102nd Motorised Division Trento

102nd Motorised Division Trento

Trento Division insignia
Active 1939–1943
Country Italy Regno d'Italia
Kingdom of Italy
Branch Regio Esercito
Royal Italian Army
Type Motorised infantry
Size Division
Part of Italian XX Motorised Corps
Nickname Trento
Engagements Western Desert Campaign

The 102nd Motorised Division Trento (in Italian: 102ª Divisione Fanteria Trento) was a motorised infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II. It was formed in 1939 and kept in reserve in Italy until it was moved to North Africa in February 1941. It took part in Axis attacks across North Africa, following the Allied Operation Compass and suffered heavy losses at Tobruk. The division was then reformed and took part in all of the major battles of the Western Desert Campaign until it was destroyed during the Second Battle of El Alamein.

North Africa

The Trento arrived in North Africa to reinforce the Italian Fifth Army following the Allied offensive Operation Compass,[1] a counterattack by British and Commonwealth troops of the Western Desert Force in response to the Italian invasion of Egypt. The offensive resulted in the destruction of the Italian Tenth Army and the Allied occupation of the Italian province of Cyrenaica.[2]

Siege of Tobruk

The Trento took part in the Axis counterattack of March 1941 that forced the British and Commonwealth forces into retreat.[3] While the Australian 9th Infantry Division fell back to the fortified port of Tobruk,[4] the remaining British and Commonwealth forces withdrew a further 100 miles (160 km) east to Sollum, on the Libyan–Egyptian border.[5] These moves initiated the 240-day-long Siege of Tobruk, in which the Trento was involved.

After the failure of the Axis attack on El Adem Erwin Rommel, the German officer commanding the counterattack, decided to attack the western sector of the Tobruk perimeter, around Ras el Madauar, on 15 April. He used the 132 Armoured Division Ariete along with the 62 Sicilia Infantry Regiment of the Trento division.[6]

A British communiqué on 17 April 1941 described the actions:

One of our patrols successfully penetrated an enemy position outside the defences of Tobruk capturing 7 Italian officers and 139 men. A further attack on the defences of Tobruk was repulsed by artillery fire. The enemy again suffered heavy casualties. During yesterdays operations a total of 25 officers and 767 of other ranks were captured. In addition over 200 enemy dead were left on the field.
—New York Times[7]

The 2/43rd Battalion War Diary reported that "The Italians attacked our 48 Bn and whilst withdrawing they (the Italians) were fired upon by German tanks believed to be supporting the attack."[8] The Australians sent out Bren-gun carriers specifically to find the Italian battalions' flank. The extra firepower finally stopped the Italians, and all firing ceased. Italian casualties turned out to be 24 dead, 112 wounded and 436 prisoners, including their colonel. He was so furious at having his unit shot up from behind by supporting German tanks that he fully cooperated with Tobruk Headquarters.[9]

An intelligence assessment by the 2/43rd Battalion concluded that:

Reports from PW indicate that a large-scale attack was to have been launched on the Tobruk defences on or about 16 April 41. There appears to have been no co-ordination between enemy tanks and inf units. The ITALIANS appear to have been somewhat in the dark as to their actual objectives and the method of co-ordination by means of GERMAN liaison offrs working with ITALIAN units has not been successful. PW also state that the spasmodic attacks in different sectors between 14 and 16 Apr, sometimes inf alone, sometimes tks alone sometimes both, were all intended to be a simultaneous assault which apparently went badly astray in its timing.[10]

On 17 April 1941, an Allied war correspondent wrote that:

The most striking lesson of the first week of the siege of Tobruk is the complete lack of cohesion between the German armoured formations and the Italian infantry. The latest illustration of this was given in an action north of the Derna road, where one battalion of Italian infantry approached our wire. They expected support from German tanks, which did not arrive, leaving the infantry totally unsupported.[11]

