Books by John (University of Leeds) Gooch

A major new account of the role and performance of the Italian army in the First World War. Setting military events in a broad context, Gooch explores pre-war Italian military culture, and reveals how an army with a reputation for failure fought a challenging war in appalling conditions - and won.

The first authoritative study of the Italian armed forces and the relationship between the military and foreign policies of Fascist Italy from 1922 to 1940. John Gooch shows that Mussolini's generals and admirals bore a share of the blame for defeat through policies that all too often rested on incompetence.