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Argentinian occupation of the Falklands

2022-07-28T00:01:14Z

Mitoshi: /* Occupation */

The Argentinian occupation of the Falklands was the 74-day military occupation of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic whose sovereignty has long been disputed by Argentina. The Argentinian seaborne landings on April 2 1982 and subsequent occupation signaled the start of the Falklands/Malvinas War, which finally resulted in the islands' returning to British rule on June 14.

==Occupation==

Life under Argentinian occupation was full of anxiety for many of the Falklanders. They had no desire to be ruled by the Argentinians and found that many of their essential goods and services were under threat from the British naval blockade and requisitioning by the Argentinian garrison. Most Land Rovers and many tractors were requisitioned by the military and high powered radios were supposed to be handed over, although not all were.

Shortly after being appointed Miltary Governor of the Malvinas, Brigadier-General Mario Benjamin Menéndez had a meeting with around 40 locals that had formed part of the Fakland Islands Defence Force (FIDF) and that had been captured then released on April 2. He warned them against taking part in any future attacks on the Argentinian garrison:{{cquote|I met some of them [members of the FIDF] and explained that if they did some wrong to the occupying troops, I would apply the laws of war against them. I also told them that there was a group of two or three youngsters that continuously were gesticulating or showed an aggressive attitude against the Argentine officers and NCOs. For instance, they used to approach at an excessive speed and pass our troops very closely. I told them that if they ran into one of them or threw them to the floor and somebody fired at them, although I did not like martyrs, I was going to justify what my men did.<ref>[https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/74-days-under-the-Argentine-Flag%3A-The-Experiences-Corbacho/6b422ca0b75322965818a468fd2aff1d4185b6b4 74 days under the Argentine Flag: The Experiences of Occupation during the Falklands/Malvinas War]
</ref>}}

There were further deportations of authority figures and Falklanders suspected as being resistance leaders were exiled to Fox Bay Settlement along with their families. Major Patricio Douglas Dowling took control of Argentinian military intelligence and soon gathered a reputation for harshness and threatening behaviour. Most of the 181st Military Police Company under Major Roberto Eduardo Berazay strained to maintain good relations with the Falkland Islanders and tried to treat them well although cold and hungry conscript soldiers did take to stealing food and break-and-enters became more frequent as the conflict dragged on and as the weather worsened. Military discipline was rigidly enforced in Port Stanley on the part of Major Berazay's military police unit in order to prevent break-in’s, robberies, vandalism and sexual assault, from soldiers from the front-lines that dared go Absent Without Leave (AWOL) and those caught were returned to their units where they were beaten, humiliated and staked in the freezing ground for hours as part of field-punishment. A local, Les Harris remembers giving two young deserters that had taken refuge in his backyard and had killed five of his ducks, exactly five minutes to vacate his property before setting off to obtain the assistance of the Amphibious Engineer Company:{{cquote|I waited exactly five minutes and then went to the Argentinian marines (Amphibious Engineers) who were in the Social Club. The man in charge asked me whether they were army or marines. I said army. He told his men to get their weapons and then set off to catch them. Half-way up the street they cocked their weapons. They looked very efficient; their marines were always clean and smart ... The marines arrested the two soldiers without any trouble ... We all went down to the gymnasium where the military police (601st and 602nd Commando Companies) were based. An officer came out and said, 'What, you too! Not again!' and gave them quite a bollicking. He told me I would not be troubled by those two again.<ref>Operation Corporate: The Falklands War, 1982, Martin Middlebrook, p. 317, Viking, 1985</ref>}}

Argentinian Air Force Group Captain Carlos Bloomer-Reeve was given the job of acting as liaison officer between the local population and the military authorities. He had lived in the Falklands and was respected for the fair-mindedness and respect he showed to the locals.

The population at Goose Green had initially a very hard time when they were confined en masse in the Social Club in the aftermath of the deadly British air attacks on Goose Green airfield on May 1. Lieutenant-Colonel Ítalo Angel Piaggi, the 45-year-old Commanding Officer of the Argentinian 12th (Jungle) Infantry Regiment, said that the lockdown in Goose Green was necessary in order to protect the locals from ''"the rage of the air force men, who had lost so many colleagues."''<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/9369182/Making_Their_Dispositions_Accordingly_Civilian_Experiences_of_the_1982_Falklands_War Making Their Dispositions Accordingly: Civilian Experiences of the 1982 Falklands War]</ref>

The conditions improved when the Argentinians took pity on local women and children. According to local farm manager Eric Goss:{{cquote|Sanitation in the hall was grim. We ran out of water on the third day, the toilets were blocked and there was some dysentery. We persuaded the Argentinians to bring sea water in barrels for the toilets; and old chap, Mike Robson, did sterling work keeping them going. Two young men, Bob McLeod and Ray Robson, both radio hams, found an old broken radio, part of the club equipment, in a junk cupboard. They made this work and we listened each evening to the B.B.C. World Service; the others made noise at the windows to cover the crackling of the broadcast and we were never discovered.<ref>Operation Corporate: The Falklands War, Martin Middlebrook, p. 169, Viking, 1985</ref>}}

One local female resident reported that life in the Social Club was far from grim:{{cquote|After the first week the Argentines let two women go out each day to the galley in the cookhouse, where all the men would normally eat together. They were allowed to cook up a big meal, with bread and cakes, and bring it down to the hall. Considering we were all cramped together in a small place everybody got on very well. People were generally good-natured.<ref>Speaking Out: Untold Stories from the Falklands War, Michael Bilton & Peter Kosminsky, Andre Deutsch, 1989</ref>}}

The government authority did attempt to enforce a change in the road traffic code which had chaotic consequences. The authorities wanted everyone to drive on the right hand side of the road as in Argentina. It was thought that the Argentinian military traffic would find this easier than remembering to drive on the left. Merely informing the local population was not enough to change the habits of a lifetime and the end result was chaos. Initial signs in Spanish did not help matters and in the end the authorities had to paint signs in English and write continued reminders in white paint on the roads themselves. It became a permanent reminder that the islands were occupied territory.

Other daily reminders of occupation included the numerous field artillery and anti-aircraft batteries in Stanley Racecourse and on the lower slopes of Sapper Hill , just outside Port Stanley, and the large no-go areas to the civilian population in the town, like the gymnasium building that was commandeered by Argentinian Army Green Berets from Major Mario Luis Castagneto's 601st Commando Company. Children were taken out of school and sent to the interior for their safety. The local radio station was forced to play Argentinian official military communiques of the war. Fortunately, many islanders were able to pick up the British Broadcasting Corporation World Service and were encouraged by news of the British landings in San Carlos and the British victory at Goose Green.

There was some talk of evacuating the Falklands Islanders. The British government did not wish the Falklanders to abandon the islands as that would make their main argument of self-determination mute. It was only a small portion of the population who considered leaving but it was enough to concern the British government. They made it clear that the British would help anyone temporarily but that the expectation was that they would return once the fighting was over. As it transpired, few Falkland Islanders took this option and most remained in the Falklands. Tragically, three islanders would be killed when a British naval shell hit their house.

==Liberation==

The Argentinian occupation of the Falklands ended on June 14. After 74 days, the islands came under British rule again. Unlike the Goose Green residents the Port Stanley citizens had been allowed much freedom of movement. But there had been a 16-hour night curfew. The British units took over the buildings commandeered by the Argentinians. Local fireman Lewis Clifton describes how the infrastructures of Port Stanley broke under the extra strain of accommodating the British troops and processing thousands of Argentinian prisoners of war awaiting repatriation{{cquote|The place just couldn't take it. There was only sporadic electricity and water and the sanitation system collapsed. The streets were ankle-deep in human waste. The stench was awful, really awful, and we were all suffering from what we called Galtieri's revenge. He lost the war but left us ill.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120420135114/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/Britain_at_War_Readers__Memorie/9130824/The-Falklands-invasion-by-those-who-were-there.html The Falklands invasion, by those who were there]</ref>}}

Water was scarce, since Stanley's main pumping station had been damaged by British naval fire during the mountain battles, with many Argentinian soldiers suffering from diarrhea because of Liver Fluke Disease (found in contaminated water and under-cooked sheep meat) forced to relieve themselves in bathtubs, buckets, chest of drawers and the back streets of Stanley in the face of sudden violent bowel movement and with toilets no longer working.<ref>''British naval gunfire had destroyed the roof of Port Stanley's water pumping station, causing the valves, filters and pipes to freeze up and split.'' The Scars of Wars, Hugh McManners, p. 315, HarperCollins, 1993</ref><ref>The Winter War: The Falklands, Patrick Joseph Bishop, John Witherow, p.143, Quartet Books, 1982</ref>

There was much Argentinian criticism of the behaviour of British Paratroopers after the Argentinian surrender. Brigadier-General Oscar Luis Jofre, the commander of the 10th Mechanized Infantry Brigade in his book 'Malvinas: La Defensa de Puerto Argentino' (Editorial Sudamaricana, 1987) alleges that he complained to the British authorities and the Royal Marine Commandos took over and soon restored order in the Falklands capital. A staff officer of Commodore Michael Clapp wrote in his war diary:{{cquote|Utterly depressing. The troops are in a post war mood and very selfish. Grab, Grab - transport, houses, equipment, food, etc. - gone is the spirit of selflessness in the field. It will return but at present all is filth, squalor and (the) looting instinct prevails. Quite the worst aspect of the whole campaign.<ref>The Falklands War, D. George Boyce, p. 146, Macmillan International Higher Education, 2005</ref>}}

British SBS Commandos were helicoptered to Pebble Island on 15 June to accept the surrender of the local garrison and found that the two dozen local inhabitants had been confined to the farm manager's house. But the locals showed no hatred for the occupiers, and even insisted that one young English-speaking Argentinian conscript, Jorge Alberto Ortiz, from the 3rd Marine Battalion's 'H' Company whom they had befriended should have lunch with them before he was taken with the others to imprisonment in the sheep shearing sheds. Jorge in his perfect Californian accent told them he planned to come back in the near future as a civilian. Arina Bernstein, a cheerful read-headed woman in her mid-thirties told him he would be welcome, "But don't you come back planting you little flag here again, Jorge."<ref>The Battle for the Falklands, Max Hastings, Simon Jenkins, p.313, Pan, 1987</ref>}}

Claims that the Argentinian forces had behaved like savages throughout the occupation were investigated with British war correspondents Patrick Joseph Bishop and ‎John Witherow establishing they were mostly hearsay:{{cquote|They had certainly been responsible for smashing up the solid old post office, and the backstreets of the town were littered with excrement. But although fourteen local men were taken from their homes during the occupation and sent to West Falkland where they were put under house arrest, few inhabitants were ill-treated. It was an uncomfortable rather than brutal regime... There were stories of looting but on closer examination this tended to be troops stealing buns from the deep-freeze or sleeping in beds with muddy boots. Some valuables and souvenirs were stolen and houses vandalized but the details of the outrages were vague. Most of the serious damage was done by the British shelling. One islander said without rencour that the British had caused more of a mess in Stanley than the Argentinians.<ref>The Winter War: The Falklands, Patrick Joseph Bishop, John Witherow, p.143, Quartet Books, 1982</ref>}}

In 2016, there were allegations made that the Argentinians made no preparations for civil defence in Port Stanley.<ref>[https://medium.com/@justinkuntz_64388/war-crime-allegations-in-the-falklands-war-3f45798cc3e0 “War Crime” allegations in the Falklands War]</ref>A local resident, Michael Bleaney, however says he was chosen as the civilian representative and, after a meeting in which an Argentinian civilian liaison officer was present, the safe-house system was instituted. Six ‘section leaders’ identified the best stone or brick-built houses in Stanley and these were marked with a sign to identify them for the coming battles. The houses were then further strengthened with sandbags and stocked up with mattresses, first-aid supplies, food and water.<ref>Operation Corporate: The Falklands War, 1982, Martin Middlebrook, p. 317, Viking, 1985</ref>

Captain Jeremy Larken of HMS Fearless confirms the view the Argentinian occupation foces had behaved appropriately:{{cquote|It was clear General Menendez had looked after things at Government House with almost loving care. Even the ornaments were still in their place. But once 3 Commando Brigade got in there and started using it as their headquarters, I think it suffered considerably. It's fair to say that the British were less careful with Port Stanley than had been the Argentine forces... In the early days, our control over our own people was not as good as it might have been. I won't say there was rape and pillage, but there was a great deal of acquisition of war materials.<ref>Forgotten Voices of the Falklands, Hugh McManners, p. 433, Random House, 2008</ref>}}

Leftist anti-war veterans from the Buenos Aires-based Malvinas Islands Ex-Combatants Centre ('Centro Ex-Combatientes Islas Malvinas' or CECIM) tell of being tortured, tied and pinned to the frozen ground with tent pegs for hours, or punched and kicked for stealing from the food depots or for shooting and killing sheep for food right in middle of minefields and booby-traps.

In a 2019 interview with ‘Radio Noticias’, former Private Gustavo Alberto Placente from the 181st Military Police Company explained that field punishments were absolutely necessary to keep the conscript soldiers in line.<ref>Gustavo Placente | Indagación a 18 militares por torturas en Malvinas (available on YouTube)</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:War]]
[[Category:Argentina]]
[[Category:British History]]
[[Category:1980s]]

Argentinian occupation of the Falklands

2022-07-27T23:58:29Z

Mitoshi: /* Liberation */ Transferring paragraph to another section in the page

The Argentinian occupation of the Falklands was the 74-day military occupation of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic whose sovereignty has long been disputed by Argentina. The Argentinian seaborne landings on April 2 1982 and subsequent occupation signaled the start of the Falklands/Malvinas War, which finally resulted in the islands' returning to British rule on June 14.

==Occupation==

Life under Argentinian occupation was full of anxiety for many of the Falklanders. They had no desire to be ruled by the Argentinians and found that many of their essential goods and services were under threat from the British naval blockade and requisitioning by the Argentinian garrison. Most Land Rovers and many tractors were requisitioned by the military and high powered radios were supposed to be handed over, although not all were.

Shortly after being appointed Miltary Governor of the Malvinas, Brigadier-General Mario Benjamin Menéndez had a meeting with around 40 locals that had formed part of the Fakland Islands Defence Force (FIDF) and that had been captured then released on April 2. He warned them against taking part in any future attacks on the Argentinian garrison:{{cquote|I met some of them [members of the FIDF] and explained that if they did some wrong to the occupying troops, I would apply the laws of war against them. I also told them that there was a group of two or three youngsters that continuously were gesticulating or showed an aggressive attitude against the Argentine officers and NCOs. For instance, they used to approach at an excessive speed and pass our troops very closely. I told them that if they ran into one of them or threw them to the floor and somebody fired at them, although I did not like martyrs, I was going to justify what my men did.<ref>[https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/74-days-under-the-Argentine-Flag%3A-The-Experiences-Corbacho/6b422ca0b75322965818a468fd2aff1d4185b6b4 74 days under the Argentine Flag: The Experiences of Occupation during the Falklands/Malvinas War]
</ref>}}

There were further deportations of authority figures and Falklanders suspected as being resistance leaders were exiled to Fox Bay Settlement along with their families. Major Patricio Douglas Dowling took control of Argentinian military intelligence and soon gathered a reputation for harshness and threatening behaviour. Most of the 181st Military Police Company under Major Roberto Eduardo Berazay strained to maintain good relations with the Falkland Islanders and tried to treat them well although cold and hungry conscript soldiers did take to stealing food and break-and-enters became more frequent as the conflict dragged on and as the weather worsened. Military discipline was rigidly enforced in Port Stanley on the part of Major Berazay's military police unit in order to prevent break-in’s, robberies, vandalism and sexual assault, from soldiers from the front-lines that dared go Absent Without Leave (AWOL) and those caught were returned to their units where they were beaten, humiliated and staked in the freezing ground for hours as part of field-punishment.

Argentinian Air Force Group Captain Carlos Bloomer-Reeve was given the job of acting as liaison officer between the local population and the military authorities. He had lived in the Falklands and was respected for the fair-mindedness and respect he showed to the locals.

The population at Goose Green had initially a very hard time when they were confined en masse in the Social Club in the aftermath of the deadly British air attacks on Goose Green airfield on May 1. Lieutenant-Colonel Ítalo Angel Piaggi, the 45-year-old Commanding Officer of the Argentinian 12th (Jungle) Infantry Regiment, said that the lockdown in Goose Green was necessary in order to protect the locals from ''"the rage of the air force men, who had lost so many colleagues."''<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/9369182/Making_Their_Dispositions_Accordingly_Civilian_Experiences_of_the_1982_Falklands_War Making Their Dispositions Accordingly: Civilian Experiences of the 1982 Falklands War]</ref>

The conditions improved when the Argentinians took pity on local women and children. According to local farm manager Eric Goss:{{cquote|Sanitation in the hall was grim. We ran out of water on the third day, the toilets were blocked and there was some dysentery. We persuaded the Argentinians to bring sea water in barrels for the toilets; and old chap, Mike Robson, did sterling work keeping them going. Two young men, Bob McLeod and Ray Robson, both radio hams, found an old broken radio, part of the club equipment, in a junk cupboard. They made this work and we listened each evening to the B.B.C. World Service; the others made noise at the windows to cover the crackling of the broadcast and we were never discovered.<ref>Operation Corporate: The Falklands War, Martin Middlebrook, p. 169, Viking, 1985</ref>}}

One local female resident reported that life in the Social Club was far from grim:{{cquote|After the first week the Argentines let two women go out each day to the galley in the cookhouse, where all the men would normally eat together. They were allowed to cook up a big meal, with bread and cakes, and bring it down to the hall. Considering we were all cramped together in a small place everybody got on very well. People were generally good-natured.<ref>Speaking Out: Untold Stories from the Falklands War, Michael Bilton & Peter Kosminsky, Andre Deutsch, 1989</ref>}}

The government authority did attempt to enforce a change in the road traffic code which had chaotic consequences. The authorities wanted everyone to drive on the right hand side of the road as in Argentina. It was thought that the Argentinian military traffic would find this easier than remembering to drive on the left. Merely informing the local population was not enough to change the habits of a lifetime and the end result was chaos. Initial signs in Spanish did not help matters and in the end the authorities had to paint signs in English and write continued reminders in white paint on the roads themselves. It became a permanent reminder that the islands were occupied territory.

Other daily reminders of occupation included the numerous field artillery and anti-aircraft batteries in Stanley Racecourse and on the lower slopes of Sapper Hill , just outside Port Stanley, and the large no-go areas to the civilian population in the town, like the gymnasium building that was commandeered by Argentinian Army Green Berets from Major Mario Luis Castagneto's 601st Commando Company. Children were taken out of school and sent to the interior for their safety. The local radio station was forced to play Argentinian official military communiques of the war. Fortunately, many islanders were able to pick up the British Broadcasting Corporation World Service and were encouraged by news of the British landings in San Carlos and the British victory at Goose Green.

There was some talk of evacuating the Falklands Islanders. The British government did not wish the Falklanders to abandon the islands as that would make their main argument of self-determination mute. It was only a small portion of the population who considered leaving but it was enough to concern the British government. They made it clear that the British would help anyone temporarily but that the expectation was that they would return once the fighting was over. As it transpired, few Falkland Islanders took this option and most remained in the Falklands. Tragically, three islanders would be killed when a British naval shell hit their house.

==Liberation==

The Argentinian occupation of the Falklands ended on June 14. After 74 days, the islands came under British rule again. Unlike the Goose Green residents the Port Stanley citizens had been allowed much freedom of movement. But there had been a 16-hour night curfew. The British units took over the buildings commandeered by the Argentinians. Local fireman Lewis Clifton describes how the infrastructures of Port Stanley broke under the extra strain of accommodating the British troops and processing thousands of Argentinian prisoners of war awaiting repatriation{{cquote|The place just couldn't take it. There was only sporadic electricity and water and the sanitation system collapsed. The streets were ankle-deep in human waste. The stench was awful, really awful, and we were all suffering from what we called Galtieri's revenge. He lost the war but left us ill.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120420135114/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/Britain_at_War_Readers__Memorie/9130824/The-Falklands-invasion-by-those-who-were-there.html The Falklands invasion, by those who were there]</ref>}}

Water was scarce, since Stanley's main pumping station had been damaged by British naval fire during the mountain battles, with many Argentinian soldiers suffering from diarrhea because of Liver Fluke Disease (found in contaminated water and under-cooked sheep meat) forced to relieve themselves in bathtubs, buckets, chest of drawers and the back streets of Stanley in the face of sudden violent bowel movement and with toilets no longer working.<ref>''British naval gunfire had destroyed the roof of Port Stanley's water pumping station, causing the valves, filters and pipes to freeze up and split.'' The Scars of Wars, Hugh McManners, p. 315, HarperCollins, 1993</ref><ref>The Winter War: The Falklands, Patrick Joseph Bishop, John Witherow, p.143, Quartet Books, 1982</ref>

There was much Argentinian criticism of the behaviour of British Paratroopers after the Argentinian surrender. Brigadier-General Oscar Luis Jofre, the commander of the 10th Mechanized Infantry Brigade in his book 'Malvinas: La Defensa de Puerto Argentino' (Editorial Sudamaricana, 1987) alleges that he complained to the British authorities and the Royal Marine Commandos took over and soon restored order in the Falklands capital. A staff officer of Commodore Michael Clapp wrote in his war diary:{{cquote|Utterly depressing. The troops are in a post war mood and very selfish. Grab, Grab - transport, houses, equipment, food, etc. - gone is the spirit of selflessness in the field. It will return but at present all is filth, squalor and (the) looting instinct prevails. Quite the worst aspect of the whole campaign.<ref>The Falklands War, D. George Boyce, p. 146, Macmillan International Higher Education, 2005</ref>}}

British SBS Commandos were helicoptered to Pebble Island on 15 June to accept the surrender of the local garrison and found that the two dozen local inhabitants had been confined to the farm manager's house. But the locals showed no hatred for the occupiers, and even insisted that one young English-speaking Argentinian conscript, Jorge Alberto Ortiz, from the 3rd Marine Battalion's 'H' Company whom they had befriended should have lunch with them before he was taken with the others to imprisonment in the sheep shearing sheds. Jorge in his perfect Californian accent told them he planned to come back in the near future as a civilian. Arina Bernstein, a cheerful read-headed woman in her mid-thirties told him he would be welcome, "But don't you come back planting you little flag here again, Jorge."<ref>The Battle for the Falklands, Max Hastings, Simon Jenkins, p.313, Pan, 1987</ref>}}

Claims that the Argentinian forces had behaved like savages throughout the occupation were investigated with British war correspondents Patrick Joseph Bishop and ‎John Witherow establishing they were mostly hearsay:{{cquote|They had certainly been responsible for smashing up the solid old post office, and the backstreets of the town were littered with excrement. But although fourteen local men were taken from their homes during the occupation and sent to West Falkland where they were put under house arrest, few inhabitants were ill-treated. It was an uncomfortable rather than brutal regime... There were stories of looting but on closer examination this tended to be troops stealing buns from the deep-freeze or sleeping in beds with muddy boots. Some valuables and souvenirs were stolen and houses vandalized but the details of the outrages were vague. Most of the serious damage was done by the British shelling. One islander said without rencour that the British had caused more of a mess in Stanley than the Argentinians.<ref>The Winter War: The Falklands, Patrick Joseph Bishop, John Witherow, p.143, Quartet Books, 1982</ref>}}

In 2016, there were allegations made that the Argentinians made no preparations for civil defence in Port Stanley.<ref>[https://medium.com/@justinkuntz_64388/war-crime-allegations-in-the-falklands-war-3f45798cc3e0 “War Crime” allegations in the Falklands War]</ref>A local resident, Michael Bleaney, however says he was chosen as the civilian representative and, after a meeting in which an Argentinian civilian liaison officer was present, the safe-house system was instituted. Six ‘section leaders’ identified the best stone or brick-built houses in Stanley and these were marked with a sign to identify them for the coming battles. The houses were then further strengthened with sandbags and stocked up with mattresses, first-aid supplies, food and water.<ref>Operation Corporate: The Falklands War, 1982, Martin Middlebrook, p. 317, Viking, 1985</ref>

Captain Jeremy Larken of HMS Fearless confirms the view the Argentinian occupation foces had behaved appropriately:{{cquote|It was clear General Menendez had looked after things at Government House with almost loving care. Even the ornaments were still in their place. But once 3 Commando Brigade got in there and started using it as their headquarters, I think it suffered considerably. It's fair to say that the British were less careful with Port Stanley than had been the Argentine forces... In the early days, our control over our own people was not as good as it might have been. I won't say there was rape and pillage, but there was a great deal of acquisition of war materials.<ref>Forgotten Voices of the Falklands, Hugh McManners, p. 433, Random House, 2008</ref>}}

Leftist anti-war veterans from the Buenos Aires-based Malvinas Islands Ex-Combatants Centre ('Centro Ex-Combatientes Islas Malvinas' or CECIM) tell of being tortured, tied and pinned to the frozen ground with tent pegs for hours, or punched and kicked for stealing from the food depots or for shooting and killing sheep for food right in middle of minefields and booby-traps.

