Motorized infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II
Military unit
The
102nd Motorized Division "Trento"
(
Italian
:
102ª Divisione motorizzata "Trento"
) was a
motorized infantry
division
of the
Royal Italian Army
during
World War II
. The division was formed in 1935 and named for the city of
Trento
, where its infantry and artillery regiments were based. The Trento served in the
Western Desert Campaign
and was destroyed in the
Second Battle of El Alamein
in November 1942.
[1]
[2]
History
[
edit
]
The division's lineage begins with the Brigade "Sicilia" established in
Naples
on 16 April 1861 with the 61st and 62nd infantry regiments.
[3]
World War I
[
edit
]
The brigade fought on the
Italian front
in
World War I
and was disbanded after the war in October 1920.
[1]
On 15 October 1926 the brigade was disbanded and its two regiments assigned to the VIII Infantry Brigade, which already included the 65th Infantry Regiment "Valtellina". The brigade was the infantry component of the
8th Territorial Division of Piacenza
, which also included the
21st Field Artillery Regiment
.
[1]
Formation
[
edit
]
The division was raised as 1st Motorized Division "Trento" on 15 July 1935 in the city of
Trento
and consisted initially of the 115th Infantry Regiment "Treviso", 116th Infantry Regiment "Treviso", and the reformed 46th Artillery Regiment, which had served in
World War I
. The division soon changed its number from 1st to 32nd, and in December 1935 deployed to Libya to replace units deployed for the
Second Italo-Ethiopian War
. In August 1936 it returned to Trento and on 1 November of the same year the 116th Infantry Regiment was disbanded and replaced by the
62nd Infantry Regiment "Sicilia"
from the 8th Infantry Division "Po". On 15 May 1937 the division transferred the 115th Infantry Regiment to the
62nd Infantry Division "Marmarica"
and received the 61st Infantry Regiment "Sicilia" from the 8th Infantry Division "Po". On 11 November 1938 the division added the
7th Bersaglieri Regiment
based in
Bolzano
. On 2 January 1939 the division changed its name to 102nd Motorized Division "Trento" and on the same date the 61st and 62nd infantry regiments, and the 46th Artillery Regiment changed their names to "Trento".
[1]
[4]
[5]
World War II
[
edit
]
On 10 June 1940 Italy entered
World War II
and
invaded France
. The Trento was assigned to the
Army of the Po
as reserve. In March 1941 the division disembarked in
Libya
for the
Western Desert Campaign
. While the division was in Libya its
regimental depots
raised the infantry and artillery units of the
103rd Infantry Division "Piacenza"
, which was activated on 15 March 1942.
[2]
Western Desert Campaign
[
edit
]
In December 1940 the British
Western Desert Force
commenced the
Operation Compass
to expel the Italian
10th Army
from Egypt. The British offensive resulted in the destruction of the Italian 10th Army and the conquest of
Cyrenaica
.
[6]
Beginning in January 1941 Italy and Germany sent reinforcement to
Italian Libya
to reinforce the Italian
5th Army
and stop the British offensive. The Trento was ordered to North Africa in March 1941 and gathered in
Misrata
.
[2]
[1]
In April 1941 the Trento participated in the Axis counterattack, which forced the British and Commonwealth forces into retreat.
[7]
On 10 April the Trento reached
Marsa al-Brega
, on 12 April
Derna
and on the 13th the division arrived in
Ain el Gazala
. On 15 April the division defeated British forces at
Acroma
.
[1]
While the
Australian 9th Infantry Division
fell back to the fortified port of
Tobruk
,
[8]
British and other Commonwealth forces withdrew a further 100 miles (160 km) east to
Sollum
, on the Libyan?Egyptian border.
[9]
These moves initiated the 240-day-long
Siege of Tobruk
. On 20 April 1941 the Trento assembled at Bu Amud to the East of Tobruk for the siege. On 30 April the 62nd Infantry Regiment "Trento" was detached from the division and sent to the
Bardia
-
Sollum
sector further east, while the rest of the Trento remained at Tobruk.
