Second Lieutenant Luigi Arbib Pascucci was an Italian tank commander during World War II. He fought with the Ariete Tank Division in North Africa. Not much is known about his early life, but his most famous actions took place in the Desert War of North Africa. Luigi fought in the Second Battle of El Alamein, where he sacrificed his life to save his comrades in an abrupt tank battle. [1]
On 4 November 1942 [2] the armoured company that Pascucci was leading took part in the fighting against the British 22nd Armoured Brigade near Bir El Abd, just west of El Alamein. The next day his company was ordered to hold the left flank of the regiment against the British 8th Armoured Brigade during the Ariete Division's retreat to Fuka. Pascucci was outnumbered by the British, and many of his company's tanks were deemed obsolete against the British armour. Nevertheless, he succeeded in holding the flank long enough to allow the rest of the division to retreat safely. However, Pascucci's success in allowing the rest of the division to retreat safely was paradoxical for the young Second Lieutenant. Pascucci's company was inevitably cut off from the main body of the Italian force. He still needed time to regroup; Pascucci decided that a last-ditch counter-attack would improve the situation. He ignored enemy fire and led the remaining eleven M13/40 tanks of his company into an offensive attack directly at the centre of the British armoured Brigade. The counter-attack broke the British line and sent the 8th Armoured tanks into disarray. Pascucci then continued to pursue the fleeing British tanks. Pascucci was killed by the British during a running tank battle. He was found dead in his knocked-out tank after the battle. In recognition of his sacrifice, he was posthumously awarded the Medaglia d'oro al valor militare [3] (Gold Medal of Military Valour), Italy's highest award for bravery. Pascucci's tank was a Fiat M13/40; a medium Italian tank, this tank was numerous in the desert war; while its armament (a 32-calibre long 47mm gun) was ideal for 1940 and more potent than the 40mm guns of contemporary English tanks its riveted armor of poor-quality steel was sub-par and the insufficient tropicalization of its engine components resulted in a high rate of mechanical breakdowns. In 1942 even its main gun was no longer competitive, the standard having quickly moved to high-velocity 50, 57 and 75mm weapons; only the introduction of HEAT rounds (in Italian E.P. - Effetto Pronto) kept it capable of dealing some damage against the Allied Grants and Shermans.
The First Battle of El Alamein was a battle of the Western Desert campaign of the Second World War, fought in Egypt between Axis forces of the Panzer Army Africa—which included the Afrika Korps under Field Marshal Erwin Rommel—and Allied forces of the Eighth Army under General Claude Auchinleck.
The Second Battle of El Alamein was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented the Axis from advancing further into Egypt.
Operation Sonnenblume was the name given to the dispatch of German and Italian troops to North Africa in February 1941, during the Second World War. The Italian 10th Army had been destroyed by the British, Commonwealth, Empire and Allied Western Desert Force attacks during Operation Compass (9 December 1940 – 9 February 1941). The first units of the new Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK), commanded by Generalleutnant Erwin Rommel, departed Naples for Africa and arrived on 11 February 1941. On 14 February, advanced units of the 5th Light Afrika Division, Aufklärungsbataillon 3 and Panzerjägerabteilung 39 arrived at the Libyan port of Tripoli and were sent immediately to the front line east of Sirte.
The 1st South African Infantry Division was an infantry division of the army of the Union of South Africa. During World War II the division served in East Africa from 1940 to 1941 and in the Western Desert Campaign from 1941 to 1942. The division was disbanded on 1 January 1943, for conversion into what would become the 6th South African Armoured Division. The division was also briefly active after the war from 1 July 1948 to 1 November 1949.
Operation Crusader was a military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during the Second World War by the British Eighth Army against the Axis forces in North Africa commanded by Generalleutnant (Lieutenant-General) Erwin Rommel. The operation was intended to bypass Axis defences on the Egyptian–Libyan frontier, defeat the Axis armoured forces near Tobruk, raise the Siege of Tobruk and re-occupy Cyrenaica.
The Battle of Gazala was fought during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, from 26 May to 21 June 1942. Axis troops of the Panzerarmee Afrika consisting of German and Italian units fought the British Eighth Army composed mainly of British Commonwealth, Indian and Free French troops.
The 132nd Armored Division "Ariete" was an armored division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. It was formed in 1939 as the second armored division after the 131st Armored Division "Centauro". The division fought in the Western Desert Campaign until being destroyed during the Second Battle of El Alamein and declared lost due to wartime events on 8 December 1942.
The Carro Armato M13/40 was an Italian World War II tank designed to replace the M11/39 in the Royal Italian Army at the start of World War II. It was the primary tank used by the Italians throughout the war. The design was influenced by the British Vickers 6-Ton and was based on the modified chassis of the earlier M11/39. Production of the M11/39 was cut short in order to get the M13/40 into production. The name refers to "M" for Medio (medium) according to the Italian tank weight standards at the time, 13 tonnes was the scheduled weight and 1940 the initial year of production.
The action at Mechili was an engagement between units of the British 7th Armoured Division of the Western Desert Force and Italian forces of the 10th Army during Operation Compass.