In a 2019 interview with ‘Radio Noticias’, former Private Gustavo Alberto Placente from the 181st Military Police Company explained that field punishments were absolutely necessary to keep the conscript soldiers in line.<ref>Gustavo Placente | Indagación a 18 militares por torturas en Malvinas (available on YouTube)</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:War]]
[[Category:Argentina]]
[[Category:British History]]
[[Category:1980s]]

Operation Rosario (Falklands/Malvinas War)

2022-07-27T23:53:15Z

Mitoshi: /* British surrender */

On April 2, 1982, with an armed confrontation in the making between a platoon of British Royal Marines (under Lieutenant Keith Mills and Sergeant Peter Leach) sent to reinforce the British Antartic Survey (BAS) under base commander Steve Martin<ref>"The 23 Marines, only one of whom was wounded in the Battle of Grytviken, and 13 civilians – the BAS base commander Steve Martin had been with the military contingent at the time – were taken on board the Bahia Paraiso without incident." [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1549893/How-South-Georgia-was-recaptured.html]</ref> and apprehend Argentine scrap-metal workers on South Georgia and their protecting Special Forces from the [[Argentinian Navy]] survey ship ARA "Bahía Buen Suceso",<ref>[https://www.spink.com ot-description.aspx?id=12002445 Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals & Militaria]</ref> Argentina invaded the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, a remote British colony in the South Atlantic. The Argentinian amphibious landings, '''Operation Rosario''' (under Rear-Admiral [[Carlos César Büsser]], Argentinian Marine Corps Commandant), led to a brief, but costly war.

==Background==
Argentinian invasion plans accelerated when Britain protested about the presence of scrap-metal workers on South Georgia. With talks on the future of the Falklands stalled, the Argentinian Military Junta reacted strongly and by March 26, 1982, two frigates were on their way south, and more ships had put to sea ostensibly for exercises with the Uruguayan Navy. But it seemed that only now was the final decision taken to invade and they headed for Stanley although bad weather delayed their arrival. By March 31, British intelligence had to assume landings were imminent, Governor [[Rex Hunt]] was warned, and next evening he announced over the radio that invasion was expected early on April 2.

==British defenders==
Before the broadcast took place, the defence of Port Stanley was already being organized by the company-sized garrison of Naval Party 8901 (NP8901, all volunteers from 42 COMMANDO 45 COMMANDO), under Major Gary Noote and Falkland Islands Defence Force (FIDF, Royal Marines-trained), under Major Phil Sommers and half a dozen policemen from the Royal Falkland Islands Police (RFIP). Usually consisting of 160 defenders, Majors Noote and Sommers, had been reinforced by Major Mike Norman and his platoon-sized garrison replacement that had disembarked from the RRS 'John Biscoe'. Assuming the main landing would be near Stanley Airfield followed by an advance on Port Stanley, Noote, Sommers and Norman deployed their 120 men (including 42 FIDF soldiers<ref>"Meanwhile the Falkland Islands Defence Force (FIDF) was preparing for the invasion quite independently of the Marines. Their OC, Major Phil Summers, had tasked the approximately forty parttime militiamen to guard such key points as the telephone exchange, the radio station and the power station." Invasion 1982: The Falkland Islanders' Story, Graham Bound, p. 45, Casemate Publishers, 2007</ref>
) accordingly, and positioned four sniper/anti-tanks squads on the Airport Road ready to fall back on the main 40-man position at Government House. By the early hours of April 2, they were mostly in position and the small patrol ship 'Forrest' was out in Port William on radar watch. Governor Hunt also ordered the arrest of 30 Argentinian men and women.<ref>"With his legal powers to justify his action, the Governor now ordered Chief Secretary Dick Baker to lead a small team of armed sailors rounding up several dozen Argentine citizens living in Stanley." Invasion 1982: The Falkland Islanders Story, Graham Bound, p. 50, Casemite Publishers, 2007</ref>

==Argentinian landings==
The plan was for the 1st Amphibious Commando Grouping ('Agrupación de Comandos Anfibios' or APCA) under Marine Major Guillermo Sánchez-Sabarots to seize both the NP8901 Barracks at Moody Brook and Government House to force a surrender, supported if necessary by men of Marine Lieutenant-colonel Alfredo Raúl Weinstabl's 2nd Marine Infantry Battalion (BIM 2) landed from ships of Task Group 40.1. Under the command of the 1st Marine Brigade commander, Marine Colonel Miguel Angel Pita, the Argentinian Marines had orders to cause no casualties ''"if at all possible"''.<ref>"Under Miguel Pita's robust personal leadership, and with orders to cause no casualties 'if at all possible', 800 men from his brigade, formed from the 2nd Marine Infantry Battalion (BIM 2), a Comandos Anfibios team ... spearheaded the assault on the Falklands Islands." Exocet Falklands: The Untold Story of Special Forces Operations, Ewen Southby-Tailyour, p. 61, Pen and Sword, 2014</ref> Once Stanley Airfield was in Argentinian hands, the 25th 'Special' (Army Rangers) Infantry Regiment and Special Operations Group ('Grupo de Operaciones Especiales' or GOE) would then fly in.

The first landings were before midnight with the 1st Amphibious Commando Grouping spearhead under Lieutenant Bernardo Schweitzer going ashore from the destroyer ARA 'Santisima Trinidad' to secure Mullet Creek, followed early on Friday morning by a 'Buzo Tactico' (Tactical Frogmen) beach reconnaissance party from the submarine ARA 'Santa Fe' to check out the main landing beach north of Stanley.<ref>"The next Argentinians ashore were the frogmen from the Santa Fe, to secure the beach at Yorke Bay, to the north of the airfield, at 3:30 a.m." The Royal Navy and Falklands War, David Brown, p. 57, Pen & Sword, 1987</ref>

The Amphibious Commandos split into two parties, the largest heading for Moody Brook barracks, some six miles away, where they hoped to catch the bulk of the defending Royal Marines asleep with Marine Captain Jorge Horacio Bardi suffering a twisted ankle in the rough going. The other group of sixteen was tasked with securing Government House.<ref>"At around 11 pm on the 1st of April, 1982, ninety-two Argentinian marines of the Amphibious Commando Grouping under Lieutenant-Commander Sabarots landed from small inflatable rubber boats, two miles south of Stanley. They split into two parties, the largest making for Moody Brook barracks, some six miles away, where they hoped to catch the bulk of the Royal Marine (RM) garrison asleep. The other group of sixteen was heading for Government House. The invasion had started. After six hours, during which they had seriously underestimated the difficulties of moving across country at night, the marines arrived to find the barracks empty. The eighty-two RMs, under Major Norman, were well aware of imminent invasion so were not spending the night in their beds. " The Last Eleven: Winners of the Victoria Cross since the Second World War, Mark Adkin, p. 171, Pen & Sword, 1991</ref>

As the Amphibious Commandos secured their objectives the destroyers and frigates of Task Force 40 took up support and escort positions and the Tank Landing Ship ARA 'Cabo San Antonio' headed in for the unguarded beach at York Bay.

==Urban combat==
From 6:00 a.m. the main Special Forces attacks and supporting infantry landings got underway. Major Sánchez-Sabarots' plan was to capture the Royal Marines as they stumbled out of beds. Those bent on avoiding capture were to be flushed out with the careful use of machine-guns positioned south of Moody Brook, forcing them to take a route towards Cortley Ridge where they would be unable to intervene in the defence of Government House, and could be later rounded up. Casualties were to be avoided.<ref>"Sanchez-Sabarot's plan was to capture the Royal Marines as they broke out from the barracks. Those who managed to evade capture were to be channeled by the judicious use of MAGs positioned south of Moody Brook along an escape route towards Cortley Hill where they would be unable to reinforce the defence of Government House, and could be rounded up. Casualties were to be avoided". Nine Battles to Stanley, Nicholas Van Der Bijl, p. 20, Pen & Sword, 2014</ref>The Royal Marines seemed to be asleep, although a room still had a light on. No sentries were observed and Sánchez-Sabarots noticed that no fighting was taking place at Government House as expected with the main landings now taking place. Nevertheless he ordered the attack to begin. Stun and tear gas grenades were hurled into the buildings, but no coughing Royal Marines stumbled out and there was no return fire for the British barracks were empty. <ref>'"The barracks were ominously quiet, although a light burned in a cabin. No sentries were seen and the night was silent apart from the occasional animal call. Sanchez-Sabarots had expected to hear firing from Government House as some evidence that the main landings had taken place; nevertheless he ordered the attack to begin. Stun and tear gas grenades were hurled into the buildings, but no coughing Royal Marines stumbled out and there was no return fire." Nine Battles to Stanley, Nicholas Van Der Bijl, p. 20, Pen & Sword, 2014</ref>

The larger body of Amphibious Commandos having cleared Moody Brook, now headed east for Government House which by then was under fire from the spearhead under Marine Major Pedro Edgardo Giachino. Giachino, Second-in-Command of the 1st Marine Infantry Battalion (BIM 1) and on loan to APCA, was hit by small arms fire during the attack on Government House and died of his wounds, becoming the only Argentinian invasion force fatality that was treated at the local [[King Edward VII Memorial Hospital]] (KEMH). Around 6:30 a.m., the first of some 20 LVTP-7 Amtraks with 20 or more Marines each inside were landing from 'Cabo San Antonio' and by 6.45 am more Marines from the 1st Marine Infantry Battalion were coming into the airfield by Sea King helicopters. A 25th Regiment platoon under 2nd Lieutenant Oscar Roberto Reyes, having disembarked from 'VAO' ('Vehículo Anfibio a Oruga') 010, cleared the Airfield buildings.

As the outnumbered NP 8901 and FIDF defenders fell back on Government House, one of the squads under Lieutenant Bill Trollope defending the Ionospheric Research Station on the Airport Road, stopped the Amtrack spearhead ('Vehículos Anfibios a Orugas' 05, 07 and 019) with anti-armour weapons, machine-guns and sniper fire that wounded one Argentinian Marine, Private Horacio Tello.<ref>"The fact that no one was observed to emerge from the first Amtrac to be engaged encouraged the Royal Marines to think that one of their rocket rounds had punched a hole in it and that some of the machine-gun fire had penetrated the hole and caused severe casualties among the men inside. Local civilians who observed the action optimistically supported this view later. There was no rocket hit, just the scars of ninety-seven machine-gun bullets. Only one Argentine marine was slightly wounded by a sliver of metal cutting his hand." Argentine Fight for the Falklands, Martin Middlebrook, p. 37, Pen & Sword, 2003</ref><ref>"Pedí novedades de personal y material : En el VAO 07 había un herido leve en la mano izquierda debido a un balazo que perforó la parte carnosa : Conscripto Clase 62 Horacio Tello." Operación Rosario, Carlos Büsser, p. 230, Editorial Atlántida, 1984</ref>The spearhead was brought to a halt by machine-gun fire hitting the driver compartment of 2nd Sub-Officer Anibal Edgardo Esposito and turret of 'VAO' 07, forcing the machine-gunner, Corporal Osvaldo César Arce to take cover.<ref>[https://interesestrategicoarg.com/2014/07/05/2-de-abril-de-1982-malvinas-vehiculos-anfibios/ Vehículos Anfibios]</ref> None of the occupants of 'VAO' 07 were seen to emerge for 2nd Sub-Officer Víctor Quiroga under the guidance of Arce, manoeuvred the Amtrack off the road into a hollow in the ground and disembarked the Marines now hidden from view.

Trollope's men were obliged to fall back as the Argentinian Marines emerged from the other Amtracks and 2nd Sub-Officer Mario Di Filippo's 'VAO' opened fire with a 72mm recoilles rifle, scoring a direct hit on the building.<ref>"Commander Weinstabl and I decided it was time to force the British to withdraw. I ordered the crew with the recoilles rifle to fire one round of hollow charge at ... the roof of the house where the machine-gun was, to cause a bang but not an explosion. We were still following our orders not to inflict casualties. The first round was about a hundred metres short, but the second hit the roof ... They had stopped firing, so Commander started the movement of the two companies around the position.." Argentine Fight for the Falklands, Martin Middlebrook, p. 36, Pen and Sword, 2003</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190328073538/https://interesestrategicoarg.com/2014/07/05/2-de-abril-de-1982-malvinas-vehiculos-anfibios/ Vehículos Anfibios]</ref>

Only one Royal Marine squad under Corporal Lou Armour managed to fight its way to Government House, the others were gradually overrun by the increasing number of Amtracks and Marines landed by the white-painted Sea King and Lynx helicopters.

==British surrender==
With daybreak and Government House surrounded, under sniper fire and the Amtracks approaching, Governor Hunt attempted to negotiate. Faced with the overwhelming forces at Rear-Admiral Büsser's disposal, he ordered the defenders to lay down their arms, which they did at 9:30 a.m. without having suffered any casualties. The Royal Marines had held out against two Argentinian Marine battalions and Special Forces for three hours, firing 6,450 small-arms rounds and 12 anti-tank rockets<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9582471/Rear-Admiral-Carlos-Busser.html Rear-Admiral Carlos Büsser ]</ref>in a firefight that cost the life of the 2ic of BIM 1 and wounded or injured six invaders, including a military chaplain (Angel Mafezzini) and Marine Major Hugo Jorge Santillán that commanded the vanguard of 2nd Marine Infantry Battalion who suffered a sprained ankle taking cover after coming under fire.<ref>[https://www.laprensa.com.ar/452562-La-Operacion-Rosario-en-primera-persona.note.aspx La Operación Rosario en primera persona]</ref>Disc Jockey (DJ) Patrick Watts from the [[Falkland Islands Broadcasting Service]] (FIBS) had kept Port Stanley residents informed about the progress of the fighting and informed them of the surrender and Argentinian casualties, ''"The governor has just told me that a truce has been called ... there is to be no more shooting and we know for sure there are three Argentinians very badly wounded in the Government House area ... and I believe there is one believed to be dying"''.<ref>Falkland Islands Broadcasting Station. Live broadcast of Argentine Invasion 1982. Part 2 of 2 (available on YouTube)</ref>

Before the British surrender, Major Guillermo Sánchez-Sabarots had to divert a section of his men to release the Argentinian nationals that Vice-Commodore Héctor Ricardo Gilobert (the head of 'Líneas Aéreas del Estado' or LADE in Port Stanley) reported were being held under police guard in Town Hall. But, before they could arrive Commander Alfredo Raúl Weinstabl and his adjutant (Lieutenant Juan Carlos Martinelli) and several marines from the 2nd Marine Battalion Headquarters had secured the Town Hall and Stanley Police Station buildings and liberated some 30 Argentinian civilians. <ref>"The town was silent. Arriving at the place we had chosen as the Battalion Command Post, we found abandoned weapons and packs. I ordered Lieutenant Martinelli to recce the building and within a short while he returned with about thirty men and women who came out of it smiling. They were Argentines who had been locked in that place the night before. Almost opposite was the Police Station. Inside were six or seven policemen with their Chief and a group of sailors from an oceanographic research ship. I ordered the Police Chief to send the constables home and to tell them not to come out until they were told." Victory in the Falklands, Nick Van Der Bijl, p. 23, Pen & Sword, 2007</ref>

That evening, the Governor, his family and most of the Royal Marines and captured sailors from 'Endurance' were flown out. Major Norman and his men volunteered to fight again with Juliet Company, 42 COMMANDO, suffering four wounded in the final mountain battles.

The British Marines later called into question the Argentinian version of events regarding Operation 'Rosario'. According to one of Major Mike Norman's men, Colour-Sergeant Bill Muir, ''"It was initially estimated that we had killed five and injured seventeen, but we only counted the bodies that we saw drop in front of us."''<ref>Commando: The Illustrated History of Britain's Green Berets, David Reynolds, p. 125, Sutton, 2001</ref>Corporal Lou Armour who fought at Government House, says he counted only three Argentinian casualties outside the building.<ref>"There were three casualties lying in the garden of Government House. You think: What sort of mood are they going to be in when their oppos are shot up? When we were actually lying down I felt a bit humiliated but I also felt apprehensive about what was going to happen next. One of the Argentine officers came along and actually struck one of the guards and told us to stand up. We stood up and he shook my hand and a few other guys' hands and said that we shouldn't lie down, that we should be proud of what we'd done." Michael Bilton, Peter Kosminsky, p. 233, Speaking Out: Untold Stories From The Falklands War, Andre Deutsch, 1989</ref>Major Noott helped treat the three Argentinian wounded (Major Pedro Edgardo Giachino, Lieutenant Diego Garcia Quiroga and Corporal Ernesto Urbina) before they were transferred to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital with the husband (Neville Bennet) of the acting matron (Valerie Bennett) on watch duty reporting ''"nothing of note"'' had happened in KEMH on April 2 apart from the death of the second-in-command of BIM 1 and other Argentinian wounded.<ref>"I found Valerie in good health if not in good temper. She kept on muttering about soldiers with great big boots and nasty guns wandering round in her hospital. On the previous day the medic from the ‘Brook’ had come back to help if necessary’ she said that he looked as if he needed a bath and set out to get it ready for him, but, however one of the other lot had different ideas about that and stopped the move to the bathroom with his gun, and said that the bloke was a prisoner of war, nothing of note had happened. Some Argy doctors had been in the Operating Theatre the day before, without success, and she would be happier when they all went home. And she was quite willing to help them on their way." A Falklands Family at War: Diaries of the 1982 Conflict, Neville Bennett, Valerie Bennett, p. 18, Pen & Sword Military, 2021 </ref>DJ Patrick Watts had rang KEMH that morning and was able to confirm how many Argentinians had been wounded, ''"I have just been telephoning the hospital ... There are two seriously wounded people and they are both Argentinians ... and I understand from Doctor Mary Elphinstone that two Argentinians are seriously injured and they are going to be picked up from the hospital now"''.<ref>Falkland Islands Broadcasting Station. Live broadcast of Argentine Invasion 1982. Part 2 of 2 (available on YouTube)</ref>Doctor Alison Bleaney got to King Edward Memorial Hospital soon after this radio transmission and saw the Argentinians accommodating their wounded and injured (Major Hugo Jorge Santillán, Captain Jorge Horacio Bardi, Chaplain Angel Mafezzini and Private Horacio Tello) inside an Amtrack.<ref>"Lo busque al Padre Mafezzini que se encontraba en el hospital curandose una herida en un ojo y le pedi que fuera a la morgue para rogarle a Dios que lo recibiera en sus brazos." Operación Rosario, Carlos Büsser, p. 179, Editorial Atlántida, 1984</ref>

Two of the Royal Marines Mark Gibbs and George Brown involved in the action against the Amtrack spearhead, claim to have destroyed one Amtrack with 66mm and 84mm anti-tank rockets. However, British tanks expert Andrew Hills has examined all the available evidence and has concluded that in reality one Argentinian Amtrak was peppered by machine-gun fire and another lost one of its tracks to a near-miss from the shoulder-launched rockets fired by Trollope's men.<ref>[https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/1982-argentinian-invasion-of-the-falkland-islands/#index9 Argentinian invasion of the Falkland Islands]</ref>

Neville Bennet was reportedly the local fireman who along with a colleague put out the fire in the destroyed Amtrack, but no mention of this is made in the book 'A Falklands Family at War: Diaries of the 1982 Conflict' (Pen & Sword Military, 2021) detailing his experiences during the Argentinian occupation.

British war correspondent Max Hastings in his book 'Battle for the Falklands' (Michael Joseph, 1983) claims that, ''"The commandos indeed landed at Mullett Creek, about 4.30 a.m., and reached Moody Brook ninety minutes later. But their subsequent tactics suggested no misgivings about causing casualties. In a noisy full-scale attack, they hurled phosphorus grenades into the barracks and raked the rooms with automatic fire. Only the fact that the British marines had already been deployed prevented heavy loss of life."''

