Max Corvo

I would have rated this book higher were it not for the fact that it is such a difficult read - difficult because its author, Max Corvo. gives us such a detailed and meticulously well-documented account of the role played by the Italian Secret Service Unit of America's OSS in "The Italian Campaign," complete with all the names of the numerous participants and their specific activities from the inception of the unit until the end of the war, a period of about 3 years. For the reader, a lot of this detail is exhausting, more so because of the chaos the war effort. Indeed, especially in the first half of the book, the picture he paints of the Allies as they drive the Germans out of Italy is, to be sure, not a pretty one -- full of disorganization, miscues and bureaucratic infighting, as competing factions seek to elbow each other out to get more control of the action. There is the British Secret Service that believes it should have full control of all Allied intelligence operations and does not like the emergence of a US-led operation largely run by Italo-American rookies who are constantly out-maneuvering them, because they are so much more adept at communicating with their Italian counterparts. There is the Anglo-Saxon elite at the upper echelons of US Intelligence, many of which resent and often fails to offer adequate support to these Italian-American upstarts (Max Corvo, I should point out, starts off as a lowly private who is not even in the army, and only gradually works his way up to officer status in recognition of his organizational capabilities). And then there is all the confusion caused by the fact that both the Fifth and the Seventh Army were operating in the Italian theater, both requiring counter-intelligence, and it took a long time for the two to realize there had to be a single coordinating point of control for their efforts behind enemy lines in coordination with local ani-fascist revolutionaries. As Max Corvo tells it, it was thanks the hard work and dedication of not only himself but his other Italo-American patriots (most notably, his pal, Emilio"Mim" Daddario," who later became US Congressman from Connecticut, and aspired for its Governorship) that an extremely effective coordinated structure was ultimately achieved, one that not only supplied the vital intelligence that enabled the Allies to drive out the Germans with far fewer casualties than would have resulted from just the use of force, but that also set the stage for a post-war transition in which Italy was not treated as occupied hostile territory, but rather was allowed to quickly evolve into an independent Democratic State, very friendly to the US, and not under Communist control. It is only at the end of this narrative that we come to understand what motivated Max to write such a detailed and well-researched account of the exploits of "SI", the Italian Secret Service Section of OSS. What happened is that, as soon as the Germans were defeated, orders from Washington were sent out to disband the SI and essentially wipe them out of existence, giving all credit for the success of the OSS in Italy to Allen Dulles and his elite cronies.(Sure enough, under Eisenhower, Allen became head of the CIA, the successor agency). But Max was a rebel, and wanted history to remember. The research assembled in this book amply supports Max Corvo's narrative. And I, for one, having lived having experienced the post-war period (I was born in 1941) and having met members of the Intelligence establishment, I can personally attest both as to the pretentiousness of that generation of "head spies"( individuals often drawn from the New England upper classes) and the scorn with which Italians were looked down upon in those times. So, difficult as it is to read his book, it is worth reading . Any quibbles? Just this one: I wish the book came with a map, and also that Max had given us the location of all the many drops of people and supplies into enemy territory. More often than not, these are camouflaged by their code names.

There was recently a brief talk of remembrance by his son, Bill Corvo. And, I have recently received a CD of Bill Colby's son, whose conscience had been haunted by Vietnam. Criticized by many of his colleagues, DCIA Colby ought be now received with malice toward none. I had hoped as a dream of my father's recent passing from being a WW II veteran, that they all had not died, but, tjhe memories fade away. So, to all the forgotten men and women with their tragedies and hopes.

He was a great patriot of the United States and Italy. From a noble family Corvo ("Raven") he arrived without money here in 1922; and, within a few years planned the invasion of Italy in WW II. And, using the good offices of the Vatican, negotiated the Emperor Hirohito's surrender of Japan, a peace offer never realized because of FDR's untimely death.

OSS Italy is an important historical foundation. Much of OSS, US Army CIC[Counterintelligence Corps] and other operational details have been pared. My father was asked to comment and be included. First he refused, then when contacted six months later, replied 'go .... up a rope.'John Richardson, MDNeurologyOSS and CounterIntelligence Historian

This is my Uncle it’s very interesting.

I am very happy with this itemand was sent to me in a timely fashion

Students of history, or of American success stories will truly enjoy this book. A fantastic memoir of one of the lesser-known campaigns of WWII. A must-read for any history buff, filled with insider information.

The reality that a young, ‘wet behind the ears’, Italian American, could shorten WWII seemed the stuff of fiction. Max Corvos’s audacious plan to cultivate Italian American partisan groups in Italy shortened WWII by over a year. Max recruited Italian Americans of all ages and backgrounds. These recruits were airdropped into Italy to organize partisans. Their collective actions continually sabotaged German efforts to withdraw German troops needed to reinforce the Russian and French fronts. Partisan action in italy frustrated Germany. This reduction in Italian Axis support resulted in the Germans brutally turning on the Italian population. The German army began murdering Italian civilians in retaliation for actions taken by the partisans against German troops. Gripping. Easy read. Unusually well written for such a book.