Army Liguria (''Armee Ligurien'', or LXXXXVII Army) was an army formed for the
National Republican Army
The National Republican Army (Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano, or ENR) was the army of the Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, or RSI) from 1943 to 1945 that fought on the side of Nazi Germany during World War II.
The EN ...
(''Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano'', or ENR). The ENR was the national army of Italian dictator
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
's
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...
(''Repubblica Sociale Italiana'', or RSI). Formation of this RSI army started in 1943 and the army was disbanded in 1945. Army Liguria included several German units and its Italian units were sometimes transferred to German formations.
Between November 1944 and February 1945, the formation was alternatively known as Army Group Liguria (''Armeegruppe Ligurien'') due to the subordination of
14th Army under it.
Formation
On 16 October 1943, the
Rastenburg Protocol was signed with
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and the RSI was allowed to raise four division-sized military formations. The four divisions—1st Italian "Italia" Infantry Division, 2nd Italian "Littorio" Infantry Division, 3rd Italian "San Marco" Marine Division, and 4th Italian "Monte Rosa" Alpine Division—were to ultimately total 52,000 men.
Service
In July 1944, the first of these divisions completed training and was sent to the front. Like the smaller RSI units—the
Black Brigades and the
Decima Flottiglia MAS
The ''Decima Flottiglia MAS'' (''Decima Flottiglia Motoscafi Armati Siluranti'', also known as ''La Decima'' or Xª MAS) (Italian for "10th Assault Vehicle Flotilla") was an Italian flotilla, with commando frogman unit, of the ''Regia Marina'' ...
—the newly formed RSI divisions generally participated in
anti-partisan activities. While there were exceptions, these divisions saw limited front line action.
As the remaining divisions completed training, they were combined with German units and formed into Army Group Liguria. The RSI Minister of Defense,
Rodolfo Graziani
Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli (; 11 August 1882 – 11 January 1955), was a prominent Italian military officer in the Kingdom of Italy's '' Regio Esercito'' ("Royal Army"), primarily noted for his campaigns in Africa before and durin ...
, commanded all Army forces of the RSI.
Order of battle
*Order of Battle for the LXXXXVII "Liguria" Army - 30 April 1945
[''The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan'', Hans Dollinger, Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 67-27047]
**
LXXV Corps
***
5th German Mountain Division
***
2nd Italian "Littorio" Infantry Division
***
34th German Infantry Division
** Lombardia Corps
***
3rd Italian "San Marco" Marine Infantry Division
***134th German Infantry Brigade
***
4th Italian "Monte Rosa" Alpine Division
The
1st Bersaglieri "Italia" Division was attached to the
14th German Army.
Surrender
On 1 May 1945, Graziani ordered the RSI forces under his command to lay down their arms and Army Group Liguria ceased to exist. German General
Heinrich von Vietinghoff
Heinrich Gottfried Otto Richard von Vietinghoff genannt Scheel (6 December 1887 – 23 February 1952) was a German general (''Generaloberst'') of the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oa ...
signed the unconditional instrument of surrender for all Axis forces in Italy and his surrender took effect on 2 May.
See also
*
List of German Army Groups in World War II
This is a list of German army groups during World War II.
Some German formations during World War II were designated ''Heeresgruppe'' and others ''Armeegruppe''. Both terms are usually translated into English as "army group", but refer to differe ...
*
Italian Co-Belligerent Army
*
Alfredo Guzzoni
*
Gothic Line order of battle
Gothic Line order of battle is a listing of the significant formations that were involved in Operation Olive, the Allied offensive on the Gothic Line in northern Italy, August–September 1944, and in the subsequent fighting in the central Apennin ...
*
Operation Grapeshot order of battle
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
*
Battle of Garfagnana
References
{{Armies of the German Army
Liguria
Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...
Military units and formations established in 1943
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
Field armies of Germany in World War II