The Argentinians maintain that the barracks were destroyed in an air attack by Harriers from No. 1 Squadron RAF on June 12—involving Flight Lieutenant Mark Hare and Wing Commander Peter Squire—that killed three conscripts and wounded their commander (Major José Rodolfo Banetta) from 10th Mechanized Infantry Brigade Headquarters.<ref>"El día anterior el fuego británico había alcanzado los cuarteles de Moody Brook, donde mató a tres soldados e hirió al mayor José Rodolfo Banetta, de la compañía comando de la Brigada X." Isidoro J. Ruiz Moreno, La Lucha Por La Capital (chapter), Comandos en Acción: El Ejercito en Malvinas, Emece, 1986</ref><ref>"El Jefe de Personal del Comando de las Fuerzas Terrestres que, hasta ese entonces, había permanecido con su Sección en el Cuartel de los Marines (Moody Brook), el Mayor del Ejército Don José R. Banetta, que debía replegarse de las instalaciones mencionadas hacia su Puesto de Comando Principal en la localidad, al incendiarse y destruirse los cuarteles, por un efectivo y preciso ataque de la aviación enemiga." Carlos H. Robacio, Jorge Hernández, p. 216, Desde el Frente: Batallón de Infantería de Marina No. 5, Centro Naval, 1996</ref><ref>"Los ataques aéreos continuaban pero en forma cada vez más esporádica, quizá el último bombardeo importante fue sobre el ex-cuartel de los Royal Marines en Moody Brooki donde funcionaba el PC Ret de la Agr Ej a órdenes del My Banetta. Produjo bajas y grandes daños en el cuartel." Horacio Rodríguez Mottino, p. 182, La Artillería Argentina en Malvinas, Clio, 1984</ref>
The Royal Marines were allowed to return to barracks to collect their personal belongings<ref>"The captured British servicemen were then allowed to collect personal items (but no uniform) from Moody Brook and were flown out to Comodoro Rivadavia that evening." The Royal Navy and Falklands War, David Brown, p.59, Pen & Sword, 1987</ref> with the Commanding Officer of the 25th Infantry Regiment (Lieutenant-Colonel Mohamed Alí Seineldín) claiming he was present and helped them find their misplaced pay envelopes.<ref>Mohamed Alí Seineldín, p. 125, Malvinas: Un Sentimiento, Editorial Sudamericana, 1999</ref>During the Argentinian occupation, Moody Brook Barracks first housed elements of C Company 25th Regiment prior to their departure to Goose Green and then 601st Combat Aviation Battalion and 10th Brigade Headquarters according to the authors of 'Partes de Guerra' (Grupo Editorial Norma, 1997).<ref>Graciela Speranza, Fernando Cittadini, Partes de Guerra, p. 38, Grupo Editorial Norma, 1997</ref>

On April 10, Argentinian war correspondent Eduardo Rotondo attended the gathering inside the bar room of the Moody Brook Barracks to celebrate the arrival of the 3rd 'La Tablada' Mechanized Infantry Regiment (minus the Armoured Personnel Carriers) with the Argentinian Regimental Commander (Lieutenant-Colonel David Ubaldo Comini) in the presence of Brigadier-General Mario Benjamin Menéndez giving a patriotic speech and everyone present (officers, NCOs and conscripts) getting a piece of a giant chocolate easter egg that was flown in from the Argentinian mainland and the chance to wash it down with a toast of fine French wine seized from the well-stocked wine cellar of the Royal Marine Moody Brook Barracks.<ref>"Esa noche, en el "casino" improvisado en Moody Brook, antiguo cuartel de los "marines" ingleses, junto a oficiales, suboficiales y soldados argentinos festejamos Pascua de Resurrección. Sencillas palabras de un Teniente Coronel, un trozo de un gigantesco huevo de pascua llegado desde el continente y un brindis con vino francés proveniente de las bodegas de los "marines" sellaron este festejo que coincidía con el inicio del bloque naval." Alerta Roja, Eduardo Rotondo, p. 3, Baipress, 1982</ref>

==South Georgia==
On April 3, the 1st Marine Infantry Battalion captured South Georgia, 1,350 kilometres to the east of the Falklands. In that action, the Argentinian corvette ARA 'Guerrico' was lured too close to shore and hit by anti-tank missiles from the 23-man Royal Marines platoon under Lieutenant Keith Mill and one Argentinian sailor, Corporal Patricio Guanca was killed in the action. Soon after this Argentinian setback, another two Marines, Privates Mario Almonacid and Jorge Aguila were killed and seven wounded when the Puma helicopter transporting their platoon was hit by concentrated small-arms fire and forced to make a crash-landing. However, one British Royal Marine was wounded in an exchange of fire with the Argentinian Marines. The Marines platoon under Lieutenant Mills eventually surrendered when their position was bombarded by the main 100mm gun of the Argentinian warship.

The 13-strong volunteer militia force under BAS commander Steve Martin at King Edward Point had taken refuge in the church at Grytviken; they were captured in the afternoon and were removed at gunpoint to an Argentine ship bound for Rio Grande, Tierra del Fuego, and held for 15 days before being repatriated to Britain. Thirteen other BAS men in South Georgia and two females, scientist Cindy Buxton and journalist Annie Price, remained in hiding until liberated by the British Task Force in late April 1982. They would later confirm that Lieutenant Mills had given them a pistol and that both women had been trained how to shoot.<ref>[http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/doc/294188401.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May%2015,%201982&author=London%20Daily%20Telegraph&pub=Boston%20Globe%20%28pre-1997%20Fulltext%29&edition=&startpage=&desc=2%20BRITONS%20DESCRIBE%20STAY%20ON%20S.%20GEORGIA 2 BRITONS DESCRIBE STAY ON S. GEORGIA]</ref>

Photographs of the Royal Marines outside Government House, face down on the ground, soon appeared in the British press, smuggled out by out by Rex Hunt's son Tony for Simon Winchester of the [[Sunday Times]] who had taken the pictures.<ref>"The humiliation was soon reinforced by images of the Argentine flag being raised and of the Royal Marines as prisoners. The photographs of the surrender of the Royal Marines had been taken by Simon Winchester of the Sunday Times and were smuggled out by out by Rex Hunt's son Tony." The Official History of the Falklands Campaign, Volume 2: War and Diplomacy, Lawrence Freedman, pp. 8-9, Routledge, 2004</ref> In response to calls for actions, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher ordered that an armada of British warships be sent to the Falklands. Winchester went to Argentina to cover the war from the southern airbases, but he was arrested with two colleagues (Ian Mather and Tony Prime) for spying.<ref>"Winchester went to Argentina where he was later arrested with two colleagues for spying." The Official History of the Falklands Campaign, Volume 2: War and Diplomacy, Lawrence Freedman, p. 9, Routledge, 2004</ref>

Fierce battles erupted in May. In all, more than 900 soldiers and sailors from both side died in the fighting. But the British forces won. Winchester, Mather and Prime were freed on June 29.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/30/world/3-british-reporters-released-from-jail-by-argentine-junta.html 3 BRITISH REPORTERS RELEASED FROM JAIL BY ARGENTINE JUNTA]</ref>

==Occupation==
Life under Argentinian occupation was full of anxiety for many of the Falklanders. They had no desire to be ruled by the Argentinians and found that many of their essential goods and services were under threat from the British naval blockade and requisitioning by the Argentinian garrison. Most Land Rovers and many tractors were requisitioned by the military and high powered radios were supposed to be handed over, although not all were.

Shortly after being appointed Miltary Governor of the Malvinas, Brigadier-General Mario Benjamin Menéndez had a meeting with around 40 locals that had formed part of the Fakland Islands Defence Force (FIDF) and that had been captured then released on 2 April. He warned them against taking part in any future attacks on the Argentinian garrison:
''“I met some of them [members of the FIDF] and explained that if they did some wrong to the occupying troops, I would apply the laws of war against them. I also told them that there was a group of two or three youngsters that continuously were gesticulating or showed an aggressive attitude against the Argentine officers and NCOs. For instance, they used to approach at an excessive speed and pass our troops very closely. I told them that if they ran into one of them or threw them to the floor and somebody fired at them, although I did not like martyrs, I was going to justify what my men did."''<ref>[https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3357032 74 Days Under the Argentine Flag: The Experiences of Occupation During the Falklands/Malvinas War]</ref>

There were further deportations of authority figures and Falklanders suspected as being resistance leaders were exiled to Fox Bay Settlement along with their families. Major Patricio Douglas Dowling took control of Argentinian military intelligence and soon gathered a reputation for harshness and threatening behaviour. Most of the 181st Military Police Company under Major Roberto Eduardo Berazay strained to maintain good relations with the Falkland Islanders and tried to treat them well although cold and hungry conscript soldiers from the surrounding hills did take to stealing food and break-and-enters became more frequent as the conflict dragged on and as the weather worsened. Military discipline was rigidly enforced in Port Stanley on the part of Major Berazay's military police unit in order to prevent break-in’s, robberies, vandalism and sexual assault, from soldiers from the frontlines that dared go Absent Without Leave (AWOL) and those caught were returned to their units where they were beaten, humiliated and staked in the freezing ground as part of field-punishment.

Argentinian Air Force Group Captain Carlos Bloomer-Reeve was given the job of acting as liaison officer between the local population and the military authorities. He had lived in the Falklands and was respected for the fair-mindedness and respect he showed to the locals.

The population at Goose Green had initially a very hard time when they were confined en masse in the Social Club in the aftermath of the British air attacks on Goose Green airfield on 1 May 1982. Lieutenant-Colonel Ítalo Angel Piaggi, the Commanding Officer of the Argentinian 12th Infantry Regiment, said that the lockdown in Goose Green was necessary in order to protect the locals from ''"the rage of the air force men, who had lost so many colleagues."''<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/9369182/Making_Their_Dispositions_Accordingly_Civilian_Experiences_of_the_1982_Falklands_War Making Their Dispositions Accordingly: Civilian Experiences of the 1982 Falklands War]</ref>

The conditions improved when the Argentinians took pity on local women and children. According to local farm manager Eric Goss: ''"Sanitation in the hall was grim. We ran out of water on the third day, the toilets were blocked and there was some dysentery. We persuaded the Argentinians to bring sea water in barrels for the toilets; and old chap, Mike Robson, did sterling work keeping them going. Two young men, Bob McLeod and Ray Robson, both radio hams, found an old broken radio, part of the club equipment, in a junk cupboard. They made this work and we listened each evening to the B.B.C. World Service; the others made noise at the windows to cover the crackling of the broadcast and we were never discovered."''<ref>Operation Corporate: The Falklands War, Martin Middlebrook, p. 169, Viking, 1985</ref>

One local female resident reported that life in the Social Club was far from grim:
''“After the first week the Argentines let two women go out each day to the galley in the cookhouse, where all the men would normally eat together. They were allowed to cook up a big meal, with bread and cakes, and bring it down to the hall. Considering we were all cramped together in a small place everybody got on very well. People were generally good-natured.”''<ref>Speaking Out: Untold Stories from the Falklands War, Michael Bilton, Peter Kosminsky, Andre Deutsch, 1989</ref>

The government authority did attempt to enforce a change in the road traffic code which had chaotic consequences. The authorities wanted everyone to drive on the right hand side of the road as in Argentina. It was thought that the Argentine military traffic would find this easier than remembering to drive on the left. Merely informing the local population was not enough to change the habits of a lifetime and the end result was chaos. Initial signs in Spanish did not help matters and in the end the authorities had to paint signs in English and write continued reminders in white paint on the roads themselves. It became a permanent reminder that the islands were occupied territory.

Other daily reminders of occupation included the numerous field artillery and anti-aircraft batteries in and around Port Stanley and large no-go areas to the civilian population like the gymnasium building that was commandeered by Argentinian Army Green Berets from Major Mario Luis Castagneto's 601st Commando Company. Children were taken out of school and sent to the interior for their safety. The local radio station was forced to play Argentinian official military communiques of the war. Fortunately, many islanders were able to pick up the BBC World Service and were encouraged by news of the British landings in San Carlos and the British victory at Goose Green.

There was some talk of evacuating the Falklands Islanders. The British government did not wish the Falklanders to abandon the islands as that would make their main argument of self-determination mute. It was only a small portion of the population who considered leaving but it was enough to concern the British government. They made it clear that the British would help anyone temporarily but that the expectation was that they would return once the fighting was over. As it transpired, few Falkland Islanders took this option and most remained in the Falklands. Tragically, three islanders would be killed when a stray naval shell hit their house.

==Liberation==
Argentinian occupation of the Falklands ended on June 14. After 74 days, the islands became British administered again. Unlike the Goose Green residents the Port Stanley citizens had been allowed much freedom of movement. But there had been a 16-hour night curfew.

The British units took over the buildings commandeered by the Argentinians. Local fireman Lewis Clifton describes how the infrastructures of Port Stanley broke under the extra strain of accommodating the British troops and processing thousands of Argentine prisoners of war awaiting repatriation: ''"The place just couldn't take it. There was only sporadic electricity and water and the sanitation system collapsed. The streets were ankle-deep in human waste. The stench was awful, really awful, and we were all suffering from what we called Galtieri's revenge. He lost the war but left us ill."''<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120420135114/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/Britain_at_War_Readers__Memorie/9130824/The-Falklands-invasion-by-those-who-were-there.html The Falklands invasion, by those who were there]</ref>

Water was scarce, since Stanley's main pumping station had been damaged by British naval fire during the mountain battles, with many Argentinian soldiers suffering from diarrhea because of Liver Fluke Disease (found in sheep) forced to relieve themselves in bathtubs, buckets, chest of drawers and the back streets of Stanley in the face of sudden violent bowel movement and with toilets no longer working.<ref>''British naval gunfire had destroyed the roof of Port Stanley's water pumping station, causing the valves, filters and pipes to freeze up and split.'' The Scars of Wars, Hugh McManners, p. 315, HarperCollins, 1993</ref><ref>The Winter War: The Falklands, Patrick Joseph Bishop, John Witherow, p.143, Quartet Books, 1982</ref>

There was much Argentinian criticism of the behaviour of British Paratroopers after the Argentinian surrender. Brigadier-General Oscar Luis Jofre, the commander of the 10th Mechanized Infantry Brigade in his book 'Malvinas: La Defensa de Puerto Argentino' (Editorial Sudamaricana, 1987) alleges that he complained to the British authorities and the Royal Marine Commandos took over and soon restored order in the Falklands capital. A staff officer of Commodore Michael Clapp wrote in his war diary:''"Utterly depressing. The troops are in a post war mood and very selfish. Grab, Grab - transport, houses, equipment, food, etc. - gone is the spirit of selflessness in the field. It will return but at present all is filth, squalor and (the) looting instinct prevails. Quite the worst aspect of the whole campaign."''<ref>The Falklands War, D. George Boyce, p. 146, Macmillan International Higher Education, 2005</ref>

British SBS Commandos were helicoptered to Pebble Island on June 15 to accept the surrender of the local garrison and found that the two dozen local inhabitants had been confined to the farm manager's house. But the locals showed no hatred for the occupiers, and even insisted that one young English-speaking Argentinian conscript, Jorge Alberto Ortiz, from the 3rd Marine Battalion's 'H' Company whom they had befriended should have lunch with them before he was taken with the others to imprisonment in the sheep shearing sheds. Jorge in his perfect Californian accent told them he planned to come back in the near future as a civilian. Arina Bernstein, a cheerful read-headed woman in her mid-thirties told him he would be welcome, ''"But don't you come back planting you little flag here again, Jorge."''<ref>The Battle for the Falklands, Max Hastings, Simon Jenkins, p.313, Pan, 1987</ref>

The sentiment of civilians in Stanley were mixed, and there were several years later, claims that Argentinian soldiers had booby trapped the Geriatric Acute Ward of Stanley Hospital<ref>[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10300593/Argentine-army-lashed-rocket-launcher-slide-futile-bid-defeat-British-troops.html No wonder we won the Falklands: How the Argentine army lashed rocket launcher to a SLIDE in futile bid to defeat British troops]</ref>, the dining area of civilian homes, and even children bikes at Goose Green and the play doll of the five-year old daughter (Sarah Clement) of Mike Summers, a future Falklands politician.<ref>[https://www.express.co.uk/expressyourself/3214/25-years-on 25 years on]</ref>

There is, however, only one substantiated case that was reported in the major world newspapers in July 1982, of a hand grenade wedged under the floorboards of Stanley School that was found by Captain Brian Lloyd of the Royal Engineers, but that was clearly aimed at causing casualties among the British garrison like the booby-traps the British Paras and Royal Marines found in trenches and Stanley Racecourse that had been the final Argentinian defence line on the morning of June 14 comprising a regimental-size grouping that was organized by Lieutenant-Colonel Eugenio Alfredo Dalton (10th Brigade's Operations Officer) and placed under the command of Major Guillermo Rubén Berazay (3rd Regiment's Operations Officer.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/09/world/hills-around-falkland-capital-strewn-with-argentine-dead.html HILLS AROUND FALKLAND CAPITAL STREWN WITH ARGENTINE DEAD]</ref>

The British also accused the Argentinian engineers of not keeping proper records on the location of their minefields, a clear violation of the Geneva Convention with Major Guv Lukas from the British bomb-disposal unit reporting. ''"A number of formal mine fields were laid out. But these were then thickened up by indiscriminate helicopter scattering."''<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/09/world/hills-around-falkland-capital-strewn-with-argentine-dead.html HILLS AROUND FALKLAND CAPITAL STREWN WITH ARGENTINE DEAD]</ref>

The Port Stanley Army Grouping ('Agrupación de Ejército Puerto Argentino') commander, Brigadier-General Oscar Jofre who oversaw the transfer of power in the Falklands capital to the British authorities has contested the claim that the Argentinian Army and Marines engineers had conducted themselves unprofessionally and has asserted that ''"although mines were brought forward by helicopter, they were never scattered by helicopter"'' and that ''"records were properly handed over by his engineer commander after the war"''.<ref>''The British later made the accusation that some of the mines were scattered haphazardly by helicopter and again, that incomplete records were kept. Jofre stresses that, although mines were brought forward by helicopter, they were never scattered by helicopter. Also, he says, records were properly handed over by his engineer commander after the war.'' Argentine Fight for the Falklands, Martin Middlebrook, p. 225, Pen & Sword, 2003</ref>

Claims that the Argentinian forces had behaved like savages throughout the occupation were investigated with British war correspondents Patrick Joseph Bishop and ‎John Witherow establishing they were mostly hearsay:''"They had certainly been responsible for smashing up the solid old post office, and the backstreets of the town were littered with excrement. But although fourteen local men were taken from their homes during the occupation and sent to West Falkland where they were put under house arrest, few inhabitants were ill-treated. It was an uncomfortable rather than brutal regime... There were stories of looting but on closer examination this tended to be troops stealing buns from the deep-freeze or sleeping in beds with muddy boots. Some valuables and souvenirs were stolen and houses vandalized but the details of the outrages were vague. Most of the serious damage was done by the British shelling. One islander said without rencour that the British had caused more of a mess in Stanley than the Argentinians."''<ref> The Winter War: The Falklands, Patrick Joseph Bishop, John Witherow, p.143, Quartet Books, 1982</ref>

Captain Jeremy Larken of HMS 'Fearless' confirms the view the Argentinian occupation foces had behaved appropriately:''"It was clear General Menendez had looked after things at Government House with almost loving care. Even the ornaments were still in their place. But once 3 Commando Brigade got in there and started using it as their headquarters, I think it suffered considerably. It's fair to say that the British were less careful with Port Stanley than had been the Argentine forces... In the early days, our control over our own people was not as good as it might have been. I won't say there was rape and pillage, but there was a great deal of acquisition of war materials."'' <ref>Forgotten Voices of the Falklands, Hugh McManners, p. 433, Random House, 2008</ref>

The 181st Military Police Company, assisted in great part by the Amphibious Engineer Company, 601st National Gendarmerie Special Forces Squadron and 601st and 602nd Commando Companies, had kept a watchful eye in Stanley with Leftist anti-war veterans from the Buenos Aires-based Malvinas Islands Ex-Combatants Centre ('Centro Ex-Combatientes Islas Malvinas' or CECIM) complaining and telling of being tied and pinned to the frozen ground with tent pegs for hours or punched and kicked for deserting their posts and stealing from the Moody Brook food depot and locals or for shooting and killing sheep for food in the middle of minefields and booby-traps. In a 2019 interview with ‘Radio Noticias’, former Private Gustavo Alberto Placente from the 181st Military Police Company explained that field punishments were indeed carried out but were absolutely necessary to keep some of the lesser inclined conscript soldiers to fight in line.<ref>Gustavo Placente | Indagación a 18 militares por torturas en Malvinas (available on YouTube)</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:War]]
[[Category:Argentina]]
[[Category:British History]]
[[Category:1980s]]

17th "Pavia" Infantry Division

2022-07-27T21:36:13Z

Mitoshi: /* Operation Crusader */

The 17th ''Pavia'' Infantry Division was a major combat formation of the ''Regio Esercito'' (Royal Italian Army) during the Second World War. It was formed in October 1939 and sent to Italian Libya in February 1941 for defensive operations during the final stages of Operation ''Compass''. The ''Pavia'' saw extensive action in North Africa and was destroyed in the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]]. The bulk of the division comprised the 27th, 28th Infantry Regiments and 26th Artillery Regiment.

==Battle of El Mechili==

The ''Pavia'' Division took part in General Erwin Rommel's first desert offensive (nickhamed ''the Benghazi Derby'' among the retreating British Imperial troops) in late March and early April 1941. Under Major-General Pietro Zaglio, the ''Pavia'' attacked via the Balbia coastal road from Agedabia, helping the ''Ariete'' Armoured Division and [[8th Bersaglieri Regiment]] force the Australian, British and Indian divisions to relinquish their gains and fall back to Tobruk. On April 3, the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment with the help of reconnaissance troops from the ''Sabratha'' Division, recaptured Benghazi and advanced to El Mechili, along with the advance elements from the German 5th Light Division. On April 8, General Gambier-Parry surrendered to General Zaglio and the ''Pavia'' after a breakout attempt was broken up by heavy fire from the ''Fabris'' and ''Montemurro'' Bersaglieri Battalions that had taken up ambush positions around the British fortress under the cover of darkness. Some 3,000 British, Indian and Australian soldiers were captured as a result of the actions of the ''Pavia'' and supporting Bersaglieri.<ref>"The victory must have been especially sweet for the men of the Ariete Division, partly as recompense for past humiliations at British hands, and partly because it was an all-Italian triumph." Tobruk: The Great Siege, 1941-42, William F. Buckingham, Random House, 2010</ref><ref>"On April 8, the Afrika Korps completed the destruction of the 2nd Armoured Division. Major General Michael D. Gambier-Parry, the commander of the 2nd Armoured, and Brigadier Vaughn, the commander of the Indian 3rd Motor Brigade, were captured, along with 3,000 of their men." Rommel's Desert Commanders: The Men who Served the Desert Fox, North Africa, 1941-1942, Samuel W. Mitcham, p. 18, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007</ref>

With the arrival of the German Afrika Korps, the ''Pavia'' and ''Brescia'' Divisions help isolate and capture Bardia. The Italian divisions then take part in the Siege of Tobruk, taking up positions in the southern sector of the Axis siege lines.

