From everything I've seen and read about WW2, Italy was always the one made out to be bumbling and inept. What was the reasoning for this? Were they seen that way during WW2 or was it only after the war they were seen that way?
Not to discourage other answers, but there are several questions located in the FAQ about this.
FAQ: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/faq/militaryhistory/wwii/minor#wiki_italian_military
By a deleted account: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/25y981/how_bad_really_was_the_wwii_italian_army_and_what/chlwvsy/
One by /u/Quirite (who also seems to have deleted their account): https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2vp9s4/why_was_the_italian_army_so_pathetically_inept/cok4xz0/