101ª Divisione motorizzata “Trieste”

101st Motorized Division “Trieste”
	; ; coat of arms
active	1939 to May 1943
Country
Armed forces	Royal Italian Army
Type	Motorized Infantry Division
structure	See outline
Installation site	Trieste
Second World War	Africa campaign , Tunisia campaign
Commanders
list of	Commanders

The 101ª Divisione motorizzata “Trieste” ( German 101st Motorized Division “Trieste” ) was a motorized division of the Italian Army during the Second World War . The "Trieste" was formed in 1939 and was used during the Africa campaign from August 1941 to May 1943. In May 1943 it surrendered to the Allied forces in Tunisia.

history

The origins of the division lie with the infantry brigades Valtellina and Sicilia , with whose regiments the 8th Division was formed after the First World War , which in turn was renamed the 101st Infantry Division Trieste shortly before the Second World War .

1862 to 1926

On the basis of a decree of June 29, 1862, the 65 and 66 infantry regiments were set up on the following August 1 in San Martino near Turin , which together formed the Valtellina Infantry Brigade . The brigade was named after the Alpine valley Veltlin .

During the third Italian War of Independence, the Valtellina Brigade and the Brescia Brigade were under the 5th Division and fought in the Battle of Custozza . In the following years the brigade repeatedly sent individual battalions to southern Italy to counter insurgency and to maintain public order . From 1887 units of the brigade were deployed in Italian East Africa , and from 1911 in Libya during the Italian-Turkish war . At the time, the peace locations were in Cremona and Reggio nell'Emilia .

During World War I, the brigade fought between May 1915 and March 1916 on the middle Isonzo near Tolmin , between April and October 1916 in Judiciary , then on the lower Isonzo and on the karst plateau there , where it suffered enormous losses when conquering altitude 208. In January 1917 she moved to the Pasubio Front , in July 1917 again to the lower Isonzo, where she distinguished herself at Selo in August, but again suffered heavy losses.

On September 4, 1917, there was a serious accident. On the railway line from Monfalcone to Trieste , the brigade used a railway tunnel as a retreat and material store. Some boxes of ammunition parked at the tunnel entrance exploded after a shell hit, causing large flamethrower tanks to catch fire. The tunnel burned for two days, killing at least 2,000 brigade men inside and outside the tunnel, a large number of them from suffocation . Among the fallen was the commander of the 65th regiment, Giovanni Piovano, all the soldiers on his staff, as well as almost all soldiers of the 2nd battalion of the regiment.

After the actual reorganization, the brigade was deployed in the following months in the Val d'Ampola in Trentino , in May 1918 in Valcamonica , in summer 1918 in the Valle del Caffaro , then on the plateau of the Seven Municipalities , from where they moved from the end of October 1918 participated in the final Italian offensive. During the war, the brigade was successively under the command of Divisions 7, 33, 44, 61 and 6.

1926 to 1943

Collar tab of the 65th & 66th Infantry Regiment Valtellina / Trieste

With the army reform of 1926, the brigades were dissolved in their previous form and triangular divisions were formed instead of the old square divisions . With the infantry regiments 61 and 62 of the disbanded Brigade Sicilia , the 65th Valtellina Infantry Regiment formed the 8th Infantry Brigade , which was subordinated to the 8th Territorial Military Division in Piacenza together with the 46th Field Artillery Regiment and other division troops . The latter division was renamed the 8th Infantry Division Po (after the river of the same name ) in 1934 , and then in 1939 as the 101st Motorized Infantry Division Trieste (after the city of Trieste). The 66th Valtellina Infantry Regiment went to the 16th Division in Bologna in 1926 .

In 1935 the 8th Infantry Division surrendered its 46th field artillery regiment and received the 21st at the end of 1936, and in early 1937 it surrendered the 61st and 62nd infantry regiments and received the 66th Valtellina in return . In 1938 the division also received the 9th Bersaglieri Regiment.

In 1939 the 101st Motorized Infantry Division Trieste consisted of the 65th and 66th Infantry Regiment, the 9th Bersaglieri Regiment, the 21st Artillery Regiment and other division troops. With the two infantry regiments, the division was in the tradition of the Valtellina Brigade , whose collar tabs the soldiers of the division continued to wear (some with modifications).

