World War II Trivia

While interviewing my friend, Ed, who is a 95-year-old World War II veteran, he described how Italians had a reputation of being lovers rather than fighters. He gave a specific example of when fighting in Libya, the Italian army had trailers full of prostitutes brought over to North Africa.

In researching this I found the following: “Mussolini, who was a self-proclaimed sexual adventurer, saw to it that his army in Cyrenaica was provided with mobile brothels for the forward troops and whorehouses in the rear areas. After Tobruk's surrender in 1941, the garrison brothel presented a British colonel with a difficult dilemma when, according to the war correspondent who acted as translator, the sous maîtresse offered to put her girls 'at the disposition of the British army'.”[An offer not accepted.] From Love, Sex and War by John Costello.]