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The 2nd 'Littorio' ("Lictor") Division was one of four divisions raised by Mussolini's Italian Social Republic. Although an infantry formation, it was often referred to as a "Grenadier" formation for morale purposes.
2nd Division "Littorio": Maj. Gen. Tito Agosti
The division has been implicated in nineteen instances of war crimes in Italy between November 1944 and May 1945, with around 120 civilians killed in the course of these incidents. [1]
Operation Compass was the first large British military operation of the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) during the Second World War. British, Indian, Commonwealth and Allied forces attacked Italian forces of the 10th Army in western Egypt and Cyrenaica, the eastern province of Libya, from December 1940 to February 1941.
The Italian Army is the land-based component of the Italian Armed Forces of the Italian Republic. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China, Libya, Northern Italy against the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I, Abyssinia before World War II and in World War II in Albania, Balkans, North Africa, the Soviet Union, and Italy itself. During the Cold War, the army prepared itself to defend against a Warsaw Pact invasion from the east. Since the end of the Cold War, the army has seen extensive peacekeeping service and combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank and among its aircraft the Mangusta attack helicopter, recently deployed in UN missions. The headquarters of the Army General Staff are located in Rome opposite the Quirinal Palace, where the president of Italy resides. The army is an all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel.
This article covers the Japanese garrisons on the by-passed Pacific islands from 1944 to 1945, including the Japanese mandated territory of the South Seas Mandate.
The 4th Alpine Division Cuneense was an Italian division composed of Alpini - light Mountain Infantry - and Mountain Artillery units. The division participated in all Italian campaigns of World War II with the exception of the North African Campaign. The division was completely destroyed by Soviet Forces during Operation Little Saturn.
The Alpine Brigade "Taurinense" is a light Infantry brigade of the Italian Army, specializing in Mountain Combat. Its core units are Alpini, the mountain infantry corps of the Italian Army, that distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. The brigade's name "Taurinense" alludes to the Roman name Augusta Taurinorum for the city of Turin around which the brigade is based. Accordingly the brigade's coat of arms is modeled after Turin's coat of arms. The brigade carries on the name and traditions of the 1st Alpine Division "Taurinense".
This article is about the Italian Royal Army which participated in World War II.
The 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.
The Italian invasion of Egypt was an offensive in the Second World War, against British, Commonwealth and Free French forces in the Kingdom of Egypt. The invasion by the Italian 10th Army ended border skirmishing on the frontier and began the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) proper. The Italian strategy was to advance from Libya along the Egyptian coast to seize the Suez Canal. After numerous delays, the scope of the offensive was reduced to an advance as far as Sidi Barrani and the engagement of any British forces in the area.
The Maletti Group(Italian: Raggruppamento Maletti) was an ad hoc mechanised unit formed by the Italian Royal Army in Italian North Africa, during the initial stages of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The Italian army had three armoured divisions in Europe but all were needed for the occupation of Albania and the forthcoming invasion of Greece, which began on 28 October 1940. The Raggruppamento Maletti was formed in June 1940, as part of the 10th Army and contained all of the M11/39 medium tanks in Libya.
The 131st Armoured Division Centauro was an armoured division of the Italian Army during World War II. It was formed in February 1939, by upgrading the 1st Armoured Brigade. It took part in operations in Albania, Greece and Yugoslavia before returning to Italy. Sent to North Africa in August 1942, it surrendered in Tunisia on 13 May 1943.
133rd Armoured Division Littorio or 133° Divisione Corazzata Littorio (Italian) was an armoured division of the Italian Army during World War II. The division was formed in 1939 from the Infantry Division Littorio that had taken part in the Spanish Civil War. It was a reserve unit during the invasion of France when it attacked through the Little St Bernard Pass, which was halted by the French defenders. It then took part in the Invasion of Yugoslavia, fighting at Mostar and Trebinje. It was sent to North Africa in the spring of 1942 where it fought until it was destroyed at the Second battle of El Alamein in November 1942.
The 40th Infantry Division "Cacciatori d’Africa" was an infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II. It was formed 27 July 1940 and dissolved 15 May 1941. The divisions Cacciatori d’Africa and 65 Infantry Division Granatieri di Savoia were outside of the normal chain of command, being subordinated directly to Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta., together with other colonial troops in Italian East Africa.
The 44th Infantry Division Cremona was an infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II.
The Mechanized Brigade "Legnano" was a mechanized brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units were mechanized infantry battalions. The brigade's headquarters was in the city of Bergamo in Lombardy. The name of the brigade commemorates the Lombard League victory in the Battle of Legnano in 1176 and its coat of arms depicts the Monument to the Warrior of Legnano in the centre of Legnano.
The Mechanized Division "Folgore" was a mechanized division of the Italian Army. Its core units were three mechanized brigades. The brigades headquarters was in the city of Treviso.
The Order of battle, Keren 1941 shows Italian army forces that participated in the Battle of Keren from February to March 1941 and British troops in Sudan on 20 January 1941, which participated in military operations against Eritrea during the East African Campaign 1940–1941.
With the 1975 reforms the Italian Army abolished the regimental level and replaced it with brigades made up of multiple arms. During the reform the army disbanded 48 regimental commands and reduced its force by 87 battalions. A further ten regimental commands were used to raise ten new brigade commands. Ten training centers, which for traditional reasons had carried the names of regiments, were also disbanded. The reduction in units also allowed to mechanize most of the remaining units in Northern Italy and Italy's defense strategy changed from a hold-at-all-costs territorial defense to one of mobile warfare.
The 133rd Tank Regiment is an inactive tank regiment of the Italian Army based in Altamura in Apulia. Originally the regiment, like all Italian tank units, was part of the infantry, but on 1 June 1999 it became part of the cavalry. Operationally the regiment was last assigned to the Mechanized Brigade "Pinerolo".
