Italian Army Guastatori Destruction Group WM-22-06-2023 Count Arakcheyev's reforms had led

Count Arakcheyev's reforms had led to a standardisation of gun types so the army could rely upon a uniform selection of 6-pounder and 12-pounder guns and the 10-pounder and 20-pounder Licornes

After Operation Compass ended in early 1941

two great generals of the age finally met in battle

‘People‘s Storm’) were militia recruited from amongst the old

Simulating musket fire

Italian Army Guastatori Destruction Group WM-22-06-2023 Count Arakcheyev's reforms had ledAt the start of Italys war, the Italian Army had no assault engineering units designed to take on enemy fortifications. The performance of pioneer units in the German blitzkrieg demonstrated to the Italians the need for such units, leading to the creation of the Guastatori del Genio which began training units in late 1940. By early 1941 these specialised assault engineers were fighting in North Africa, and by mid 1942 they were also on the Eastern