1st CC.NN. Division "23 Marzo"
1st CC.NN. Division "23 Marzo" | |
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![]() 1st CC.NN. Division "23 Marzo" insignia | |
Active | 23 April 1935 - 5 January 1941 |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Division |
Garrison/HQ | Chieti |
Motto(s) | "Implacabile" |
Engagements | Second Italo-Ethiopian War World War II |
Insignia | |
Identification symbol | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() 1st CC.NN. Division gorget patches |
The 1st CC.NN. Division "23 Marzo" (Italian: 1ª Divisione CC.NN. "23 Marzo") was an Italian CC.NN. (Blackshirts militia) division raised on 23 April 1935 for the Second Italo-Ethiopian War against Ethiopia.[1] The name "23 Marzo" ("March 23rd") was chosen to commemorate the founding date of the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento on 23 March 1919.[2] The division took part in the Italian invasion of Egypt and was destroyed during the Battle of Bardia in January 1941.
History
The division was one of six CC.NN. divisions raised in summer 1935 in preparation for the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. Its members were volunteers from the various armed militias of the National Fascist Party's paramilitary wing and came from two regions: the 135th and 192nd CC.NN. legions, and the I CC.NN. Machine Gun Battalion from Tuscany and the 202nd CC.NN. Legion from Umbria.[3]
Second Italo-Ethiopian War
The division arrived in Massawa in Italian Eritrea between 28 August and September 1935. On 3 October the division crossed the Balasa river into Ethiopia. The division participated in the Battle of Amba Aradam and then in the Second Battle of Tembien. After the war the division was repatriated and then disbanded.[3]
World War II
The division was reformed in Chieti in 1939 and sent with three other CC.NN. divisions to Italian Libya. The division took part in the invasion of Egypt in September 1940, reaching Sidi Barrani in Egypt by October. On 1 December 1940 the division was at Bardia, where it was surrounded with other Italian units by British forces during Operation Compass. After a short siege the division was destroyed during the Battle of Bardia on 3-5 January 1941.[4]
Organization
1935
Below follows the division's organization during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and the cities, in which its CC.NN. battalions and companies/batteries were raised.[3]
- 1st CC.NN. Division "23 Marzo"
- 135th CC.NN. Legion "Indomita", in La Spezia
- Command Company
- CXXXV CC.NN. Battalion, in La Spezia
- CLXXXVIII CC.NN. Battalion, in Livorno
- 135th CC.NN. Machine Gun Company, in Volterra
- 135th CC.NN. Artillery Battery, in Rome (65/17 mod. 13 mountain guns)
- 192nd CC.NN. Legion "Francesco Ferrucci", in Florence
- 202nd CC.NN. Legion "Cacciatori del Tevere", in Perugia
- I CC.NN. Machine Gun Battalion, in Pisa
- I Artillery Group (65/17 mod. 13 mountain guns, Royal Italian Army)
- I Mixed Transport Unit (Royal Italian Army)
- I Supply Unit (Royal Italian Army)
- 1st Special Engineer Company (Royal Italian Army)
- 1st Medical Section (Royal Italian Army)
- 1st Logistic Section (Royal Italian Army)
- 1st Carabinieri Section
- 135th CC.NN. Legion "Indomita", in La Spezia
The supply unit had 1,600 mules and the mixed transport unit 80 light trucks. The division engaged in war crimes in Ethiopia during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.[5]
1940
Below follows the division's organization at the start of the Italian invasion of Egypt and the cities, in which its CC.NN. battalions were raised.[4][6]
1st CC.NN. Division "23 Marzo"[6]
- 219th CC.NN. Legion, in Frosinone
- 233rd CC.NN. Legion, in Campobasso
- 201st Artillery Regiment "23 Marzo" (formed by the depot of the 9th Army Corps Artillery Regiment in Foggia)[7]
- Command Unit
- I Group (75/27 mod. 06 field guns)
- II Group (75/27 mod. 06 field guns)
- III Group (100/17 mod. 14 howitzers)
- 1st Anti-aircraft Battery (20/65 mod. 35 anti-aircraft guns)
- 201st Anti-aircraft Battery (20/65 mod. 35 anti-aircraft guns)
- 219th Support Weapons Battery (65/17 mod. 13 mountain guns)
- 233rd Support Weapons Battery (65/17 mod. 13 mountain guns)
- Ammunition and Supply Unit
- CCI Machine Gun Battalion (Royal Italian Army)
- CCI Mixed Engineer Battalion (Royal Italian Army)
- Command Platoon
- 1x Engineer Company
- 1x Telegraph and Radio Operators Company
- 1x Searchlight Section
- 201st CC.NN. Anti-tank Company (47/32 anti-tank guns)
- 201st CC.NN. Support Weapons Battery (65/17 mod. 13 mountain guns)
- 201st CC.NN. Mortar Company (81mm mod. 35 mortars)
- 201st Transport Section (Royal Italian Army)
- 201st Supply Section (Royal Italian Army)
- 201st Medical Section (Royal Italian Army)
- 3x Field hospitals
- 1x Surgical Unit
- 701st Carabinieri Section
- 702nd Carabinieri Section
- 301st Field Post Office
Attached during the Battle of Bardia:[6]
CC.NN. Grouping "23 Marzo"
For the Italian participation in the Eastern Front the regiment-sized CC.NN. Grouping "23 Marzo" was raised as unit of the Italian Army in Russia:[8]
- CC.NN. Grouping "23 Marzo"
- CC.NN. Battalions Group "Valle Scrivia"
- CC.NN. Battalions Group "Leonessa"
Commanding officers
During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War:
- Generale di Divisione Ettore Bastico (23 April 1935 - 20 October 1935)
- Generale di Divisione Prince Filiberto, Duke of Genoa (21 October 1935 - 29 February 1936)
- Generale di Divisione Carlo Carini (1 March 1936 - ?)
