The Army of the Po (Italian ''Armata del Po''), numbered the Sixth Army (''6^a Armata''), was a field army of the Royal Italian Army (''Regio Esercito'') 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 opposing ...

(1939–45).

History

When it was initially formed on 10 November 1938 under the command of General

Ettore Bastico Ettore Bastico (9 April 1876 – 2 December 1972) was an Italian military officer before and during World War II. In addition to being a general of the Royal Italian Army, he was also a senator and governor. He held high commands during the Seco ...

, it comprised three

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

: *the ''Corpo d'Armata Autotrasportabile'' (Motor Transportable Corps), consisting of three divisions; *the '' Corpo d'Armata Celere'' (Fast Corps), consisting of three ''celeri'' divisions; *the '' Corpo d'Armata Corazzato'' (Armoured Corps), consisting of two motorised and two armoured divisions in the process of formation. These were the ''Ariete'' and ''Centauro'' armoured divisions and the ''Trento'' and ''Trieste'' motorised divisions. This formation was the brainchild of General

Alberto Pariani Alberto is the Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic '' Albert''. It is used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The diminutive forms are ''Albertito'' in Spain or ''Albertico'' in some parts of Latin America, Alber ...

, then Chief of the General Staff, who desired to combine armoured and motorised divisions into a potent force based in the Po valley and ready to move towards any of Italy's land borders at a moment's notice. By December 1938, Bastico had drawn up plans for concentrating the force around

Tarvisio Tarvisio (German and fur, Tarvis, sl, Trbiž) is a comune in the northeastern part of the autonomous Friuli Venezia Giulia region in Italy. Geography The town is in the Canal Valley (''Val Canale'') between the Carnic Alps and Karawanks rang ...

in the event of war with Austria or on a line from

Udine Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with t ...

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

in the event of war with Yugoslavia. In 1939, six

Blackshirt The Voluntary Militia for National Security ( it, Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts ( it, Camicie Nere, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the Nation ...

battalions took part in the field manoeuvres of the Army of the Po. In the first half of 1940 the ''Centauro'' division was moved to

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, where it took part in the

Italian invasion of Greece Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

later that year. During the

Italian invasion of France The Italian invasion of France (10–25 June 1940), also called the Battle of the Alps, was the first major Italian engagement of World War II and the last major engagement of the Battle of France. The Italian entry into the war widened its sc ...

(10–25 June 1940), the Army of the Po (minus the ''Centauro'') was held in reserve. In February 1941, the headquarters of the Army of the Po (Sixth Army) was transferred to southern Italy. On 1 March, the Armoured Corps became the XVII Corps and deployed to Albania as an infantry command. All three of the former corps of the Sixth Army took part in the invasion of Yugoslavia in April. In July 1943, the headquarters of the Sixth Army took charge of the defence of Sicily. The 6th Army suffered heavy losses against the Allies in July–August 1943 and withdrew to northern Italy for reorganization. It capitulated to the Germans upon the surrender of Italy in September 1943.

Order of battle on 10 June 1940

* Army of the Po (Sixth Army), General

Mario Vercellino Mario Vercellino (Asti, 10 February 1879 – Sanremo, 11 July 1961) was an Italian general during World War II. Biography Vercellino was born in Asti in 1879 and began his military career as artillery second lieutenant in 1898. After atten ...

** Fast Corps, General

Giovanni Messe Giovanni Messe (10 December 1883 – 18 December 1968) was an Italian field marshal and politician. In the Second World War, he was captured in Tunisia, but made chief of staff of the Italian Co-belligerent Army after the armistice of Septemb ...

***

1st Cavalry Division "Eugenio di Savoia" The 1st Cavalry Division " Eugenio di Savoia" ( it, 1ª Divisione celere "Eugenio di Savoia") was a cavalry or "Celere" (Fast) division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The division was mobilized in 1940 and took part in the In ...

, General

Federico Ferrari Orsi Federico Ferrari Orsi (Rivoli, Piedmont, Italy, 18 December 1886 – Egypt, 18 October 1942) was a general in the Royal Italian Army during World War II. He was one of the founders of Torino Football Club and played as a defender in the 1907 s ...

***

2nd Cavalry Division "Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro" The 2nd Cavalry Division " Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro" ( it, 2ª Divisione celere "Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro") was a Cavalry or "Celere" (Fast) division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The division was mobilised in ...

