The 215th Coastal Division ( it, 215ª 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 ...

. They were often commanded by officers called out of retirement.Jowett p 6

History

The division was activated on 1 August 1943 in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

by expanding the XVI Coastal Brigade and adding the Autonomous Sector

Piombino Piombino is an Italian town and ''comune'' of about 35,000 inhabitants in the province of Livorno (Tuscany). It lies on the border between the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, in front of Elba Island and at the northern side of Maremma. Ove ...

- Elba. The division was assigned to II Army Corps and based its headquarter in Massa Marittima. The division was responsible for the coastal defense of the coast of southern

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

from Cap San Vincenzo in San Vincenzo to Albinia. The division was also responsible for the defense of the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago and the harbor of Piombino. 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's commander Cesare Maria De Vecchi authorized German forces to enter the port of Piombino and forbade to resist the invading German forces. The order was ignored by the

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'' (" ...

and army units in Piombino, which supported by the local population, fought a battle against the Germans on 10 September, that left more than 100 Germans dead and about 200 prisoners in Italian hands. The following day De Vecchi ordered to free the Germans and return their weapons to them, after which he signed the surrender of his division to the Germans.

Organization

* 215th Coastal Division, in Massa Marittima ** 6th Coastal Regiment ** 14th Coastal Regiment ** 108th Coastal Regiment (on the island of Elba) *** 4x Coastal battalions *** 2x Machine gun battalions ** 27th Coastal Artillery Regiment *** Coastal artillery groups (4x groups on the island of Elba) ** XIX Tank Battalion "M" (

M15/42 tank The Carro Armato M15/42 was the last Italian medium tank produced during World War II. It was based on the earlier M13/40 and M14/41 medium tanks, and was built with the lessons from the North African Campaign in mind. The tank was meant to be a ...

s and

Semovente da 75/34 The Semovente da 75/34 was an Italian self-propelled gun developed and used during World War II. It was a 75 mm L/34 gun mounted on a M15/42 tank chassis. It saw action during the defence of Rome in 1943 and later served with the Germans i ...

self-propelled gun Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...

s) ** 1x Machine Gun Battalion ** 518th Coastal Artillery Battery ** 1300th Anti-aircraft Battery ** 3rd Anti-paratroopers Unit ** 207th Anti-paratroopers Unit ** 215th Carabinieri Section ** 131st Field Post Office ** Division Services

Commanding officers

The division's commanding officers were: *

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 ...

Cesare Maria De Vecchi (1 August 1943 - 11 September 1943)

References

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