In early May 1941, the Australians defending Tobruk counterattack in an attempt to recover several strong-points lost to the Italians from the ''Ariete'' and ''Brescia'' Divisions, but the ''Pavia'', ''Trento'' and Ariete defeat the attacks.<ref>"On the night of 3rd May, the Italian Trento and Pavia Divisions ... repelled an Australian counterattack." The Forgotten Axis: Germany's Partners and Foreign Volunteers in World War II, J. Lee Ready, p. 310, Jefferson, NC, 1987</ref>

==Operation Crusader==

On November 23 1941, the British 70th Infantry Division with 60 supporting tanks overruns part of the defenses of the 25th ''Bologna'' Infantry Division, but the ''Pavia'' counterattacks, restoring the broken lines.<ref>"After a sudden artillery concentration the garrison of Fortress Tobruk, supported by sixty tanks, made an attack on the direction of Bel Hamid at noon, intending at long last unite with the main offence group. The Italian siege front around the fortress tried to offer a defence in the confusion but was forced to relinquish numerous strong points in the encirclement front about Bir Bu Assaten to superior enemy forces. The Italian “Pavia” Division was committed for a counterattack and managed to seal off the enemy breakthrough.” Generalmajor Major Alfred Toppe (et al), German Experiences in Desert Warfare During World War II, in 2 volumes, Combat Studies Institute/Combined Arms Research Library, 1952</ref>

On December 4, the ''Pavia'' and ''Trento'' recapture the British-held ‘Plonk and ‘Doc’ strong-points outside Tobruk.<ref>[https://comandosupremo.com/siege-of-tobruk/ Italians passed to counter-attack along the whole line]</ref>

On December 5, the ''Pavia'' Division from positions at El Adem covers the German withdrawal from Tobruk, delaying the advance of the 1st Battalion from the ''Durham Light Infantry'' in chaotic night-fighting lasting over three hours.<ref>"The operation proceeded without opposition until the 1/Durham Light Infantry had advanced some 5,000 yards. Here the Pavia Division had established a rearguard position which was tenaciously defended but overcome after midnight by an attack made in conjunction with tanks of the 32nd Army Tank Brigade." Australia in the War of 1939-1945, Volume 3, Barton Maughan, p. 509, Australian War Memorial, 1966</ref>

On December 14, the Maoris from the New Zealand 22nd Battalion encountered stiff resistance from the ''Pavia'' Division that counterattacked them twice, before withdrawing. The New Zealanders with the help of strong artillery fire capture 382 soldiers from the ''Pavia'' in the action, but lose 3 killed and 27 wounded in the process.<ref>"At 3 a.m. on 14 December the guns opened a 15-minute concentration and the Maoris closed in with bayonets fixed, meeting mortar, MG and anti-tank fire and using grenades freely to overcome it. In little more than an hour resistance ended and C and D Companies began to dig in just west of the foremost defences, while A Company extended the position on lower ground to the east-north-east. B Company, which had advanced farthest, struck trouble, however, from another enemy position on the escarpment to the west and was twice counter-attacked." The Relief of Tobruk, W. E. Murphy, p. 496, War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, 1961</ref>

On December 15, the ''Pavia'', ''Brescia'' and ''Trento'' Divisions covering the German withdrawal from the Gazala Line, successfully resist the advance of the 2nd New Zealand Division and supporting Polish Brigade, allowing Italian and German armoured forces to join and deliver a strong counterattack that overruns the 1st Battalion, Royal East Kent Regiment (''The Buffs'').<ref>"The Poles and New Zealanders made good initial progress, taking several hundred Italian prisoners; but the Italians rallied well, and by noon it was clear to General Alfred Godwin-Austen that his two brigades lacked the weight to achieve a breakthrough on the right flank. It was the same story in the centre, where the Italians of ‘Trieste’ continued to repulse 5th Indian Brigade’s attack on Point 208. By mid-afternoon the III Corps attack had been fought to a halt all along the line." Crusader: Eighth Army’s Forgotten Victory, November 1941-January 1942, Richard Humble, p. 187, Leo Cooper, 1987</ref>

==Operation Venezia==

On June 16 1942, the ''Pavia'' takes part in the mopping-up operations following the Battle of Knightsbridge, with 6,000 demoralized British Imperial troops falling into Italian hands.<ref>"The Italians finished mopping up the Gazala Line on June 16, capturing 6,000 prisoners, thousands of tons of supplies, and entire convoys of undamaged vehicles in the process" The Rise of the Wehrmacht: The German Armed Forces and World War, 2 Volumes, p.564, Samuel W. Mitcham, Praeger, 2008</ref>

==El Alamein==

The division took part in the [[First Battle of El Alamein]] as part of the Italian 10th Corps. During the initial phase of the fighting the ''Pavia'' served as part of the rearguard for the ''Ariete'' Armoured Division where, according to US Army Colonel Conrad H. Lanza, the division repulsed the advance of the Maoris of the New Zealand 23rd Battalion with a night counterattack that overwhelmed the New Zealanders.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110208235557/http://comandosupremo.com/1elalamein.html/2 First Battle of El Alamein]</ref>Corporal Pasquale Franchi from the ''Pavia'' would posthumously win the [[Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare]] for his role in the counterattack.

On the night of July 14/15 1942, the ''Pavia'' along with the ''Brescia'' Division put up a stubborn defence on Ruweisat Ridge, allowing Field Marshall Erwin Rommel to assemble German armoured and motorized infantry units to counterattack in support of the Italians, overrunning the attacking New Zealand infantry and supporting British armour in the morning action.<ref>"While the attacking brigades had been able to cut large gaps through the defences held y the Italian infantry, they had not been able to subdue all the resistance. Not surprisingly, most of the smaller outposts and defended localities had fallen easily but some of the larger posts had been bypassed during the night. The outposts which remained contained substantial number of anti-tank guns, machine guns and infantry. When daylight came, these posts were able to cover the area south of the ridge by fire and shot up any trucks foolhardy enough to drive forward." Pendulum Of War: Three Battles at El Alamein, Niall Barr, p. 131, Random House, 2010</ref><ref>"On the right, Indian 5th Division (XXX Corps) attacked Point 64 on the centre of the feature, the New Zealand Division (XIII Corps) was on the left attacking Point 63 at the western end of the ridge and the 1st Armoured Division gave support along the line of the inter-corps boundary. The night attack was preceded by Albacore aircraft dropping flares and fighter-bombers strafing the enemy lines. At first both divisions made good progress as they fought their way through the Italian Brescia and Pavia Divisions who were holding the ridge. The advance slowed down when they met extensive minefields and there was some loss of cohesion when the New Zealanders were attacked by tanks from 8th Panzer Regiment of 15th Panzer Division and lost 350 prisoners." El Alamein 1942: The Turning of the Tide, Ken Ford, p. 42, Osprey Publishing, 2005</ref> Captain Amalio Stagni and Corporal Ugo Vaia from the ''Pavia'' would each posthumously win the Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare for their leadership during the night action on Ruweisat.

During the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]], one battalion from the ''Pavia'' Division fought alongside the ''Folgore'' Parachute Division. At the end of the battle, the ''Pavia'' along with the other two divisions from the Italian 10th Corps were abandoned without transport as the remnants of the ''Afrika Korps'' retreated from Alamein to Fuka and Mersa Matruh on November 4 1942. At Mersa Matruh, where several of the survivors of the ''Pavia'' had regrouped (including its commander), the remnants of the division were soon trapped and forced to surrender.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19421107&id=CPwuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9tsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1757,1513851&hl=en Axis Runs]</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Italian History]]

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110815092044/www.comandosupremo.com/bologna-division.html The Bologna Division: 19 November – 10 December, 1941]

17th "Pavia" Infantry Division

2022-07-27T21:28:13Z

Mitoshi: /* Operation Crusader */

The 17th ''Pavia'' Infantry Division was a major combat formation of the ''Regio Esercito'' (Royal Italian Army) during the Second World War. It was formed in October 1939 and sent to Italian Libya in February 1941 for defensive operations during the final stages of Operation ''Compass''. The ''Pavia'' saw extensive action in North Africa and was destroyed in the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]]. The bulk of the division comprised the 27th, 28th Infantry Regiments and 26th Artillery Regiment.

==Battle of El Mechili==

The ''Pavia'' Division took part in General Erwin Rommel's first desert offensive (nickhamed ''the Benghazi Derby'' among the retreating British Imperial troops) in late March and early April 1941. Under Major-General Pietro Zaglio, the ''Pavia'' attacked via the Balbia coastal road from Agedabia, helping the ''Ariete'' Armoured Division and [[8th Bersaglieri Regiment]] force the Australian, British and Indian divisions to relinquish their gains and fall back to Tobruk. On April 3, the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment with the help of reconnaissance troops from the ''Sabratha'' Division, recaptured Benghazi and advanced to El Mechili, along with the advance elements from the German 5th Light Division. On April 8, General Gambier-Parry surrendered to General Zaglio and the ''Pavia'' after a breakout attempt was broken up by heavy fire from the ''Fabris'' and ''Montemurro'' Bersaglieri Battalions that had taken up ambush positions around the British fortress under the cover of darkness. Some 3,000 British, Indian and Australian soldiers were captured as a result of the actions of the ''Pavia'' and supporting Bersaglieri.<ref>"The victory must have been especially sweet for the men of the Ariete Division, partly as recompense for past humiliations at British hands, and partly because it was an all-Italian triumph." Tobruk: The Great Siege, 1941-42, William F. Buckingham, Random House, 2010</ref><ref>"On April 8, the Afrika Korps completed the destruction of the 2nd Armoured Division. Major General Michael D. Gambier-Parry, the commander of the 2nd Armoured, and Brigadier Vaughn, the commander of the Indian 3rd Motor Brigade, were captured, along with 3,000 of their men." Rommel's Desert Commanders: The Men who Served the Desert Fox, North Africa, 1941-1942, Samuel W. Mitcham, p. 18, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007</ref>

With the arrival of the German Afrika Korps, the ''Pavia'' and ''Brescia'' Divisions help isolate and capture Bardia. The Italian divisions then take part in the Siege of Tobruk, taking up positions in the southern sector of the Axis siege lines.

In early May 1941, the Australians defending Tobruk counterattack in an attempt to recover several strong-points lost to the Italians from the ''Ariete'' and ''Brescia'' Divisions, but the ''Pavia'', ''Trento'' and Ariete defeat the attacks.<ref>"On the night of 3rd May, the Italian Trento and Pavia Divisions ... repelled an Australian counterattack." The Forgotten Axis: Germany's Partners and Foreign Volunteers in World War II, J. Lee Ready, p. 310, Jefferson, NC, 1987</ref>

==Operation Crusader==

On November 23 1941, the British 70th Infantry Division with 60 supporting tanks overruns part of the defenses of the 25th ''Bologna'' Infantry Division, but the ''Pavia'' counterattacks, restoring the broken lines.<ref>"After a sudden artillery concentration the garrison of Fortress Tobruk, supported by sixty tanks, made an attack on the direction of Bel Hamid at noon, intending at long last unite with the main offence group. The Italian siege front around the fortress tried to offer a defence in the confusion but was forced to relinquish numerous strong points in the encirclement front about Bir Bu Assaten to superior enemy forces. The Italian “Pavia” Division was committed for a counterattack and managed to seal off the enemy breakthrough.” Generalmajor Major Alfred Toppe (et al), German Experiences in Desert Warfare During World War II, in 2 volumes, Combat Studies Institute/Combined Arms Research Library, 1952</ref>

On 4 December, the ''Pavia'' and ''Trento'' recapture the British-held ‘Plonk and ‘Doc’ strong-points outside Tobruk.<ref>[http://www.comandosupremo.com/bologna-division.html/5 Italians passed to counter-attack along the whole line]</ref>

On 5 December, the ''Pavia'' Division from positions at El Adem covers the German withdrawal from Tobruk, delaying the advance of the 1st Battalion from the ''Durham Light Infantry'' in chaotic night-fighting lasting over three hours.<ref>"The operation proceeded without opposition until the 1/Durham Light Infantry had advanced some 5,000 yards. Here the Pavia Division had established a rearguard position which was tenaciously defended but overcome after midnight by an attack made in conjunction with tanks of the 32nd Army Tank Brigade." Australia in the War of 1939-1945, Volume 3, Barton Maughan, p. 509, Australian War Memorial, 1966</ref>

On 14 December, the Maoris from the New Zealand 22 Battalion encountered stiff resistance from the ''Pavia'' Division that counterattacked twice, before withdrawing. The New Zealanders with the help of strong artillery fire capture 382 soldiers from the ''Pavia'' in the action, but lose 3 killed and 27 wounded in the process.<ref>"At 3 a.m. on 14 December the guns opened a 15-minute concentration and the Maoris closed in with bayonets fixed, meeting mortar, MG and anti-tank fire and using grenades freely to overcome it. In little more than an hour resistance ended and C and D Companies began to dig in just west of the foremost defences, while A Company extended the position on lower ground to the east-north-east. B Company, which had advanced farthest, struck trouble, however, from another enemy position on the escarpment to the west and was twice counter-attacked." The Relief of Tobruk, W. E. Murphy, p. 496, War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, 1961</ref>

On 15 December, the ''Pavia'', ''Brescia'' and ''Trento'' Divisions covering the German withdrawal from the Gazala Line, successfully resist the advance of the 2nd New Zealand Division and supporting Polish Brigade, allowing Italian and German armoured forces to join and deliver a strong counterattack that overruns the 1st Battalion, Royal East Kent Regiment (''The Buffs'').<ref>"The Poles and New Zealanders made good initial progress, taking several hundred Italian prisoners; but the Italians rallied well, and by noon it was clear to General Alfred Godwin-Austen that his two brigades lacked the weight to achieve a breakthrough on the right flank. It was the same story in the centre, where the Italians of ‘Trieste’ continued to repulse 5th Indian Brigade’s attack on Point 208. By mid-afternoon the III Corps attack had been fought to a halt all along the line." Crusader: Eighth Army’s Forgotten Victory, November 1941-January 1942, Richard Humble, p. 187, Leo Cooper, 1987</ref>

==Operation Venezia==

On June 16 1942, the ''Pavia'' takes part in the mopping-up operations following the Battle of Knightsbridge, with 6,000 demoralized British Imperial troops falling into Italian hands.<ref>"The Italians finished mopping up the Gazala Line on June 16, capturing 6,000 prisoners, thousands of tons of supplies, and entire convoys of undamaged vehicles in the process" The Rise of the Wehrmacht: The German Armed Forces and World War, 2 Volumes, p.564, Samuel W. Mitcham, Praeger, 2008</ref>

==El Alamein==

The division took part in the [[First Battle of El Alamein]] as part of the Italian 10th Corps. During the initial phase of the fighting the ''Pavia'' served as part of the rearguard for the ''Ariete'' Armoured Division where, according to US Army Colonel Conrad H. Lanza, the division repulsed the advance of the Maoris of the New Zealand 23rd Battalion with a night counterattack that overwhelmed the New Zealanders.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110208235557/http://comandosupremo.com/1elalamein.html/2 First Battle of El Alamein]</ref>Corporal Pasquale Franchi from the ''Pavia'' would posthumously win the [[Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare]] for his role in the counterattack.

On the night of July 14/15 1942, the ''Pavia'' along with the ''Brescia'' Division put up a stubborn defence on Ruweisat Ridge, allowing Field Marshall Erwin Rommel to assemble German armoured and motorized infantry units to counterattack in support of the Italians, overrunning the attacking New Zealand infantry and supporting British armour in the morning action.<ref>"While the attacking brigades had been able to cut large gaps through the defences held y the Italian infantry, they had not been able to subdue all the resistance. Not surprisingly, most of the smaller outposts and defended localities had fallen easily but some of the larger posts had been bypassed during the night. The outposts which remained contained substantial number of anti-tank guns, machine guns and infantry. When daylight came, these posts were able to cover the area south of the ridge by fire and shot up any trucks foolhardy enough to drive forward." Pendulum Of War: Three Battles at El Alamein, Niall Barr, p. 131, Random House, 2010</ref><ref>"On the right, Indian 5th Division (XXX Corps) attacked Point 64 on the centre of the feature, the New Zealand Division (XIII Corps) was on the left attacking Point 63 at the western end of the ridge and the 1st Armoured Division gave support along the line of the inter-corps boundary. The night attack was preceded by Albacore aircraft dropping flares and fighter-bombers strafing the enemy lines. At first both divisions made good progress as they fought their way through the Italian Brescia and Pavia Divisions who were holding the ridge. The advance slowed down when they met extensive minefields and there was some loss of cohesion when the New Zealanders were attacked by tanks from 8th Panzer Regiment of 15th Panzer Division and lost 350 prisoners." El Alamein 1942: The Turning of the Tide, Ken Ford, p. 42, Osprey Publishing, 2005</ref> Captain Amalio Stagni and Corporal Ugo Vaia from the ''Pavia'' would each posthumously win the Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare for their leadership during the night action on Ruweisat.

During the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]], one battalion from the ''Pavia'' Division fought alongside the ''Folgore'' Parachute Division. At the end of the battle, the ''Pavia'' along with the other two divisions from the Italian 10th Corps were abandoned without transport as the remnants of the ''Afrika Korps'' retreated from Alamein to Fuka and Mersa Matruh on November 4 1942. At Mersa Matruh, where several of the survivors of the ''Pavia'' had regrouped (including its commander), the remnants of the division were soon trapped and forced to surrender.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19421107&id=CPwuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9tsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1757,1513851&hl=en Axis Runs]</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Italian History]]

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110815092044/www.comandosupremo.com/bologna-division.html The Bologna Division: 19 November – 10 December, 1941]

17th "Pavia" Infantry Division

2022-07-27T21:26:36Z

Mitoshi: /* Battle of El Mechili */

The 17th ''Pavia'' Infantry Division was a major combat formation of the ''Regio Esercito'' (Royal Italian Army) during the Second World War. It was formed in October 1939 and sent to Italian Libya in February 1941 for defensive operations during the final stages of Operation ''Compass''. The ''Pavia'' saw extensive action in North Africa and was destroyed in the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]]. The bulk of the division comprised the 27th, 28th Infantry Regiments and 26th Artillery Regiment.

==Battle of El Mechili==

The ''Pavia'' Division took part in General Erwin Rommel's first desert offensive (nickhamed ''the Benghazi Derby'' among the retreating British Imperial troops) in late March and early April 1941. Under Major-General Pietro Zaglio, the ''Pavia'' attacked via the Balbia coastal road from Agedabia, helping the ''Ariete'' Armoured Division and [[8th Bersaglieri Regiment]] force the Australian, British and Indian divisions to relinquish their gains and fall back to Tobruk. On April 3, the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment with the help of reconnaissance troops from the ''Sabratha'' Division, recaptured Benghazi and advanced to El Mechili, along with the advance elements from the German 5th Light Division. On April 8, General Gambier-Parry surrendered to General Zaglio and the ''Pavia'' after a breakout attempt was broken up by heavy fire from the ''Fabris'' and ''Montemurro'' Bersaglieri Battalions that had taken up ambush positions around the British fortress under the cover of darkness. Some 3,000 British, Indian and Australian soldiers were captured as a result of the actions of the ''Pavia'' and supporting Bersaglieri.<ref>"The victory must have been especially sweet for the men of the Ariete Division, partly as recompense for past humiliations at British hands, and partly because it was an all-Italian triumph." Tobruk: The Great Siege, 1941-42, William F. Buckingham, Random House, 2010</ref><ref>"On April 8, the Afrika Korps completed the destruction of the 2nd Armoured Division. Major General Michael D. Gambier-Parry, the commander of the 2nd Armoured, and Brigadier Vaughn, the commander of the Indian 3rd Motor Brigade, were captured, along with 3,000 of their men." Rommel's Desert Commanders: The Men who Served the Desert Fox, North Africa, 1941-1942, Samuel W. Mitcham, p. 18, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007</ref>

With the arrival of the German Afrika Korps, the ''Pavia'' and ''Brescia'' Divisions help isolate and capture Bardia. The Italian divisions then take part in the Siege of Tobruk, taking up positions in the southern sector of the Axis siege lines.

In early May 1941, the Australians defending Tobruk counterattack in an attempt to recover several strong-points lost to the Italians from the ''Ariete'' and ''Brescia'' Divisions, but the ''Pavia'', ''Trento'' and Ariete defeat the attacks.<ref>"On the night of 3rd May, the Italian Trento and Pavia Divisions ... repelled an Australian counterattack." The Forgotten Axis: Germany's Partners and Foreign Volunteers in World War II, J. Lee Ready, p. 310, Jefferson, NC, 1987</ref>

==Operation Crusader==

On 23 November 1941, the British 70th Infantry Division with 60 supporting tanks overruns part of the defenses of the 25th ''Bologna'' Infantry Division, but the ''Pavia'' counterattacks, restoring the broken lines.<ref>"After a sudden artillery concentration the garrison of Fortress Tobruk, supported by sixty tanks, made an attack on the direction of Bel Hamid at noon, intending at long last unite with the main offence group. The Italian siege front around the fortress tried to offer a defence in the confusion but was forced to relinquish numerous strong points in the encirclement front about Bir Bu Assaten to superior enemy forces. The Italian “Pavia” Division was committed for a counterattack and managed to seal off the enemy breakthrough.” Generalmajor Major Alfred Toppe (et al), German Experiences in Desert Warfare During World War II, in 2 volumes, Combat Studies Institute/Combined Arms Research Library, 1952</ref>

On 4 December, the ''Pavia'' and ''Trento'' recapture the British-held ‘Plonk and ‘Doc’ strong-points outside Tobruk.<ref>[http://www.comandosupremo.com/bologna-division.html/5 Italians passed to counter-attack along the whole line]</ref>

On 5 December, the ''Pavia'' Division from positions at El Adem covers the German withdrawal from Tobruk, delaying the advance of the 1st Battalion from the ''Durham Light Infantry'' in chaotic night-fighting lasting over three hours.<ref>"The operation proceeded without opposition until the 1/Durham Light Infantry had advanced some 5,000 yards. Here the Pavia Division had established a rearguard position which was tenaciously defended but overcome after midnight by an attack made in conjunction with tanks of the 32nd Army Tank Brigade." Australia in the War of 1939-1945, Volume 3, Barton Maughan, p. 509, Australian War Memorial, 1966</ref>

On 14 December, the Maoris from the New Zealand 22 Battalion encountered stiff resistance from the ''Pavia'' Division that counterattacked twice, before withdrawing. The New Zealanders with the help of strong artillery fire capture 382 soldiers from the ''Pavia'' in the action, but lose 3 killed and 27 wounded in the process.<ref>"At 3 a.m. on 14 December the guns opened a 15-minute concentration and the Maoris closed in with bayonets fixed, meeting mortar, MG and anti-tank fire and using grenades freely to overcome it. In little more than an hour resistance ended and C and D Companies began to dig in just west of the foremost defences, while A Company extended the position on lower ground to the east-north-east. B Company, which had advanced farthest, struck trouble, however, from another enemy position on the escarpment to the west and was twice counter-attacked." The Relief of Tobruk, W. E. Murphy, p. 496, War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, 1961</ref>

On 15 December, the ''Pavia'', ''Brescia'' and ''Trento'' Divisions covering the German withdrawal from the Gazala Line, successfully resist the advance of the 2nd New Zealand Division and supporting Polish Brigade, allowing Italian and German armoured forces to join and deliver a strong counterattack that overruns the 1st Battalion, Royal East Kent Regiment (''The Buffs'').<ref>"The Poles and New Zealanders made good initial progress, taking several hundred Italian prisoners; but the Italians rallied well, and by noon it was clear to General Alfred Godwin-Austen that his two brigades lacked the weight to achieve a breakthrough on the right flank. It was the same story in the centre, where the Italians of ‘Trieste’ continued to repulse 5th Indian Brigade’s attack on Point 208. By mid-afternoon the III Corps attack had been fought to a halt all along the line." Crusader: Eighth Army’s Forgotten Victory, November 1941-January 1942, Richard Humble, p. 187, Leo Cooper, 1987</ref>

==Operation Venezia==

On June 16 1942, the ''Pavia'' takes part in the mopping-up operations following the Battle of Knightsbridge, with 6,000 demoralized British Imperial troops falling into Italian hands.<ref>"The Italians finished mopping up the Gazala Line on June 16, capturing 6,000 prisoners, thousands of tons of supplies, and entire convoys of undamaged vehicles in the process" The Rise of the Wehrmacht: The German Armed Forces and World War, 2 Volumes, p.564, Samuel W. Mitcham, Praeger, 2008</ref>

==El Alamein==

The division took part in the [[First Battle of El Alamein]] as part of the Italian 10th Corps. During the initial phase of the fighting the ''Pavia'' served as part of the rearguard for the ''Ariete'' Armoured Division where, according to US Army Colonel Conrad H. Lanza, the division repulsed the advance of the Maoris of the New Zealand 23rd Battalion with a night counterattack that overwhelmed the New Zealanders.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110208235557/http://comandosupremo.com/1elalamein.html/2 First Battle of El Alamein]</ref>Corporal Pasquale Franchi from the ''Pavia'' would posthumously win the [[Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare]] for his role in the counterattack.