At the same time, the 102nd Motorized Infantry Division Trento led the 61st and 62nd Infantry Regiments, the 7th Bersaglieri Regiment and the 46th Artillery Regiment, with which these two divisions were closely linked in terms of their formation and then also their operational history.

In 1938 and 1939, the weak, binary (infantry) divisions were introduced in Italy, i.e. divisions with only two infantry regiments, which were the sister regiments of the infantry brigades that existed until 1926. The two motorized infantry divisions Trieste and Trento , to which Bersaglieri regiments were assigned as third regiments , were initially excluded from this . Despite the designation "motorized infantry division", only the Bersaglieri were motorized, the rest of the two divisions received vehicles only when needed. The Trieste had to surrender their Bersaglieri again except for one battalion in early 1942.

The two "motorized" divisions Trieste and Trento as well as the few Italian armored divisions remained as reserve formations in northern Italy in 1940, and in some cases even in 1941, although serious setbacks had to be recorded in North Africa at that time and motorized and armored units were indispensable in the desert war. Despite the alliance with the German Reich , they did not want to withdraw these divisions from northern Italy because they did not fully trust their ally.

After parts of the Trieste division were deployed for a few days in the Western Alps against France in June 1940 and against Greece at the beginning of 1941 , they were relocated to North Africa from August 1941, where they were from October 1941 together with the Ariete armored division in the XX. Corps under General Gastone Gambara fought against the British and their Commonwealth allies. The XX. Corps was used largely together with the German Africa Corps . After the Sunflower Operation , both formations were under the command of General Erwin Rommel , who was given command of the major mobile units of the Axis in North Africa. At the side of the Africa Corps, the Trieste division took part in all battles of the war in North Africa.

In November 1941 the Trieste division fought together with German units near Tobruk , especially near El Duda. In May 1942, the Trieste played an important role in the relief of isolated formations at the Battle of Gazala . Heavy fighting with enemy tank units took place at Bir Belafarit and then at Got el Ualeb. From June 8th to 11th she took part in the Battle of Bir Hakeim . After further fighting southeast of Tobruk, it advanced with other German and Italian associations via Sidi Ornar and Marsa Matruh to El Alamein . Together with the Trento division, the Trieste division fought in July 1942 in the First Battle of El Alamein , in which units of both divisions stood out on the heights of Miteiriya and Ruweisat. The two regimental commanders Gherardo Vaiarini (65th InfRgt) and Umberto Zanetti (66th InfRgt) died in this battle. The division took part in the following Battle of Alam Halfa , in particular in the counterattacks at Deir el Munassib, where enemy formations were thrown back to their starting positions. In the Second Battle of El Alamein , the division initially remained in reserve in the north from October 23, 1942 and was only used at El Daba from October 26. In the early hours of November 2, the British began their major attack on Tel el Aqqaqir (Operation Supercharge) , which wiped out the 65th Infantry Regiment, a tank battalion and almost all of the artillery of the Trieste Division . On November 4, the 66th Infantry Regiment withdrew with the remnants of the division to Fuka and covered the retreat as far as the Mareth Line in Tunisia . There the two infantry regiments, the 21st artillery regiment and some division troops were newly formed, mainly with survivors from other units.

In the Tunisian campaign, the division fought between March 17 and 30, 1943 on the Mareth Line and at El Hamma , on April 5 and 6 at Akarit, and between April 19 and 30 at Enfidaville , where units were located the Trieste (I./66) particularly distinguished in defensive battles on the Takrouna against far superior units. From May 9, Enfidaville was also attacked from the north, whereupon the Trieste, the last division of the Axis, stopped fire on May 13, 1943 and capitulated.

1950 to 1991

The motorized division Trieste was re-established on June 1, 1950 in Bologna and the local VI. Subordinate to the Territorial Command. The division initially consisted of the 40th Bologna Infantry Regiment , the 82nd Torino Infantry Regiment , the 21st Trieste Artillery Regiment and other division troops. In 1951 the Lancieri di Aosta cavalry regiment and the 121st artillery regiment were added. In 1952 the division together with the Friuli Infantry Division ( Florence ) formed the VI, re-established in Bologna. Corps.

