132nd Armoured Division Ariete

This article is about the historic Italian 132nd Armoured Division Ariete. For the currently active Italian Army brigade, see Ariete Armored Brigade.
132^ Divisione Corazzata Ariete
132nd Armoured Division Ariete

Italian 132^Armored Division/Brigade "Ariete" Shoulder Insignia
Active 1 February 1939 – 8 December 1942
23 May 1948 – 30 September 1986
Country Italy Kingdom of Italy (1939 - 1943)
 Italy (1948 - 1986)
Branch Italian Army
Type Armored
Size Division
Garrison/HQ Milan
Nickname Ariete (Ram)
Motto "Ferrea mole, Ferreo cuore"
Colors blue and red
Mascot Ram Head
Engagements Operation Compass
Siege of Tobruk
Operation Crusader
Battle of Gazala
First Battle of El Alamein
Second Battle of El Alamein
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Raffaele Cadorna, Jr.
Pietro Giannattasio
Gian Marco Chiarini
Roberto Ranucci
Paolo Ruggiero

The Ariete Armoured Division was an armoured division of the Italian Army during World War II. It was formed in 1939 as the second armoured division in the Italian Army after the 131 Armoured Division Centauro. The division fought in the North African Campaign until being destroyed during the Second Battle of El Alamein. After World War II the division was reformed as part of the Italian Army.

History

World War II

France

The 132nd Armoured Division Ariete was formed in Milan in February 1939, it was initially made up of the 8th Bersaglieri motorised infantry regiment, the 32nd tank regiment, equipped with L3/35 light tanks and a few M11/39 medium tanks, the 132nd artillery regiment, and additional divisional support units. The division was moved to the French border at the outbreak of World War II, but was kept in reserve during the short campaign on that front.

Libya

Later, some battalions of the 32nd Tank Regiment were sent to Libya on a stop gap basis. The I and II M11/39 medium tank battalions were sent as part of the Maletti Group. The III and V M13/40 medium tank battalions become part of the Special Armored Brigade (Brigata Corazzata Speciale, or BCS). Both the Maletti Group and the BCS were part of the ill-fated 10th Army.

Operation Compass

From December 1940 to February 1941, during Operation Compass, the British Western Desert Force overran the 10th Army and occupied the whole of Cyrenaica. The tanks of the Maletti Group were lost in Egypt, while the tanks of the BCS were sacrificed during the break out attempt at Beda Fomm.
After this setback it was decided to employ the whole Ariete Division in North Africa. On 24 January 1941, the first echelons of the division disembarked at Tripoli. From February 1941 to November 1942, the Ariete Division fought alongside the German Africa Corps (Deutsches Afrikakorps, or DAK) in the North Africa campaign. Ariete was attached to the Italian Mobile Corps (Corpo d'Armata di Manovra Italia). This unit was later to become Italian XX Motorised Corps.

Siege of Tobruk

In particular, reinforced in 1941 with the 132nd Tank Regiment, which would replace the 32nd Tank Regiment, (disbanded in mid-1942), it took part in the first Axis counter-offensive to retake Cyrenaica and the siege of Tobruk which resulted from this. With this regiment, its battalions equipped with M13/40 and/or M14/41 medium tanks, the division fought in the desert of Libya and Egypt during 1941.

Advancing across the desert as part of the spearhead of General Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps, the Ariete and Brescia divisions captured Agedabia and the port of Zuetina[1] on 2 April, unnerving the 9th Australian Division tasked with defending Benghazi,[2][3] that quickly abandoned the city on 3 April allowing the German 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion and their pathfinders in the form of a motorcycle detachment from the Sabratha Division to enter the next day.[4] The 8th Bersaglieri Regiment of the Ariete Division then hurried forward on motorbikes and cut off the escape routes of the Mechili garrison, forcing the surrender on 8 April[5] of 3,000 troops of the 2nd Armoured Division (mainly un-armoured vehicles), 3rd Indian Motor Brigade and elements of other units including some guns from 1st Royal Horse Artillery and more than 100 Australians[6] at Mechili.[7] The same day, the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 8th Machine-Gun and 605th Anti-Tank battalions caught up with the Italians at Mechili and set off in pursuit of the two Australian brigades that had escaped from Mechili,[8] and captured 800 more troops that were retreating along the coast road.[9]

On 1 May 1941 the Germans and Italians attacked Tobruk in considerable strength. Their attack pierced the Australian defences, and the Ariete and supporting 8th Bersaglieri captured the R3, R4, R5, R6 and R7 strong points.[10][11] On 3 May the Australians launched a counter-attack with the 18th Brigade. The counter-attack only recaptured one strong point from what Australian historian Mark Johnston admits were Italian defenders.[12] The Australians recaptured R7 but were forced to abandon it when the Bersaglieri troops launched a counter-attack.[13] This action was later known as the Battle of the Salient.