During the Italian invasion of Egypt:[6]
- Generale di Divisione Francesco Antonelli (1939 - 5 January 1941, POW)
See also
References
- ^ Yared, Ephrem (2016-03-08). "The Second Italo-Abyssinian War (1935–1936) •". Retrieved 2020-11-18.
- ^ "Fasci di combattimento | Italian political organization". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
- ^ a b c "Divisione CC.NN. "23 Marzo"". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
- ^ a b "1ª Divisione CC.NN. "23 Marzo"". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
- ^ Del Boca, Angelo (2007). Il gas di Mussolini. Il fascismo e la guerra d'Etiopia. ISBN 9788835958598.
- ^ a b c d Bollettino dell'Archivio dell'Ufficio Storico N.II-3 e 4 2002. Rome: Ministero della Difesa - Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito - Ufficio Storico. 2002. p. 352. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ F. dell'Uomo, R. di Rosa (1998). L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000 - Vol. Secondo - Tomo II. Rome: SME - Ufficio Storico. p. 182.
- ^ Le operazioni delle Unità Italiane al Fronte Russo (1941-1943). Rome: Ministero della Difesa Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito Ufficio Storico. 1977.
Sources
- Lucas, Ettore; de Vecchi, Giorgio (1976). Storia delle Unità Combattenti della Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale 1923–1943. Roma: Giovanni Volpe Editore. pp. 63–116. OCLC 797527296.
- Nafziger, George F. (1996). Black Shirt, Mountain, Assault & Landing Divisions, Corps Troops and the 1944 Liberation Army. The Italian Order of Battle in WWII: an Organizational History of the Divisions and Independent Brigades of the Italian Army. Vol. III. Ohio: West Chester. OCLC 39214181.
External links
- Regio Esercito: Divisione CC.NN. "23 Marzo"
- v
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- e
- 1st CC.NN. Division "23 Marzo"
- 2nd CC.NN. Division "28 Ottobre"
- 3rd CC.NN. Division "21 Aprile"
- 4th CC.NN. Division "3 Gennaio"
- 1st CC.NN. Armored Division "M"
- 1st Libyan Division
- 2nd Libyan Division
- Harar Colonial Division
- 1st Eritrean Division
- 2nd Eritrean Division
- 3rd Colonial Division
- 4th Colonial Division
- 21st Colonial Division
- 22nd Colonial Division
- 23rd Colonial Division
- 24th Colonial Division
- 25th Colonial Division
- 26th Colonial Division
- 101st Somali Division
- 102nd Somali Division
- 201st Coastal Division
- 202nd Coastal Division
- 203rd Coastal Division
- 204th Coastal Division
- 205th Coastal Division
- 206th Coastal Division
- 207th Coastal Division
- 208th Coastal Division
- 209th Coastal Division
- 210th Coastal Division
- 211th Coastal Division
- 212th Coastal Division
- 213th Coastal Division
- 214th Coastal Division
- 215th Coastal Division
- 216th Coastal Division
- 220th Coastal Division
- 221st Coastal Division
- 222nd Coastal Division
- 223rd Coastal Division
- 224th Coastal Division
- 225th Coastal Division
- 226th Coastal Division
- 227th Coastal Division
- 228th Coastal Division
- 230th Coastal Division
- 231st Coastal Division
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