On the night of 30 April, a strong Italo-German force attacks the Tobruk defences, and the Ariete, Brescia, 8th Bersaglieri Regiment and Guastatori (combat engineers) involved capture seven strongpoints ( R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7 and R8).[12] Between 3 and 4 May, the Australians counterattack but the Italians in the form of the Trento and Pavia Divisions,[13] and Ariete tanks in conjunction with the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment repel the attack and the attackers are only able to recapture one strongpoint from the defending Italian troops[14][15]During the first week of May, it was reported that 30 Australian soldiers shot themselves in order to be evacuated.[16][17] That month, an underground 'war neurosis clinic' was built in Tobruk and placed under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel E.L. Cooper and Captain A.J.M Sinclair, and 207 soldiers were admitted for treatment.[18]On the night of 16 May, the Brescia Division attacked again, and the help of two platoons from the 32nd Combat Engineer Battalion, breached the defensive perimeter of the 2/9th and 2/10th Battalions. With the obstacles removed, the Brescia troops involved, who bring flame-thrower parties and tanks, capture the S8, S9 and S10 strongpoints.[12] The Australians fight back and the Commanding Officer of the Guastatori's, Colonel Emilio Caizzo is killed in a satchel attack and wins a posthumous Gold Medal for valour. Although the Australian Official History admits losing three positions, it claims the attackers were 'Germans'.[19] However, an Italian narrative has recorded:

With great skill and speed the Guastatori open three lanes in the mines and obstacles to let the Brescia Fucilieri through. Side by side with the Brescia assault troops they inflict heavy loses on the enemy and take out further strong points with explosives and flamethrowers.[20]

Australian military historian Mark Johnston states there was an "unwillingness to acknowledge reverses against Italians" in Australian official accounts.[21]

The Australian commander (Major-General Leslie Morsehead) is furious and orders the Australians to be far more vigilant in the future.[22] Among the objectives initially selected during the planning of Operation Brevity was the recapture of S8 and S9 strongpoints, but this is abandoned when it is discovered the Australians had recovered them.[23]

On 24 May, the Brescia Division which has taken over the western front of Tobruk, repels an attacking infantry force, supported by tanks.

The Trento in the form of its 7th Bersaglieri Regiment soon arrives to replace the weary Italian forces defending the captured stronpoints, and the Australians continue to fight hard to recover them. On 2 August, the Australian 2/43rd and 2/28th Battalions, in a final attempt to recover the lost strongpoints, carry out a determined attack but are repulsed with heavy loss of life.[24] After much fierce fighting, the Bersaglieri troops are finally ordered to move back to Gazala to rest and refit.[25]

Operation Brevity and Battleaxe

The British XIII Corps launched Operation Brevity on 15 May 1941. The objective of the operation was to clear the Halfaya Pass and secure several footholds to create advantageous conditions from which to launch Operation Battleaxe.[26][27]

The principle Axis opposition was Kampfgruppe von Herff, positioned on the desert plateau, which included up to 50 German tanks and the 5th Motorised Infantry Battalion, Trento, as well as supporting arms. The front line area around Halfaya Pass was defended by two companies of Bersaglieri with artillery support.[28][29]

After a day of inconclusive fighting the operation was abandoned and British forces took control of the pass. Total Italian casualties during the operation are unknown, though at least 347 men were taken prisoner during the operation.[30][31] On 5 August 1941, Colonel von Herff praised the Bersaglieri anti-tank gunners, whom he said had defended Halfaya Pass "...with lionlike courage until the last man against stronger enemy forces. The greatest part of them died faithful to the flag."[32]

The division next saw action during the Allied attack codenamed Operation Battleaxe in mid-June 1941. The division was deployed forward with three infantry battalions and one artillery regiment stationed in the Sollum-Musaid-Capuzzo area. The rest of the division was located at Bardia.[33]

Operation Crusader

Operation Crusader was launched by the British Eighth Army between 18 November–30 December 1941, with the objective of relieving the siege of Tobruk. Trento was now part of the Italian XXI Corps with the 17 Infantry Division Pavia, the 25 Infantry Division Bologna, and the 27 Infantry Division Brescia.[34] The attacks of the British 70th Division were checked for a time by the Trento, but the attackers were able to lift the siege of Tobruk on 10 December.[35]

Battle of Gazala

Battle of Gazala lines of attack

The Battle of Gazala was fought May–June 1942. The plan was for the armoured and motorised divisions to perform a right flanking attack while the Italian XXI Corps and the Italian X Corps, which included the Trento, would advance parallel to the coast road.[36][37] The Trento played an important role in the capture of 6,000 British troops at Gazala on June 16.[38]