During Operation Crusader, the division defended Bir el Gobi against the British 22nd Armoured Brigade, inflicting heavy losses on the inexperienced British forces. On 23 November, the 15th Panzer Division moved on to attack the 5th South African Brigade defending Sidi Rezegh and that evening, the Ariete with the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment came up in support and the ridge was taken. Nearly 3,400 prisoners were taken in this attack.[14] From 29–30 November, the Ariete and supporting Italian infantry and motorcycle units were responsible for capturing a considerable number of New Zealand, Indian and British troops during the Italo-German counter-attacks. Recalling the loss of the 21st New Zealand Infantry Battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Howard Kippenberger, who later rose to command the 2nd New Zealand Division, wrote that, "About 5.30 p.m. damned Italian Motorized Division (Ariete) turned up. They passed with five tanks leading, twenty following, and a huge column of transport and guns, and rolled straight over our infantry on Point 175."[15] When the battle led to the retreat of the Axis forces to the Gazala Line, the Ariete went on the attack. The Italian armoured division, augmented by 23 tanks of the 15th Panzer Division and supported by Bersaglieri motorcycle troops,[16] lost no time in assaulting the pursuing Commonwealth forces. Between them, they overran the 1st Battalion, The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) and part of the 5th Indian Brigade, taking according to one estimate[17] 1,000 prisoners in the counter-attack. Nevertheless, the British were able to recover from this setback and the Ariete retreated through the Djebel Mountain towards el Agheila. By this time the division had lost almost all its tanks.

Reinforced again with replacement tanks and M40 75/18mm semoventi assault guns in the V and VI battalions of the 132nd Artillery Regiment, it took part in the second counter-offensive of January 1942, the Gazala battles of May 1942 and the invasion of Egypt that followed.

Battle of Gazala

The Ariete met early success during the Battle of Gazala, when it overran the British-officered 3rd Indian Motor Brigade at Rugbet Al Atasc on 27 May 1942,[18] capturing 1,000 troops.[19] The Ariete then repelled strong British armoured counterattacks on 29 May and went on to repeat the same feat on 5 June 1942.[20]

El Alamein

During the initial phase of the First Battle of El Alamein the Ariete, which had just six or eight tanks and 1,000 men, having just arrived in the positions assigned to it at dawn on 3 July 1942 and due to the disorganization caused by enemy air attacks, had been compelled to withdraw after losing 531 men, several artillery batteries and a number of tanks. Rommel's report of the division having been decimated with the loss of 100 tanks was greatly exaggerated.[21][22]

During the Battle of Alam el Halfa the Trieste, Brescia and 90th Light Division, assisted by tanks from the Ariete and Littorio Divisions, counterattacked in the area of the Munassib Depression the New Zealand 26th Battalion and 5th Brigade and the British 132nd (Kent) Brigade, forcing them practically back to their original positions, after the New Zealanders and British had advanced some 3 miles.[23]

During the Second Battle of El Alamein the Ariete is reported to have fought very well right from the beginning of the battle on 24 October:

"The Ariete Division, the Bersaglieri Battalion and units of the Brescia and Folgore Divisions fought magnificently. Montgomery's 13th Corps was able to make minor break throughs in the eastern minefield, but did not reach the main front line."[24]

The Italian division later sacrificed its obsolete tanks in the attempt to counter the Allied offensive and cover the withdrawal of the army from El Alamein. On 4 November at about 15:30, the few surviving tanks, surrounded by an overwhelmingly superior enemy, broadcast their last message,[25] quoting:

Enemy tanks broke through South of Ariete Division. Ariete thus surrounded, located 5 kilometers north east of Bir-el-Abd. Ariete tanks keep on fighting!

