17th "Pavia" Infantry Division
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.
British retreat
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 Divsion, 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.[1][2]
References
- ↑ "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
- ↑ "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