Battle of Mersa Matruh

During the Battle of Mersa Matruh on 26–30 June 1942, the 7th Bersaglieri Regiment and 46th Artillery of the Trento, played an important part[39][40] in the capture of 6,000 defenders of the Xth British Corps, along with large quantities of supplies.[41]One German veteran claims that among the captured, were Australian, New Zealand and French troops that had formed part of the Mersa Matruh garrison.[42]

First Battle of El Alamein

During the First Battle of El Alamein, part of the Sabratha Division was overrun on 10 July and General Enea Navarini, the commander of the Italian XXI Corps, rushed forward a battalion of the 7th Bersaglieri Regiment along with a battalion of the 46th Trento Artillery and a company of tanks from the Trieste Division[43]to contain the Australian advance in the area of Tel el Eisa. The Italians overrun the Australian 2/24th Battalion's D Company[44] and Captain Mario Pasquetto, Corporal Miro Chiesa and Private Pietro Ranieri of the 7th Bersaglieri Regiment, were posthumously decorated for their part in the action. Major Renzo Rastrelli recalled the action:

The enemy was close at hand, their patrols and armored cars were all over the road. Without hesitation the battery commander, Captain Comi, opened fire at minimum elevation ... handling his massive 149s as if they were machine guns. The space before the leveled guns was clear in no time. The ground was plowed up in front of the guns for a distance close on 20 yards....The guns became red-hot, and many of the handlers were burnt....The area in front of Comi was deserted, except for blazing vehicles and dead Australians.[45]

On 17 July, a battalion of the Trento saved one flank from penetration and was so cited in the Panzerarmee daily summary,[46]The battalion along with a battalion from the Trieste Division,[47]counterattacked the 2/32nd Battalion and captured 200[48]-300 Australians[49]in this action but the Australian Official History overlooks this Italian success, admitting that just “two forward platoons of the 2/32nd’s left company were overrun, 22 men were taken prisoner”, and wrongly claiming that that they were captured by the Germans.[50][51]Corporal Cesare Garavaglia would win posthumously the Croce al Valor Militare for his leadership in the action.[52]

On 27 July, the 3rd Battalion of the Trento defeated the Australian 9th Division and South African 1st Division in their attempts to seize Miteiriya Ridge and surroundng area,[53] delaying the Allied advance for several hours and allowing an Italian armoured reconnaissance force to launch a devastating counterattack against the Australian 2/28th Battalion.[54]Corporal Giuseppe Romano would win posthumously the Medaglia d'oro al Valore Militare, for his role in the defence of Miteiriya Ridge.[55]

Second Lieutenant Eithel Torelli recalled the role of 3rd Battalion of the 61st Trento Infantry Regiment in the fighting on Miteiriya Ridge:

We could see the Australians and British advancing rather spread out, about 750 yards in front of us, all in groups corresponding with their units. We ceased fire with the machine-guns — there was still plenty of time for them — but continued with our 47/32s ... When they got within 300 yards, we opened up with everything. The noise was terrific; you could only tell a gun was firing by the smoke and powder coming out of its muzzle. It was almost eleven o’clock. My tommy-gun broke down after about 3,000 rounds — ejector broken! The machine-gun also played up a bit after 5,000 rounds. But by that time the attack was beginning to peter out. The British artillery had packed it in. By midday it was all over. After the withdrawal, followed by our counterattack, the ambulances returned to start ferrying back the dead and wounded, but we got suspicious after an hour or so because they seemed to be hanging about too much. We fired a few shots over their heads to let them know it was time to break it up. They took the hint and went — and didn’t come back.[56]

The New Zealand Official History of the Second World War reports that German tanks counterattacked and overran the Australian battalion,[57] but the Intelligence Officer of the 2/28th Battalion who was present in the action, has written in his war diary that armoured cars had in fact delivered the counterattack[58]and Italians veterans maintain that it was the Trieste armoured car squadron that overran the Australians.[59]

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel observed that many Italian officers and NCOs fought well during the First Battle of Alamein:

There is no doubt that the achievement of every Italian unit, especially of the motorised forces, far surpassed anything that the Italian Army had done for a hundred years. Many Italian generals and officers won our admiration both as men and as soldiers.[60]

