ITALY: Red Loss--And Gain

The West once again battled Communism in Italy. The outcome: a victory for the West—but not as solid a victory as the West had hoped for. The Communists could claim (correctly) that they had gained some popular support since their bitter election defeat three years ago.

Battle for the Towns. When Italy elected new local governments in 1946, the Communist Party captured control of about 2,000 towns and cities, chiefly in the industrial north. Anti-Communist forces, notably the Roman Catholic Church, began to organize a counterattack. At the same time, the U.S....