Then they were destroyed to the last tank. On 6 November 1942, the Germans acknowledged that in the sector allotted to the Ariete " the British were made to pay for their penetration with enormous losses in men and material. The Italians fought to the last man." [26]

On 13 December, the Ariete again protected the German retreat, and with the help of the 131st Armoured Division Centauro, fought off an attack by the 7th Armoured Division during the Battle of El Agheila. In his diary, Rommel wrote admirably:

Late in the morning, a superior enemy force launched an attack on Combat Group Ariete, which was located south-west of El Agheila, with its right flank resting on the Sebcha Chebira and its left linking up with 90th Light Division. Bitter fighting ensued against 80 British tanks and lasted for nearly ten hours. The italians put up a magnificent fight, for which they deserved the utmost credit. Finally, in the evening, the British were thrown back by a counter attack of the Centauro's armoured regiment, leaving 22 tanks and 2 amoured cars burnt out or damaged on the battlefield. The British intention of cutting off the 90th Light Division had been foiled".[27]

135th Armoured Cavalry Division Ariete II

On 21 November 1942, the division was disbanded, and its name kept by a task force gathering up its remnants, which kept fighting throughout the retreat and subsequent battle of Tunisia. It was forced to surrender along with the rest of the Axis army in North Africa.
On 1 April 1943, as a tribute it was reconstituted as 135 Ariete II Armoured Cavalry Division, made up of cavalry regiments. The division was located in north eastern Italy, with the following order of battle;

It comprised the following armoured fighting vehicles:

for a total of 247 tank and semoventi plus 50 armoured car.

The division was moved to central Italy following the fall of Benito Mussolini's government and took part to the defence of Rome from 8 to 10 September 1943, counter-attacking German Panzergrenadiers and Paratroopers. Because the Headquarters decided to avoid unnecessary sacrifices and losses, the division was ordered to surrender and was then disbanded.

Reconstitution

On 23 May 1948 its reconstitution as a brigade sized unit begins at Forte Pietralata in Rome. The same year it was transferred to Pordenone in the Friuli region in Northern Italy. On 1 October 1952, the brigade had completed its increase to full division and commanded now the same regiments as during the African campaign:[28]

Cold War

In 1963 all Italian divisions adapted their organization to NATO standards and thus added a brigade level to the divisions structure. In the same year the reconstitution of the 32nd Tank Regiment began:

On 1 October 1968 the brigade headquarters were disbanded and the divisions returned to its former structure. The Ariete Armored Division was part of the 5th Army Corps based in North-Eastern Italy. The 5th Army Corps was tasked with defending the Italian-Yugoslavian border against possible attacks by either the Warsaw Pact, or Yugoslavia or both. The Ariete Armored Division was based in the middle of the potential front.

Before the major reorganization of 1975 the division consisted of the following units:

In 1975 the Italian Army undertook a major reorganization of it forces: the regiment level was abolished and battalions came under direct command of newly formed brigades, which combined units from different arms. Thus on 1 October 1975 the Ariete took command of the following brigades, which were formed from its disbanded regiments:

Additional troops were added to bring the division up to full strength:

When the Italian Army abolished the divisional level on 10 October 1986 the 132nd Armored Brigade Manin was renamed as 132nd Armored Brigade Ariete.

