserves. Great Britain was, for the Africans, an Unnatural Disaster. Churchill, himself, was proud of his participation in the absorption by force of lands owned by others through treaty. Read his memoirs. The man was a first rate historian, if somewhat understandably biased."
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  3. Liked and shared.
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  4. Opinion piece here from a non expert: "Modern" is perhaps a relative term in this context, rather than literal, and no offense meant. It is my understanding that Italia was never able to adequately provide the full issue of assigned materiel to its divisions, even the best ones. Most of Italia's artillery park was WW1 relics, the issue of Machine Guns-a major factor in squad firepower-was so far behind it was beyond sad. Even so, the L3/33 was probably useful, especially as it was light and easy to transport across the sea. So, too, were the Fiat Cr32 biplane fighters, though hardly as close support platforms. As I recall, Ciano was an aviator in this conflict. He described (I seem to remember) the experience of machine gunning infantry from the air as "exhilarating", or words to that effect. Italy also used poison gas in that war. Gas was a fickle mistress in those days. Up to the last, Italy had great difficulty supplying more than a basic equipment, and much of that simply warmed over WW1 veterans. Her several excellent ideas, the Breda SMG, the Canone di 90/53, the P26/40 Medium Tank, and later fighter planes from Reggiane and Fiat among them, were above Italy's ability to produce en masse*. Even in peacetime, the amount of materiel required to field armored divisions at full strength would beggar Italian heavy industry of the 1935-43 period. The real barrier to fielding modern equipment is, of course, oil**. Well, Italia had plenty of that . . . in potential. That's what Libya was for, right? And the Med was an Italian bathtub . . . wasn't it? It seemed so simple. *The AS42 was an icon of the times. These were put to very good use in Africa. The "wandering" Motobomba was perceived as a possible war winner, while Germany still had planes capable of merchant shipping/naval strikes. **Motorization is the main difference between ancient armies and modern ones, from the WW1/WW2 point of view. Consider that a field formation without motorized transport logistical network behind it cannot maintain high expenditure combat for long. Thanks for the content and providing the forum.
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