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Army Of The Po
The Army of the Po (Italian ''Armata del Po''), numbered the Sixth Army (''6a Armata''), was a field army of the Royal Italian Army (''Regio Esercito'') during World War II (1939–45). History When it was initially formed on 10 November 1938 under the command of General Ettore Bastico, it comprised three corps: *the ''Corpo d'Armata Autotrasportabile'' (Motor Transportable Corps), consisting of three divisions; *the '' Corpo d'Armata Celere'' (Fast Corps), consisting of three ''celeri'' divisions; *the '' Corpo d'Armata Corazzato'' (Armoured Corps), consisting of two motorised and two armoured divisions in the process of formation. These were the ''Ariete'' and ''Centauro'' armoured divisions and the ''Trento'' and ''Trieste'' motorised divisions. This formation was the brainchild of General Alberto Pariani, then Chief of the General Staff, who desired to combine armoured and motorised divisions into a potent force based in the Po valley and ready to move towards any o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Field Army
A field army (or numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps and may be subordinate to an army group. Likewise, air armies are equivalent formation within some air forces, and within a navy the comparable notion is that of a fleet. A field army is composed of 300,000 to 600,000 troops. History Specific field armies are usually named or numbered to distinguish them from "army" in the sense of an entire national land military force. In English, the typical orthographic style for writing out the names field armies is word numbers, such as "First Army"; whereas corps are usually distinguished by Roman numerals (e.g. I Corps) and subordinate formations with ordinal numbers (e.g. 1st Division). A field army may be given a geographical name in addition to or as an alternative to a numerical name, such as the British Army of the Rhine, Army of the Potomac, Army of the Niemen or Aegean Army (also known as the Fourth Army ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blackshirt
The Voluntary Militia for National Security ( it, Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts ( it, Camicie Nere, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party, known as the Squadrismo, and after 1923 an all-volunteer militia of the Kingdom of Italy under Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist rule, similar to the Sturmabteilung, SA. Its members were distinguished by their black uniforms (modelled on those of the ''Arditi'', Italy's elite troops of World War I) and their loyalty to Benito Mussolini, the ''Duce'' (leader) of Italian Fascism, Fascism, to whom they swore an oath. The founders of the paramilitary groups were nationalist intellectuals, former army officers and young landowners opposing peasants' and country labourers' unions. Their methods became harsher as Mussolini's power grew, and they used violence and intimidation against Mussolini's opponents.Bosworth, R. J. B, '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gavino Pizzolato
Gavino Pizzolato (Sorso, 26 February 1884 – Gabes, 27 March 1943) was an Italian general during World War II. Biography He was born in Sorso, in the province of Sassari, on February 26, 1884. In 1903 he entered the Royal Military Academy of Artillery and Engineers in Turin, graduating as artillery second lieutenant on 7 September 1905, and being assigned to the 21st Field Artillery Regiment in Piacenza. He was promoted to captain on 11 February 1915, and after Italy’s entry into World War I he served with the 9th Artillery Regiment until December, when he was seriously wounded. He returned to the frontline in April 1916, with the 37th Artillery Regiment, and was promoted to major in the field and seriously wounded a second time in August 1916 on the Isonzo Front. In June 1918 he fought in the Second Battle of the Piave River, earning a Silver Medal of Military Valour; altogether, over the course of the war he was awarded two Silver and two Bronze Medals of Military Val ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2nd Cavalry Division "Emanuele Filiberto Testa Di Ferro"
The 2nd Cavalry Division " Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro" ( it, 2ª Divisione celere "Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro") was a Cavalry or "Celere" (Fast) division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The division was mobilised in 1940, it did not take part in the Italian invasion of France, but did serve in the Invasion of Yugoslavia and remained in Yugoslavia as part of the occupying forces. In March 1942 the division's 6th Bersaglieri Regiment was sent to the Soviet Union attached to the 3rd Cavalry Division "Principe Amedeo Duca d'Aosta". In May 1942 the division started converting to an armored division, however, the conversion was cancelled and it returned to the Cavalry format. In December 1942, the division moved to France as part of the Italian occupying forces where it was based in Toulon. The division remained in France until the Armistice of Cassibile was announced on 8 September 1943 and was then disbanded by the invading Germans. History The divisio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Federico Ferrari Orsi
Federico Ferrari Orsi (Rivoli, Piedmont, Italy, 18 December 1886 – Egypt, 18 October 1942) was a general in the Royal Italian Army during World War II. He was one of the founders of Torino Football Club and played as a defender in the 1907 season. He fought in the Italian-Turkish War and the First World War. In 1940 he was a Division General and commanded the 1st Cavalry Division Eugenio di Savoia. In April 1941, during the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia, he commanded the Celere Corps. Between May and August 1942, he was back in Italy to form the new XXII Corps. In August 1942, he was sent to North Africa to command the X Army Corps in the Western Desert Campaign. He was killed by a landmine on 18 October 1942 just before the Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1st Cavalry Division "Eugenio Di Savoia"