On the night of July 14/15 1942, the ''Pavia'' along with the ''Brescia'' Division put up a stubborn defence on Ruweisat Ridge, allowing Field Marshall Erwin Rommel to assemble German armoured and motorized infantry units to counterattack in support of the Italians, overrunning the attacking New Zealand infantry and supporting British armour in the morning action.<ref>"While the attacking brigades had been able to cut large gaps through the defences held y the Italian infantry, they had not been able to subdue all the resistance. Not surprisingly, most of the smaller outposts and defended localities had fallen easily but some of the larger posts had been bypassed during the night. The outposts which remained contained substantial number of anti-tank guns, machine guns and infantry. When daylight came, these posts were able to cover the area south of the ridge by fire and shot up any trucks foolhardy enough to drive forward." Pendulum Of War: Three Battles at El Alamein, Niall Barr, p. 131, Random House, 2010</ref><ref>"On the right, Indian 5th Division (XXX Corps) attacked Point 64 on the centre of the feature, the New Zealand Division (XIII Corps) was on the left attacking Point 63 at the western end of the ridge and the 1st Armoured Division gave support along the line of the inter-corps boundary. The night attack was preceded by Albacore aircraft dropping flares and fighter-bombers strafing the enemy lines. At first both divisions made good progress as they fought their way through the Italian Brescia and Pavia Divisions who were holding the ridge. The advance slowed down when they met extensive minefields and there was some loss of cohesion when the New Zealanders were attacked by tanks from 8th Panzer Regiment of 15th Panzer Division and lost 350 prisoners." El Alamein 1942: The Turning of the Tide, Ken Ford, p. 42, Osprey Publishing, 2005</ref> Captain Amalio Stagni and Corporal Ugo Vaia from the ''Pavia'' would each posthumously win the Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare for their leadership during the night action on Ruweisat.

During the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]], one battalion from the ''Pavia'' Division fought alongside the ''Folgore'' Parachute Division. At the end of the battle, the ''Pavia'' along with the other two divisions from the Italian 10th Corps were abandoned without transport as the remnants of the ''Afrika Korps'' retreated from Alamein to Fuka and Mersa Matruh on November 4 1942. At Mersa Matruh, where several of the survivors of the ''Pavia'' had regrouped (including its commander), the remnants of the division were soon trapped and forced to surrender.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19421107&id=CPwuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9tsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1757,1513851&hl=en Axis Runs]</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Italian History]]

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110815092044/www.comandosupremo.com/bologna-division.html The Bologna Division: 19 November – 10 December, 1941]

17th "Pavia" Infantry Division

2022-07-27T21:20:33Z

Mitoshi: /* El Alamein */ Missing source added

The 17th ''Pavia'' Infantry Division was a major combat formation of the ''Regio Esercito'' (Royal Italian Army) during the Second World War. It was formed in October 1939 and sent to Italian Libya in February 1941 for defensive operations during the final stages of Operation ''Compass''. The ''Pavia'' saw extensive action in North Africa and was destroyed in the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]]. The bulk of the division comprised the 27th, 28th Infantry Regiments and 26th Artillery Regiment.

==Battle of El Mechili==

The ''Pavia'' Division took part in General Erwin Rommel's first desert offensive (nickhamed ''the Benghazi Derby'' among the retreating British Imperial troops) in late March and early April 1941. Under Major-General Pietro Zaglio, the Pavia attacked via the Balbia coastal road from Agedabia, helping the ''Ariete'' Armoured Division and [[8th Bersaglieri Regiment]] force the Australian, British and Indian divisions to relinquish their gains and fall back to Tobruk. On 3 April, the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment with the help of reconnaissance troops from the ''Sabratha'' Division, recaptured Benghazi and advanced to El Mechili, along with the advance elements from the German 5th Light Division. On 8 April, General Gambier-Parry surrendered to General Zaglio and the ''Pavia'' after a breakout attempt was broken up by heavy fire from the ''Fabris'' and ''Montemurro'' Bersaglieri Battalions that had taken up ambush positions around the British fortress under the cover of darkness. Some 3,000 British, Indian and Australian soldiers were captured as a result of the actions of the ''Pavia'' and supporting Bersaglieri.<ref>"The victory must have been especially sweet for the men of the Ariete Division, partly as recompense for past humiliations at British hands, and partly because it was an all-Italian triumph." Tobruk: The Great Siege, 1941-42, William F. Buckingham, Random House, 2010</ref><ref>"On April 8, the Afrika Korps completed the destruction of the 2nd Armoured Division. Major General Michael D. Gambier-Parry, the commander of the 2nd Armoured, and Brigadier Vaughn, the commander of the Indian 3rd Motor Brigade, were captured, along with 3,000 of their men." Rommel's Desert Commanders: The Men who Served the Desert Fox, North Africa, 1941-1942, Samuel W. Mitcham, p. 18, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007</ref>

With the arrival of the German Afrika Korps, the Pavia and Brescia Divisions help isolate and capture Bardia. The Italian divisions then take part in the Siege of Tobruk, taking up positions in the southern sector of the Axis siege lines.

In early May 1941, the Australians defending Tobruk counterattack in an attempt to recover several strong-points lost to the Italians from the ''Ariete'' and ''Brescia'' Divisions, but the ''Pavia'', ''Trento'' and Ariete defeat the attacks.<ref>"On the night of 3rd May, the Italian Trento and Pavia Divisions ... repelled an Australian counterattack." The Forgotten Axis: Germany's Partners and Foreign Volunteers in World War II, J. Lee Ready, p. 310, Jefferson, NC, 1987</ref>

==Operation Crusader==

On 23 November 1941, the British 70th Infantry Division with 60 supporting tanks overruns part of the defenses of the 25th ''Bologna'' Infantry Division, but the ''Pavia'' counterattacks, restoring the broken lines.<ref>"After a sudden artillery concentration the garrison of Fortress Tobruk, supported by sixty tanks, made an attack on the direction of Bel Hamid at noon, intending at long last unite with the main offence group. The Italian siege front around the fortress tried to offer a defence in the confusion but was forced to relinquish numerous strong points in the encirclement front about Bir Bu Assaten to superior enemy forces. The Italian “Pavia” Division was committed for a counterattack and managed to seal off the enemy breakthrough.” Generalmajor Major Alfred Toppe (et al), German Experiences in Desert Warfare During World War II, in 2 volumes, Combat Studies Institute/Combined Arms Research Library, 1952</ref>

On 4 December, the ''Pavia'' and ''Trento'' recapture the British-held ‘Plonk and ‘Doc’ strong-points outside Tobruk.<ref>[http://www.comandosupremo.com/bologna-division.html/5 Italians passed to counter-attack along the whole line]</ref>

On 5 December, the ''Pavia'' Division from positions at El Adem covers the German withdrawal from Tobruk, delaying the advance of the 1st Battalion from the ''Durham Light Infantry'' in chaotic night-fighting lasting over three hours.<ref>"The operation proceeded without opposition until the 1/Durham Light Infantry had advanced some 5,000 yards. Here the Pavia Division had established a rearguard position which was tenaciously defended but overcome after midnight by an attack made in conjunction with tanks of the 32nd Army Tank Brigade." Australia in the War of 1939-1945, Volume 3, Barton Maughan, p. 509, Australian War Memorial, 1966</ref>

On 14 December, the Maoris from the New Zealand 22 Battalion encountered stiff resistance from the ''Pavia'' Division that counterattacked twice, before withdrawing. The New Zealanders with the help of strong artillery fire capture 382 soldiers from the ''Pavia'' in the action, but lose 3 killed and 27 wounded in the process.<ref>"At 3 a.m. on 14 December the guns opened a 15-minute concentration and the Maoris closed in with bayonets fixed, meeting mortar, MG and anti-tank fire and using grenades freely to overcome it. In little more than an hour resistance ended and C and D Companies began to dig in just west of the foremost defences, while A Company extended the position on lower ground to the east-north-east. B Company, which had advanced farthest, struck trouble, however, from another enemy position on the escarpment to the west and was twice counter-attacked." The Relief of Tobruk, W. E. Murphy, p. 496, War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, 1961</ref>

On 15 December, the ''Pavia'', ''Brescia'' and ''Trento'' Divisions covering the German withdrawal from the Gazala Line, successfully resist the advance of the 2nd New Zealand Division and supporting Polish Brigade, allowing Italian and German armoured forces to join and deliver a strong counterattack that overruns the 1st Battalion, Royal East Kent Regiment (''The Buffs'').<ref>"The Poles and New Zealanders made good initial progress, taking several hundred Italian prisoners; but the Italians rallied well, and by noon it was clear to General Alfred Godwin-Austen that his two brigades lacked the weight to achieve a breakthrough on the right flank. It was the same story in the centre, where the Italians of ‘Trieste’ continued to repulse 5th Indian Brigade’s attack on Point 208. By mid-afternoon the III Corps attack had been fought to a halt all along the line." Crusader: Eighth Army’s Forgotten Victory, November 1941-January 1942, Richard Humble, p. 187, Leo Cooper, 1987</ref>

==Operation Venezia==

On June 16 1942, the ''Pavia'' takes part in the mopping-up operations following the Battle of Knightsbridge, with 6,000 demoralized British Imperial troops falling into Italian hands.<ref>"The Italians finished mopping up the Gazala Line on June 16, capturing 6,000 prisoners, thousands of tons of supplies, and entire convoys of undamaged vehicles in the process" The Rise of the Wehrmacht: The German Armed Forces and World War, 2 Volumes, p.564, Samuel W. Mitcham, Praeger, 2008</ref>

==El Alamein==

The division took part in the [[First Battle of El Alamein]] as part of the Italian 10th Corps. During the initial phase of the fighting the ''Pavia'' served as part of the rearguard for the ''Ariete'' Armoured Division where, according to US Army Colonel Conrad H. Lanza, the division repulsed the advance of the Maoris of the New Zealand 23rd Battalion with a night counterattack that overwhelmed the New Zealanders.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110208235557/http://comandosupremo.com/1elalamein.html/2 First Battle of El Alamein]</ref>Corporal Pasquale Franchi from the ''Pavia'' would posthumously win the [[Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare]] for his role in the counterattack.

On the night of July 14/15 1942, the ''Pavia'' along with the ''Brescia'' Division put up a stubborn defence on Ruweisat Ridge, allowing Field Marshall Erwin Rommel to assemble German armoured and motorized infantry units to counterattack in support of the Italians, overrunning the attacking New Zealand infantry and supporting British armour in the morning action.<ref>"While the attacking brigades had been able to cut large gaps through the defences held y the Italian infantry, they had not been able to subdue all the resistance. Not surprisingly, most of the smaller outposts and defended localities had fallen easily but some of the larger posts had been bypassed during the night. The outposts which remained contained substantial number of anti-tank guns, machine guns and infantry. When daylight came, these posts were able to cover the area south of the ridge by fire and shot up any trucks foolhardy enough to drive forward." Pendulum Of War: Three Battles at El Alamein, Niall Barr, p. 131, Random House, 2010</ref><ref>"On the right, Indian 5th Division (XXX Corps) attacked Point 64 on the centre of the feature, the New Zealand Division (XIII Corps) was on the left attacking Point 63 at the western end of the ridge and the 1st Armoured Division gave support along the line of the inter-corps boundary. The night attack was preceded by Albacore aircraft dropping flares and fighter-bombers strafing the enemy lines. At first both divisions made good progress as they fought their way through the Italian Brescia and Pavia Divisions who were holding the ridge. The advance slowed down when they met extensive minefields and there was some loss of cohesion when the New Zealanders were attacked by tanks from 8th Panzer Regiment of 15th Panzer Division and lost 350 prisoners." El Alamein 1942: The Turning of the Tide, Ken Ford, p. 42, Osprey Publishing, 2005</ref> Captain Amalio Stagni and Corporal Ugo Vaia from the ''Pavia'' would each posthumously win the Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare for their leadership during the night action on Ruweisat.

During the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]], one battalion from the ''Pavia'' Division fought alongside the ''Folgore'' Parachute Division. At the end of the battle, the ''Pavia'' along with the other two divisions from the Italian 10th Corps were abandoned without transport as the remnants of the ''Afrika Korps'' retreated from Alamein to Fuka and Mersa Matruh on November 4 1942. At Mersa Matruh, where several of the survivors of the ''Pavia'' had regrouped (including its commander), the remnants of the division were soon trapped and forced to surrender.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19421107&id=CPwuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9tsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1757,1513851&hl=en Axis Runs]</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Italian History]]

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110815092044/www.comandosupremo.com/bologna-division.html The Bologna Division: 19 November – 10 December, 1941]

17th "Pavia" Infantry Division

2022-07-27T21:16:17Z

Mitoshi: /* Operation Venezia */

The 17th ''Pavia'' Infantry Division was a major combat formation of the ''Regio Esercito'' (Royal Italian Army) during the Second World War. It was formed in October 1939 and sent to Italian Libya in February 1941 for defensive operations during the final stages of Operation ''Compass''. The ''Pavia'' saw extensive action in North Africa and was destroyed in the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]]. The bulk of the division comprised the 27th, 28th Infantry Regiments and 26th Artillery Regiment.

==Battle of El Mechili==

The ''Pavia'' Division took part in General Erwin Rommel's first desert offensive (nickhamed ''the Benghazi Derby'' among the retreating British Imperial troops) in late March and early April 1941. Under Major-General Pietro Zaglio, the Pavia attacked via the Balbia coastal road from Agedabia, helping the ''Ariete'' Armoured Division and [[8th Bersaglieri Regiment]] force the Australian, British and Indian divisions to relinquish their gains and fall back to Tobruk. On 3 April, the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment with the help of reconnaissance troops from the ''Sabratha'' Division, recaptured Benghazi and advanced to El Mechili, along with the advance elements from the German 5th Light Division. On 8 April, General Gambier-Parry surrendered to General Zaglio and the ''Pavia'' after a breakout attempt was broken up by heavy fire from the ''Fabris'' and ''Montemurro'' Bersaglieri Battalions that had taken up ambush positions around the British fortress under the cover of darkness. Some 3,000 British, Indian and Australian soldiers were captured as a result of the actions of the ''Pavia'' and supporting Bersaglieri.<ref>"The victory must have been especially sweet for the men of the Ariete Division, partly as recompense for past humiliations at British hands, and partly because it was an all-Italian triumph." Tobruk: The Great Siege, 1941-42, William F. Buckingham, Random House, 2010</ref><ref>"On April 8, the Afrika Korps completed the destruction of the 2nd Armoured Division. Major General Michael D. Gambier-Parry, the commander of the 2nd Armoured, and Brigadier Vaughn, the commander of the Indian 3rd Motor Brigade, were captured, along with 3,000 of their men." Rommel's Desert Commanders: The Men who Served the Desert Fox, North Africa, 1941-1942, Samuel W. Mitcham, p. 18, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007</ref>

With the arrival of the German Afrika Korps, the Pavia and Brescia Divisions help isolate and capture Bardia. The Italian divisions then take part in the Siege of Tobruk, taking up positions in the southern sector of the Axis siege lines.

In early May 1941, the Australians defending Tobruk counterattack in an attempt to recover several strong-points lost to the Italians from the ''Ariete'' and ''Brescia'' Divisions, but the ''Pavia'', ''Trento'' and Ariete defeat the attacks.<ref>"On the night of 3rd May, the Italian Trento and Pavia Divisions ... repelled an Australian counterattack." The Forgotten Axis: Germany's Partners and Foreign Volunteers in World War II, J. Lee Ready, p. 310, Jefferson, NC, 1987</ref>

==Operation Crusader==

On 23 November 1941, the British 70th Infantry Division with 60 supporting tanks overruns part of the defenses of the 25th ''Bologna'' Infantry Division, but the ''Pavia'' counterattacks, restoring the broken lines.<ref>"After a sudden artillery concentration the garrison of Fortress Tobruk, supported by sixty tanks, made an attack on the direction of Bel Hamid at noon, intending at long last unite with the main offence group. The Italian siege front around the fortress tried to offer a defence in the confusion but was forced to relinquish numerous strong points in the encirclement front about Bir Bu Assaten to superior enemy forces. The Italian “Pavia” Division was committed for a counterattack and managed to seal off the enemy breakthrough.” Generalmajor Major Alfred Toppe (et al), German Experiences in Desert Warfare During World War II, in 2 volumes, Combat Studies Institute/Combined Arms Research Library, 1952</ref>

On 4 December, the ''Pavia'' and ''Trento'' recapture the British-held ‘Plonk and ‘Doc’ strong-points outside Tobruk.<ref>[http://www.comandosupremo.com/bologna-division.html/5 Italians passed to counter-attack along the whole line]</ref>

On 5 December, the ''Pavia'' Division from positions at El Adem covers the German withdrawal from Tobruk, delaying the advance of the 1st Battalion from the ''Durham Light Infantry'' in chaotic night-fighting lasting over three hours.<ref>"The operation proceeded without opposition until the 1/Durham Light Infantry had advanced some 5,000 yards. Here the Pavia Division had established a rearguard position which was tenaciously defended but overcome after midnight by an attack made in conjunction with tanks of the 32nd Army Tank Brigade." Australia in the War of 1939-1945, Volume 3, Barton Maughan, p. 509, Australian War Memorial, 1966</ref>

On 14 December, the Maoris from the New Zealand 22 Battalion encountered stiff resistance from the ''Pavia'' Division that counterattacked twice, before withdrawing. The New Zealanders with the help of strong artillery fire capture 382 soldiers from the ''Pavia'' in the action, but lose 3 killed and 27 wounded in the process.<ref>"At 3 a.m. on 14 December the guns opened a 15-minute concentration and the Maoris closed in with bayonets fixed, meeting mortar, MG and anti-tank fire and using grenades freely to overcome it. In little more than an hour resistance ended and C and D Companies began to dig in just west of the foremost defences, while A Company extended the position on lower ground to the east-north-east. B Company, which had advanced farthest, struck trouble, however, from another enemy position on the escarpment to the west and was twice counter-attacked." The Relief of Tobruk, W. E. Murphy, p. 496, War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, 1961</ref>

On 15 December, the ''Pavia'', ''Brescia'' and ''Trento'' Divisions covering the German withdrawal from the Gazala Line, successfully resist the advance of the 2nd New Zealand Division and supporting Polish Brigade, allowing Italian and German armoured forces to join and deliver a strong counterattack that overruns the 1st Battalion, Royal East Kent Regiment (''The Buffs'').<ref>"The Poles and New Zealanders made good initial progress, taking several hundred Italian prisoners; but the Italians rallied well, and by noon it was clear to General Alfred Godwin-Austen that his two brigades lacked the weight to achieve a breakthrough on the right flank. It was the same story in the centre, where the Italians of ‘Trieste’ continued to repulse 5th Indian Brigade’s attack on Point 208. By mid-afternoon the III Corps attack had been fought to a halt all along the line." Crusader: Eighth Army’s Forgotten Victory, November 1941-January 1942, Richard Humble, p. 187, Leo Cooper, 1987</ref>

==Operation Venezia==

On June 16 1942, the ''Pavia'' takes part in the mopping-up operations following the Battle of Knightsbridge, with 6,000 demoralized British Imperial troops falling into Italian hands.<ref>"The Italians finished mopping up the Gazala Line on June 16, capturing 6,000 prisoners, thousands of tons of supplies, and entire convoys of undamaged vehicles in the process" The Rise of the Wehrmacht: The German Armed Forces and World War, 2 Volumes, p.564, Samuel W. Mitcham, Praeger, 2008</ref>

==El Alamein==

The division took part in the [[First Battle of El Alamein]] as part of the Italian 10th Corps. During the initial phase of the fighting the ''Pavia'' served as part of the rearguard for the ''Ariete'' Armoured Division where, according to US Army Colonel Conrad H. Lanza, the division repulsed the advance of the Maoris of the New Zealand 23rd Battalion with a night counterattack that overwhelmed the New Zealanders. Corporal Pasquale Franchi from the ''Pavia'' would posthumously win the [[Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare]] for his role in the counterattack.

On the night of July 14/15 1942, the ''Pavia'' along with the ''Brescia'' Division put up a stubborn defence on Ruweisat Ridge, allowing Field Marshall Erwin Rommel to assemble German armoured and motorized infantry units to counterattack in support of the Italians, overrunning the attacking New Zealand infantry and supporting British armour in the morning action.<ref>"While the attacking brigades had been able to cut large gaps through the defences held y the Italian infantry, they had not been able to subdue all the resistance. Not surprisingly, most of the smaller outposts and defended localities had fallen easily but some of the larger posts had been bypassed during the night. The outposts which remained contained substantial number of anti-tank guns, machine guns and infantry. When daylight came, these posts were able to cover the area south of the ridge by fire and shot up any trucks foolhardy enough to drive forward." Pendulum Of War: Three Battles at El Alamein, Niall Barr, p. 131, Random House, 2010</ref><ref>"On the right, Indian 5th Division (XXX Corps) attacked Point 64 on the centre of the feature, the New Zealand Division (XIII Corps) was on the left attacking Point 63 at the western end of the ridge and the 1st Armoured Division gave support along the line of the inter-corps boundary. The night attack was preceded by Albacore aircraft dropping flares and fighter-bombers strafing the enemy lines. At first both divisions made good progress as they fought their way through the Italian Brescia and Pavia Divisions who were holding the ridge. The advance slowed down when they met extensive minefields and there was some loss of cohesion when the New Zealanders were attacked by tanks from 8th Panzer Regiment of 15th Panzer Division and lost 350 prisoners." El Alamein 1942: The Turning of the Tide, Ken Ford, p. 42, Osprey Publishing, 2005</ref> Captain Amalio Stagni and Corporal Ugo Vaia from the ''Pavia'' would each posthumously win the Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare for their leadership during the night action on Ruweisat.

During the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]], one battalion from the ''Pavia'' Division fought alongside the ''Folgore'' Parachute Division. At the end of the battle, the ''Pavia'' along with the other two divisions from the Italian 10th Corps were abandoned without transport as the remnants of the ''Afrika Korps'' retreated from Alamein to Fuka and Mersa Matruh on November 4 1942. At Mersa Matruh, where several of the survivors of the ''Pavia'' had regrouped (including its commander), the remnants of the division were soon trapped and forced to surrender.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19421107&id=CPwuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9tsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1757,1513851&hl=en Axis Runs]</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Italian History]]

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110815092044/www.comandosupremo.com/bologna-division.html The Bologna Division: 19 November – 10 December, 1941]

17th "Pavia" Infantry Division

2022-07-27T21:12:02Z

Mitoshi: /* El Alamein */

The 17th ''Pavia'' Infantry Division was a major combat formation of the ''Regio Esercito'' (Royal Italian Army) during the Second World War. It was formed in October 1939 and sent to Italian Libya in February 1941 for defensive operations during the final stages of Operation ''Compass''. The ''Pavia'' saw extensive action in North Africa and was destroyed in the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]]. The bulk of the division comprised the 27th, 28th Infantry Regiments and 26th Artillery Regiment.

