DIVISIONE FOLGORE (Folgore Division) aka (El-Alamein) 1955
This 1955 Italian production is based on real events and tells the story of Italy's 185th Airborne Division, Folgore.
The film starts out in 1941 with men from all branches of the Italian Forces volunteering for selection to an elite Division. The men are put through months of intense training leaving only the best. They are now ready for combat.
The scuttlebutt is that they will be joining with some German Fallschirmjaeger in an assault on the British held island of Malta. The division is loaded onto aircraft and sets off. The rumours turn out to be wrong as the Division ends up in North Africa. They are then trucked up to the front at El-Alamein.
The Axis attack toward the Suez Canal has stalled and they are now on the defensive. The paratroopers are to be employed as ground infantry on a section of the line. They are soon up to their eyeballs in sand, wind and the swarms of flies that are the norm in the desert.
Most of the time is just spent sitting in their dugouts waiting. The boredom is occasionally shattered by a British artillery round or a fighter-bomber attack. The Division scores an early success when a night patrol captures a battery of British 25 pounder guns. These are quickly put into service by the new owners.
On October 24th, the British and Allied forces launch their counter attack on the Axis line. Three British Divisions, including the famous, 7th Armored (Desert Rats) Division are sent against the Italian held area. The attack was expected to roll over the Italians and flank the German parts of the line.
The Folgore though applies a rude shock to the attackers. The Division is lavishly equipped with automatic weapons like the excellent Beretta model 38 sub-machine gun. This allows the paratroopers to inflict heavy losses on the British. The British pull back and regroup before coming on again.
The Italians hold out till November 4 before being overran. Except for a handful of men, the Division is destroyed with high casualties in killed and captured.
The cast includes, Ettore Manni, Jose Jaspe, Fausto Tozzi, Monica Clay, Aldo Bufi Landi and Mario Girotti. Mario Girotti would become a big international star in spaghetti westerns under the name, Terence Hill. (My Name is Trinity)
The film's director was Duilio Coletti. Of note here is the film's music composer, Nino Rota. Rota won an Oscar for his work on THE GODFATHER part II.
A very interesting film with plenty of excellent detail to Italian weapons etc. The use of real Savoia-Marchetti -82 paratroop transports was great to see. Several dozen of these survived WW2 and served into the mid 1960's. This film is well worth a watch if you can find a copy.
This 1955 Italian production is based on real events and tells the story of Italy's 185th Airborne Division, Folgore.
The film starts out in 1941 with men from all branches of the Italian Forces volunteering for selection to an elite Division. The men are put through months of intense training leaving only the best. They are now ready for combat.
The scuttlebutt is that they will be joining with some German Fallschirmjaeger in an assault on the British held island of Malta. The division is loaded onto aircraft and sets off. The rumours turn out to be wrong as the Division ends up in North Africa. They are then trucked up to the front at El-Alamein.
The Axis attack toward the Suez Canal has stalled and they are now on the defensive. The paratroopers are to be employed as ground infantry on a section of the line. They are soon up to their eyeballs in sand, wind and the swarms of flies that are the norm in the desert.
Most of the time is just spent sitting in their dugouts waiting. The boredom is occasionally shattered by a British artillery round or a fighter-bomber attack. The Division scores an early success when a night patrol captures a battery of British 25 pounder guns. These are quickly put into service by the new owners.
On October 24th, the British and Allied forces launch their counter attack on the Axis line. Three British Divisions, including the famous, 7th Armored (Desert Rats) Division are sent against the Italian held area. The attack was expected to roll over the Italians and flank the German parts of the line.
The Folgore though applies a rude shock to the attackers. The Division is lavishly equipped with automatic weapons like the excellent Beretta model 38 sub-machine gun. This allows the paratroopers to inflict heavy losses on the British. The British pull back and regroup before coming on again.
The Italians hold out till November 4 before being overran. Except for a handful of men, the Division is destroyed with high casualties in killed and captured.
The cast includes, Ettore Manni, Jose Jaspe, Fausto Tozzi, Monica Clay, Aldo Bufi Landi and Mario Girotti. Mario Girotti would become a big international star in spaghetti westerns under the name, Terence Hill. (My Name is Trinity)
The film's director was Duilio Coletti. Of note here is the film's music composer, Nino Rota. Rota won an Oscar for his work on THE GODFATHER part II.
A very interesting film with plenty of excellent detail to Italian weapons etc. The use of real Savoia-Marchetti -82 paratroop transports was great to see. Several dozen of these survived WW2 and served into the mid 1960's. This film is well worth a watch if you can find a copy.
