The 208th Coastal Division ( it, 208ª 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 by reorganizing the VIII 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 ...

. The division was responsible for the coastal defense of the coast between, but excluding the cities of

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 ...

and

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an impor ...

. The division fought against units of the American Seventh Army after the allies landed on Sicily on 10 July 1943. By 21 July 1943 the division had been severely decimated and was therefore officially declared lost due to wartime events. In July 1943 the 208th division was commanded by General Giovanni Marciani, who doubled as commander of Coastal Troops Command of XII Army Corps.

Organization

* 208th Coastal Division ** 133rd Coastal Regiment *** LXI Replacements Battalion *** CCXLIV Coastal Battalion *** CDXXIII Coastal Battalion *** CDXCVIII Coastal Battalion ** 136th Coastal Regiment (became an autonomous unit responsible for the coast between

and

Santo Stefano di Camastra Santo Stefano di Camastra ( Sicilian: ''Santu Stèfanu di Camastra'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina in the Italian region Sicily, located about 100 km east of Palermo and about 135 km west of Messina. ...

in July 1943) *** CCCLXXX Coastal Battalion *** CCCLXXXII Coastal Battalion *** CDXIII Coastal Battalion ** 147th Coastal Regiment (joined the division in July 1943) *** CCCLXXVIII Coastal Battalion *** CDXXXVIII Coastal Battalion *** DXXXIX Coastal Battalion ** 28th Coastal Artillery Regiment *** XIX Coastal Artillery Group (105/28 howitzers) *** CXXIV Coastal Artillery Group ( 75/27 field guns) *** CCXV Coastal Artillery Group ( 100/22 howitzers) *** XLI Coastal Artillery Group (75/27 field guns and 105/28 howitzers; transferred to the XXIX Coastal Brigade - Harbor Defense Command "N") ** CV Machine Gun Battalion *** 518th Machine Gun Company *** 519th Machine Gun Company *** 618th Machine Gun Company *** 619th Machine Gun Company ** 133rd Mixed Engineer Platoon ** 208th

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 ** 165th Field Post Office ** Division Services Attached to the division: * Armored Train 152/1/T, in

Termini Imerese Termini Imerese (; scn, Tèrmini ) , grc, Θερμαὶ αἱ Ἱμερᾶαι , grc, Θερμαὶ Ἱμέραι , or grc, Θερμὰ (Ἱμεραῖα) ; la, Thermae Himerenses; literally "Himera's hot springs". is a town of the Metropo ...

(4x 152/40 naval guns, 4x 20/77 anti-aircraft guns) * Armored Train 152/2/T, in

Carini Carini ( la, Hyccara or Hyccarum, grc, Ὕκαρα and Ὕκαρον) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, by rail west-northwest of Palermo. It has a population of 37,752. History Timaeus, in the thirteenth ...

(4x 152/40 naval guns, 4x 20/77 anti-aircraft guns)

Commanding officers

The division's commanding officers were: * Generale di Divisione Gaetano Binacchi (15 November 1941 - 27 April 1943) * Generale di Divisione Giovanni Marciani (28 April 1943 - 21 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