[1]
Operation Brevity and Battleaxe
[
edit
]
On 15 May 1941 the British
XIII Corps
launched
Operation Brevity
. The objective of the operation was to clear the
Halfaya Pass
and secure several footholds to create advantageous conditions from which to launch
Operation Battleaxe
.
[10]
The principal Axis opposition was
Kampfgruppe
von Herff, which included a battalion of the 62nd Infantry Regiment "Trento".
[11]
[12]
After a day of inconclusive fighting British forces took control of the pass. Total Italian casualties during the operation are unknown, though at least 347 men were taken prisoner during the operation.
[13]
[14]
German forces retook the pass on 27 May 1941 during
Operation Skorpion
.
On 15 June 1941 the 62nd Infantry Regiment "Trento" was attacked by British forces during
Operation Battleaxe
. The regiment had to abandon its positions at Halfaya Pass and
Fort Capuzzo
, but German-Italian forces retook the lost positions in fierce counterattacks on 17 and 18 June 1941. In September 1941 the Trento was reorganized as an Tipo AS 1942 division.
[1]
Operation Crusader
[
edit
]
On 18 November 1941 the
British Eighth Army
launched
Operation Crusader
to relieve the siege of Tobruk. The Trento, which together with the
17th Infantry Division "Pavia"
, the
25th Infantry Division "Bologna"
, and the
27th Infantry Division "Brescia"
formed the Italian
XXI Army Corps
, came under attack from the defenders of Tobruk and British spearheads arriving from Egypt. On 7 December forces British pressed their offensive and by 9 December the Trento had to fall back towards
Ain el Gazala
. On 10 December 1941 the British lifted the siege of Tobruk. On 14 December the Trento began to retreat, reaching
Ajdabiya
on 23 December. On 29 December 1941 the division's
7th Bersaglieri Regiment
left the division and became a corps asset of the Italian XXI Army Corps.
[1]
After reorganizing at
El Agheila
the German-Italian
Panzer Group Africa
counterattacked on 21 January 1942 and drove British forces back to Ain el Gazala.
[1]
Battle of Gazala
[
edit
]
On 26 May 1942 Axis forces commenced the
Battle of Gazala
. The plan was for the armored and motorized divisions to perform a
right flanking attack
, while the Italian XXI Army Corps and
X Army Corps
, which included the Trento, would advance parallel to the coast road.
[15]
[16]
On the first day of the battle the Trento attacked the
1st South African Infantry Division
at Bir Belabat and took the position the next day. On 15 June British forces abandoned the Gazala Line and the Trento pursued the retreating Commonwealth forces, capturing 6,000 prisoners on June 16.
[17]
On 20 June 1942 the Trento reached Acroma on the outskirts of the Tobruk perimeter. The division swung around the British defenders at Tobruk and pursued the British forces retreating towards Egypt. On 25 June the Trento arrived in
Bardia
, Sollum and
Sidi Barrani
.
[1]
El Alamein battles
[
edit
]
From 26 June 1942 the Trento was engaged in the
Battle of Mersa Matruh
. On 27 June the division began its attack on
Mersa Matruh
, which fell on 29 June. On 1 July 1942 the Trento reached the area of El Alamein and the next day joined in the
First Battle of El Alamein
. On 2 July the Trento deployed on Miteirya Ridge, where it was surprised by a British attack.
[1]
The Trento put up a tenacious defense on Miteirya, delaying the Allied advance for several hours and allowing an Italian armored reconnaissance force to launch a devastating counterattack.
[18]
Despite fresh British attacks after 10 July the Trento managed to hold its positions on Miteirya until the end of the battle on 27 July.
[1]
On 30 August 1942 Axis forces launched the
Battle of Alam el Halfa
with the aim to outflank the British position at El Alamein. the Trento attacked the positions of the
9th Australian Division
and
1st South African Infantry Division
to fix the divisions in place, while the Axis' main force attacked further South. By 5 September 1942 the Axis forces had fallen back to their starting positions and began to dig in for the expected British counterattack.