The 102nd Motorized Division "Trento" was a motorized infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The division was formed in 1935 and named for the city of Trento, where its infantry and artillery regiments were based. The Trento served in the Western Desert Campaign and was destroyed in the Second Battle of El Alamein in November 1942.
101st Motorized Division "Trieste" was a motorized infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Trieste was formed in 1939 and named for the city of Trieste. The division and its infantry and artillery regiments were based in Piacenza, while the 9th Bersaglieri Regiment was based until 1940 in Treviso and then moved to Cremona to be closer to the division. In September 1941 the Trieste was transferred to Libya for the Western Desert Campaign. The division was decimated in the Second Battle of El Alamein, but was rebuilt with the survivors of destroyed divisions. The Trieste then participated in the Tunisian Campaign until Axis forces in Tunisia surrendered to allied forces on 13 May 1943.
Combeforce or Combe Force was an ad hoc flying column of the British Army during the Second World War, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel John Combe. It comprised parts of the 7th Armoured Division of the Western Desert Force. The rapid British advance during Operation Compass forced the Italian 10th Army to evacuate Cyrenaica, the eastern province of Libya. In late January, the British learned that the Italians were retreating from Benghazi, along the coast road. The 7th Armoured Division was dispatched to intercept the remnants of the 10th Army by moving through the desert, south of the Jebel Akhdar via Msus and Antelat, as the 6th Australian Division pursued the Italians along the coast road, north of the jebel.
The Babini Group was an ad hoc armoured unit. The group was formed by the Italian Royal Army in Italian North Africa (Libya) at the start of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The group was formed in Libya, to be part of an armoured division assembled from tanks in the colony and from units sent from Italy. The new division was incomplete when the British began Operation Compass in December but the Babini Group fought in defence of the area between Mechili and Derna in late January.
The 131st Armored Division "Centauro" was an armored division of the Italian Army during World War II. The division was formed in April 1939 by expanding the I Armored Brigade. The division's name came from the mythological race of half human-half horse creatures named Centaurs. The division participated in the invasion of Albania, Greco-Italian War, and invasion of Yugoslavia. In August 1942 the division was sent to Libya to participate in the Western Desert Campaign. After the Axis defeat at the Second Battle of El Alamein the division retreated with the German-Italian Panzer Army to Tunisia, where the division participated in the Tunisian Campaign. On 18 April 1943 the division was disbanded due to the losses suffered in the Battle of El Guettar.
133rd Armored Division "Littorio" was an armored division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The division's name derives from the fasces carried by the lictors of ancient Rome, which Benito Mussolini had adopted as symbol of state-power of the fascist regime. Sent to North Africa in January 1942 for the Western Desert Campaign the division was destroyed in the Second battle of El Alamein in November 1942.
The Action at Bir el Gubi took place on 19 November 1941 near Biʾr al-Ġubbiyy, Libya. It was one of the opening engagements of Operation Crusader in North Africa and resulted in a success for the Italian armoured forces.
The Action at Bir el Gubi was fought near Bir el Gubi, Libya, between 3 and 7 December 1941, between Italian and Commonwealth forces. It followed the Action at Bir el Gubi, a failed Allied attempt to capture Bir el Gubi two weeks prior. Bir el Gubi was a position whose fall would have allowed the Allies to outflank the German–Italian forces in Cyrenaica. The battle was part of Operation Crusader.
The 8th Bersaglieri Regiment is an active unit of the Italian Army based in Caserta in Campania. The regiment is part of the army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality and operationally assigned to the Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi". The regiment was formed in 1871 by the Royal Italian Army with preexisting battalions, which had served in the First Italian War of Independence, Crimean War, Second Italian War of Independence, and Third Italian War of Independence. During the Italo-Turkish War the regiment fought against Ottoman Army forces in Libya. During World War I the regiment served on the Italian front. During World War II the regiment was initially assigned to the 132nd Armored Division "Ariete", with which it fought in the Western Desert Campaign, and then to the 136th Armored Division "Giovani Fascisti", with which if fought in the Tunisian Campaign. For its service and sacrifice in the two North African campaigns the regiment was awarded two Gold Medals of Military Valor.
The 132nd Tank Regiment is a tank regiment of the Italian Army based in Cordenons in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The regiment is equipped with Ariete main battle tanks and assigned to the 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete". The 132nd Tank Infantry Regiment was formed in June 1941 by the Royal Italian Army and assigned to the 132nd Armored Division "Ariete", which was fighting in the Western Desert campaign in Libya and Egypt. In September 1941, the regiment arrived at the front and in November and December 1941 the regiment fought in Operation Crusader. In 1942 the regiment fought in the Battle of Gazala, Battle of Bir Hakeim, First Battle of El Alamein, Battle of Alam el Halfa, and Second Battle of El Alamein. During the latter battle the regiment was destroyed. For its conduct in North Africa the regiment was awarded Italy's highest military honor the Gold Medal of Military Valor.
The 13th Tank Battalion "M.O. Pascucci" is an inactive tank battalion of the Italian Army based in Cordenons in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Originally the battalion, like all Italian tank units, was part of the infantry, but since 1 June 1999 it has been part of the cavalry. Operationally, the battalion was last assigned to the Armored Brigade "Ariete".