In the course of the reintegration of the Free Territory of Trieste into the Italian state, the Trieste Division was divided into two formations on October 20, 1954: A combat group with the 82nd Torino Infantry Regiment and a division of the 21st Artillery Regiment moved to Trieste and was then replaced by one taken over by another division. The other combat group with the 40th Infantry Regiment Bologna and the other units remained in Bologna. The year before that, the 121st artillery regiment had already been surrendered, which was reclassified to an anti-aircraft unit. The Lancieri di Aosta went to the corps troops of VI. Corps.

The Trieste Division , which was re-established in September 1955 from the combat group remaining in Bologna , was downgraded to a brigade in 1960, just like the Friuli Division . Together with the Parachute Brigade Folgore , which was set up in Livorno in 1963 , they continued to form the VI. Corps. In 1961 the Trieste Motorized Infantry Brigade consisted of the 40th Bologna Infantry Regiment (three battalions), from the XI. Panzerbataillon, from the artillery battalion Trieste , the battalion anti-aircraft Trieste and of smaller support units. On April 1, 1972 the VI. Corps in Bologna dissolved and the Trieste , Friuli and Folgore brigades placed under a territorial command in Florence.

In 1975 the regimental level in Italy was largely abolished. The mechanized infantry brigade Trieste thus consisted of the 11th Calzecchi tank battalion in Ozzano dell'Emilia on M47 , the 37th Ravenna infantry battalion in Bologna, 40th Bologna in Bologna and 66th Valtellina in Forlì and the 21st tank artillery battalion Romagna, equipped with M113 in Bologna on the M109 . In addition, there was the Trieste logistics battalion in Budrio and smaller support units . In this form, the 4,760-strong brigade was subordinate to the mechanized infantry division Folgore in Treviso from 1975 to 1986 (not to be confused with the paratrooper brigade of the same name), after the abolition of the division level from 1986 to 1991 to the III. Corps in Milan .

At the end of the Cold War , the brigade lost first its 40th Infantry Battalion Bologna in December 1989 , and then its 37th Battalion Ravenna in February 1991 . In the course of a first large wave of disintegration, the two brigades Trieste and Friuli were merged on June 1, 1991 in Bologna. The mechanized infantry brigade formed there was given the name Friuli because an association of the same name fighting on the side of the Allies was involved in the capture of Bologna towards the end of the Italian campaign and the name Friuli was therefore preferred at this location . In principle, military associations, even if they had distinguished themselves in the war from 1940 to 1943, were second to associations that had participated in the war of liberation from 1943 to 1945.

After 1991

Coat of arms of the 66th Infantry Regiment

In the mechanized infantry brigade Friuli traditions of the passed Trieste continued, the 66th Infantry Battalion Valtellina was in the 66th Infantry Regiment in 1992 Trieste renamed but still had only battalion strength. In 2002 the brigade was reorganized into an airmobile association, the central airmobile association of which has been the 66th Trieste since then . After a Friuli division headquarters had been set up in Florence in July 2013 , it was proposed, among other things, to rename the airmobile brigade of the same name in Bologna back to Trieste .

structure

Below is a rough breakdown of the 101st Motorized Infantry Division Trieste during World War II.

65th Infantry Regiment "Valtellina"
66th Infantry Regiment "Valtellina"
9th Bersaglieri Regiment (from 1942 VIII. Armored Bersaglieri Battalion)
21st Artillery Regiment "Po" (motorized)
11th Panzer Battalion on M13 / 40 (from 1942)
Engineer Battalion (from 1942, first 52nd, then 32nd)

The division's infantry received some German Sd.Kfz infantry fighting vehicles. 250 and Sd.Kfz. 251 .

Commanders

Commanders of the division in World War II:

Generale di Divisione Emilio Garavelli (1939)
Generale di Divisione Vito Ferroni (1939–1940)
Generale di Divisione Alessandro Piazzoni (1940–1941)
Generale di Brigata Arnaldo Azzi (1941–1942)
Generale di Divisione Francesco La Ferla (1942–1943)

literature

Vittorio Cogno: 400 anni di vita degli eserciti sabaudo e italiano - repertorio generale 1593 - 1993 . Edizioni Fachin, Trieste 1995.
Paolo Caccia Dominioni : Alamein 1933-1962 . Longanesi, Milan 1962.
Salvatore Loi: Aggredisci e Vincerai - Storia della Divisione Motorizzata “Trieste” . Mursia, Milan 1983.