==Battle of El Mechili==

The ''Pavia'' Division took part in General Erwin Rommel's first desert offensive (nickhamed ''the Benghazi Derby'' among the retreating British Imperial troops) in late March and early April 1941. Under Major-General Pietro Zaglio, the Pavia attacked via the Balbia coastal road from Agedabia, helping the ''Ariete'' Armoured Division and [[8th Bersaglieri Regiment]] force the Australian, British and Indian divisions to relinquish their gains and fall back to Tobruk. On 3 April, the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment with the help of reconnaissance troops from the ''Sabratha'' Division, recaptured Benghazi and advanced to El Mechili, along with the advance elements from the German 5th Light Division. On 8 April, General Gambier-Parry surrendered to General Zaglio and the ''Pavia'' after a breakout attempt was broken up by heavy fire from the ''Fabris'' and ''Montemurro'' Bersaglieri Battalions that had taken up ambush positions around the British fortress under the cover of darkness. Some 3,000 British, Indian and Australian soldiers were captured as a result of the actions of the ''Pavia'' and supporting Bersaglieri.<ref>"The victory must have been especially sweet for the men of the Ariete Division, partly as recompense for past humiliations at British hands, and partly because it was an all-Italian triumph." Tobruk: The Great Siege, 1941-42, William F. Buckingham, Random House, 2010</ref><ref>"On April 8, the Afrika Korps completed the destruction of the 2nd Armoured Division. Major General Michael D. Gambier-Parry, the commander of the 2nd Armoured, and Brigadier Vaughn, the commander of the Indian 3rd Motor Brigade, were captured, along with 3,000 of their men." Rommel's Desert Commanders: The Men who Served the Desert Fox, North Africa, 1941-1942, Samuel W. Mitcham, p. 18, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007</ref>

With the arrival of the German Afrika Korps, the Pavia and Brescia Divisions help isolate and capture Bardia. The Italian divisions then take part in the Siege of Tobruk, taking up positions in the southern sector of the Axis siege lines.

In early May 1941, the Australians defending Tobruk counterattack in an attempt to recover several strong-points lost to the Italians from the ''Ariete'' and ''Brescia'' Divisions, but the ''Pavia'', ''Trento'' and Ariete defeat the attacks.<ref>"On the night of 3rd May, the Italian Trento and Pavia Divisions ... repelled an Australian counterattack." The Forgotten Axis: Germany's Partners and Foreign Volunteers in World War II, J. Lee Ready, p. 310, Jefferson, NC, 1987</ref>

==Operation Crusader==

On 23 November 1941, the British 70th Infantry Division with 60 supporting tanks overruns part of the defenses of the 25th ''Bologna'' Infantry Division, but the ''Pavia'' counterattacks, restoring the broken lines.<ref>"After a sudden artillery concentration the garrison of Fortress Tobruk, supported by sixty tanks, made an attack on the direction of Bel Hamid at noon, intending at long last unite with the main offence group. The Italian siege front around the fortress tried to offer a defence in the confusion but was forced to relinquish numerous strong points in the encirclement front about Bir Bu Assaten to superior enemy forces. The Italian “Pavia” Division was committed for a counterattack and managed to seal off the enemy breakthrough.” Generalmajor Major Alfred Toppe (et al), German Experiences in Desert Warfare During World War II, in 2 volumes, Combat Studies Institute/Combined Arms Research Library, 1952</ref>

On 4 December, the ''Pavia'' and ''Trento'' recapture the British-held ‘Plonk and ‘Doc’ strong-points outside Tobruk.<ref>[http://www.comandosupremo.com/bologna-division.html/5 Italians passed to counter-attack along the whole line]</ref>

On 5 December, the ''Pavia'' Division from positions at El Adem covers the German withdrawal from Tobruk, delaying the advance of the 1st Battalion from the ''Durham Light Infantry'' in chaotic night-fighting lasting over three hours.<ref>"The operation proceeded without opposition until the 1/Durham Light Infantry had advanced some 5,000 yards. Here the Pavia Division had established a rearguard position which was tenaciously defended but overcome after midnight by an attack made in conjunction with tanks of the 32nd Army Tank Brigade." Australia in the War of 1939-1945, Volume 3, Barton Maughan, p. 509, Australian War Memorial, 1966</ref>

On 14 December, the Maoris from the New Zealand 22 Battalion encountered stiff resistance from the ''Pavia'' Division that counterattacked twice, before withdrawing. The New Zealanders with the help of strong artillery fire capture 382 soldiers from the ''Pavia'' in the action, but lose 3 killed and 27 wounded in the process.<ref>"At 3 a.m. on 14 December the guns opened a 15-minute concentration and the Maoris closed in with bayonets fixed, meeting mortar, MG and anti-tank fire and using grenades freely to overcome it. In little more than an hour resistance ended and C and D Companies began to dig in just west of the foremost defences, while A Company extended the position on lower ground to the east-north-east. B Company, which had advanced farthest, struck trouble, however, from another enemy position on the escarpment to the west and was twice counter-attacked." The Relief of Tobruk, W. E. Murphy, p. 496, War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, 1961</ref>

On 15 December, the ''Pavia'', ''Brescia'' and ''Trento'' Divisions covering the German withdrawal from the Gazala Line, successfully resist the advance of the 2nd New Zealand Division and supporting Polish Brigade, allowing Italian and German armoured forces to join and deliver a strong counterattack that overruns the 1st Battalion, Royal East Kent Regiment (''The Buffs'').<ref>"The Poles and New Zealanders made good initial progress, taking several hundred Italian prisoners; but the Italians rallied well, and by noon it was clear to General Alfred Godwin-Austen that his two brigades lacked the weight to achieve a breakthrough on the right flank. It was the same story in the centre, where the Italians of ‘Trieste’ continued to repulse 5th Indian Brigade’s attack on Point 208. By mid-afternoon the III Corps attack had been fought to a halt all along the line." Crusader: Eighth Army’s Forgotten Victory, November 1941-January 1942, Richard Humble, p. 187, Leo Cooper, 1987</ref>

==Operation Venezia==

On 16 June 1942, the ''Pavia'' takes part in the mopping-up operations following the Battle of Knightsbridge, with 6,000 demoralized British Imperial troops falling into Italian hands.<ref>"The Italians finished mopping up the Gazala Line on June 16, capturing 6,000 prisoners, thousands of tons of supplies, and entire convoys of undamaged vehicles in the process" The Rise of the Wehrmacht: The German Armed Forces and World War, 2 Volumes, p.564, Samuel W. Mitcham, Praeger, 2008</ref>

==El Alamein==

The division took part in the [[First Battle of El Alamein]] as part of the Italian 10th Corps. During the initial phase of the fighting the ''Pavia'' served as part of the rearguard for the ''Ariete'' Armoured Division where, according to US Army Colonel Conrad H. Lanza, the division repulsed the advance of the Maoris of the New Zealand 23rd Battalion with a night counterattack that overwhelmed the New Zealanders. Corporal Pasquale Franchi from the ''Pavia'' would posthumously win the [[Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare]] for his role in the counterattack.

On the night of July 14/15 1942, the ''Pavia'' along with the ''Brescia'' Division put up a stubborn defence on Ruweisat Ridge, allowing Field Marshall Erwin Rommel to assemble German armoured and motorized infantry units to counterattack in support of the Italians, overrunning the attacking New Zealand infantry and supporting British armour in the morning action.<ref>"While the attacking brigades had been able to cut large gaps through the defences held y the Italian infantry, they had not been able to subdue all the resistance. Not surprisingly, most of the smaller outposts and defended localities had fallen easily but some of the larger posts had been bypassed during the night. The outposts which remained contained substantial number of anti-tank guns, machine guns and infantry. When daylight came, these posts were able to cover the area south of the ridge by fire and shot up any trucks foolhardy enough to drive forward." Pendulum Of War: Three Battles at El Alamein, Niall Barr, p. 131, Random House, 2010</ref><ref>"On the right, Indian 5th Division (XXX Corps) attacked Point 64 on the centre of the feature, the New Zealand Division (XIII Corps) was on the left attacking Point 63 at the western end of the ridge and the 1st Armoured Division gave support along the line of the inter-corps boundary. The night attack was preceded by Albacore aircraft dropping flares and fighter-bombers strafing the enemy lines. At first both divisions made good progress as they fought their way through the Italian Brescia and Pavia Divisions who were holding the ridge. The advance slowed down when they met extensive minefields and there was some loss of cohesion when the New Zealanders were attacked by tanks from 8th Panzer Regiment of 15th Panzer Division and lost 350 prisoners." El Alamein 1942: The Turning of the Tide, Ken Ford, p. 42, Osprey Publishing, 2005</ref> Captain Amalio Stagni and Corporal Ugo Vaia from the ''Pavia'' would each posthumously win the Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare for their leadership during the night action on Ruweisat.

During the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]], one battalion from the ''Pavia'' Division fought alongside the ''Folgore'' Parachute Division. At the end of the battle, the ''Pavia'' along with the other two divisions from the Italian 10th Corps were abandoned without transport as the remnants of the ''Afrika Korps'' retreated from Alamein to Fuka and Mersa Matruh on November 4 1942. At Mersa Matruh, where several of the survivors of the ''Pavia'' had regrouped (including its commander), the remnants of the division were soon trapped and forced to surrender.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19421107&id=CPwuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9tsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1757,1513851&hl=en Axis Runs]</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Italian History]]

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110815092044/www.comandosupremo.com/bologna-division.html The Bologna Division: 19 November – 10 December, 1941]

17th "Pavia" Infantry Division

2022-07-27T21:10:55Z

Mitoshi: /* El Alamein */

The 17th ''Pavia'' Infantry Division was a major combat formation of the ''Regio Esercito'' (Royal Italian Army) during the Second World War. It was formed in October 1939 and sent to Italian Libya in February 1941 for defensive operations during the final stages of Operation ''Compass''. The ''Pavia'' saw extensive action in North Africa and was destroyed in the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]]. The bulk of the division comprised the 27th, 28th Infantry Regiments and 26th Artillery Regiment.

==Battle of El Mechili==

The ''Pavia'' Division took part in General Erwin Rommel's first desert offensive (nickhamed ''the Benghazi Derby'' among the retreating British Imperial troops) in late March and early April 1941. Under Major-General Pietro Zaglio, the Pavia attacked via the Balbia coastal road from Agedabia, helping the ''Ariete'' Armoured Division and [[8th Bersaglieri Regiment]] force the Australian, British and Indian divisions to relinquish their gains and fall back to Tobruk. On 3 April, the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment with the help of reconnaissance troops from the ''Sabratha'' Division, recaptured Benghazi and advanced to El Mechili, along with the advance elements from the German 5th Light Division. On 8 April, General Gambier-Parry surrendered to General Zaglio and the ''Pavia'' after a breakout attempt was broken up by heavy fire from the ''Fabris'' and ''Montemurro'' Bersaglieri Battalions that had taken up ambush positions around the British fortress under the cover of darkness. Some 3,000 British, Indian and Australian soldiers were captured as a result of the actions of the ''Pavia'' and supporting Bersaglieri.<ref>"The victory must have been especially sweet for the men of the Ariete Division, partly as recompense for past humiliations at British hands, and partly because it was an all-Italian triumph." Tobruk: The Great Siege, 1941-42, William F. Buckingham, Random House, 2010</ref><ref>"On April 8, the Afrika Korps completed the destruction of the 2nd Armoured Division. Major General Michael D. Gambier-Parry, the commander of the 2nd Armoured, and Brigadier Vaughn, the commander of the Indian 3rd Motor Brigade, were captured, along with 3,000 of their men." Rommel's Desert Commanders: The Men who Served the Desert Fox, North Africa, 1941-1942, Samuel W. Mitcham, p. 18, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007</ref>

With the arrival of the German Afrika Korps, the Pavia and Brescia Divisions help isolate and capture Bardia. The Italian divisions then take part in the Siege of Tobruk, taking up positions in the southern sector of the Axis siege lines.

In early May 1941, the Australians defending Tobruk counterattack in an attempt to recover several strong-points lost to the Italians from the ''Ariete'' and ''Brescia'' Divisions, but the ''Pavia'', ''Trento'' and Ariete defeat the attacks.<ref>"On the night of 3rd May, the Italian Trento and Pavia Divisions ... repelled an Australian counterattack." The Forgotten Axis: Germany's Partners and Foreign Volunteers in World War II, J. Lee Ready, p. 310, Jefferson, NC, 1987</ref>

==Operation Crusader==

On 23 November 1941, the British 70th Infantry Division with 60 supporting tanks overruns part of the defenses of the 25th ''Bologna'' Infantry Division, but the ''Pavia'' counterattacks, restoring the broken lines.<ref>"After a sudden artillery concentration the garrison of Fortress Tobruk, supported by sixty tanks, made an attack on the direction of Bel Hamid at noon, intending at long last unite with the main offence group. The Italian siege front around the fortress tried to offer a defence in the confusion but was forced to relinquish numerous strong points in the encirclement front about Bir Bu Assaten to superior enemy forces. The Italian “Pavia” Division was committed for a counterattack and managed to seal off the enemy breakthrough.” Generalmajor Major Alfred Toppe (et al), German Experiences in Desert Warfare During World War II, in 2 volumes, Combat Studies Institute/Combined Arms Research Library, 1952</ref>

On 4 December, the ''Pavia'' and ''Trento'' recapture the British-held ‘Plonk and ‘Doc’ strong-points outside Tobruk.<ref>[http://www.comandosupremo.com/bologna-division.html/5 Italians passed to counter-attack along the whole line]</ref>

On 5 December, the ''Pavia'' Division from positions at El Adem covers the German withdrawal from Tobruk, delaying the advance of the 1st Battalion from the ''Durham Light Infantry'' in chaotic night-fighting lasting over three hours.<ref>"The operation proceeded without opposition until the 1/Durham Light Infantry had advanced some 5,000 yards. Here the Pavia Division had established a rearguard position which was tenaciously defended but overcome after midnight by an attack made in conjunction with tanks of the 32nd Army Tank Brigade." Australia in the War of 1939-1945, Volume 3, Barton Maughan, p. 509, Australian War Memorial, 1966</ref>

On 14 December, the Maoris from the New Zealand 22 Battalion encountered stiff resistance from the ''Pavia'' Division that counterattacked twice, before withdrawing. The New Zealanders with the help of strong artillery fire capture 382 soldiers from the ''Pavia'' in the action, but lose 3 killed and 27 wounded in the process.<ref>"At 3 a.m. on 14 December the guns opened a 15-minute concentration and the Maoris closed in with bayonets fixed, meeting mortar, MG and anti-tank fire and using grenades freely to overcome it. In little more than an hour resistance ended and C and D Companies began to dig in just west of the foremost defences, while A Company extended the position on lower ground to the east-north-east. B Company, which had advanced farthest, struck trouble, however, from another enemy position on the escarpment to the west and was twice counter-attacked." The Relief of Tobruk, W. E. Murphy, p. 496, War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, 1961</ref>

On 15 December, the ''Pavia'', ''Brescia'' and ''Trento'' Divisions covering the German withdrawal from the Gazala Line, successfully resist the advance of the 2nd New Zealand Division and supporting Polish Brigade, allowing Italian and German armoured forces to join and deliver a strong counterattack that overruns the 1st Battalion, Royal East Kent Regiment (''The Buffs'').<ref>"The Poles and New Zealanders made good initial progress, taking several hundred Italian prisoners; but the Italians rallied well, and by noon it was clear to General Alfred Godwin-Austen that his two brigades lacked the weight to achieve a breakthrough on the right flank. It was the same story in the centre, where the Italians of ‘Trieste’ continued to repulse 5th Indian Brigade’s attack on Point 208. By mid-afternoon the III Corps attack had been fought to a halt all along the line." Crusader: Eighth Army’s Forgotten Victory, November 1941-January 1942, Richard Humble, p. 187, Leo Cooper, 1987</ref>

==Operation Venezia==

On 16 June 1942, the ''Pavia'' takes part in the mopping-up operations following the Battle of Knightsbridge, with 6,000 demoralized British Imperial troops falling into Italian hands.<ref>"The Italians finished mopping up the Gazala Line on June 16, capturing 6,000 prisoners, thousands of tons of supplies, and entire convoys of undamaged vehicles in the process" The Rise of the Wehrmacht: The German Armed Forces and World War, 2 Volumes, p.564, Samuel W. Mitcham, Praeger, 2008</ref>

==El Alamein==

The division took part in the [[First Battle of El Alamein]] as part of the Italian 10th Corps. During the initial phase of the fighting the ''Pavia'' served as part of the rearguard for the ''Ariete'' Armoured Division where, according to US Army Colonel Conrad H. Lanza, the division repulsed the advance of the Maoris of the New Zealand 23rd Battalion with a night counterattack that overwhelmed the New Zealanders. Corporal Pasquale Franchi from the ''Pavia'' would posthumously win the [[Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare]] for his role in the counterattack.

On the night of 14/15 July 1942, the ''Pavia'' along with the ''Brescia'' Division put up a stubborn defence on Ruweisat Ridge, allowing Field Marshall Erwin Rommel to assemble German armoured and motorized infantry units to counterattack in support of the Italians, overrunning the attacking New Zealand infantry and supporting British armour in the morning action.<ref>"While the attacking brigades had been able to cut large gaps through the defences held y the Italian infantry, they had not been able to subdue all the resistance. Not surprisingly, most of the smaller outposts and defended localities had fallen easily but some of the larger posts had been bypassed during the night. The outposts which remained contained substantial number of anti-tank guns, machine guns and infantry. When daylight came, these posts were able to cover the area south of the ridge by fire and shot up any trucks foolhardy enough to drive forward." Pendulum Of War: Three Battles at El Alamein, Niall Barr, p. 131, Random House, 2010</ref><ref>"On the right, Indian 5th Division (XXX Corps) attacked Point 64 on the centre of the feature, the New Zealand Division (XIII Corps) was on the left attacking Point 63 at the western end of the ridge and the 1st Armoured Division gave support along the line of the inter-corps boundary. The night attack was preceded by Albacore aircraft dropping flares and fighter-bombers strafing the enemy lines. At first both divisions made good progress as they fought their way through the Italian Brescia and Pavia Divisions who were holding the ridge. The advance slowed down when they met extensive minefields and there was some loss of cohesion when the New Zealanders were attacked by tanks from 8th Panzer Regiment of 15th Panzer Division and lost 350 prisoners." El Alamein 1942: The Turning of the Tide, Ken Ford, p. 42, Osprey Publishing, 2005</ref> Captain Amalio Stagni and Corporal Ugo Vaia from the ''Pavia'' would each posthumously win the Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare for their leadership during the night action on Ruweisat.

During the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]], one battalion from the ''Pavia'' Division fought alongside the ''Folgore'' Parachute Division. At the end of the battle, the ''Pavia'' along with the other two divisions from the Italian 10th Corps were abandoned without transport as the remnants of the ''Afrika Korps'' retreated from Alamein to Fuka and Mersa Matruh on November 4 1942. At Mersa Matruh, where several of the survivors of the ''Pavia'' had regrouped (including its commander), the remnants of the division were soon trapped and forced to surrender.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19421107&id=CPwuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9tsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1757,1513851&hl=en Axis Runs]</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Italian History]]

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110815092044/www.comandosupremo.com/bologna-division.html The Bologna Division: 19 November – 10 December, 1941]

27th "Brescia" Infantry Division

2022-07-27T21:08:32Z

Mitoshi:

{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name='''27th Infantry Division Brescia'''
|image=[[File:Elal div brescia.jpg]]
|caption=Brescia Division insignia
|dates= 1939–1943
|country= [[Italy]]
|allegiance=
|branch=[[Royal Italian Army (1940–1946)|Italian Army]]
|type=[[Infantry]]
|garrison= [[Catanzaro]]
|role= [[infantry]]
|size= [[Division (military)|Division]]
|command_structure=[[Italian XXI Infantry Corps]]
|equipment=

|Past Commanders=
|ceremonial_chief=
|colonel_of_the_regiment=
|notable_commanders=

|identification_symbol=
|identification_symbol_2=

|nickname= ''Brescia''
|patron=
|motto=
|colors=
|march=
|mascot=
|battles= [[World War II]] [[Siege of Tobruk]] [[Battle of Gazala]] [[Second Battle of El Alamein]]
|anniversaries=
|decorations=
|battle_honours=
}}

The 27th "Brescia" Infantry Division (Italian: 27° Divisione Autotrasportabile "Brescia") was an Italian Army Division created from the 27th Infantry Division Sila prior to the start of World War II.
It comprised recruits from Calabria. The division was part of the Italian XXI Infantry Corps in North Africa. Along with the 17th "Pavia" Motorised Division and the 25 "Bologna" Motorised Division together they took part in the [[Siege of Tobruk]], the Battle of Gazala, the [[Battle of Mersa Matruh]], the [[First Battle of El Alamein]] and the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]]. On April 12 1941, as Italian and German forces commenced their Siege of Tobruk, the ''Brescia'' Division along with the German 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion captured the port of Bardia, taking several hundred prisoners and a large quantity of equipment.