The 1st Cavalry Division "Eugenio di Savoia" ( it, 1ª Divisione celere "Eugenio di Savoia") was a cavalry or "Celere" (Fast) division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The division was mobilized in 1940 and took part in the Invasion of Yugoslavia. The division was assigned to the XI Corps in Ljubljana and remained in Yugoslavia as occupation force on the Dalmatian coast. After the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943 the division was disbanded by the Germans. History The division was formed on 17 April 1930 as 1st Fast Division in the city of Udine in Friuli. Although not officially sanctioned the division is considered to be the heir of the 1st Cavalry Division of Friuli, which fought in World War I and consisted of the I and II cavalry brigades and was based in Udine. On 15 June 1930 the I Cavalry Brigade, with the regiments Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo" (12th), Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Monferrato" (13th), and Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Alessand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giovanni Messe
Giovanni Messe (10 December 1883 – 18 December 1968) was an Italian field marshal and politician. In the Second World War, he was captured in Tunisia, but made chief of staff of the Italian Co-belligerent Army after the armistice of September 1943. Later he was an elected representative in the Italian Senate. He is considered by many to have been the best Italian general of the war. Early life and career Messe was born in Mesagne, in the Province of Brindisi in the Apulia region of Italy on 10 December 1883. Giovanni Messe pursued a military career in 1901. He saw action in the Italian conquest of Libya and in the First World War. During this conflict, he gave an important contribution to the creation and training of the "Arditi", elite infantry units, and with the rank of '' maggiore'' was the commander of the IX Nono Reparto Arditi that fought in the zone of Monte Grappa. Emerging considerably decorated from these conflicts, he became aide-de-camp to King Victor Emmanuel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Italian Expeditionary Corps In Russia
During World War II, the Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia (''Corpo di Spedizione Italiano in Russia'', or CSIR) was a corps-sized expeditionary unit of the ''Regio Esercito'' (Italian Army) that fought on the Eastern Front. In July 1942 the CSIR entered the newly formed Italian Army in Russia as XXXV Army Corps. Formation The CSIR was formed in an attempt to provide a somewhat mobile unit to fight on a front where mobility was key. Two of the divisions were truck-moveable and one was a (fast) division, drawn from the reserve Army of the Po but this was more on paper than in reality. The CSIR was created by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini to show solidarity with Nazi Germany after German dictator Adolf Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa and attacked the Soviet Union. Mussolini created the CSIR, despite the lack of enthusiasm shown by Hitler, on 10 July 1941 and between July and August 1941, the units of the CSIR arrived in southern Russia. The CSIR included an Aviation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mario Vercellino
Mario Vercellino (Asti, 10 February 1879 – Sanremo, 11 July 1961) was an Italian general during World War II. Biography Vercellino was born in Asti in 1879 and began his military career as artillery second lieutenant in 1898. After attending the War School of the Royal Italian Army he was transferred to the General Staff, and fought in Libya during the Italo-Turkish War. He then participated in the First World War, as commander of the 1st Mountain Artillery Regiment. From 1929 to 1931 he commanded the Servizio Informazioni Militare, SIM, from 1932 to 1934 he commanded the artillery of the Alessandria Army Corps, in 1934 he became commander of the 1st Infantry Division Superga and on the following year he was given command of the War School and of the Turin Army Corps, which he held for five years. In 1940 he became commander of the Army of the Po, which he still commanded when Italy entered World War II on 10 June. The Army was kept in reserve during the Italian invasion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allied Invasion Of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It began with a large amphibious and airborne operation, followed by a six-week land campaign, and initiated the Italian campaign. To divert some of the Axis forces to other areas, the Allies engaged in several deception operations, the most famous and successful of which was Operation Mincemeat. Husky began on the night of 9–10 July 1943 and ended on 17 August. Strategically, Husky achieved the goals set out for it by Allied planners; the Allies drove Axis air, land and naval forces from the island and the Mediterranean sea lanes were opened for Allied merchant ships for the first time since 1941. These events led to the Italian leader, Benito Mussolini, being toppled from power in Italy on 25 July, and to the Allied invasion of Italy on 3 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Invasion Of Yugoslavia
The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, or ''Projekt 25'' was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put forward in "Führer Directive No. 25", which Adolf Hitler issued on 27 March 1941, following a Yugoslav coup d'état that overthrew the pro-Axis government. The invasion commenced with an overwhelming air attack on Belgrade and facilities of the Royal Yugoslav Air Force (VVKJ) by the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) and attacks by German land forces from southwestern Bulgaria. These attacks were followed by German thrusts from Romania, Hungary and the Ostmark (modern-day Austria, then part of Germany). Italian forces were limited to air and artillery attacks until 11 April, when the Italian army attacked towards Ljubljana (in modern-day Slovenia) and through Istria and Lika and down the Dalmatian coast. On the same day, Hungarian force ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
XVII Corps (Italy)
The XVII Army Corps ( it, XVII Corpo d'Armata) was an army corps of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. History On 11 November 1938 the Armored Corps (Corpo d'Armata Corazzato) was created in Mantua, with the motorized divisions "Po", "Trento" and the I and II Armored Brigades. On 1 March 1941, the Armored Corps ( it, Corpo d'Armata Corazzato) was part of the reserve Army of the Po, renamed XVII Army Corps and transferred to Albania on 4 April, in anticipation of operations against Yugoslavia. It then participated in the invasion of Yugoslavia (6–18 April 1941), where it conquered Dubrovnik, Podgorica and Trebinje. After returning to Italy on 16 June 1941, the Corps assumed responsibility for the territorial defense of Lazio, from the borders of Tuscany to the mouth of the Garigliano river. It remained here until the Armistice of Cassibile in September 1943, when it was disarmed by the Germans in Velletri and dissolved on 9 September. Commanders * Armored Corps ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