Second Battle of El Alamein

Division locations before the Second Battle of El Alamein
Allied forces break through:7am 4 November; Trento', Bologna and Ariete Divisions destroyed- Axis forces flee

Before the start of the Second Battle of El Alamein the Trento was positioned along the Miteirya Ridge. On 24 October they came under attack from the 2nd New Zealand Division supported by 10th Armoured Division. By 25 October the Allies had broken through the minefields and were positioned on top of the Meteirya Ridge. Italian casualties from incessant artillery and air attack had been heavy, particularly in the north. The Trento had lost half its infantry and most of its artillery.[61] According to author Walter S. Zapotoczny (a graduate of the U.S. Army Sergeant Majors' Academy), the 61st and 62nd Infantry Regiments of the Trento Division had fought well, including the anti-tanks gunners of Captain Attilio Viganò and engineers and artillery gunners of the division.[62] On 26 October, the Trento in the form of the 7th Bersaglieri Regiment's 11th Battalion[63] forced the bulk of the Australian 2/17th Battalion to abandon Hill 28,[64] and Rommel recognized this when he wrote:

Attacks were now launched on Hill 28 by elements of the 15th Panzer Division, the Littorio and a Bersaglieri Battalion, supported by the concentrated fire of all the local artillery and A.A ... In the evening part of the Bersaglieri Battalion succeeded in occupying the eastern and western edges of the hill.[65]

On the night of 28–29 October, the Trento in the form of the 7th Bersaglieri Regiment's 10th Battalion, helped bring the advance of the Australian 26th Brigade and 46th Royal Tank Regiment to a complete halt and won the admiration of the Germans after successfully defending their newly won positions, allowing the arrival of German reinforcements on 1 November.[66]An Italian military communique would claim Italian soldiers in this fighting to have captured 100 Australians along with 40 trucks.[67]For their leadership in the action, Major Serafino Perotti of the 62nd Trento Infantry Regiment would win posthumously the Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare, and Captain Enzio Fortunato Malis of the 7th Bersaglieri Regiment, would also win posthumously the Croce di Guerra al Valor Militare.[68]

On 2 November Rommel ordered the X and XXI Italian Corps and 90th Light Afrika Division to stand firm while the Afrika Korps would withdraw approximately six miles west during the night of 3 November, with XX Italian Corps and the Ariete Division conforming to their position.[69] Of this, the Italian rearguard actions of the battle, Rommel wrote:

Enormous dust-clouds could be seen south and south-east of headquarters, where the desperate struggle of the small and inefficient Italian tanks of XX Corps was being played out against the hundred or so British heavy tanks which had come round their open right flank. I was later told by Major von Luck, whose battalion I had sent to close the gap between the Italians and the Afrika Korps, that the Italians who at that time represented our strongest motorized force, fought with exemplary courage.[70]

