Collection Piero Ballesio, Turin
In July 1943 the Anglo-American forces disembarked in Sicily. The troops were supplied with Sicilian Marsala as it results from the label below. The inscription on the right escutcheon reads (with some grammar mistakes) "supplied to the American army on the Italian front".
Collection Piero Ballesio, Turin
A precise age determination of this label is insecure. The coat of arms of the Italian royal family on the Italian flag covering an allegoric Italy strongly suggests that the label should be before 1946.
Some American officer of Italian origin might have dictated the inscription relative to the American army. This might explain the Italian grammar mistakes contained in the inscription.
On September 8th, 1943, General Badoglio signed an armistice with the Allied Forces and, together with the king of Italy, joined the Allied lines leaving the Italian Army totally disoriented.
Only two weeks later, after strong pressure from Hitler, Mussolini founded the "Repubblica Sociale Italiana" (RSI) with its capital located at Salò, a small village on the Garda Lake.
The RSI had its own army including a Women Auxiliary Service. This Auxiliary Corp had its own brandy (Grappa) reserve, as demonstrated from this label.
Collection Piero Ballesio, Turin