[1]
The British began the
Second Battle of El Alamein
on 23 October 1942 and the Trento, which was positioned on Miteirya Ridge came under attack from the
2nd New Zealand Division
and
10th Armoured Division
on 24 October. By 25 October the Allies had broken through the
minefields
and were fought the Trento on top of
Miteiriya Ridge
. By then the Trento had lost half its infantry and most of its artillery to incessant British artillery and air attacks.
[19]
The intense combat continued until 4 November when General Erwin Rommel ordered his divisions to retreat. However the Trento and the
132nd Armored Division "Ariete"
were surrounded by British forces at Bir el Abd and destroyed. The Trento was declared lost due to wartime events on 25 November 1942.
[1]
[2]
Organization
[
edit
]
- 102nd Motorized Division "Trento"
, in
Trento
[1]
[2]
- 61st Motorized Infantry Regiment "Trento",
[a]
in Trento
[4]
- 62nd Motorized Infantry Regiment "Trento"
,
[b]
in Trento
[5]
- Command Company
- 3× Fusilier battalions
- Support Weapons Company (65/17 infantry support guns)
- Mortar Company (81mm mod. 35 mortars)
- 7th Bersaglieri Regiment
, in
Bolzano
(transferred on 29 December 1941 to the
XXI Army Corps
)
[20]
- Command Company
- VIII Bersaglieri Motorcyclists Battalion (reorganized as VIII Bersaglieri Support Weapons Battalion in September 1941)
- X Auto-transported Bersaglieri Battalion
- XI Auto-transported Bersaglieri Battalion
- 7th Anti-tank Company (
47/32
anti-tank guns
; entered the XXI Bersaglieri Support Weapons Battalion in September 1941)
- 156th Bersaglieri Motorcyclists Company (formed in September 1941)
- 46th Artillery Regiment "Trento"
, in Trento
[21]
- Command Unit
- I Group (
100/17 mod. 14
howitzers)
- II Group (100/17 mod. 14 howitzers; joined the regiment in spring 1941)
- III Group (
75/27 mod. 06
field guns
)
- IV Group (75/27 mod. 06 field guns)
- 412th Anti-aircraft Battery (
20/65 mod. 35
anti-aircraft guns)
- 414th Anti-aircraft Battery (20/65 mod. 35 anti-aircraft guns)
- Ammunition and Supply Unit
- DLI Machine Gun Battalion (reformed as a DLI Support Weapons Battalion in September 1941)
- LI Mixed Engineer Battalion
- 51st Medical Section
- 57th Field Hospital
- 897th Field Hospital
- 51st Supply Section
- 9th Transport Section
- 204th Transport Section (
4th CC.NN. Division "3 Gennaio"
unit, joined the Trento in North Africa)
- 68th Bakers Section
- 160th
Carabinieri
Section
- 161st Carabinieri Section
- 109th Field Post Office
Attached to the division from January 1941:
[2]
- 102nd Anti-tank Company (47/32 anti-tank guns; entered the DLI Support Weapons Battalion in September 1941)
- 104th Anti-tank Company (47/32 anti-tank guns; entered the DLI Support Weapons Battalion in September 1941)
- 106th Anti-tank Company (47/32 anti-tank guns; entered the DLI Support Weapons Battalion in September 1941)
Attached to the division from September 1941:
[2]
- LXI Machine Gun Battalion
Attached to the division from March 1941:
[2]
Attached to the division from October 1942 and during the
Second Battle of El Alamein
:
[2]
Military honors
[
edit
]
For its conduct during the
Western Desert campaign
the
President of Italy
awarded on 7 April 1949 to the
7th Bersaglieri Regiment
Italy's highest military honor, the
Gold Medal of Military Valor
.
Commanding officers
[
edit
]
The division's commanding officers were:
[1]
[2]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Named 61st Infantry Regiment "Sicilia" until 1939 when the army reorganized its divisions as binary divisions and divisional infantry regiments took the name of the division.
