Fellow blogger and wargamer Chris Stoesen from
Wargamer's Odds and Ends has publised a few days ago a scenario book called "In the Name of Roma" covering in 30 scenarios and 6 campaigns the trip to hell of the 80º Infantry Roma Regiment of the Pasubio Division, part of the Italian Corps in Russia (CSIR).
So, what? Well, I've been following with growing interest Chris' progress of the booklet through his blogs posts but on Saturday night I had the opportunity to start reading the 200+ pages of the final work... and could not stop until finished. I was confronted by one of the most fascinating and dramatic war stories that I've read since a long time ago: from the story of the first killed in action to the desperate fights in December 1941 surrounded by overwhelming Russian forces.

The background of the Italian involvement in the Eastern Front is the desire of Moussilini to have a share in the spoils of a sure victory against the Soviet Union in 1941. Without regards for the lack of training, supplies or material to sustain a likely long campaign, he organised and sent a corps of over 59,000 men along with other allies of the German Army. Note that at its height there were close to 235,000 Italians fighting in the Eastern Front, of which over 65,000 were reported killed (including prisiones in Soviet camps) and many more thousands were reported MIAs.