When the Kingdom of Italy marched to war in 1915 they carried the black powder Bodeo revolver in their holsters. Over the course of the conflict development of a reliable autoloader would prove problematic until later in the war.

The standard service pistol of Mussolini’s armies during the Second World War was a simple blowback automatic, and would serve on for decades in Italian service as well as helping to build the global brand of Beretta.