- ^
Named 62nd Infantry Regiment "Sicilia" until 1939 when the army reorganized its divisions as binary divisions and divisional infantry regiments took the name of the division.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
"102ª Divisione motorizzata "Trento"
"
. Regio Esercito
. Retrieved
30 October
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
Bollettino dell'Archivio dell'Ufficio Storico N.II-3 e 4 2002
. Rome: Ministero della Difesa - Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito - Ufficio Storico. 2002. p. 322
. Retrieved
30 October
2021
.
- ^
Voghera, Enrico (1909).
Annuario militare del regno d'Italia - Volume I
. Rome. p. 432.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
)
- ^
a
b
"61° Reggimento di fanteria "Sicilia"
"
. Regio Esercito
. Retrieved
10 December
2021
.
- ^
a
b
"62° Reggimento di fanteria "Sicilia"
"
. Regio Esercito
. Retrieved
10 December
2021
.
- ^
Playfair (1954), pp. 362 ? 366, 371 ? 376
- ^
Playfair (1956), pp. 19?40
- ^
Latimer, pp. 43?45
- ^
Playfair (1956), pp. 33?35
- ^
Chant, p. 21
- ^
Playfair (1956), pp. 159?160
- ^
Jentz, pp. 128?129
- ^
Erskine, p. 79"
- ^
Hastings, p. 70
- ^
Playfair (1960), p. 223
- ^
Mackenzie, p.541
- ^
The Rise of the Wehrmacht: The German Armed Forces and World War, 2 Volumes, p.564,
Samuel W. Mitcham
, Praeger (June 30, 2008)
- ^
Aldea, David (15 March 2010).
"First Battle of El Alamein"
.
Commando Supremo: Italy at War website
. Retrieved
2019-04-28
.
[
dubious
–
discuss
]
- ^
Playfair (1966), P. 50
- ^
"7° Reggimento Bersaglieri"
. Regio Esercito
. Retrieved
10 December
2021
.
- ^
F. dell'Uomo, R. di Rosa (1998).
L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000 - Vol. Secondo - Tomo II
. Rome: SME - Ufficio Storico. p. 138.
- ^
"7° Reggimento Bersaglieri"
. President of Italy
. Retrieved
10 October
2021
.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Paoletti, Ciro (2008).
A Military History of Italy
. Greenwood Publishing Group.
ISBN
978-0-275-98505-9
.
- Bauer, Eddy (2000) [1979]. Young, Peter (ed.).
The History of World War II
(Revised ed.). London, UK: Orbis Publishing.
ISBN
1-85605-552-3
.
- Chant, Christopher (1986).
The Encyclopedia of Code Names of World War II
. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
ISBN
0-7102-0718-2
.
- Erskine, David (2001) [1956].
The Scots Guards 1919?1955
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ISBN
1-84342-061-9
.
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Gale & Polden
.
OCLC
6190324
.
- Jentz, Thomas L. (1998).
Tank Combat in North Africa: The Opening Rounds, Operations Sonnenblume, Brevity, Skorpion and Battleaxe, February 1941 ? June 1941
. Schiffer Publishing.
ISBN
0-7643-0226-4
.
- Mackenzie, Compton
(1951).
Eastern Epic: September 1939 ? March 1943 Defence
. Vol. I. London: Chatto & Windus.
OCLC
59637091
.
- Playfair, Major-General I.S.O.; with Flynn R.N., Captain F.C.; Molony, Brigadier C.J.C. & Toomer, Air Vice-Marshal S.E. (2004) [1st. pub. HMSO 1956]. Butler, J.R.M (ed.).
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. History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. Naval & Military Press.
ISBN
1-84574-066-1
.
- Playfair, Major-General I.S.O.
; with Flynn
R.N.
, Captain F.C.; Molony, Brigadier C.J.C. & Gleave, Group Captain T.P. (2004) [1st. pub.
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Butler, J.R.M
(ed.).
The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume III: British Fortunes reach their Lowest Ebb (September 1941 to September 1942)
. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. Naval & Military Press.
ISBN
1-84574-067-X
.
- Playfair, Major-General I.S.O.
; Molony, Brigadier C.J.C.; with Flynn
R.N.
, Captain F.C. & Gleave, Group Captain T.P. (2004) [1st. pub.
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(ed.).
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.