Italian Co-Belligerent Army
Encyclopedia
The Italian Co-Belligerent Army (Esercito Cobelligerante Italiano), or the Army of the South (Esercito del Sud), was the army of the Italian Royalist
forces fighting on the side of the Allies
during World War II
.
The Italian Co-Belligerent Army was formed in southern Italy after the Allied armistice with Italy
was declared on September 8, 1943; King Victor Emmanuel III
had dismissed Benito Mussolini
as Prime Minister in July 1943 following the Allied invasion of Southern Italy, and had nominated Marshal of Italy (Maresciallo d'Italia) Pietro Badoglio
instead.
The Italians soldiers of the Co-Belligerent Army no longer fought for Mussolini or for the Axis
. Their allegiance was to King Victor Emmanuel and to the Allies. In many regards, the Italian Co-Belligerent Army was a reorganized version of the Royal Italian Army
(Regio Esercito).
. Some of the first soldiers in this unit had just barely managed to escape internment by the Germans
. In accordance with Royal Army Order 70/V, the Italian First Motorized Combat Group (1• Raggruppamento Motorizzato) was created. The unit included elements of two divisions of the old Italian Royal Army: The 18 Infantry Division Messina
and the 58 Infantry Division Legnano
The First Motorized Combat Group had a strength of 295 officers and 5,387 men.
The first action of the First Motorized Combat Group was in the Cassino sector at Monte Lungo
. This action did much to remove the Allied distrust of the Italian soldiers fighting on their side. The unit suffered heavy casualties and performed well enough.
Following service with the American 5th Army and re-organization, the First Motorized Combat Group was transferred to the Polish II Corps on the extreme left of the British 8th Army.
and the "Utili." The "Nembo" Division was formed around the old Royal Army's parachute division of the same name. The "Utili" Division was formed around the First Motorized Combat Group and was named after its commander, General
Umberto Utili
. In early 1944, a 5,000 man force of Italians fought on the Gustav Line around Monte Cassino
and acquitted itself well. The Italians once again suffered heavy casualties.
(July 1944), Italian troops were sent to the rear lines to rest and re-train. In the meantime they were re-kitted with standard British/Commonwealth equipment including Battle Dress
uniforms and helmets
(mostly new and not taken off corpses as hearsay sometimes has it).
By early 1945 the CIL had outgrown itself. It was used as the nucleus for six separate Combat Groups (Gruppi di Combattimento): "Cremona", "Legnano", "Friuli", "Mantova", "Piceno", and "Folgore". Each Combat Group was the equal to a weak division. The established strength for each was 432 officers, 8,578 other rank, 116 field guns, 170 mortars, 502 light machine guns, and 1,277 motor vehicles. The Combat Groups were given the names of old Royal Army divisions and followed the component numbering system of the component regiments to some extent. These groups were attached to various American and British formations on the Gothic Line
. The following is the "order of battle
" of the Italian Co-Belligerent Army as of April 1945
Cremona Combat Group
(of British V Corps
, 9 Apr 1945) - CO Major General Primieri
Folgore Combat Group
(of British XIII Corps
, 9 Apr 1945) - CO Major General Morigi
Friuli Combat Group
(of British X Corps
, 9 Apr 1945) - CO Major General Scattini
Legnano Combat Group (of U S II Corps), 9 Apr 1945 - CO Lieutenant General
Umberto Utili
Legnano Combat Group
(enlarged and reassigned to U S Fifth Army, 23 Apr 1945)
Mantova Combat Group - CO Major General Bologna
Piceno Combat Group - CO Major General Beraudo di Pralormo
In addition to the Combat Groups the Italian Co-belligerent Army included also a force of 8 Auxiliary Divisions (Divisioni Ausiliarie, largely intended to perform labouring and second lined duties), around 200,000 men strong, largely employed by the Allies in various support and logistical activities, those auxiliary Great Units were the following:
On the whole the Italian Co-Belligerent Army made up 1/8 of the fighting force and 1/4 of the entire force of 15th Army Group of the Allied Forces.
Not directly dependent from the Allied Headquarters in Italy the Co-Belligerent Army also deployed 3 Divisions (Divisioni di Sicurezza Interna) for internal security duties, as follows:
. In a similar manner, what had been the royalist Co-Belligerent Army simply became the Italian Army
(Esercito Italiano).