, General

Gavino Pizzolato Gavino Pizzolato (Sorso, 26 February 1884 – Gabes, 27 March 1943) was an Italian general during World War II. Biography He was born in Sorso, in the province of Sassari, on February 26, 1884. In 1903 he entered the Royal Military Academy ...

*** 3rd Cavalry Division "Principe Amedeo Duca d'Aosta", General Mario Marazzani **

Armoured Corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other armou ...

, General Fidenzio Dall'Ora *** 101st Motorised Division "Trieste", General Vito Ferroni *** 102nd Motorised Division "Trento", General

Luigi Nuvoloni is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo's masc ...

*** 132nd Armoured Division "Ariete", General

Ettore Baldassarre Ettore Baldassarre (27 April 1883 – 26 June 1942) was an Italian general during World War II. Biography Baldassarre was born in Trani, Apulia, on April 27, 1883, the son of Michele Baldassarre and Amalia Manganaro. In his youth he moved ...

*** 133rd Armoured Division "Littorio", General Luigi Manzi ** Motor Transportable Corps: General

Francesco Zingales Francesco Zingales (1884-1959) was a general in the Royal Italian Army during World War II. Biography Francesco Zingales fought in World War I on the Isonzo Front. In 1939 he had become commander of the 10th Motorised Division Piave, but saw no ...

***

9th Infantry Division "Pasubio" The 9th Infantry Division Pasubio ( it, 9ª Divisione di fanteria "Pasubio") was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Pasubio was classified as an auto-transportable division, meaning it had some motorized tran ...

, General Vittorio Giovannelli ***

10th Infantry Division "Piave" The 10th Infantry Division "Piave" ( it, 10ª Divisione di fanteria "Piave") was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. At the beginning of World War II Piave was classified as an auto-transportable division, meaning ...

, General

Ercole Roncaglia Ercole Roncaglia (Modena, 5 March 1886 – 1965) was an Italian general during World War II. Biography Roncaglia was born in Modena on 5 March 1886, into a noble family. After enlisting in the Royal Italian Army he became an artillery office ...

*** 52nd Infantry Division "Torino", General Luigi Manzi

Order of battle on 9 July 1943 (Sicily)

* Sixth Army, General Alfredo Guzzoni ** XII Army Corps, General

Mario Arisio Mario Arisio (Turin, 5 July 1885 – Rome, 7 July 1950) was an Italian general who served in the Italo-Turkish War, World War I, the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and World War II. Biography Arisio was born in Turin on July 5, 1885, and attend ...

, from 12 July: General

*** 26th Infantry Division "Assietta" *** 28th Infantry Division "Aosta" *** 202nd Coastal Division ***

207th Coastal Division The 207th Coastal Division ( it, 207ª Divisione Costiera) was an infantry Division (military), division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. Royal Italian Army coastal divisions were second line divisions formed with reservists and equ ...

*** 208th Coastal Division *** 230th Coastal Division ***XXIX Coastal Brigade ** XVI Army Corps, General Carlo Rossi ***

4th Infantry Division "Livorno" The 4th Infantry Division "Livorno" ( it, 4ª Divisione di fanteria "Livorno") was a infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Livorno was classified as a mountain infantry division, which meant that the division's arti ...

***

54th Infantry Division "Napoli" The 54th Infantry Division "Napoli" ( it, 54ª Divisione di fanteria "Napoli") was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Napoli was formed on 15 April 1939 in Caltanissetta and named for the city of Naples. The d ...

*** 206th Coastal Division *** 213th Coastal Division *** XVIII Coastal Brigade *** XIX Coastal Brigade

Commanders

(October 1938 – June 1940) *

(June 1940 – November 1940) *

(interim) (November 1940 – February 1941) *

Ezio Rosi Ezio Rosi (Vicenza, 19 March 1881 – Bologna, 5 January 1963) was an Italian general during World War II. He commanded the Sixth Army from 1941 to 1943, and after a brief period as Army Chief of Staff, he assumed command of Army Group East ...

(February 1941 – February 1943) *

Mario Roatta Mario Roatta (2 February 1887 – 7 January 1968) was an Italian general. After serving in World War I he rose to command the Corpo Truppe Volontarie which assisted Francisco Franco's force during the Spanish Civil War. He was the Deputy Chief o ...

(February 1943 – June 1943) * Alfredo Guzzoni (June 1943 – September 1943)Axis History
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Notes

References

Sources

* * * * {{Large formations of Italy in World War II Field armies of Italy in World War II