Order of battle

Notes

Footnotes
  1. ↑ An Italian Infantry Division normally consisted of two Infantry Regiments (three Battalions each), an Artillery Regiment, a Mortar Battalion (two companies), an Anti Tank Company, a Blackshirt Legion (Regiment of two Battalions). Each Division had only about 7,000 men, The Infantry and Artillery Regiments contained 1,650 men, the Blackshirt Legion 1,200, each company 150 men.[72]
Citations
  1. ↑ Bauer, p.121
  2. ↑ Playfair (1954), pp. 362 – 366, 371 – 376
  3. ↑ Playfair (1956), pp. 19–40
  4. ↑ Latimer, pp. 43–45
  5. ↑ Playfair (1956), pp. 33–35
  6. ↑ Playfair (1956), p. 38
  7. ↑ "The Text of the Day's Communiques on Fighting in Europe and Africa: British". New York Times (18 April 1941). Archived from the original on 2009-04-27. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
  8. ↑ "Appendix No. 30:(Unreadable) Summary No. 2, entry for 16 Apl" (PDF). 2/43 Infantry Battalion War Diary, April 1941 (Australian War Memorial). Retrieved 2008-06-10.
  9. ↑ Tobruk 1941: Capture-Siege-Relief, p.564, Chester Wilmot, Angus and Robertson Ltd, 1944
  10. ↑ "Appendix No. 31: Bash Intelligence Summary No. 3. General" (PDF). 2/43 Infantry Battalion War Diary, April 1941 (Australian War Memorial). Retrieved 2008-06-10.
  11. ↑ LACK OF COHESION
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 XXXII BATTAGLIONE GUASTATORI
  13. ↑ The Forgotten Axis: Germany's Partners and Foreign Volunteers in World War II, J. Lee Ready, p. 310, McFarland & Co., 1987
  14. ↑ "On 4 May, the positions held by 5 Battalion of 8 Bersaglieri under Major Gaggetti around Redoubts 6, 7 and 8 were counter-attacked by the Australians. The Italians responded with strong defensive fire and launched a counter-attack supported by three L3 light tanks. The latter were quickly destroyed at close quarters, and the Australians captured Redoubt 7. The Bersaglieri counter-attacked almost immediately, supported by one M13 tank and three armoured cars, and forced them back." Iron Hulls, Iron Hearts: Mussolini's Elite Armoured Divisions in North Africa, Ian Walker, p.?, Crowood Press, 2006
  15. ↑ That magnificent 9th: An Illustrated History of The 9th Australian Division, Mark Johnston, p. 38, Allen and Unwin, 2002
  16. ↑ "In one five-day period in early May 1941, after the second major German assault on the Red Line, medical units treated 30 cases of self-inflicted bullet wounds." A Medical Emergency: Major-General 'Ginger' Burston and the Army Medical Service in World War II , Ian Howie-Willis, p. 187, Big Sky Publishing, 2012
  17. ↑ "More disturbing was the large number of self-inflicted wound (SIW) cases. During a single week in May the division reported thirty SIW cases..." Armies of Empire: The 9th Australian and 50th British Divisions in Battle 1939–1945, Allan Converse, p. 86, Cambridge University Press, 2011
  18. ↑ "In May 1941 a 'war neurosis clinic' of 70 beds was established in an underground concrete shelter in the city. Of the 204 admissions treated by Lt Colonel E.L. Cooper and Captain A.J.M Sinclair 61% were reported as serving with fighting units..." Shell Shock to PTSD: Military Psychiatry from 1900 to the Gulf War, Edgar Jones, Simon Wessely, p. 67, Psychology Press, 2005
  19. ↑ Maughan (1966), p.250
  20. ↑ GUASTATORI IN NORTH AFRICA. The XXXI and XXXII Guastatori Battalions in the North African Campaign
  21. ↑ Fighting the Enemy: Australian soldiers and their adversaries in World War II, Mark Johnston, p. 13, Cambridge University Press, 2002
  22. ↑ Maughan (1966), p.251
  23. ↑ Tobruk 1941, The Desert Siege, Timothy Hall, p. 183, Methuen Australia, 1984
  24. ↑ North Africa 1941-1942 Second AIF Veterans Support and Advocacy Service Australia Inc.
  25. ↑ (in Italian). Associazione Bersaglieri della Regione. I Bersaglieri website.
  26. ↑ Chant, p. 21
  27. ↑ Playfair (1956), pp. 159–160
  28. ↑ Playfair (1956), p. 160
  29. ↑ Jentz, pp. 128–129
  30. ↑ Erskine, p. 79"
  31. ↑ Hastings, p. 70
  32. ↑ New York Times article, Italians' Bravery Praised By Nazi Chief in Africa. 5 August 1941
  33. ↑ Playfair (1960), p. 164
  34. ↑ Clifford, p. 123
  35. ↑ The Bologna Division: 19 November – 10 December, 1941, By David Aldea, Comando Supremo: Italy at War
  36. ↑ Playfair (1960), p. 223
  37. ↑ Mackenzie, p.541
  38. ↑ The Rise of the Wehrmacht: The German Armed Forces and World War, 2 Volumes, p.564, Samuel W. Mitcham, Praeger (June 30, 2008)
