This is the recounting and the diary of my life - Marino Mattei

7.

The war was raging. Italy and Germany had occupied France. Germany had been the first to go to war and it had occupied nearly all of the Balkans. The only countries that remained were Yugoslavia and Greece. Albania was with Italy. Having finished in France, Italy's final task was the occupation of Greece. According to the Minister Of Foreign Affairs, Galeazzo Ciano [http://www.comandosupremo.com/Ciano.html], Greece had assured Italy that it did not intend on mounting a strong resistance to the occupation. Italy simply had to enter the country with a small force to accomplish its mission. The command was given to General Badoglio but he did not accept it because he wanted 25 divisions of soldiers and they were only giving him five divisions. Due to this the command was assumed by General Graziani.

The five divisions crossed Albania, arriving on the Greek front and everything seemed fine. There was no resistance and they started the occupation; all was proceeding perfectly. However, after a few days the Greeks unleashed their attack. The Italians were not prepared because according to Ciano, Greece had stated they did not intend on asserting a defense. Taken by surprise, in very little time the five divisions were destroyed and the Greeks were advancing. Italy began to send reinforcements but the more they sent the more were defeated. At this time I was still at home but every day I was waiting for a letter calling me back to active duty. In fact, at the end of November, still in 1940 (I don't remember which day precisely), my notice did arrive. I distinctly remember that it was in the afternoon. I was not at home. I was at work and my sister Maria came and called me and from this began the great tragedy of war. To speak of the hardships, the suffering, the fear and all the other things that a man must confront is impossible because he would not be believed. I myself who experienced these events can not believe how a person can survive so many hardships.

As I said, my notification arrived in the afternoon and I departed immediately. Along with me there was also my brother Stefano. We left on the following morning and we were in the Castigliole di Saluzzo depot of mobilization by that evening. We were met there with a great deal of confusion. Soldiers were arriving from every part of Italy. Castigliole was so filled with soldiers that we couldn't walk in the streets. Stefano was very frightened but he had brought documents verifying that he owned the required amount of land which would exempt him from service. He was sent home on the following night. I somehow faced the uncertainty of what was to come with more courage.

As I said, we arrived at night and the following morning I was given a uniform and armed with a rifle that was without a sight or a firing pin. In a few days we were told we'd be leaving for the Greek-Albanian front. However, not all the soldiers were sent there. Those with a wife and children remained in Castigliole. Unfortunately, I had to go. Before departing I asked for a different rifle because, as I said, the one I'd been issued was broken. They told me they'd exchange it along the way before arriving at the front but this never happened and, as a result, I was on the front lines with a rifle that couldn't be fired.

In a few days we left Castigliole. We were put on a train which took us to Foggia [located on the Southeastern coast of Italy]. From there we were to be transported by plane to Vallona in Albania. We remained in Italy until December 14. In Foggia we did nothing other than to wait for the plane. Every night we'd go out to eat at a restaurant but it was difficult to find a place because there were 5000 soldiers in Foggia and the restaurants were all full. The Greeks continued their advance and the Italian campaign was in disarray. Our morale was at absolute zero. The days passed quickly and on the morning of December 14 the plane was ready to transport us to Vallona.

These were tense and gloomy moments because we knew we had little chance of returning home. It was impossible to find a restaurant the last night in Foggia. They were all full but since for us it was possibly the last night of our lives we wanted to pass the time "a Cristiani" [literal translation is "as Christians" meaning in a decent, civilized manner]. Along with me there was also Silvano from Coreglia. In the center of town there was a restaurant that still had some tables open but it was too expensive for soldiers like us - the waiters were formally dressed, etc. Aside from this, it was filled with officers: lieutenants, captains, colonels and no common soldiers. We continued to walk through the city in search of a restaurant that had seating available but it was impossible. We were a group of four. We had the money and we knew that in Greece the war was raging. The Italians were getting hit hard and the soldiers were dying like flies. We wanted to have a nice meal at least one last time. As I said, we had money but we didn't have any idea how much we would need to spend. The restaurant we had seen was very expensive and we were also intimidated by all the officers who were dining there. However, since we could find no other possible place to eat, we found the courage and decided that this was the restaurant were we'd have dinner.

We entered and saluted the officers. The waiter was immediately ready and very kindly showed us to our table. We placed our orders and they treated us like princes. While we ate we talked. No one knew how much the bill would be or if we'd have enough money to pay it. As I said, when we had entered there were no common soldiers seated at the tables but 10 minutes later the place was filled with them. We finished our meal and, with a little fear, we asked for the check. The waiter very politely brought it to us on a small plate and we almost didn't have the courage to look at it. When we saw the amount we couldn't believe it. We'd spent a great deal less than we had spent on previous nights out when we'd gone to small restaurants that were filthy and had terrible food. We paid and since they had treated us so well we left them a tip: something we, as soldiers, never did.


For a brief summary of the Greco/Italian War see:
       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Italian_War

Continue reading  >>>


© 2009 by Maurice Mattei
All rights reserved.