==Siege of Tobruk==

On April 12 1941, the ''Brescia'' Division and the Germans attack the Tobruk defences, but the attack fails and Rommel is forced to call for reinforcements. On the night of April 30, a strong Italo-German force attacks the Tobruk defences again, and the ''Ariete'' and ''Brescia'' divisions along with elite Bersaglieri troops and Guastatori (combat engineers) involved capture seven strongpoints( R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7 and R8).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090225212634/http://www.guastatori.it/1941-1945/xxxii_btg.htm XXXII BATTAGLIONE GUASTATORI]</ref> On the night of 3 May, the Australians counterattack but the Italians in the form of the '' Trento'', ''Pavia'' Divisions and some panzergrenadiers units repel the attack<ref>The Forgotten Axis: Germany's Partners and Foreign Volunteers in World War II, J. Lee Ready, p. 310, McFarland & Co., 1987</ref> and the attackers are only able to recapture one strongpoint from the defending Italian troops<ref>That magnificent 9th: An Illustrated History of The 9th Australian Division, Mark Johnston, p. 38, Allen and Unwin, 2002</ref>During that week, it was reported that 30 Australian soldiers shot themselves in order to be evacuated.<ref>"In one five-day period in early May 1941, after the second major German assault on the Red Line, medical units treated 30 cases of self-inflicted bullet wounds." A Medical Emergency: Major-General 'Ginger' Burston and the Army Medical Service in World War II, Ian Howie-Willis, p. 187, Big Sky Publishing, 2012</ref><ref>"More disturbing was the large number of self-inflicted wound (SIW) cases. During a single week in May the division reported thirty SIW cases..." Armies of Empire: The 9th Australian and 50th British Divisions in Battle 1939–1945, Allan Converse, p. 86, Cambridge University Press, 2011</ref>Australian morale took a dive and that month, an underground 'war neurosis clinic' was built in Tobruk and placed under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel E.L. Cooper and Captain A.J.M Sinclair, and 207 Australian soldiers were admitted for treatment.<ref> "In May 1941 a 'war neurosis clinic' of 70 beds was established in an underground concrete shelter in the city. Of the 204 admissions treated by Lt Colonel E.L. Cooper and Captain A.J.M Sinclair 61% were reported as serving with fighting units..." Shell Shock to PTSD: Military Psychiatry from 1900 to the Gulf War, Edgar Jones, Simon Wessely, p. 67, Psychology Press, 2005</ref>

On the night of May 16, the ''Brescia'' Division retaliates with the help of two platoons of the 32nd Combat Engineer Battalion and breaches the defensive perimeter of the 2/9th and 2/10th Battalions. With the obstacles removed, the ''Brescia'' troops involved, who bring flame-thrower parties and tanks, capture S8, S9 and S10 strongpoints.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090225212634/http://www.guastatori.it/1941-1945/xxxii_btg.htm XXXII BATTAGLIONE GUASTATORI]</ref> The Australians fight back and the Commanding Officer of the Guastatori's, Colonel Emilio Caizzo is killed in a satchel attack and wins a posthumous Gold Medal for valour. Although the Australian Official History admits losing three positions, it claims the attackers were 'Germans'.<ref>[http://www.awm.gov.au/cms_images/histories/19/chapters/07.pdf Maughan (1966), p.250]</ref> However, an Italian narrative has recorded:

''With great skill and speed the Guastatori open three lanes in the mines and obstacles to let the Brescia Fucilieri through. Side by side with the Brescia assault troops they inflict heavy loses on the enemy and take out further strong points with explosives and flamethrowers.''<ref>[http://www.flamesofwar.com/hobby.aspx?art_id=1451 GUASTATORI IN NORTH AFRICA. The XXXI and XXXII Guastatori Battalions in the North African Campaign]</ref>

Australian military historian Mark Johnston states there was an ''"unwillingness to acknowledge reverses against Italians"'' in Australian official accounts.<ref>Fighting the Enemy: Australian soldiers and their adversaries in World War II, Mark Johnston, p. 13, Cambridge University Press, 2002</ref>

Major-General Leslie Morsehead was furious and ordered the Australians to be far more vigilant in the future.<ref>''"Today we lost posts R8, R9 and R10, the occupants having been taken prisoners in the circumstances set out in the attached document. This is the second time that portion of our garrison has vanished. As far as can be ascertained the number of casualties was negligible, the posts having been just mopped up – rather a new experience for the AIF."'' Australia in the War of 1939-1945. 4 volumes, Chapter 7: Midsummer in the Fortress, p. 251, Australian War Memorial, 1952-1968</ref>Among the objectives initially selected during the planning of [[Operation Brevity]] was the recapture of S8 and S9 strongpoints, but this was abandoned when it was discovered the Australians had recovered them.<ref>Tobruk 1941, The Desert Siege, Timothy Hall, p. 183, Methuen Australia, 1984</ref>

On May 24 1941, the ''Brescia'' Division which had taken over the western front of Tobruk, repelled an attacking infantry force, supported by tanks.

On August 2, another attack was launched to recover the lost strong-points from the Italians, but the attacking forces from the Australian 2nd/43rd Battalion and 2nd/28th Battalions are repulsed.

This was the last Australian effort to recover the lost fortifications. As part of the besieging forces around Tobruk, the ''Brescia'' held out until December 10, 1941, far longer than the German 90th Light Division<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110605133809/http://comandosupremo.com/bologna-division.html/5 The Bologna Division: 19 November – 10 December, 1941 By David Aldea & Joseph Peluso, Comando Supremo: Italy at War.]</ref> when the British 70th Division finally broke through the ''Brescia'' rearguards and lifted the siege of Tobruk during [[Operation Crusader]]. Advancing in broad daylight on December 11, a battalion of the ''Brescia'' nearly overran the 23rd New Zealand Battalion's 'C' Company holding Thomson's Ridge, but were forced to withdraw after the New Zealanders reinforced their position.<ref>''"Thomson's Ridge now came under concentrated fire and it was soon evident that a counter-attack was impending. C Company, though ably supported by Chestnut Troop, was very much on its own, but the men were quickly organised to meet the threat and gave the Italians a very hot reception. The enemy in obviously superior numbers came within 50–60 yards of the New Zealand positions, but there they halted, and after some hesitation they broke and ran, leaving many of their weapons behind and some vehicles."'' The Relief of Tobruk, W. E. Murphy, p. 492, War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, 1961</ref> On December 15, the ''Brescia'' Division held its ground on the Gazala Line against the attacking 2nd New Zealand Division and Polish Brigade, allowing a strong Italo-German armoured force to counterattack and overrun the 1st British Battalion, ''The Buffs''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110605133809/http://comandosupremo.com/bologna-division.html/5 The Bologna Division: 19 November – 10 December, 1941 By David Aldea & Joseph Peluso, Comando Supremo: Italy at War.]</ref>

==Battle of Gazala==

During the [[Battle of Gazala]], the ''Brescia'' along with the other Italian formations played an important role in the capture of 6,000 Allied soldiers on June 16 1942,<ref>''"The Italians finished mopping up the Gazala Line on June 16, capturing 6,000 prisoners, thousands of tons of supplies, and entire convoys of undamaged vehicles in the process"''. The Rise of the Wehrmacht: The German Armed Forces and World War, 2 Volumes, p.564, Samuel W. Mitcham, Praeger (30 June 2008)</ref> after the ''Trieste'' and [[15th Panzer Division]] had destroyed the British 2nd and 4th Armoured Brigades.<ref>The Rise of the Wehrmacht: The German Armed Forces and World War, 2 Volumes, p.564, Samuel W. Mitcham, Praeger (June 30, 2008)</ref>

==Battle of Mersa Matruh==

During the brief siege of Mersa Matruh in late June 1942, the ''Brescia'' gunners along with the ''Trento'' and ''Littorio'' Divisions played an important part in the capture of 6,000 defenders<ref>''"The Mersa Matruh positions came under heavy artillery fire from the Brescia and Trento Divisions, while the 90th Light and the Littorio Divisions tried to complete the encirclement from the south ... Late in the day on 27 June, Gott, worried that his New Zealand 2nd Division was about to be cut off, ordered the withdrawal of XIII Corps. Because of a breakdown in British communications, X Corps did not learn until 0430 hours on 28 June that XIII Corps was in full retreat, and their southern flank was open. Later that day, the 90th Light Division and the Littorio Division completed the encirclement of Mersa Matruh ... During the night of 28 June, groups of the Indian 10th Division tried a breakout of the Mersa Matruh position at the head of Wadi Ngamish, but they were driven back by the Littorio Armoured Division ... On the morning of 29 June, the garrison of Mersa Matruh was overwhelmed. At 0930 hours, the Italian 7th Bersaglieri Regiment entered the conquered stronghold, taking 6,000 Allied prisoners.
"'' World War II in Europe: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1, David T. Zabecki, p. 1578, Taylor & Francis, 1999</ref> of the Xth British Corps, along with large quantities of supplies.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090203155002/http://www.comandosupremo.com/Mersa.html Mersa Matruh]</ref>

==First Battle of Alamein==

During the [[First Battle of El Alamein]] in July 1942, the ''Brescia'' deployed on El Mreir, covered the retreat of the Ariete<ref>"5th Brigade, far from merely rounding up the fleeing survivors from Ariete, found itself locked into a full-scale battle with Brescia Division, and at dusk the outcome had still not been resolved." Bates, Peter (1992). Dance of War: The Story of the Battle of Egypt. Pen and Sword. p. 112.</ref>and forced a battalion of the attacking 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade to retreat in the initial fighting.<ref>''"The Brescia repelled a New Zealand attack thanks to the intense fire they developed."'' Rommel's North Africa Campaign: September 1940-November 1942 By Jack Greene & Alessandro Massignani, Page 196, Da Capo Press, 1999</ref>Captain Andrea Barilari and Sergeant Corrado Scalese of the Brescia, were posthumously decorated for their roles in the counterattack. During the fighting on Ruweisat Ridge on the night of July 14-15, the ''Brescia'' along with the ''Pavia'', although having lost several positions in the night fighting, continued to resist the following day,<ref>'"While the attacking brigades had been able to cut large gaps through the defences held y the Italian infantry, they had not been able to subdue all the resistance. Not surprisingly, most of the smaller outposts and defended localities had fallen easily but some of the larger posts had been bypassed during the night. The outposts which remained contained substantial number of anti-tank guns, machine guns and infantry. When daylight came, these posts were able to cover the area south of the ridge by fire and shot up any trucks foolhardy enough to drive forward."' Pendulum Of War: Three Battles at El Alamein, Niall Barr, p. 131, Random House, 2010</ref>buying sufficient time<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110204214755/www.comandosupremo.com/1ElAlamein.html First Battle of El Alamein]</ref>to allow a German armoured force to launch a devastating counteratack<ref>'"On the right, Indian 5th Division (XXX Corps) attacked Point 64 on the centre of the feature, the New Zealand Division (XIII Corps) was on the left attacking Point 63 at the western end of the ridge and the 1st Armoured Division gave support along the line of the inter-corps boundary. The night attack was preceded by Albacore aircraft dropping flares and fighter-bombers strafing the enemy lines. At first both divisions made good progress as they fought their way through the Italian Brescia and Pavia Divisions who were holding the ridge. The advance slowed down when they met extensive minefields and there was some loss of cohesion when the New Zealanders were attacked by tanks from 8th Panzer Regiment of 15th Panzer Division and lost 350 prisoners."' El Alamein 1942: The Turning of the Tide, Ken Ford, p. 42, Osprey Publishing, 2005</ref>The 19th Brescia Infantry Regiment is reported to have fought well in this action, thanks to its officers and NCOs.<ref>''"Another night attack launched in confusion by a battalion of the 14th Punjabis toward Point 63 of Ruweisat resulted at dawn in the loss of the battalion and company commanders due to the spirited leadership of the 19th Regiment of the Brescia."'' Rommel's North Africa Campaign: September 1940-November 1942 By Jack Greene & Alessandro Massignani, Page 203, Da Capo Press, 1999</ref>Captains Francesco De Benedectis and Nelio Materazzi were posthumously decorated for their leadership in the action. British historian Ronald Lewin observed that many Italian officers and NCOs fought well in North Africa.<ref>"It must be observed that the Italian army contained many brave and self-sacrificing leaders who did their utmost on the battlefield." Lewin, Ronald (1990). Rommel as Military Commander . Pen and Sword. p. 187.</ref>The Brescia Division fought well again on the night of July 21-22 at Dayr al Shein, saving (according to one German study) the Afrika Korps from certain defeat.<ref>"Despite massive bomber and artillery support, its spearhead failed to get at the Italians (Brescia Division/X Corps), smash them at the Dayr al Shein keypoint, and thus cause the entire Axis front to collapse." Boog, Horst; Rahn, Werner; Stumpf, Reinhard; Wegner, Bernd (2001). Germany and the Second World War: Volume 6: The Global War. Oxford University Press. p. ?.</ref>

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel observed that many Italian officers and NCOs fought well during the First Battle of Alamein:

<blockquote>There is no doubt that the achievement of every Italian unit, especially of the motorised forces, far surpassed anything that the Italian Army had done for a hundred years. Many Italian generals and officers won our admiration both as men and as soldiers.<ref>Liddell Hart (ed), 'The Rommel Papers' (London 1953), pp.261–262.</ref></blockquote>

==Battle of Alam el Halfa==

During the night of September 3–4 1942, the 26th Battalion and 5th Brigade of the New Zealand Division and the British 132nd (Kent) Brigade, attacked in the area of the Munassib Depression, but with the coming of daylight, the Brescia, Trieste and 90th Light Division, assisted by tanks from the Ariete and Littorio Divisions, counterattacked and forced the attackers back some 3 miles to their original positions.<ref>''"During the early morning hours, the New Zealand Division, composed of the two New Zealand brigades, which occupied the box, assisted by a brigade of another infantry division, laid down an artillery barrage and followed with an infantry attack. This attack advanced south and along the trails in square 88-27. The attack advanced 3 miles, but with the coming of daylight the Trieste, Brescia, and the 90th Light Division, supported by the Ariete, and Littorio Divisions, in a series of three counterattacks, forced the attacking troops back nearly to their original positions."'' The Afrika in Combat, Bob Carruthers, p. ?, Pen & Sword. 2013</ref>

==Second Battle of Alamein==

The Brescia Division is reported to have fought very well right at the start of the Second Battle of Alamein on October 24:

<blockquote>The Ariete Division, the Bersaglieri Battalion and units of the Brescia and Folgore Divisions fought magnificently. Montgomery's 13th Corps was able to make minor break throughs in the eastern minefield, but did not reach the main front line.<ref>The Foxes of the Desert, Paul Carell, p. 279, Bantam Books, 1962</ref></blockquote>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Italian History]]

== External links ==
<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110204214755/www.comandosupremo.com/1ElAlamein.html First Battle of El Alamein]</ref>

27th "Brescia" Infantry Division

2022-07-27T21:03:09Z

Mitoshi: /* Siege of Tobruk */

{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name='''27th Infantry Division Brescia'''
|image=[[File:Elal div brescia.jpg]]
|caption=Brescia Division insignia
|dates= 1939–1943
|country= [[Italy]]
|allegiance=
|branch=[[Royal Italian Army (1940–1946)|Italian Army]]
|type=[[Infantry]]
|garrison= [[Catanzaro]]
|role= [[infantry]]
|size= [[Division (military)|Division]]
|command_structure=[[Italian XXI Infantry Corps]]
|equipment=

|Past Commanders=
|ceremonial_chief=
|colonel_of_the_regiment=
|notable_commanders=

|identification_symbol=
|identification_symbol_2=

|nickname= ''Brescia''
|patron=
|motto=
|colors=
|march=
|mascot=
|battles= [[World War II]] [[Siege of Tobruk]] [[Battle of Gazala]] [[Second Battle of El Alamein]]
|anniversaries=
|decorations=
|battle_honours=
}}

The 27th "Brescia" Infantry Division (Italian: 27° Divisione Autotrasportabile "Brescia") was an Italian Army Division created from the 27th Infantry Division Sila prior to the start of World War II.
It comprised recruits from Calabria. The division was part of the Italian XXI Infantry Corps in North Africa. Along with the 17th "Pavia" Motorised Division and the 25 "Bologna" Motorised Division together they took part in the [[Siege of Tobruk]], the Battle of Gazala, the [[Battle of Mersa Matruh]], the [[First Battle of El Alamein]] and the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]]. On 12 April 1941, as Italian and German forces commenced their Siege of Tobruk, the Brescia Division along with the German 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion captured the port of Bardia, taking several hundred prisoners and a large quantity of equipment.

==Siege of Tobruk==

On April 12 1941, the ''Brescia'' Division and the Germans attack the Tobruk defences, but the attack fails and Rommel is forced to call for reinforcements. On the night of April 30, a strong Italo-German force attacks the Tobruk defences again, and the ''Ariete'' and ''Brescia'' divisions along with elite Bersaglieri troops and Guastatori (combat engineers) involved capture seven strongpoints( R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7 and R8).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090225212634/http://www.guastatori.it/1941-1945/xxxii_btg.htm XXXII BATTAGLIONE GUASTATORI]</ref> On the night of 3 May, the Australians counterattack but the Italians in the form of the '' Trento'', ''Pavia'' Divisions and some panzergrenadiers units repel the attack<ref>The Forgotten Axis: Germany's Partners and Foreign Volunteers in World War II, J. Lee Ready, p. 310, McFarland & Co., 1987</ref> and the attackers are only able to recapture one strongpoint from the defending Italian troops<ref>That magnificent 9th: An Illustrated History of The 9th Australian Division, Mark Johnston, p. 38, Allen and Unwin, 2002</ref>During that week, it was reported that 30 Australian soldiers shot themselves in order to be evacuated.<ref>"In one five-day period in early May 1941, after the second major German assault on the Red Line, medical units treated 30 cases of self-inflicted bullet wounds." A Medical Emergency: Major-General 'Ginger' Burston and the Army Medical Service in World War II, Ian Howie-Willis, p. 187, Big Sky Publishing, 2012</ref><ref>"More disturbing was the large number of self-inflicted wound (SIW) cases. During a single week in May the division reported thirty SIW cases..." Armies of Empire: The 9th Australian and 50th British Divisions in Battle 1939–1945, Allan Converse, p. 86, Cambridge University Press, 2011</ref>Australian morale took a dive and that month, an underground 'war neurosis clinic' was built in Tobruk and placed under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel E.L. Cooper and Captain A.J.M Sinclair, and 207 Australian soldiers were admitted for treatment.<ref> "In May 1941 a 'war neurosis clinic' of 70 beds was established in an underground concrete shelter in the city. Of the 204 admissions treated by Lt Colonel E.L. Cooper and Captain A.J.M Sinclair 61% were reported as serving with fighting units..." Shell Shock to PTSD: Military Psychiatry from 1900 to the Gulf War, Edgar Jones, Simon Wessely, p. 67, Psychology Press, 2005</ref>

On the night of May 16, the ''Brescia'' Division retaliates with the help of two platoons of the 32nd Combat Engineer Battalion and breaches the defensive perimeter of the 2/9th and 2/10th Battalions. With the obstacles removed, the ''Brescia'' troops involved, who bring flame-thrower parties and tanks, capture S8, S9 and S10 strongpoints.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090225212634/http://www.guastatori.it/1941-1945/xxxii_btg.htm XXXII BATTAGLIONE GUASTATORI]</ref> The Australians fight back and the Commanding Officer of the Guastatori's, Colonel Emilio Caizzo is killed in a satchel attack and wins a posthumous Gold Medal for valour. Although the Australian Official History admits losing three positions, it claims the attackers were 'Germans'.<ref>[http://www.awm.gov.au/cms_images/histories/19/chapters/07.pdf Maughan (1966), p.250]</ref> However, an Italian narrative has recorded:

''With great skill and speed the Guastatori open three lanes in the mines and obstacles to let the Brescia Fucilieri through. Side by side with the Brescia assault troops they inflict heavy loses on the enemy and take out further strong points with explosives and flamethrowers.''<ref>[http://www.flamesofwar.com/hobby.aspx?art_id=1451 GUASTATORI IN NORTH AFRICA. The XXXI and XXXII Guastatori Battalions in the North African Campaign]</ref>

Australian military historian Mark Johnston states there was an ''"unwillingness to acknowledge reverses against Italians"'' in Australian official accounts.<ref>Fighting the Enemy: Australian soldiers and their adversaries in World War II, Mark Johnston, p. 13, Cambridge University Press, 2002</ref>

Major-General Leslie Morsehead was furious and ordered the Australians to be far more vigilant in the future.<ref>''"Today we lost posts R8, R9 and R10, the occupants having been taken prisoners in the circumstances set out in the attached document. This is the second time that portion of our garrison has vanished. As far as can be ascertained the number of casualties was negligible, the posts having been just mopped up – rather a new experience for the AIF."'' Australia in the War of 1939-1945. 4 volumes, Chapter 7: Midsummer in the Fortress, p. 251, Australian War Memorial, 1952-1968</ref>Among the objectives initially selected during the planning of [[Operation Brevity]] was the recapture of S8 and S9 strongpoints, but this was abandoned when it was discovered the Australians had recovered them.<ref>Tobruk 1941, The Desert Siege, Timothy Hall, p. 183, Methuen Australia, 1984</ref>

On May 24 1941, the ''Brescia'' Division which had taken over the western front of Tobruk, repelled an attacking infantry force, supported by tanks.

On August 2, another attack was launched to recover the lost strong-points from the Italians, but the attacking forces from the Australian 2nd/43rd Battalion and 2nd/28th Battalions are repulsed.