  39. ↑ "The Mersa Matruh positions came under heavy artillery fire from the Brescia and Trento Divisions, while the 90th Light and the Littorio Divisions tried to complete the encirclement from the south ... Late in the day on 27 June, Gott, worried that his New Zealand 2nd Division was about to be cut off, ordered the withdrawal of XIII Corps. Because of a breakdown in British communications, X Corps did not learn until 0430 hours on 28 June that XIII Corps was in full retreat, and their southern flank was open. Later that day, the 90th Light Division and the Littorio Division completed the encirclement of Mersa Matruh ... During the night of 28 June, groups of the Indian 10th Division tried a breakout of the Mersa Matruh position at the head of Wadi Ngamish, but they were driven back by the Littorio Armoured Division ... On the morning of 29 June, the garrison of Mersa Matruh was overwhelmed. At 0930 hours, the Italian 7th Bersaglieri Regiment entered the conquered stronghold, taking 6,000 Allied prisoners. " World War II in Europe: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1, David T. Zabecki, p. 1578, Taylor & Francis, 1999
  40. ↑ "Most of the garrison of Matruh, the better part of another corps, broke out before that position was overrun on June 29, with Italian Bersaglieri playing a leading role in a close-quarters fight resulting in the capture of six thousand prisoners and a division's worth of equipment." Patton And Rommel: Men of War in the Twentieth Century, Dennis Showalter, p. ?, Penguin, 2006
  41. ↑ Aldea, David. "Mersa Matruh". Commando Supremo: Italy at War website. Archived from the original on 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  42. ↑ "29 June: Our forces are now well into Egypt and we took Mersa Matruh today, capturing 6000 British, Australian and New Zealand troops, and even Indians and French Legionnaires." Two Soldiers, Two Lost Fronts: German War Diaries of the Stalingrad and North Africa Campaigns, Don Allen Gregory, p. 166, Casemate Publishers, 2014
  43. ↑ "That afternoon Italian tanks counter-attacked both Australian battalions in an attempt to retake Hill 33 near the coast. Maj. Gabriele Verri, commanding 11th Armd. Bn. of the Trieste Motorised Division, sent a company of M13 and M14 tanks into the assault under Capt. Vittorio Bulgarelli." War in the Desert, Neil D. Orpen, p.367, Purnell, 1971
  44. ↑ According to the 2/48th Battalion diary: "At approx 2000 hours enemy tks--number unknown-- and inf attacked D Coy front. They overran psn and enemy inf forced D Company to withdraw and occupied their psn."
  45. ↑ Rommel's Desert War: The Life and Death of the Afrika Korps, Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr, pp. 118-119, Stackpole Books, 2007
  46. ↑ "In the same action the 3rd/61st Trento Infantry so distinguished itself in defending the Miteiriya Ridge that Rommel not only gave them proper recognition in his daily bulletin but was furious that the Italian communique (through ignorance, not neglect) failed to do so." The Battle for North Africa, John Strawson, p. 118, Bonanza Books, 1969
  47. ↑ "Per scongiurare questo pericolo fu lanciato un primo contrattacco da parte di due battaglioni italiani, uno della Trento e l'altro della Trieste." The Battaglie nel deserto, Alberto Bongiovanni, p. 210, Mursia, 1978
  48. ↑ 2/32nd Battalion
  49. ↑ "L'azione andò bene, gli australiani vennero bloccati e potemmo fare anche 300 prigionieri." The Battaglie nel deserto, Alberto Bongiovanni, p. 210, Mursia, 1978
  50. ↑ "German records indicate that Italians of the Trento Division were responsible." Fighting the Enemy: Australian Soldiers and Their Adversaries in World War II, Mark Johnston, p. 13, Cambridge University Press, 2000
  51. ↑ "Soon the companies had seized the enemy positions on the ridge, but, in the dark, the men of A Company overshot their objective, Point 22, by 1,500 yards. By the time they realised their mistake they were under such heavy fire that they could not withdraw. By 08.00 hours Italian tanks and infantry began to encircle their positions and eventually forced the entire company to surrender." Pendulum Of War: Three Battles at El Alamein, Niall Barr, p. 148, Random House, 2010
  52. ↑ ELENCO DEI CADUTI ITALIANI IRREPERIBILI
  53. ↑ "On 26/27 July the Australian 9th Division and South African 1st Divisions tried to push the 102nd Trento Division off Miteiriya Ridge, but the Italian infantry forced them back to their own lines. " Regio Esercito: The Italian Royal Army in Mussolini's Wars, 1935-1943, Patrick Cloutier, p. 86, Lulucom, 2013
