227th Coastal Division (Italy)

The 227th Coastal Division (Italian: 227ª Divisione Costiera) was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II.[1] Royal Italian Army coastal divisions were second line divisions formed with reservists and equipped with second rate materiel. They were often commanded by officers called out of retirement.[2]

227th Coastal Division
Active1943 – 1945
Country Kingdom of Italy
Branch Royal Italian Army
SizeDivision
Garrison/HQCastrovillari
EngagementsWorld War II
Insignia
Identification
symbol
227th Coastal Division gorget patches

History

The division was activated on 20 April 1943 in Cosenza by expanding the XI Coastal Brigade.[3] The division was assigned to XXXI Army Corps and had its headquarter in Castrovillari.[1] The division was responsible for the coastal defense of the coast of eastern Calabria: on the Tyrrhenian Sea side from Serra d'Aiello to the river Noce at Castrocucco, on the Ionian Sea side from Sant'Angelo to Nova Siri.[4][1]

After the Armistice of Cassibile was announced on 8 September 1943 the division refused German demands to surrender and waited for the arrival of the British XIII Corps, which was moving up Calabria after having landed in mainland Italy in Operation Baytown. The 227th Coastal Division surrendered to the British forces and then joined the Italian Co-belligerent Army. For the rest of the Italian campaign the division performed rear area security and work duties as 227th Division for the British Eighth Army. The division was disbanded at in autumn 1945.[4]

Organization 1943
  • 227th Coastal Division, in Castrovillari[4][1]
    • 141st Coastal Regiment
      • 4x Coastal battalions
    • 145th Coastal Regiment
      • 3x Coastal battalions
    • 1st Mixed Engineer Company
    • 450th Anti-paratroopers Unit
    • 227th Carabinieri Section
    • 186th Field Post Office
    • Division Services

Commanding officers

The division's commanding officers were:[1]

References
  1. Bollettino dell'Archivio dell'Ufficio Storico N.II-3 e 4 2002. Rome: Ministero della Difesa - Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito - Ufficio Storico. 2002. p. 378. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  2. Jowett p 6
  3. Circolare n. 65750 del 05/04/1943 dello S.M.R.E. Uff. Ordinamento - 2a Sezione. "Cronistoria dei reparti costieri". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  4. "227a Divisione Costiera". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  • Paoletti, Ciro (2008). A Military History of Italy. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-98505-9.
  • Jowett, Philip S. (2000). The Italian Army 1940-45 (1): Europe 1940-1943. Osprey, Oxford - New York. ISBN 978-1-85532-864-8.


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