This was the last Australian effort to recover the lost fortifications. As part of the besieging forces around Tobruk, the ''Brescia'' held out until December 10, 1941, far longer than the German 90th Light Division<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110605133809/http://comandosupremo.com/bologna-division.html/5 The Bologna Division: 19 November – 10 December, 1941 By David Aldea & Joseph Peluso, Comando Supremo: Italy at War.]</ref> when the British 70th Division finally broke through the ''Brescia'' rearguards and lifted the siege of Tobruk during [[Operation Crusader]]. Advancing in broad daylight on December 11, a battalion of the ''Brescia'' nearly overran the 23rd New Zealand Battalion's 'C' Company holding Thomson's Ridge, but were forced to withdraw after the New Zealanders reinforced their position.<ref>''"Thomson's Ridge now came under concentrated fire and it was soon evident that a counter-attack was impending. C Company, though ably supported by Chestnut Troop, was very much on its own, but the men were quickly organised to meet the threat and gave the Italians a very hot reception. The enemy in obviously superior numbers came within 50–60 yards of the New Zealand positions, but there they halted, and after some hesitation they broke and ran, leaving many of their weapons behind and some vehicles."'' The Relief of Tobruk, W. E. Murphy, p. 492, War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, 1961</ref> On December 15, the ''Brescia'' Division held its ground on the Gazala Line against the attacking 2nd New Zealand Division and Polish Brigade, allowing a strong Italo-German armoured force to counterattack and overrun the 1st British Battalion, ''The Buffs''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110605133809/http://comandosupremo.com/bologna-division.html/5 The Bologna Division: 19 November – 10 December, 1941 By David Aldea & Joseph Peluso, Comando Supremo: Italy at War.]</ref>

==Battle of Gazala==

During the [[Battle of Gazala]], the ''Brescia'' along with the other Italian formations played an important role in the capture of 6,000 Allied soldiers on June 16 1942,<ref>''"The Italians finished mopping up the Gazala Line on June 16, capturing 6,000 prisoners, thousands of tons of supplies, and entire convoys of undamaged vehicles in the process"''. The Rise of the Wehrmacht: The German Armed Forces and World War, 2 Volumes, p.564, Samuel W. Mitcham, Praeger (30 June 2008)</ref> after the ''Trieste'' and [[15th Panzer Division]] had destroyed the British 2nd and 4th Armoured Brigades.<ref>The Rise of the Wehrmacht: The German Armed Forces and World War, 2 Volumes, p.564, Samuel W. Mitcham, Praeger (June 30, 2008)</ref>

==Battle of Mersa Matruh==

During the brief siege of Mersa Matruh in late June 1942, the ''Brescia'' gunners along with the ''Trento'' and ''Littorio'' Divisions played an important part in the capture of 6,000 defenders<ref>''"The Mersa Matruh positions came under heavy artillery fire from the Brescia and Trento Divisions, while the 90th Light and the Littorio Divisions tried to complete the encirclement from the south ... Late in the day on 27 June, Gott, worried that his New Zealand 2nd Division was about to be cut off, ordered the withdrawal of XIII Corps. Because of a breakdown in British communications, X Corps did not learn until 0430 hours on 28 June that XIII Corps was in full retreat, and their southern flank was open. Later that day, the 90th Light Division and the Littorio Division completed the encirclement of Mersa Matruh ... During the night of 28 June, groups of the Indian 10th Division tried a breakout of the Mersa Matruh position at the head of Wadi Ngamish, but they were driven back by the Littorio Armoured Division ... On the morning of 29 June, the garrison of Mersa Matruh was overwhelmed. At 0930 hours, the Italian 7th Bersaglieri Regiment entered the conquered stronghold, taking 6,000 Allied prisoners.
"'' World War II in Europe: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1, David T. Zabecki, p. 1578, Taylor & Francis, 1999</ref> of the Xth British Corps, along with large quantities of supplies.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090203155002/http://www.comandosupremo.com/Mersa.html Mersa Matruh]</ref>

==First Battle of Alamein==

During the [[First Battle of El Alamein]] in July 1942, the ''Brescia'' deployed on El Mreir, covered the retreat of the Ariete<ref>"5th Brigade, far from merely rounding up the fleeing survivors from Ariete, found itself locked into a full-scale battle with Brescia Division, and at dusk the outcome had still not been resolved." Bates, Peter (1992). Dance of War: The Story of the Battle of Egypt. Pen and Sword. p. 112.</ref>and forced a battalion of the attacking 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade to retreat in the initial fighting.<ref>''"The Brescia repelled a New Zealand attack thanks to the intense fire they developed."'' Rommel's North Africa Campaign: September 1940-November 1942 By Jack Greene & Alessandro Massignani, Page 196, Da Capo Press, 1999</ref>Captain Andrea Barilari and Sergeant Corrado Scalese of the Brescia, were posthumously decorated for their roles in the counterattack. During the fighting on Ruweisat Ridge on the night of July 14-15, the ''Brescia'' along with the ''Pavia'', although having lost several positions in the night fighting, continued to resist the following day,<ref>'"While the attacking brigades had been able to cut large gaps through the defences held y the Italian infantry, they had not been able to subdue all the resistance. Not surprisingly, most of the smaller outposts and defended localities had fallen easily but some of the larger posts had been bypassed during the night. The outposts which remained contained substantial number of anti-tank guns, machine guns and infantry. When daylight came, these posts were able to cover the area south of the ridge by fire and shot up any trucks foolhardy enough to drive forward."' Pendulum Of War: Three Battles at El Alamein, Niall Barr, p. 131, Random House, 2010</ref>buying sufficient time<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110204214755/www.comandosupremo.com/1ElAlamein.html First Battle of El Alamein]</ref>to allow a German armoured force to launch a devastating counteratack<ref>'"On the right, Indian 5th Division (XXX Corps) attacked Point 64 on the centre of the feature, the New Zealand Division (XIII Corps) was on the left attacking Point 63 at the western end of the ridge and the 1st Armoured Division gave support along the line of the inter-corps boundary. The night attack was preceded by Albacore aircraft dropping flares and fighter-bombers strafing the enemy lines. At first both divisions made good progress as they fought their way through the Italian Brescia and Pavia Divisions who were holding the ridge. The advance slowed down when they met extensive minefields and there was some loss of cohesion when the New Zealanders were attacked by tanks from 8th Panzer Regiment of 15th Panzer Division and lost 350 prisoners."' El Alamein 1942: The Turning of the Tide, Ken Ford, p. 42, Osprey Publishing, 2005</ref>The 19th Brescia Infantry Regiment is reported to have fought well in this action, thanks to its officers and NCOs.<ref>''"Another night attack launched in confusion by a battalion of the 14th Punjabis toward Point 63 of Ruweisat resulted at dawn in the loss of the battalion and company commanders due to the spirited leadership of the 19th Regiment of the Brescia."'' Rommel's North Africa Campaign: September 1940-November 1942 By Jack Greene & Alessandro Massignani, Page 203, Da Capo Press, 1999</ref>Captains Francesco De Benedectis and Nelio Materazzi were posthumously decorated for their leadership in the action. British historian Ronald Lewin observed that many Italian officers and NCOs fought well in North Africa.<ref>"It must be observed that the Italian army contained many brave and self-sacrificing leaders who did their utmost on the battlefield." Lewin, Ronald (1990). Rommel as Military Commander . Pen and Sword. p. 187.</ref>The Brescia Division fought well again on the night of July 21-22 at Dayr al Shein, saving (according to one German study) the Afrika Korps from certain defeat.<ref>"Despite massive bomber and artillery support, its spearhead failed to get at the Italians (Brescia Division/X Corps), smash them at the Dayr al Shein keypoint, and thus cause the entire Axis front to collapse." Boog, Horst; Rahn, Werner; Stumpf, Reinhard; Wegner, Bernd (2001). Germany and the Second World War: Volume 6: The Global War. Oxford University Press. p. ?.</ref>

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel observed that many Italian officers and NCOs fought well during the First Battle of Alamein:

<blockquote>There is no doubt that the achievement of every Italian unit, especially of the motorised forces, far surpassed anything that the Italian Army had done for a hundred years. Many Italian generals and officers won our admiration both as men and as soldiers.<ref>Liddell Hart (ed), 'The Rommel Papers' (London 1953), pp.261–262.</ref></blockquote>

==Battle of Alam el Halfa==

During the night of September 3–4 1942, the 26th Battalion and 5th Brigade of the New Zealand Division and the British 132nd (Kent) Brigade, attacked in the area of the Munassib Depression, but with the coming of daylight, the Brescia, Trieste and 90th Light Division, assisted by tanks from the Ariete and Littorio Divisions, counterattacked and forced the attackers back some 3 miles to their original positions.<ref>''"During the early morning hours, the New Zealand Division, composed of the two New Zealand brigades, which occupied the box, assisted by a brigade of another infantry division, laid down an artillery barrage and followed with an infantry attack. This attack advanced south and along the trails in square 88-27. The attack advanced 3 miles, but with the coming of daylight the Trieste, Brescia, and the 90th Light Division, supported by the Ariete, and Littorio Divisions, in a series of three counterattacks, forced the attacking troops back nearly to their original positions."'' The Afrika in Combat, Bob Carruthers, p. ?, Pen & Sword. 2013</ref>

==Second Battle of Alamein==

The Brescia Division is reported to have fought very well right at the start of the Second Battle of Alamein on October 24:

<blockquote>The Ariete Division, the Bersaglieri Battalion and units of the Brescia and Folgore Divisions fought magnificently. Montgomery's 13th Corps was able to make minor break throughs in the eastern minefield, but did not reach the main front line.<ref>The Foxes of the Desert, Paul Carell, p. 279, Bantam Books, 1962</ref></blockquote>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Italian History]]

== External links ==
<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110204214755/www.comandosupremo.com/1ElAlamein.html First Battle of El Alamein]</ref>

27th "Brescia" Infantry Division

2022-07-27T20:58:33Z

Mitoshi: /* Siege of Tobruk */

{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name='''27th Infantry Division Brescia'''
|image=[[File:Elal div brescia.jpg]]
|caption=Brescia Division insignia
|dates= 1939–1943
|country= [[Italy]]
|allegiance=
|branch=[[Royal Italian Army (1940–1946)|Italian Army]]
|type=[[Infantry]]
|garrison= [[Catanzaro]]
|role= [[infantry]]
|size= [[Division (military)|Division]]
|command_structure=[[Italian XXI Infantry Corps]]
|equipment=

|Past Commanders=
|ceremonial_chief=
|colonel_of_the_regiment=
|notable_commanders=

|identification_symbol=
|identification_symbol_2=

|nickname= ''Brescia''
|patron=
|motto=
|colors=
|march=
|mascot=
|battles= [[World War II]] [[Siege of Tobruk]] [[Battle of Gazala]] [[Second Battle of El Alamein]]
|anniversaries=
|decorations=
|battle_honours=
}}

The 27th "Brescia" Infantry Division (Italian: 27° Divisione Autotrasportabile "Brescia") was an Italian Army Division created from the 27th Infantry Division Sila prior to the start of World War II.
It comprised recruits from Calabria. The division was part of the Italian XXI Infantry Corps in North Africa. Along with the 17th "Pavia" Motorised Division and the 25 "Bologna" Motorised Division together they took part in the [[Siege of Tobruk]], the Battle of Gazala, the [[Battle of Mersa Matruh]], the [[First Battle of El Alamein]] and the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]]. On 12 April 1941, as Italian and German forces commenced their Siege of Tobruk, the Brescia Division along with the German 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion captured the port of Bardia, taking several hundred prisoners and a large quantity of equipment.

==Siege of Tobruk==

On April 12 1941, the ''Brescia'' Division and the Germans attack the Tobruk defences, but the attack fails and Rommel is forced to call for reinforcements. On the night of April 30, a strong Italo-German force attacks the Tobruk defences again, and the ''Ariete'' and ''Brescia'' divisions along with elite Bersaglieri troops and Guastatori (combat engineers) involved capture seven strongpoints( R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7 and R8).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090225212634/http://www.guastatori.it/1941-1945/xxxii_btg.htm XXXII BATTAGLIONE GUASTATORI]</ref> On the night of 3 May, the Australians counterattack but the Italians in the form of the '' Trento'', ''Pavia'' Divisions and some panzergrenadiers units repel the attack<ref>The Forgotten Axis: Germany's Partners and Foreign Volunteers in World War II, J. Lee Ready, p. 310, McFarland & Co., 1987</ref> and the attackers are only able to recapture one strongpoint from the defending Italian troops<ref>That magnificent 9th: An Illustrated History of The 9th Australian Division, Mark Johnston, p. 38, Allen and Unwin, 2002</ref>During that week, it was reported that 30 Australian soldiers shot themselves in order to be evacuated.<ref>"In one five-day period in early May 1941, after the second major German assault on the Red Line, medical units treated 30 cases of self-inflicted bullet wounds." A Medical Emergency: Major-General 'Ginger' Burston and the Army Medical Service in World War II, Ian Howie-Willis, p. 187, Big Sky Publishing, 2012</ref><ref>"More disturbing was the large number of self-inflicted wound (SIW) cases. During a single week in May the division reported thirty SIW cases..." Armies of Empire: The 9th Australian and 50th British Divisions in Battle 1939–1945, Allan Converse, p. 86, Cambridge University Press, 2011</ref>Australian morale took a dive and that month, an underground 'war neurosis clinic' was built in Tobruk and placed under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel E.L. Cooper and Captain A.J.M Sinclair, and 207 Australian soldiers were admitted for treatment.<ref> "In May 1941 a 'war neurosis clinic' of 70 beds was established in an underground concrete shelter in the city. Of the 204 admissions treated by Lt Colonel E.L. Cooper and Captain A.J.M Sinclair 61% were reported as serving with fighting units..." Shell Shock to PTSD: Military Psychiatry from 1900 to the Gulf War, Edgar Jones, Simon Wessely, p. 67, Psychology Press, 2005</ref>

On the night of 16 May, the ''Brescia'' Division retaliates with the help of two platoons of the 32nd Combat Engineer Battalion and breaches the defensive perimeter of the 2/9th and 2/10th Battalions. With the obstacles removed, the ''Brescia'' troops involved, who bring flame-thrower parties and tanks, capture S8, S9 and S10 strongpoints.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090225212634/http://www.guastatori.it/1941-1945/xxxii_btg.htm XXXII BATTAGLIONE GUASTATORI]</ref> The Australians fight back and the Commanding Officer of the Guastatori's, Colonel Emilio Caizzo is killed in a satchel attack and wins a posthumous Gold Medal for valour. Although the Australian Official History admits losing three positions, it claims the attackers were 'Germans'.<ref>[http://www.awm.gov.au/cms_images/histories/19/chapters/07.pdf Maughan (1966), p.250]</ref> However, an Italian narrative has recorded:

''With great skill and speed the Guastatori open three lanes in the mines and obstacles to let the Brescia Fucilieri through. Side by side with the Brescia assault troops they inflict heavy loses on the enemy and take out further strong points with explosives and flamethrowers.''<ref>[http://www.flamesofwar.com/hobby.aspx?art_id=1451 GUASTATORI IN NORTH AFRICA. The XXXI and XXXII Guastatori Battalions in the North African Campaign]</ref>

Australian military historian Mark Johnston states there was an "unwillingness to acknowledge reverses against Italians" in Australian official accounts.<ref>Fighting the Enemy: Australian soldiers and their adversaries in World War II, Mark Johnston, p. 13, Cambridge University Press, 2002</ref>

Major-General Leslie Morsehead was furious and ordered the Australians to be far more vigilant in the future.<ref>''"Today we lost posts R8, R9 and R10, the occupants having been taken prisoners in the circumstances set out in the attached document. This is the second time that portion of our garrison has vanished. As far as can be ascertained the number of casualties was negligible, the posts having been just mopped up – rather a new experience for the AIF."'' Australia in the War of 1939-1945. 4 volumes, Chapter 7: Midsummer in the Fortress, p. 251, Australian War Memorial, 1952-1968</ref>Among the objectives initially selected during the planning of [[Operation Brevity]] was the recapture of S8 and S9 strongpoints, but this was abandoned when it was discovered the Australians had recovered them.<ref>Tobruk 1941, The Desert Siege, Timothy Hall, p. 183, Methuen Australia, 1984</ref>

On 24 May 1941, the ''Brescia'' Division which had taken over the western front of Tobruk, repelled an attacking infantry force, supported by tanks.

On 2 August, another attack was launched to recover the lost strongpoints from the Italians, but the attacking forces from the Australian 2/43rd Battalion and 2/28th Battalions are repulsed.

This was the last Australian effort to recover the lost fortifications. As part of the besieging forces around Tobruk, the ''Brescia'' held out until December 10, 1941, far longer than the German 90th Light Division<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110605133809/http://comandosupremo.com/bologna-division.html/5 The Bologna Division: 19 November – 10 December, 1941 By David Aldea & Joseph Peluso, Comando Supremo: Italy at War.]</ref> when the British 70th Division finally broke through the ''Brescia'' rearguards and lifted the siege of Tobruk during [[Operation Crusader]]. Advancing in broad daylight on 11 December, a battalion of the ''Brescia'' nearly overran a company of the 23rd New Zealand Battalion's 'C' Company holding Thomson's Ridge, but were forced to withdraw after the New Zealanders reinforced their position.<ref>''"Thomson's Ridge now came under concentrated fire and it was soon evident that a counter-attack was impending. C Company, though ably supported by Chestnut Troop, was very much on its own, but the men were quickly organised to meet the threat and gave the Italians a very hot reception. The enemy in obviously superior numbers came within 50–60 yards of the New Zealand positions, but there they halted, and after some hesitation they broke and ran, leaving many of their weapons behind and some vehicles."'' The Relief of Tobruk, W. E. Murphy, p. 492, War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, 1961</ref> On 15 December, the ''Brescia'' Division held its ground on the Gazala Line against the attacking 2nd New Zealand Division and Polish Brigade, allowing a strong Italo-German armoured force to counterattack and overrun the 1st British Battalion, ''The Buffs''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110605133809/http://comandosupremo.com/bologna-division.html/5 The Bologna Division: 19 November – 10 December, 1941 By David Aldea & Joseph Peluso, Comando Supremo: Italy at War.]</ref>

==Battle of Gazala==

During the [[Battle of Gazala]], the ''Brescia'' along with the other Italian formations played an important role in the capture of 6,000 Allied soldiers on June 16 1942,<ref>''"The Italians finished mopping up the Gazala Line on June 16, capturing 6,000 prisoners, thousands of tons of supplies, and entire convoys of undamaged vehicles in the process"''. The Rise of the Wehrmacht: The German Armed Forces and World War, 2 Volumes, p.564, Samuel W. Mitcham, Praeger (30 June 2008)</ref> after the ''Trieste'' and [[15th Panzer Division]] had destroyed the British 2nd and 4th Armoured Brigades.<ref>The Rise of the Wehrmacht: The German Armed Forces and World War, 2 Volumes, p.564, Samuel W. Mitcham, Praeger (June 30, 2008)</ref>

==Battle of Mersa Matruh==

During the brief siege of Mersa Matruh in late June 1942, the ''Brescia'' gunners along with the ''Trento'' and ''Littorio'' Divisions played an important part in the capture of 6,000 defenders<ref>''"The Mersa Matruh positions came under heavy artillery fire from the Brescia and Trento Divisions, while the 90th Light and the Littorio Divisions tried to complete the encirclement from the south ... Late in the day on 27 June, Gott, worried that his New Zealand 2nd Division was about to be cut off, ordered the withdrawal of XIII Corps. Because of a breakdown in British communications, X Corps did not learn until 0430 hours on 28 June that XIII Corps was in full retreat, and their southern flank was open. Later that day, the 90th Light Division and the Littorio Division completed the encirclement of Mersa Matruh ... During the night of 28 June, groups of the Indian 10th Division tried a breakout of the Mersa Matruh position at the head of Wadi Ngamish, but they were driven back by the Littorio Armoured Division ... On the morning of 29 June, the garrison of Mersa Matruh was overwhelmed. At 0930 hours, the Italian 7th Bersaglieri Regiment entered the conquered stronghold, taking 6,000 Allied prisoners.
"'' World War II in Europe: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1, David T. Zabecki, p. 1578, Taylor & Francis, 1999</ref> of the Xth British Corps, along with large quantities of supplies.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090203155002/http://www.comandosupremo.com/Mersa.html Mersa Matruh]</ref>

==First Battle of Alamein==

During the [[First Battle of El Alamein]] in July 1942, the ''Brescia'' deployed on El Mreir, covered the retreat of the Ariete<ref>"5th Brigade, far from merely rounding up the fleeing survivors from Ariete, found itself locked into a full-scale battle with Brescia Division, and at dusk the outcome had still not been resolved." Bates, Peter (1992). Dance of War: The Story of the Battle of Egypt. Pen and Sword. p. 112.</ref>and forced a battalion of the attacking 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade to retreat in the initial fighting.<ref>''"The Brescia repelled a New Zealand attack thanks to the intense fire they developed."'' Rommel's North Africa Campaign: September 1940-November 1942 By Jack Greene & Alessandro Massignani, Page 196, Da Capo Press, 1999</ref>Captain Andrea Barilari and Sergeant Corrado Scalese of the Brescia, were posthumously decorated for their roles in the counterattack. During the fighting on Ruweisat Ridge on the night of July 14-15, the ''Brescia'' along with the ''Pavia'', although having lost several positions in the night fighting, continued to resist the following day,<ref>'"While the attacking brigades had been able to cut large gaps through the defences held y the Italian infantry, they had not been able to subdue all the resistance. Not surprisingly, most of the smaller outposts and defended localities had fallen easily but some of the larger posts had been bypassed during the night. The outposts which remained contained substantial number of anti-tank guns, machine guns and infantry. When daylight came, these posts were able to cover the area south of the ridge by fire and shot up any trucks foolhardy enough to drive forward."' Pendulum Of War: Three Battles at El Alamein, Niall Barr, p. 131, Random House, 2010</ref>buying sufficient time<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110204214755/www.comandosupremo.com/1ElAlamein.html First Battle of El Alamein]</ref>to allow a German armoured force to launch a devastating counteratack<ref>'"On the right, Indian 5th Division (XXX Corps) attacked Point 64 on the centre of the feature, the New Zealand Division (XIII Corps) was on the left attacking Point 63 at the western end of the ridge and the 1st Armoured Division gave support along the line of the inter-corps boundary. The night attack was preceded by Albacore aircraft dropping flares and fighter-bombers strafing the enemy lines. At first both divisions made good progress as they fought their way through the Italian Brescia and Pavia Divisions who were holding the ridge. The advance slowed down when they met extensive minefields and there was some loss of cohesion when the New Zealanders were attacked by tanks from 8th Panzer Regiment of 15th Panzer Division and lost 350 prisoners."' El Alamein 1942: The Turning of the Tide, Ken Ford, p. 42, Osprey Publishing, 2005</ref>The 19th Brescia Infantry Regiment is reported to have fought well in this action, thanks to its officers and NCOs.<ref>''"Another night attack launched in confusion by a battalion of the 14th Punjabis toward Point 63 of Ruweisat resulted at dawn in the loss of the battalion and company commanders due to the spirited leadership of the 19th Regiment of the Brescia."'' Rommel's North Africa Campaign: September 1940-November 1942 By Jack Greene & Alessandro Massignani, Page 203, Da Capo Press, 1999</ref>Captains Francesco De Benedectis and Nelio Materazzi were posthumously decorated for their leadership in the action. British historian Ronald Lewin observed that many Italian officers and NCOs fought well in North Africa.<ref>"It must be observed that the Italian army contained many brave and self-sacrificing leaders who did their utmost on the battlefield." Lewin, Ronald (1990). Rommel as Military Commander . Pen and Sword. p. 187.</ref>The Brescia Division fought well again on the night of July 21-22 at Dayr al Shein, saving (according to one German study) the Afrika Korps from certain defeat.<ref>"Despite massive bomber and artillery support, its spearhead failed to get at the Italians (Brescia Division/X Corps), smash them at the Dayr al Shein keypoint, and thus cause the entire Axis front to collapse." Boog, Horst; Rahn, Werner; Stumpf, Reinhard; Wegner, Bernd (2001). Germany and the Second World War: Volume 6: The Global War. Oxford University Press. p. ?.</ref>

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel observed that many Italian officers and NCOs fought well during the First Battle of Alamein:

<blockquote>There is no doubt that the achievement of every Italian unit, especially of the motorised forces, far surpassed anything that the Italian Army had done for a hundred years. Many Italian generals and officers won our admiration both as men and as soldiers.<ref>Liddell Hart (ed), 'The Rommel Papers' (London 1953), pp.261–262.</ref></blockquote>

==Battle of Alam el Halfa==

During the night of September 3–4 1942, the 26th Battalion and 5th Brigade of the New Zealand Division and the British 132nd (Kent) Brigade, attacked in the area of the Munassib Depression, but with the coming of daylight, the Brescia, Trieste and 90th Light Division, assisted by tanks from the Ariete and Littorio Divisions, counterattacked and forced the attackers back some 3 miles to their original positions.<ref>''"During the early morning hours, the New Zealand Division, composed of the two New Zealand brigades, which occupied the box, assisted by a brigade of another infantry division, laid down an artillery barrage and followed with an infantry attack. This attack advanced south and along the trails in square 88-27. The attack advanced 3 miles, but with the coming of daylight the Trieste, Brescia, and the 90th Light Division, supported by the Ariete, and Littorio Divisions, in a series of three counterattacks, forced the attacking troops back nearly to their original positions."'' The Afrika in Combat, Bob Carruthers, p. ?, Pen & Sword. 2013</ref>

==Second Battle of Alamein==

The Brescia Division is reported to have fought very well right at the start of the Second Battle of Alamein on October 24:

<blockquote>The Ariete Division, the Bersaglieri Battalion and units of the Brescia and Folgore Divisions fought magnificently. Montgomery's 13th Corps was able to make minor break throughs in the eastern minefield, but did not reach the main front line.<ref>The Foxes of the Desert, Paul Carell, p. 279, Bantam Books, 1962</ref></blockquote>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Italian History]]

== External links ==
<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110204214755/www.comandosupremo.com/1ElAlamein.html First Battle of El Alamein]</ref>