Corpo Truppe Volontarie

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A Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 during a bombing raid. The black crosses distinctives in the tails are Saint Andrew's Cross, the insignia of the spanish Nationalist Air Force (Franco side). Small planes are FIAT CR.32 of the Italian XVI Gruppo Autonomo Cucaracha. Photo: G. Apostolo.
A Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 during a bombing raid. The black crosses distinctives in the tails are Saint Andrew's Cross, the insignia of the spanish Nationalist Air Force (Franco side). Small planes are FIAT CR.32 of the Italian XVI Gruppo Autonomo Cucaracha. Photo: G. Apostolo.
Republican poster against "the claw of the Italian invader".
Republican poster against "the claw of the Italian invader".

The Corps of Volunteer Troops (Corpo Truppe Volontarie, or CTV) was an Italian expeditionary force which was sent to Spain to support General Francisco Franco and the Spanish Nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War.

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[edit] Background

In July 1936, at the beginning of Spanish Civil War, most of the elite Nationalist forces were isolated in Spanish Morocco or on the Canary Islands. Meanwhile, in Spain, smaller formations of Nationalists and Guardia Civil forces were locked in combat with pro-government militias, Assault Guards and those army units which remained loyal to the Leftist Popular Front government. Making the situation more difficult for the Nationalists was the fact that the Spanish Air Force and Navy generally remained loyal to the government.

If the Nationalist forces fighting in Spain did not receive reinforcements, the rebellion could soon fail. General Franco and the other Nationalist leaders sent emissaries to Berlin and Rome to ask for help. Both German dictator Adolf Hitler and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini responded in a positive manner. They sent transport aircraft and crews to Morocco to airlift Nationalist forces from Morocco to Spain. The troops from Morocco allowed the Nationalist forces to take the initiative on the Iberian Peninsula.

The Italians also used Spanish Nationalist-held, and also Portuguese, harbours as staging points for sending supplies to the Nationalist forces, and also for landing Spanish troops to support the rebellion. Italian submarines began to sink Spanish, Soviet and other nations' ships transporting materials through the Mediterranean to Republican harbours. However action by the League of Nations resulted in the Nyon Agreement of September 1937, which classed this as an act of piracy, and was enforced by the French Navy and the Royal Navy.

[edit] Timeline

[edit] 1936

3 September : Republican forces under command of Captain Alberto Bayo from Catalonia made a landing on Majorca. His formations were the target of Italian air forces which attacked on 24 October. On the same date, Italian bombers and fighters launched their first air raid on Madrid. This was intended to demonstrate to the Republican forces the power of Franco's allies. In the following days, they began a series of bombing raids on the Spanish capital.

2 November : Italian and German bombers and their fighter escorts were attacked by Soviet aircraft, nicknamed "Chatos" by the Spanish, which resulted in some losses for the Italians.

12 December : After the collapse of Franco's offensive on Madrid, Mussolini, after consulting with Galeazzo Ciano and Mario Roatta (two of the most influential generals in Italy at the time), decided to send regular army forces to Spain. Roatta was made the Commander-in-Chief of the Italian expeditionary force. Luigi Frusci became his Deputy Commander.

23 December : The first formation of 3,000 troops landed in Cadiz. They were named the "Italian Army Mission".

[edit] 1937

January: By this time 44,000 Italian soldiers and members of the Fasci di Combattimento were in Spain. At the end of February, they were renamed the "Corps of Volunteer Troops" (Corpo Truppe Volontarie, or CTV). The CTV was organised into four divisions:

The Blackshirt (Camicie Nere, or CCNN) Divisions contained regular soldiers and volunteer militia from the Fascist Party. The CCNN divisions were semi-motorised. There it also had the indpendant XXIII de Marzo Group of CCNN infantry.

The Italian CTV also had a Tank and Armoured Cars Group, Corps Artillery of ten regiments (Groups) of field artillery, and four batteries of anti-aircraft artillery.

3 February to 8 February : The 1st CCNN Division "Dio lo Vuole," in support of the Nationalists, launched an offensive against Málaga. On 8 February, the Italians and Nationalists captured the city. The Battle of Málaga was a decisive victory for the Nationalists.

March : The "Corpo Truppe Volontarie" now numbered over 50,000 troops.

8 March to 23 March : Benito Mussolini decided that an Italian force should lead a fourth offensive on Madrid. This Italian offensive resulted in the Battle of Guadalajara. This battle was a decisive victory for the Republicans and the Italian forces suffered heavy losses. The Fascist Italian offensive was repulsed by a strong Republican counter-offensive. Of the four Italian divisions engaged, only the Littorio Division did not suffer heavy losses. The three CCNN divisions had such heavy losses that they had to be reorganized into two divisions and a special weapons (armour and artillery) group. The 3rd CCNN Division was disbanded and consolidated with the 2nd CCNN Division in April 1937.

From this point until the end of the war the commanders of the Italian Corps did not organize their own offensives, but acted under the Nationalist command. Similarly the commander of the German Legion Kondor, General Hugo Sperrle, commanded the Italian air force in Spain.

April to August: As the CCNN Divisions were reduced, Italians began to serve in mixed Italo-Spanish Flechas (Arrows) units where the Italians provided the officers and technical personnel, while the Spanish served in the rank-and-file. The first were the Flechas Azules Mixed Brigade "Blue Arrows" and Flechas Negras Mixed Brigade "Black Arrows", that served respectively in Extremadura and Viscaya from April to August 1937. Also in Viscaya were the CTV's XXIII de Marzo Group and 11 Artillery Groups.

August to September: Roatta's replacement, General Ettore Bastico commanded the CTV forces including the Division XXIII di Marzo formed from the XXIII de Marzo Group. The CTV broke the Republican's lines near Soncillo, captured a key pass, the Puerto del Escudo, and penatrated deep into the Republican rear during the Battle of Santander, resulting in a decisive victory for the Nationalists. After that they were transferred to the Aragón Front. Some CTV forces may have been involved in the Battle of El Mazuco, but details are unconfirmed.

October : After the northern campaigns, the 1st CCNN Division and 2nd CCNN Division was consolidated with the Division XXIII di Marzo and renamed the XXIII de Marzo Division "Llamas Negras".

[edit] 1938

March : The Flechas Negras Brigade was expanded into the Flechas Division "Arrows" serving in the Aragon Offensive and the March to the Sea with the CTV now under Mario Berti.

18 March: Barcelona was the target of thirteen Italian large-scale air raids. The Italian aircraft were armed with incendiary and gas bombs, which resulted in the death of around 2,500 civilians.

November : The Flechas Division was strengthened renamed "Flechas Negras" and the Flechas Azules Brigade was expanded into two other Flechas Divisions that took part in the Catalonia Offensive the final offensive of the war, along with the rest of the CTV under Gastone Gambara:

[edit] 1939

February : Following the victory of Franco and the Nationalists over the Republicans, General Bastico and the Italian volunteers withdrew from Spain.

[edit] References


[edit] Selected Bibliography

  • de Mesa, José Luis, El regreso de las legiones: (la ayuda militar italiana a la España nacional, 1936-1939), García Hispán, Granada:España, 1994 ISBN 84-87690-33-5
  • Leon Wyszczelski "Madryt 1936-1937" Historical Battles published by Ministry of National Defence, Warsaw 1988.
  • Some details from the Republican perspective on the Italian military in Spain appears in the works of Luigi Longo; a former organizer of the International Brigades.
  • Information on Italian army activities appearing in this article was taken from lacucaracha.info "La Cucaracha": Civil War in Spain 1936-1939 Official site.

[edit] External links

[edit] See also