The 204th Coastal Division ( it, 204ª Divisione Costiera) was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

division of the

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army ( it, Regio Esercito, , Royal Army) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfre ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Royal Italian Army coastal divisions were second line divisions formed with reservists and equipped with second rate

materiel Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context. In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the specifi ...

. Recruited locally, they were often commanded by officers called out of retirement.Jowett p 6

History

The division was activated on 15 January 1942 in

Sassari Sassari (, ; sdc, Sàssari ; sc, Tàtari, ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 127,525 inhabitants, and a Functional Urban Area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, ...

by reorganizing the IV Coastal Sector Command. The division was initially assigned to

XIII Army Corps XIII Army Corps (German: ''XIII. Armeekorps'') was a corps of the German Army during World War II. Made up of several divisions, which varied from time to time, it was formed in Nuremberg on 1 October 1937. Soon after the general mobilisation of ...

, which was responsible for the defense of the island of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

. On 15 July 1943 the division was assigned to the reactivated XXX Army Corps, which took over the responsibility for the defense of the northern half of Sardinia. The division was based in

Porto Torres Porto Torres ( sdc, Posthudorra, sc, Portu Turre) is a comune and a city of the Province of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. Founded during the 1st century BC as ''Colonia Iulia Turris Libisonis'', it was the first Roman colony of the ...

and responsible for the coastal defense of the north-western and northern coast of Sardinia from, but excluding, Torre Foghe to

Capo Coda Cavallo Capo or capos, may refer to: Designation, akin to captain *Capo, short for ''Caporegime'', a rank in the Mafia *''Capo dei capi'', or ''capo di tutti capi'', Italian for "boss of bosses", a phrase used to indicate a powerful individual in organiz ...

. The division's area of responsibility included the

Gulf of Asinara The Gulf of Asinara is a sea sector included between the Asinara Island, Cape Falcone and the town of Castelsardo, in northern Sardinia, Italy. The communes facing its coast include also Stintino, Porto Torres, Sassari, Sorso, Valledoria and ...

and Gulf of Alghero, and the

Maddalena archipelago The Maddalena Archipelago is a group of islands in the Strait of Bonifacio between Corsica (France) and Sardinia (Italy). The whole archipelago makes the territory of the ''La Maddalena'' comune in Sardinia. Geography The archipelago consists ...

with its large

Royal Italian Navy The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' changed its name to '' Marina Militare'' (" ...

base. On 1 August 1942 the IV Coastal Brigade was reactivated and took over the responsibility for the defense of the Maddalena archipelago and the north-eastern coast of Sardinia between

Punta Li Francesi Punta is an Afro-indigenous dance and cultural music originating in the Caribbean Island of Saint Vincent And The Grenadines by the Garifuna people before being exiled from the island. Which is also known as Yurumei. It has African and Arawak ...

and Capo Coda Cavallo. The 204th Coastal Division, together with the 203rd Coastal Division, 205th Coastal Division, IV Coastal Brigade and XXXIII Coastal Brigade formed a first static defense line against

allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

landings on the island. Further inland the

30th Infantry Division "Sabauda" The 30th Infantry Division "Sabauda" ( it, 30ª Divisione di fanteria "Sabauda") was an infantry Division (military), division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Sabauda was based in Cagliari in Sardinia and named for the Latin nam ...

31st Infantry Division "Calabria" The 31st Infantry Division "Calabria" ( it, 31ª Divisione di fanteria "Calabria") was an infantry Division (military), division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Calabria was formed in Sassari and named for the region of Calabri ...

47th Infantry Division "Bari" The 47th Infantry Division "Bari" ( it, 47ª Divisione di fanteria "Bari") was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Bari was formed on 15 September 1939 in the city of Bari. After the announcement of the Armist ...

, and

184th Paratroopers Division "Nembo" The 184th Paratroopers Division "Nembo" ( it, 184ª Divisione paracadutisti "Nembo") was an airborne division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. After the Armistice of Cassibile the division joined the Italian Co-belligerent Army's It ...

were the mobile forces of the Armed Forces Command Sardinia. After the announcement of the

Armistice of Cassibile The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brig ...

on 8 September 1943 the division, together with all other divisions on Sardinia, refused German demands to surrender. Realizing the futility of attempting to gain control of Sardinia the German forces on the island retreated to

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

. The division joined the Italian Co-belligerent Army and was renamed 204th Division. In August 1944 the division's command was shipped to the mainland where it was used to reform other commands.

Organization

* 204th Coastal Division, in

** 130th Coastal Regiment *** CCC Coastal Battalion *** CCCXCVIII Coastal Battalion *** CCCXCIX Coastal Battalion *** CMIV Coastal Battalion ** 149th Coastal Regiment *** CCCXCIV Coastal Battalion *** CCCXCVII Coastal Battalion *** CDI Coastal Battalion *** CDXCIX Coastal Battalion ** 46th Coastal Artillery Regiment *** XII Coastal Artillery Group *** XIII Coastal Artillery Group *** LXXXII Coastal Artillery Group *** LXXXIV Coastal Artillery Group *** CCXI Coastal Artillery Group ** CII Machine Gun Battalion *** 161st Machine Gun Company *** 162nd Machine Gun Company ** 204th Mixed Engineer Company ** 204th Carabinieri Section ** 215th Field Post Office ** Division Services

Commanding officers

The division's commanding officer was: *

Generale di Divisione Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an Division (military), army division. The rank originates from the General officer#French (Revolutionary) system, French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The ...

Manlio Mora (15 January 1942 - 1944)

References

* * {{Italian Divisions World War II Coastal divisions of Italy Infantry divisions of Italy in World War II