Slitherine

got it. I'm wondering if it is best to disband the Italians after the first scenario.

Italian tanks are best to be disbanded. They are weak compared to German ones and don't improve over variants almost at all. However it would be completely inaccurate from historical point to have German units only. I personally kept the Bersaglieri infantry which are pretty good and Italian artillery which is not bad. Also I had Italian bomber here and there. Italian strategic bombers are also very good. One anti tank unit is also pretty good too, but available only in later years.

But the rest of Italian units are more or less crap.

EDIT: And yes MC 205 Centauro fighter is not bad.

The Sahariani are worth keeping, too. Try using one or two of them as infantry rather than recon units. They perform very well in that capacity in the early scenarios.

The tanks are fine if you use them as what they are: Light tanks. Use them like you would use the early German tanks in 1939 and early 1940, then you'll be fine. They cannot hold a line of course, that's what the Germans are for. But they can be very good to hold a flank of mop up weak units. And later they can be upgraded to Panthers. The artillery is also very nice. The towed one is a bit better than the german one so I used Italian artillery too. The self propelled guns only have 2 range initially but with very good defense values. They can be used like StuGs and can later be upgraded to Sturmpanzers. Level Bombers are great as mentioned and the infantry is worth keeping.