The Libyan Division was a formation of colonial troops raised by the Italians in their colony in Libya. It participated in the invasion of Ethiopia in the

Second Italo-Abyssinian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Itali ...

. The formation was reorganized into the 1st Libyan Division by the beginning of Italy's entry into World War II. In September 1940, the 1st Libyan Division, together with its sister-division 2nd Libyan Division, participated in the

Italian invasion of Egypt The Italian invasion of Egypt () was an offensive in the Second World War, against British, Commonwealth and Free French forces in the Kingdom of Egypt. The invasion by the Italian 10th Army () ended border skirmishing on the frontier and began ...

. By December, the division was dug in at Maktila and was forced to surrender during Operation Compass.

Origins

Following the Italo-Turkish War of 1911-12, Italy occupied the coastal zones of the twin provinces of

Tripolitania Tripolitania ( ar, طرابلس '; ber, Ṭrables, script=Latn; from Vulgar Latin: , from la, Regio Tripolitana, from grc-gre, Τριπολιτάνια), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province o ...

and Cyrenaica, constituting modern Libya. The Italians continued to face very strong opposition from the

Senussi The Senusiyya, Senussi or Sanusi ( ar, السنوسية ''as-Sanūssiyya'') are a Muslim political-religious tariqa (Sufi order) and clan in colonial Libya and the Sudan region founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Senussi ( ar, السنوسي ...

, especially in Cyrenaica. From the beginning the Italian Army made use of the former Turkish organised Arab

gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

as auxiliaries, augmenting them with regular colonial units recruited amongst the indigenous peoples of Libya. By 1913 these comprised seven battalions of infantry, three squadrons of savari cavalry, one squadron of meharistes (camel troops), a mountain artillery battery and a section of camel artillery."Le Uniformi Coloniali Libiche 1912-42" Piero Crociani 1980 By the 1930s the Libyan units had been brought together into the "

Royal Corps of Libyan Troops Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

" comprising infantry, cavalry, artillery, motorised troops and support services. A battalion of Libyan parachutists was raised shortly before World War II, the first force of this kind to be created in Africa. Libyans also served in zaptie (carabinieri), Sahariani (desert troops) and spahi (irregular cavalry) units

Order of Battle 3 October 1935

Libyan Division - Guglielmo Nasi * 1st Libyan Infantry Regiment ** II Libyan Battalion ** III Libyan Battalion * 2nd Libyan Infantry Regiment ** IV Libyan Battalion ** V Libyan Battalion * 3rd Libyan Infantry Regiment ** VIII Libyan Battalion ** IX Libyan Battalion * X Libyan Battalion * 1st Libyan Artillery Regiment

References

{{Italian colonial empire Divisions of Italy in World War II Libya in World War II Italy–Libya relations Divisions of Italy of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War Italian Libya