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of government, but not necessarily a particular monarch...
forces fighting on the side of the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The Italian Co-Belligerent Army was formed in southern Italy after the Allied armistice with Italy
Armistice with Italy
The Armistice with Italy was an armistice signed on September 3 and publicly declared on September 8, 1943, during World War II, between Italy and the Allied armed forces, who were then occupying the southern end of the country, entailing the capitulation of Italy...
was declared on September 8, 1943; King Victor Emmanuel III
Victor Emmanuel III of Italy
Victor Emmanuel III was a member of the House of Savoy and King of Italy . In addition, he claimed the crowns of Ethiopia and Albania and claimed the titles Emperor of Ethiopia and King of Albania , which were unrecognised by the Great Powers...
had dismissed Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
as Prime Minister in July 1943 following the Allied invasion of Southern Italy, and had nominated Marshal of Italy (Maresciallo d'Italia) Pietro Badoglio
Pietro Badoglio
Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino was an Italian soldier and politician...
instead.
The Italians soldiers of the Co-Belligerent Army no longer fought for Mussolini or for the Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
. Their allegiance was to King Victor Emmanuel and to the Allies. In many regards, the Italian Co-Belligerent Army was a reorganized version of the Royal Italian Army
Royal Italian Army
The Regio Esercito was the army of the Kingdom of Italy from the unification of Italy in 1861 to the birth of the Italian Republic in 1946...
(Regio Esercito).
Formation
On 28 September 1943, the Italian Co-Belligerent Army began when its first military unit was formed in tented reorganization camps near LecceLecce
Lecce is a historic city of 95,200 inhabitants in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Lecce, the second province in the region by population, as well as one of the most important cities of Puglia...
. Some of the first soldiers in this unit had just barely managed to escape internment by the Germans
Italian military internees
Italian military internees was the official name given by Germany to the Italian soldiers captured, rounded up and deported in the territories of the Third Reich in Operation Achse in the days immediately following the Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces .After disarmament by the...
. In accordance with Royal Army Order 70/V, the Italian First Motorized Combat Group (1• Raggruppamento Motorizzato) was created. The unit included elements of two divisions of the old Italian Royal Army: The 18 Infantry Division Messina
18 Infantry Division Messina
The 18 Infantry Division Messina was a Infantry Division of the Italian Army during World War II. The Messina Division took part in the Invasion of Yugoslavia as part of the Italian XVII Corps and captured both Cetinje and Kotor and much of the Yugoslav Royal Navy...
and the 58 Infantry Division Legnano
58 Infantry Division Legnano
The 58 Infantry Division Legnano was a Infantry Division of the Italian Army during World War II. The Legnano Division was sent to Albania in January 1941, where it remained until June when it was recalled to Italy. It then took part in the invasion of Vichy France in November 1942...
The First Motorized Combat Group had a strength of 295 officers and 5,387 men.
The first action of the First Motorized Combat Group was in the Cassino sector at Monte Lungo
Battle of San Pietro Infine
The Battle of San Pietro Infine was a major engagement from 8–17 December 1943, in the Italian Campaign of World War II involving Allied Forces attacking from the south against heavily fortified positions of the German "Winter Line" in and around the town of San Pietro Infine, just south of Monte...
. This action did much to remove the Allied distrust of the Italian soldiers fighting on their side. The unit suffered heavy casualties and performed well enough.
Following service with the American 5th Army and re-organization, the First Motorized Combat Group was transferred to the Polish II Corps on the extreme left of the British 8th Army.
Italian liberation corps
On 17 April 1944, the formation (now 22,000 men strong) assumed the name Italian Liberation Corps (Corpo Italiano di Liberazione, or CIL). The continuous influx of volunteers made it necessary to form further formations. The CIL was organized in two new divisions: The "Nembo"184 Airborne Division Nembo
184 Airborne Division Nembo or 184 Divisione Paracadutisti Nembo was an Airborne Division of the Italian Army during World War II....
and the "Utili." The "Nembo" Division was formed around the old Royal Army's parachute division of the same name. The "Utili" Division was formed around the First Motorized Combat Group and was named after its commander, General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Umberto Utili
Umberto Utili
Umberto Utili was an Italian general known as commander of Primo Raggruppamento Motorizzato of the Regio Esercito.- Biography :He took part to the Greco-Italian War and to the Russian Campaign. At the time of the Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces he was in Apulia just as Allied...
