222nd Coastal Division (Italy)
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The 222nd Coastal Division ( it, 222ª Divisione Costiera) was an infantry 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. Royal Italian Army coastal divisions were second line divisions formed with reservists and equipped with second rate materiel. They were often commanded by officers called out of retirement.Jowett p 6


History

The division was activated on 15 April 1942 in Naples by uniting the two coastal defense sectors "
Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...
" and " Sapri". From April to December 1942 the division was assigned to XXX Army Corps, which then moved to Tunisia and was destroyed in the Tunisian Campaign. For the rest of its existence the division was assigned to XIX Army Corps. The division had its headquarter in Buccoli a subdivision of
Battipaglia Battipaglia () is a municipality ('' comune'') in the province of Salerno, Campania, south-western Italy. Famed as a production place of buffalo mozzarella, Battipaglia is the economic hub of the Sele plain. History Formerly part of the an ...
and was responsible for the coastal defense of the coast of southern Campania between the lighthouse of Capo d'Orso in Maiori and the mouth of the river Noce at Castrocucco. The division's area included the Gulf of Salerno, where on 9 September 1943 the British-American US Fifth Army landed. The Harbor Defense Command Naples, which had responsibility for the coastal defense of the Gulf of Naples was attached to the division from 1943. 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 ...
in the evening of 8 September 1943 German forces ambushed the division's commander General Ferrante Vincenzo Gonzaga and his staff and demanded he order his troops to disarm and that he surrender his gun. Gonzaga, who had already issued orders to his units to refuse German requests to hand over their weapons, and to regroup and prepare to fight the Germans, refused to comply. After having refused the German demands Gonzaga was shot dead by the Germans, who then proceeded to disarm and disband his division in Operation Achse. The next morning allied troops landed at Salerno and the remnants of the division dissolved quickly and left the area. After the war General Gonzaga was awarded Italy's highest military decoration the Gold Medal of Military Valor for his courage.


Organization

* 222nd Coastal Division, in Buccoli ** 17th Coastal Regiment *** 3x Coastal battalions ** 18th Coastal Regiment *** 3x Coastal battalions ** CXCVIII Coastal Artillery Group ** CIC Coastal Artillery Group ** 2x Machine gun companies ** 222nd Carabinieri Section ** 184th Field Post Office ** Division Services Attached to the division: * Harbor Defense Command Naples: ** 117th Coastal Regiment *** 3x Coastal battalions ** 151st Coastal Regiment *** 3x Coastal battalions ** 14th Guardia alla Frontiera Artillery Regiment


Commanding officers

The division's commanding officers were: *
Generale di Brigata A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
Adolfo Antoniazzi (15 April 1942 - 9 February 1943) * Generale di Brigata Ferrante Vincenzo Gonzaga (10 February 1943 - 8 September 1943, KIA)


References

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