  54. ↑ Aldea, David. "First Battle of El Alamein". Commando Supremo: Italy at War website. Archived from the original on 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  55. ↑ ELENCO DEI CADUTI ITALIANI IRREPERIBILI
  56. ↑ Alamein 1933-1962: An Italian Story, Paolo Caccia Dominioni de Sillavengo, p. 87, Osprey Allen & Unwin, 1966
  57. ↑ "The 24th Australian Brigade was given the task of establishing its 2/28 Battalion on Miteiriya Ridge, after which 2/43 Battalion, supported by 50 Royal Tank Regiment, was to exploit north-west. The objective was won at 2.50 a.m., but as the minefield had been imperfectly gapped the supporting weapons and ammunition could not be sent forward. From three o'clock onwards the battalion was under heavy fire mainly from machine guns. At 9.45 the Germans counter-attacked with tanks and overran the battalion." [CHAPTER 33 — Reorganisation http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Egyp-c33.html]
  58. ↑ "The Bn was completely surrounded by armored cars which worked forward under cover of fire from enemy tanks further back, while 20mm, MMG and mortar fire kept the heads of our own troops well down. In this manner the enemy was able to cut off and dispose of sections and platoons one by one, until at 1030 hrs Bn HQ area was occupied by several armored cars and surviving personnel taken prisoner. An effort had been made to hinder the enemy armored vehicles by bringing Arty fire to bear on them before they dispersed. Unfortunately the only communication with Bde was by one wireless set WT repaired by Sigs, after about eight hours work. Messages reporting the situation were sent immediately once this set was capable of functioning, i.e., about 0930 hrs onwards. Last message was “All up, overrun!” " July 1942 Diary by Lieutenant S. A. Walker
  59. ↑ '"The names of certain units were on everyone’s lips up and down the line following particularly brilliant actions, among them the reconnaissance Group of the Trieste. It had been set up some time previously: it was hardly a homogeneous unit on the German pattern, but did reflect admirably the Italian genius of improvisation. They had no more than nine vehicles–Morrises, Fords, Dingos and Jeeps, all captured from the enemy–armed with small caliber guns and machine-guns of all descriptions, British, Italian and German, together with two British 88 guns and their carriages, and two small supply lorries. "' Alamein 1933-1962: An Italian Story, Paolo Caccia Dominioni de Sillavengo, p. 79, Allen & Unwin, 1966
  60. ↑ Liddell Hart (ed), 'The Rommel Papers' (London 1953), pp.261–262.
  61. ↑ Playfair (1966), P. 50
  62. ↑ Italy's North African Misadventure. By Walter S. Zapotoczny
  63. ↑ "By early morning on 27 October, despite heavy losses, the 11th Battalion of the 7th Bersaglieri Regiment had taken part of Hill 28, held till then by the Australians." Al-Alamein Revisited, Michael Howard, Jill Edwards, p.26, The University, 2000
  64. ↑ "On the morning of 28 October, tanks,lorried infantry and some of the groups of men who had dug in after previous unsuccessful attempts gathered for another attempt to retake Point 29. The 2/17th Battalion, which had taken over the positions around Point 29, had suffered heavy casualties and eventually it was decided to pull the infantry back from the exposed height to better positions in the open desert." Pendulum Of War: Three Battles at El Alamein, Niall Barr Random , p.360, Random House, 2010
  65. ↑ El Alamein: Desert Victory, John Strawson, p. 119, J m Dent & Sons Limited, 1981
  66. ↑ 90th Light Division later praised the regiment and the Italian X Bersaglieri who clung to their posts even when "surrounded on all sides, short of ammunition, food and water, unable to evacuate their many wounded"; while withstanding "attacks by an enemy superior in numbers and equipment". During the morning, many of the German and Italian wounded were evacuated and more supplies brought into the salient. Niall Barr, Pendulum Of War: Three Battles at El Alamein,Random House, 2010, p. 380.
  67. ↑ BRITISH ISOLATE BIG ENEMY FORCE
  68. ↑ ELENCO DEI CADUTI ITALIANI IRREPERIBILI
  69. ↑ Playfair (1966), p. 73.
  70. ↑ The Decisive Battles of the Western World, and Their Influence Upon History: From the American Civil War to the end of the Second World War, John Frederick Charles Fuller, p. 500, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1956
  71. ↑ Wendal, Marcus. "Italian Army". Axis History. Archived from the original on 2009-04-27. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
  72. ↑ Paoletti, p 170

References