. In early 1944, a 5,000 man force of Italians fought on the Gustav Line around Monte Cassino
Monte Cassino
Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, Italy, c. to the west of the town of Cassino and altitude. St. Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, here around 529. It was the site of Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944...
and acquitted itself well. The Italians once again suffered heavy casualties.
Italian Co-Belligerent Army from late 1944 to 1945
After the battle of FilottranoFilottrano
Filottrano is a comune in the Province of Ancona in the Italian region Marche, located about 25 km southwest of Ancona. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 9,449 and an area of 70.2 km²....
(July 1944), Italian troops were sent to the rear lines to rest and re-train. In the meantime they were re-kitted with standard British/Commonwealth equipment including Battle Dress
Battle Dress
Battle Dress was the specific title of a military uniform adopted by the British Army in the late 1930s and worn until the 1960s. Several other nations also introduced variants of Battle Dress during the Second World War, including Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa, and the...
uniforms and helmets
Brodie helmet
The Brodie helmet, called Helmet, steel, Mark I helmet in Britain and the M1917 Helmet in the U.S., was a steel combat helmet designed and patented in 1915 by the Briton John Leopold Brodie...
(mostly new and not taken off corpses as hearsay sometimes has it).
By early 1945 the CIL had outgrown itself. It was used as the nucleus for six separate Combat Groups (Gruppi di Combattimento): "Cremona", "Legnano", "Friuli", "Mantova", "Piceno", and "Folgore". Each Combat Group was the equal to a weak division. The established strength for each was 432 officers, 8,578 other rank, 116 field guns, 170 mortars, 502 light machine guns, and 1,277 motor vehicles. The Combat Groups were given the names of old Royal Army divisions and followed the component numbering system of the component regiments to some extent. These groups were attached to various American and British formations on the Gothic Line
Gothic Line
The Gothic Line formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence in the final stages of World War II along the summits of the Apennines during the fighting retreat of German forces in Italy against the Allied Armies in Italy commanded by General Sir Harold Alexander.Adolf Hitler...
. The following is the "order of battle
Order of battle
In modern use, the order of battle is the identification, command structure, strength, and disposition of personnel, equipment, and units of an armed force participating in field operations. Various abbreviations are in use, including OOB, O/B, or OB, while ORBAT remains the most common in the...
" of the Italian Co-Belligerent Army as of April 1945
Cremona Combat Group
44 Infantry Division Cremona
The 44 Infantry Division Cremona was a Infantry Division of the Italian Army during World War II. The Cremona Division was part of the Italian XV Corps that took part in the Italian invasion of France in June 1940. It was transferred to Sardinia in March 1941...
(of British V Corps
V Corps (United Kingdom)
V Corps was an army corps of the British Army in both the First and Second World War. It was first organised in February 1915 and fought through World War I on the Western front...
, 9 Apr 1945) - CO Major General Primieri
- 7th Italian Artillery Regiment [-1bty]
- 21st Italian Infantry Regiment [3btn]
- 22nd Italian Infantry Regiment [3btn]
- 144th Italian Engineer Battalion
Folgore Combat Group
185 Airborne Division Folgore
185. Airborne Division Folgore or 185. Divisione Paracadutisti Folgore was an Parachute Division of the Italian Army during World War II.-History:It was formed in September 1941, as the 1 Division Paracadutisti...
(of British XIII Corps
XIII Corps (United Kingdom)
XIII Corps was a British infantry corps during World War I and World War II.-World War I:XIII Corps was formed in France on 15 November 1915 under Lieutenant-General Walter Congreve to be part of Fourth Army. It was first seriously engaged during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. On the First day on...
, 9 Apr 1945) - CO Major General Morigi
- Nembo (Parachutist) Regiment [3btn]
- San Marco RegimentSan Marco RegimentThe San Marco Regiment , located in Brindisi, are the marines of the Italian Navy. Until the middle of the 1990s the unit was known as the “San Marco Battalion” , until it was expanded beyond battalion size because of the new geopolitical situation after the end of the Cold War and an increasing...
[3btn] - 57th Italian Field Regiment [-1bty,1trp]
- 154th Italian Field Regiment
- 184th Italian Artillery Regiment
- 184th Italian Engineer Battalion
Friuli Combat Group
20 Infantry Division Friuli
The 20th Infantry Division Friuli was a Infantry Division of the Italian Army during World War II.- History :The 20th Infantry Division Friuli was formed in 1939 by renaming the existing 20th Infantry Division Curtatone e Montanara...
