The 38th Infantry Division Puglie was a mountain infantrydivision of the Italian Army during World War II. The Puglie Division was mobilized 15 May 1939 and disintegrated soon after 8 September 1943. The division filled its ranks with men drafted in eastern Veneto and Friuli, with a majority of soldiers hailing from the towns of Sacile and Vittorio Veneto.[1] The only difference between line infantry divisions and mountain infantry divisions was that the latter's artillery was carried by pack mules instead of the standard horse-drawn carriages. Italy's real mountain warfare divisions were the six alpine divisions manned by the "Alpini" mountain troops.
Arriving in Albania, the Puglie division, acting as part of Italian XIV Corps, have started to fight somewhere around Lezhë 5 March 1941. The division had only one infantry regiment attached as the 72 Puglie Infantry Regiment was assigned to the Italian XVII Corps.[2] 9 March 1941, the main body of Puglie division has assaulted the Monastery Hill (Height 731) near the hamlet of Komarak, as part of failed Italian Spring Offensive.[3] By 11 March 1941, the losses in repeated attacks were such what the division was removed from the front line and ordered to Dubrovnik for reinforcement.
1 April 1941, the division was called to cover a Kukës – Fushë-Muhurr – Qafë-Murrë border section with between Albania and Yugoslavia. It started to advance at Blatë 7 April 1941, at Maqellarë – 9 April 1941. After breaking an initial Yugoslavian resistance, it reached Debar 11 April 1941, meeting with German forces attacking from the north. 27–28 April 1941, the units of the Puglie division have occupied Prizren, Peć and Gjakova. 1 May 1941, the additional garrisons were established at Orahovac, Štimlje and Skenderaj, all in modern Kosovo. The mopping-up and counter-insurgency operations have continued in Kosovo and to the east of it until Armistice of Cassibile 8 September 1943. Afterward, the Puglie division has moved to Albania where it soon ceased to exist under murky circumstances.
↑ An Italian Infantry Division normally consisted of two Infantry Regiments (three Battalions each), an Artillery Regiment, a Mortar Battalion (two Companies), and an Anti Tank Company. A Blackshirt Legion (essentially an Infantry Regiment of two Battalions instead of three) was sometimes attached. Each Division had only about 7,000 men, The Infantry and Artillery Regiments contained 1,650 men, the Blackshirt Legion 1,200, each company 150 men.[4]
This article is about the Italian Royal Army which participated in World War II.
The 24th Infantry Division Pinerolo was an infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II.
The 26th Infantry Division Assietta was a mountain infantry Division of the Italian Army during World War II. The Assietta Division was reorganized 5 April 1939 as a binary Mountain division. The only difference between line infantry divisions and mountain infantry divisions was that the latter's artillery was carried by pack mules instead of the standard horse-drawn carriages. Italy's real mountain warfare divisions were the six alpine divisions manned by the "Alpini" mountain troops. Most men drafted in the Assietta Division came from Asti and surroundings.
The 6th Infantry Division Cuneo was an infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II. The Division was formed on 24 May 1939 in Milan, largely from the parts of 58th Infantry Division Legnano. The Cuneo Division was part of the III Corps, First Army that took part in the Italian invasion of France and the 26th Corps during Greco-Italian War.
The 12th Infantry Division Sassari was an Infantry Division of the Italian Army during World War II. After the end of World War I the Italian Army disbanded all brigades raised during the war with the exception of the Sassari Infantry Brigade and three further brigades, which also had distinguished themselves during the war: Liguria, Arezzo and Avellino. The brigade moved to Trieste as part of the 12th Infantry Division Timavo'. In 1926 the brigade gained the 12th Infantry Regiment Casale and changed its name to XII Infantry Brigade. Along with the 34th Artillery Regiment the brigade were the only units of the 12th Division. In 1939 the brigade lost the 12th Infantry regiment and was renamed 12th Infantry Division Sassari. This binary division consisted of only two infantry regiments and the 34th Field Artillery Regiment. To increase the weak strength of the division in 1941 the division was joined by the 73rd Blackshirt Assault Legion Boiardo, a battalion sized militia unit of the Italian Fascist Party.