Citations

  1. ↑ "The Ariete Armoured Division and the Brescia Infantry divisions captured Agedabia and the port of Zuetina." Defence Journal, Volumes 4–5, p. 202, Ikram ul-Majeed Sehgal, 2001
  2. ↑ "9th Australian Division was deployed to the area of Benghazi, with one brigade detached to garrison Tobruk." And We Shall Shock Them: The British Army in the Second World War, David Fraser, p. ?, A&C Black, 2011
  3. ↑ "Wavell ordered the 2nd Armoured Division to take responsibility for the Mersa Brega positions, while the Australians withdrew north to more defensible terrain near Benghazi with effect from 20 March." Tobruk: The Great Siege, 1941–42, William F Buckingham, p. ?, The History Press, 2012
  4. ↑ "Rommel decided to make a bid for all of Cyrenaica in a single stroke, although the only support for his Germans was two weak Italian divisions. He ordered a double envelopment, sending the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion straight along the Via Balbia toward Benghazi, while directing the 5th Panzer Regiment and the Italian Ariete Armoured Division (sixty tanks) across the chord of the Cyrenaican bulge to El Mechili, just south of the "Green Mountain" of Jebel el Akdar. If the panzers continued northward, they could block the British retreat along the coast. The effect was instantaneous; the British hurriedly evacuated Benghazi and fell back in confusion." How Great Generals Win, Bevin Alexander, p. 248, W. W. Norton & Company, 2002
  5. ↑ "The victory must have been especially sweet for the men of the Ariete Division, partly as recompense for past humiliations at British hands, and partly because it was an all-Italian triumph." Tobruk: The Great Siege, 1941–42, William F. Buckingham, p. ?, Random House, 2010
  6. ↑ "In a brilliant flanking movement on 7 and 8 April, Rommel captured Mechili and with it 3,000 prisoners, including more than 100 Australians." Tobruk 1941: The Desert Siege, Timothy Hall, p. 43, Methuen, 1984
  7. ↑ "On April 8, the Afrika Korps completed the destruction of the 2nd Armoured Division. Major General Michael D. Gambier-Parry, the commander of the 2nd Armoured, and Brigadier Vaughn, the commander of the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade, were captured, along with 3,000 of their men." Rommel's Desert Commanders: The Men who Served the Desert Fox, North Africa, 1941–1942, Samuel W. Mitcham, p. 18, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007
  8. ↑ "Two Australian brigades as well as the bulk of the anti-tank and artillery units had managed to extricate themselves." Tobruk's Easter Battle 1941: The Forgotten Fifteenth's Date with Rommel's Champion, John H. G. Mackenzie-Smith, p. 14, Boolarong Press, 2011
  9. ↑ "Before the day was out they took 800 more prisoners along the Coast Road and streamed forward again, in the direction of Tobruk, the last major seat of Allied resistance in Libya." Triumphant Fox: Erwin Rommel and the Rise of the Afrika Korps, Chapter 5, Samuel W. Mitcham, Stackpole Books, 2014.
  10. ↑ Rommel's Army in Africa, Dal McGuirk, p. 91, Stanley Paul, 1987
  11. ↑ XXXII BATTAGLIONE GUASTATORI
  12. ↑ That magnificent 9th: An Illustrated History of The 9th Australian Division, Mark Johnston, p. 38, Allen and Unwin, 2002
  13. ↑ "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. 102, Crowood Press, 2006
  14. ↑ Rommel's Desert Commanders: The Men Who Served The Desert Fox, North Africa, 1941–1942, Samuel W. Mitcham, p. 50, Praeger, 2007
  15. ↑ Infantry Brigadier, Howard Kippenberger, p. 101, Oxford University Press, 1949, (371 pages)
  16. ↑ Italians passed to counter-attack along the whole line (The Bologna Division: 19 November – 10 December, 1941) By David Aldea & Joseph Peluso, Comando Supremo: Italy at War.
  17. ↑ Das Afrika Korps: Erwin Rommel and the Germans in Africa, 1941–43, By Franz Kurowski, p. 125, Stackpole Books (March 2010)
  18. ↑ James J. Sadkovich, Of Myths ad Men: Rommel and the Italians in North Africa, p. 302, The International History Review XIII (1991)
  19. ↑ Das Afrika Korps: Erwin Rommel and the Germans in Africa, 1941-43, By Franz Kurowski, pg. 125, Stackpole Books (March 1991)
  20. ↑ James J. Sadkovich, Of Myths ad Men: Rommel and the Italians in North Africa, p. 303, The International History Review XIII (1991)
  21. ↑ Under a Fading Moon, (First Battle of El Alamein), David Aldea, Comando Supremo, Italy At War.
  22. ↑ Rommel's North Africa Campaign: September 1940-november 1942, Jack Greene, Alessandro Massignani, p. 196, Da Capo Press, Revised Edition, (272 pages)
  23. ↑ "During the early morning hours, the New Zealand Division, composed of the two New Zealand brigades, which occupied the box, assisted by a brigade of another infantry division, laid down an artillery barrage and followed with an infantry attack. This attack advanced south and along the trails in square 88-27. The attack advanced 3 miles, but with the coming of daylight the Trieste, Brescia, and the 90th Light Division, supported by the Ariete, and Littorio Divisions, in a series of three counterattacks, forced the attacking troops back nearly to their original positions." The Afrika in Combat, Bob Carruthers, p. ?, Pen & Sword, 2013
  24. ↑ The Foxes of the Desert, Paul Carell, p. 279, Bantam Books, 1962
  25. ↑ Rommel's Desert War: The Life and Death of the Afrika Korps, Samuel W. Mitcham, p. 176, Stackpole Books, 2000
  26. ↑ "Desert War, Note (11): Statement issued by the German Government on 6 November 1942". spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
  27. ↑ The Rommel Papers, US version, p. 373
  28. ↑ http://www.esercito.difesa.it/Organizzazione/Organizzazione%20Centrale/Comando%20delle%20Forze%20Operative%20Terrestri/1_fod/br_corazzata_ariete/Pagine/la_storia.aspx Italian Army homepage; History of the Ariete Brigade

References

  • Ian W. Walker, Iron Hulls, Iron Hearts; Mussolini's Elite Armoured Divisions in North Africa, 2006 ISBN 1-86126-646-4

External links