(of British X Corps
X Corps (United Kingdom)
The X Corps was a British Army formation in the First World War and was later reformed in 1942 during the North African campaign of the Second World War as part of the Eighth Army.- First World War :...
, 9 Apr 1945) - CO Major General Scattini
- 35th Italian Artillery Regiment
- 87th Italian Infantry Regiment [3btn]
- 88th Italian Infantry Regiment [3btn]
- 120th Italian Engineer Battalion
Legnano Combat Group (of U S II Corps), 9 Apr 1945 - CO Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Umberto Utili
Umberto Utili
Umberto Utili was an Italian general known as commander of Primo Raggruppamento Motorizzato of the Regio Esercito.- Biography :He took part to the Greco-Italian War and to the Russian Campaign. At the time of the Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces he was in Apulia just as Allied...
- 11th Italian Artillery Regiment
- 51st Italian Engineer Battalion
- 68th Italian Regiment Infantry
- Specialized Infantry Regiment (2x AlpiniAlpiniThe Alpini, , are the elite mountain warfare soldiers of the Italian Army. They are currently organized in two operational brigades, which are subordinated to the Alpini Corps Command. The singular is Alpino ....
battalions (remnants of the 3rd Alpini Regiment) and 1x BersaglieriBersaglieriThe Bersaglieri are a corps of the Italian Army originally created by General Alessandro La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Piedmontese Army, later to become the Royal Italian Army...
battalion (remnants of the 4th Bersaglieri Regiment))
Legnano Combat Group
58 Infantry Division Legnano
The 58 Infantry Division Legnano was a Infantry Division of the Italian Army during World War II. The Legnano Division was sent to Albania in January 1941, where it remained until June when it was recalled to Italy. It then took part in the invasion of Vichy France in November 1942...
(enlarged and reassigned to U S Fifth Army, 23 Apr 1945)
- Headquarters, Legnano Combat Group
- Legnano Ordnance Field Park
- Legnano Mechanical workshop
- 34th CarabinieriCarabinieriThe Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...
Section - 51st Carabinieri Section
- 51st Supply and Transport Company
- 51st Medical Section
- 51st Italian Engineer Battalion
- 52nd BLU (British Liaison Unit)
- 244th Field Hospital
- 332nd Field Hospital
- 11th Italian Artillery Regiment
- 68th Italian Infantry Regiment
- 1st Infantry Battalion
- 2nd Infantry Battalion
- 3rd Infantry Battalion
- 405th Mortar Company (Stokes MortarStokes MortarThe Stokes mortar was a British trench mortar invented by Sir Wilfred Stokes KBE which was issued to the British Army and the Commonwealth armies during the latter half of the First World War.-History:...
) - 56th Antitank Company (6-pounder)
- 69th Italian Speciale Infantry Regiment
- 1st BersaglieriBersaglieriThe Bersaglieri are a corps of the Italian Army originally created by General Alessandro La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Piedmontese Army, later to become the Royal Italian Army...
Battalion - 2nd AlpiniAlpiniThe Alpini, , are the elite mountain warfare soldiers of the Italian Army. They are currently organized in two operational brigades, which are subordinated to the Alpini Corps Command. The singular is Alpino ....
Battalion - 3rd Alpini Battalion
- 15th Mortar Company (3-inch)
- 16th Antitank Company (6-pounder)
- 1st Bersaglieri
Mantova Combat Group - CO Major General Bologna
- 76th Italian Infantry Regiment
- 114th Italian Infantry Regiment
- 155th Italian Artillery Regiment
- 104th Italian Engineer Battalion
Piceno Combat Group - CO Major General Beraudo di Pralormo
- 235th Italian Infantry Regiment
- 336th Italian Infantry Regiment
- 152nd Italian Artillery Regiment
- 152nd Italian Engineer Battalion
In addition to the Combat Groups the Italian Co-belligerent Army included also a force of 8 Auxiliary Divisions (Divisioni Ausiliarie, largely intended to perform labouring and second lined duties), around 200,000 men strong, largely employed by the Allies in various support and logistical activities, those auxiliary Great Units were the following:
- 205th Division205 Coastal DivisionThe 205 Coastal Division was an Infantry Division of the Italian Army during World War II. The division was one of three Coastal Divisions based in Sardinia until the Italian surrender to the Allies in September 1943....
