The 207th Coastal Division ( it, 207ª 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 Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

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 November 1941 in

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

by reorganizing the VII Coastal Sector Command. The division was assigned to XII Army Corps, which was responsible for the defense of the western half of the island of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. In January 1942 the division moved its headquarter to

Agrigento Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one of ...

. The division was responsible for the coastal defense of the coast between

Sciacca Sciacca (; Greek: ; Latin: Thermae Selinuntinae, Thermae Selinuntiae, Thermae, Aquae Labrodes and Aquae Labodes) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Agrigento on the southwestern coast of Sicily, southern Italy. It has views of the Medit ...

and Punta Due Rocche to the East of

Licata Licata (, ; grc, Φιντίας, whence la, Phintias or ''Plintis''), formerly also Alicata (), is a city and ''comune'' located on the south coast of Sicily, at the mouth of the Salso River (the ancient ''Himera''), about midway between Ag ...

. The division fought against units of the American Seventh Army after the allies landed on Sicily on 10 July 1943. By 16 July 1943 the division had been severely decimated and was therefore officially declared lost due to wartime events.

Organization

* 207th Coastal Division, in

** 138th Coastal Regiment *** CCCLXXX Coastal Battalion *** CCCLXXXVIII Coastal Battalion *** CDXV Coastal Battalion *** CDXVII Coastal Battalion *** CDXX Coastal Battalion ** 139th Coastal Regiment, in

*** LXII Replacements Battalion *** CDXIX Coastal Battalion *** CCCXC Coastal Battalion ** 12th Coastal Artillery Regiment *** XXXV Coastal Artillery Group (3x 105/28 and 1x 75/27 batteries) *** CXLV Coastal Artillery Group (2x 105/28 and 1x 75/34 batteries) *** CLX Coastal Artillery Group (2x 149/35 and 1x 105mm/27 batteries) *** CCXXIII Coastal Artillery Group (2x 100/22 batteries) ** CIX Machine Gun Battalion *** 510th Machine Gun Company *** 516th Machine Gun Company ** 207th

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...

Section ** 164th Field Post Office ** Division Services Attached to the division: * 177th

Bersaglieri The Bersaglieri, singular Bersagliere, (, "sharpshooter") are a troop of marksmen in the Italian Army's infantry corps. They were originally created by General Alessandro La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Royal Sardinian Army, whi ...

Regiment ** DXXV Bersaglieri Battalion (raised by the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment) ** DXXVI Bersaglieri Battalion (raised by the

6th Bersaglieri Regiment The 6th Bersaglieri Regiment ( it, 6° Reggimento Bersaglieri) is an active unit of the Italian Army based in Trapani in Sicily. The regiment is part of the army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality and operationally assigned to the Mechanize ...

) ** DXXVII Bersaglieri Battalion (raised by the

2nd Bersaglieri Regiment The 2nd Bersaglieri Regiment ( it, 2° Reggimento Bersaglieri) is an inactive unit of the Italian Army last based in Legnano in Lombardy. The regiment is part of the army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality and was last operationally assign ...

) * CIV Anti-tank Battalion ( 47/32

anti-tank gun An anti-tank gun is a form of artillery designed to destroy tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, normally from a static defensive position. The development of specialized anti-tank munitions and anti-tank guns was prompted by the appearance ...

s) * CCXXIII Artillery Group (joined the 12th Coastal Artillery Regiment when it was assigned to the division) * LXXXVIII

Guardia alla Frontiera The Guardia alla Frontiera (GaF), was an Italian Army Border guard created in 1937 who defended the 1,851 km of northern Italian frontiers with the so-called "Vallo Alpino Occidentale" (487 km with France), "Vallo Alpino Settentrionale" ...

Artillery Group (attached until the 12th Coastal Artillery Regiment joined the division) * Armored Train 120/3/S, in

Porto Empedocle Porto Empedocle ( scn, 'a Marina) is a town and ''comune'' in Italy on the coast of the Strait of Sicily, administratively part of the province of Agrigento. It was named after Empedocles, a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a citizen of the ci ...

(4x 120/45 Mod. 1918 naval guns, 4x 20/77 anti-aircraft guns) * Armored Train 76/1/T, in

(6x 76/40 Mod. 1916 naval guns, 4x 20/77 anti-aircraft guns) * Armored Train 76/2/T, in

(4x 76/40 Mod. 1916 naval guns, 4x 20/77 anti-aircraft guns)

Commanding officers

The division's commanding officers were: * Generale di Divisione Antonio Calierno (15 November 1941 - 30 November 1942) * Generale di Brigata Ottorino Schreiber (1 December 1942 - 11 July 1943) * Generale di Brigata Augusto De Laurentiis (12 July - 16 July 1943,

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

)

References

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