The 15th Infantry Division Bergamo was an infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II. It was formed 24 May 1939 in Opatija.
The 18th Infantry Division Messina was an infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II. It was formed 24 May 1939 in the Fano area on the Italian Adriatic sea coast and was dissolved by Germans 13 September 1943 in Croatia.
The Infantry Division "Friuli" was a division of the Italian Army active in World War II and during the early days of the Cold War.
The 22nd Infantry Division Cacciatori delle Alpi was an infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II. The Cacciatori delle Alpi was mobilized for war in June 1939 and was dissolved 11 September 1943.
The 37th Infantry Division Modena was a mountain Infantry Division of the Italian Army during World War II. It was formed 25 March 1939, from the parts of the Territorial Division Imperia 5a. It was made up entirely of men from Genoa and Liguria. The only difference between line infantry divisions and mountain infantry divisions was that the latter's artillery was carried by pack mules instead of the standard horse-drawn carriages. Italy's real mountain warfare divisions were the six alpine divisions manned by the "Alpini" mountain troops.
The 41st Infantry Division Firenze was an infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II. It was formed 15 September 1939 in Florence and was officially dissolved 28 September 1943. The division was made up of Tuscans, and especially Florentines.
The 59th Infantry Division Cagliari was a mountain infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II. It was formed 5 April 1939 in Vercelli and dissolved 8 September 1943 in southern Peloponnese. Garrisoned in Vercelli, the division was made up almost entirely of men from northern Piedmont, especially from Vercelli and Ivrea. The only difference between line infantry divisions and mountain infantry divisions was that the latter's artillery was carried by pack mules instead of the standard horse-drawn carriages. Italy's real mountain warfare divisions were the six alpine divisions manned by the "Alpini" mountain troops.
The 44th Infantry Division Cremona was an infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II.
The 48th Infantry Division Taro was an infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II. It was formed on 12 September 1939 in Catanzaro and ceased to function on 8 September 1943 in Toulon.
The 49th Infantry Division Parma was an infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II. The Parma Division was a regular division of the Italian Army, formed 12 September 1939 in Macerata, and dissolved 8 September 1943 in Vlorë.
The 51st Infantry Division Siena was a regular infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II. The Siena Division was formed 15 September 1939 and dissolved 8 September 1943. Historically a Campanian unit, it was made almost entirely of Neapolitans.
The 53rd Infantry Division Arezzo was a mountain infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II. It was formed 24 May 1939 and officially dissolved 12 September 1943. The Arezzo division is not related to partisan division Arezzo operating in 1943 in the Cortona vicinity under command of Siro Rossetti. The only difference between line infantry divisions and mountain infantry divisions was that the latter's artillery was carried by pack mules instead of the standard horse-drawn carriages. Italy's real mountain warfare divisions were the six alpine divisions manned by the Alpini mountain troops.
The 151st Infantry Division Perugia was an infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II. The Perugia Division was formed in August 1941 as a garrison division. It was sent on operations to Yugoslavia in December 1941. It was part of the Italian forces committed to the Battle of the Sutjeska. It was then transferred to Albania in August 1943. Following the Italian surrender in September 1943, the division marched from Girokaster to the Albanian coast, where some thousand men could be evacuated by ship to Italy, but the majority was left behind and was largely captured by the Germans of the 99 regiment, I Mountain Division, at "Porto Palermo". The commander of the "Perugia", gen. Ernesto Chiminello, was shot on October 4, 1943, at 16:45; the next day the other 120 officers were shot on the beach of "baia Limione" and their bodies were thrown in the sea. The last 32 officers, after fierce resistance, were captured near Kuc and shot there on the morning of October 7, 1943. Some survivors from the division joined the partisans, many others dispersed and tried to hide and survive in the woods; Bill Tilman reported in October 1943 that some 5,000 survivors from the "Perugia" and "Parma" Divisions were "living on roots and berries".
The 56th Infantry Division Casale was a regular Infantry Division of the Italian Army during World War II. It was formed in 1939 in Forlì and was dissolved in September 1943 in Aetolia-Acarnania region of Greece. The majority of its men originated from Romagna.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Regno d'Italia
Regio Esercito