(assigned to U S Army Air Forces Command in the Mediterranean)- 51 Gruppo Aviazione (Infantry and AA Artillery Air Force Regiment)
- 52 Gruppo Aviazione (Infantry and AA Artillery Air Force Regiment)
- 53 Gruppo Aviazione (Infantry and AA Artillery Air Force Regiment)
- 54 Gruppo Aviazione (Infantry and AA Artillery Air Force Regiment)
- 55 Gruppo Aviazione (Infantry and AA Artillery Air Force Regiment)
- 209th Division209 Coastal DivisionThe 209 Coastal Division was an Infantry Division of the Italian Army during World War II. The division was located in the Puglia coastal region of Italy....
(in support of the British 1st District) - 210th Division210 Coastal DivisionThe 210 Coastal Division was an Infantry Division of the Italian Army during World War II. The division was located in the Taranto coastal region of Italy. Coastal divisions were second line divisions, usually made up of men in their forties and fifties intended to perform labouring and second...
(assigned to U S Fifth Army) - 212th Division212 Coastal DivisionThe 212 Coastal Division was an Infantry Division of the Italian Army during World War II. The division was located in the Calabria coastal region of Italy. Coastal divisions, were second line divisions, usually formed from men in there forties and fifties intended to perform labouring and second...
, the largest of the Auxiliary Divisions, at its heights its complements exceeded 44,000 men operating in an assigned area of operations extended from Naples to Pisa and Livorno - 227th Division227 Coastal DivisionThe 227 Coastal Division was an infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II. The division was located in the Calabria coastal region of Italy. Coastal divisions were second line divisions, usually formed from men in their forties and fifties intended to perform labouring and secondary...
(in support of the British 3rd District) - 228th Division (assigned to U K Eighth Army)
- 230th Division (in support of the British forces)
- 541 Infantry, Coast Artillery and AA Artillery Regiment
- 403 Pioneer and labour Regiment (Engineer Corps)
- 404 Pioneer and labour Regiment (Engineer Corps)
- 406 Pioneer and labour Regiment (Engineer Corps)
- 501 Security Battalion
- 510 Security Battalion
- 514 Security Battalion
- XXI Supply trains Group (Gruppo salmerie, a Regiment size unit)
- 231st Division (assigned to British XIII Corps of the U S Fifth Army)
On the whole the Italian Co-Belligerent Army made up 1/8 of the fighting force and 1/4 of the entire force of 15th Army Group of the Allied Forces.
Not directly dependent from the Allied Headquarters in Italy the Co-Belligerent Army also deployed 3 Divisions (Divisioni di Sicurezza Interna) for internal security duties, as follows:
- Calabria Division31 Infantry Division CalabriaThe 31 Infantry Division Calabria was a Infantry Division of the Italian Army during World War II. The Calabria Division was part of the garrison at Sardinia where it remained until it surrendered to the Allies after the Italian surrender in September 1943...
(deployed for security duties in Lazio, Umbria and Abruzzi)- 5th Security Brigade
- 6th Security Brigade
- 31st Italian Engineer Battalion
- Aosta Division28 Infantry Division AostaThe 28 Infantry Division Aosta was a Infantry Division of the Italian Army during World War II. The Aosta Division was mobilized June 1940, and stationed in Sicily...
(in Sicily)- 3rd Security Brigade
- 4th Security Brigade
- 28th Italian Engineer Battalion
- Sabauda Division (in Sicily)
- 1st Security Brigade
- 45th Italian Infantry Regiment
- 46th Italian Infantry Regiment
- 2nd Security Brigade
- 145th Italian Infantry Regiment
- 16th Italian Artillery Regiment
- 130th Italian Engineer Battalion
- 1st Security Brigade
Italian Army
In 1946, the Kingdom of Italy became the Italian RepublicItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. In a similar manner, what had been the royalist Co-Belligerent Army simply became the Italian Army
Italian Army
The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
(Esercito Italiano).
Famous members
- Carlo Azeglio CiampiCarlo Azeglio Ciampidr. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi is an Italian politician and banker. He was the 73rd Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and was the tenth President of the Italian Republic from 1999 to 2006...
, President of the Republic of Italy from 1999 to 2006. - Eugenio CortiEugenio CortiEugenio Corti is an Italian writer. After participating in the Italian retreat from Russia in World War II, he joined the Italian Freedom Fighters...
- Giovanni MesseGiovanni MesseGiovanni Messe was an Italian general, politician, and Field Marshal . He is considered by many to have been the best Italian general of the Second World War.-Early life and career:Born in Mesagne, Apulia, Giovanni Messe pursued a military career in 1901...
- Gianni AgnelliGianni AgnelliGiovanni Agnelli , better known as Gianni Agnelli , was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce, and 16.5% of its industrial investment in research...
- Valerio ZurliniValerio ZurliniValerio Zurlini was an Italian film director, stage director and screenwriter.-Biography:During his law studies in Rome, he started working in the theatre. In 1943, he joined the Italian resistance. Zurlini became a member of the Italian Communist Party...
- Clemente PrimieriClemente PrimieriClemente Primieri was an Italian general, best known for being the leader of Gruppo di Combattimento Cremona, one of the units of the Italian Co-Belligerent Army which fought alongside the Allies in the latter part of World War II.-Biography:He entered the Modena Military Academy at age 18 and at...
- Umberto UtiliUmberto UtiliUmberto Utili was an Italian general known as commander of Primo Raggruppamento Motorizzato of the Regio Esercito.- Biography :He took part to the Greco-Italian War and to the Russian Campaign. At the time of the Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces he was in Apulia just as Allied...
See also
- Military history of Italy during World War IIMilitary history of Italy during World War IIDuring World War II , the Kingdom of Italy had a varied and tumultuous military history. Defeated in Greece, France, East Africa and North Africa, the Italian invasion of British Somaliland was one of the only successful Italian campaigns of World War II accomplished without German support.In...
- Italian Campaign in World War IIItalian Campaign (World War II)The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
- Mediterranean Theatre of World War II
- Battle of Mignano Monte LungoMignano Monte LungoMignano Monte Lungo is a comune in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about 70 km northwest of Naples and about 45 km northwest of Caserta....
- Gothic LineGothic LineThe Gothic Line formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence in the final stages of World War II along the summits of the Apennines during the fighting retreat of German forces in Italy against the Allied Armies in Italy commanded by General Sir Harold Alexander.Adolf Hitler...
- Italian Royal Army, Kingdom of Italy
- Italian National Republican ArmyEsercito Nazionale RepubblicanoThe National Republican Army was the army of the Italian Social Republic from 1943 to 1945 that fought on the side of Nazi Germany during World War II....
, Italian Social RepublicItalian Social RepublicThe Italian Social Republic was a puppet state of Nazi Germany led by the "Duce of the Nation" and "Minister of Foreign Affairs" Benito Mussolini and his Republican Fascist Party. The RSI exercised nominal sovereignty in northern Italy but was largely dependent on the Wehrmacht to maintain control... - Italian Co-Belligerent Air ForceItalian Co-Belligerent Air ForceThe Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force , or Air Force of the South , was the air force of the Royalist "Badoglio government" in southern Italy during the last years of World War II. The ACI was formed in southern Italy in October 1943 after the Italian Armistice in September...
- Italian Co-Belligerent NavyItalian Co-Belligerent NavyThe Italian Co-Belligerent Navy , or Navy of the South or Royal Navy , was the navy of the Italian royalist forces fighting on the side of the Allies in southern Italy after the Allied armistice with Italy in September 1943...
- Co-belligerenceCo-belligerenceCo-belligerence is the waging of a war in cooperation against a common enemy without a formal treaty of military alliance.Co-belligerence is a broader and less precise status of wartime partnership than a formal military alliance. Co-belligerents may support each other materially, exchange...
- Operation HerringOperation HerringOperation Herring was the last World War II airborne combat drop in Europe.- Background :The Allied April 1945 offensive on the Italian front, which was to end the Italian campaign and the war in Italy, was to decisively break through the German Gothic Line, the defensive line along the Apennines...
, the last combat parachute jump in the European Theater of OperationsEuropean Theater of OperationsThe European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed U.S. Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and the...
, made by Italian troops.
Sources
- Holland, James, Italy's Sorrw: A Year of War 1944-1945, St. Martin's Press, New York, ISBN 13 978-0-312-37396-2, ISBN 10 0-312-37396-1
- Jowett, Phillip, The Italian Army 1940-45 (3): Italy 1943-45, Osprey Publishing, Westminster, MD, ISBN 978-1-85532-866-2
- Mollo, Andrew, The Armed Forces of World War II, Crown Publishing, New York, ISBN 0-517-54478-4