2nd CC.NN. Division "28 Ottobre"

The 2nd CC.NN. Division "28 Ottobre" (Italian: 2ª Divisione CC.NN. "28 Ottobre") was an Italian CC.NN. (Blackshirts militia) division raised on 10 May 1935 for the Second Italo-Ethiopian War against Ethiopia. The name "28 Ottobre" ("28 October") was chosen to commemorate the Fascist March on Rome on 28 October 1922. The division took part in the Italian invasion of Egypt and was destroyed during the Battle of Bardia in January 1941.

2nd CC.NN. Division "28 Ottobre"
2nd CC.NN. Division "28 Ottobre" insignia
Active10 May 1935 – 5 January 1941
Country Kingdom of Italy
Branch MVSN
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
Garrison/HQNaples
Motto(s)"Summa audacia et virtus"
EngagementsSecond Italo-Ethiopian War
World War II
Insignia
Identification
symbol
2nd CC.NN. Division gorget patches

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 four regions: the 114th and 116th CC.NN. legions from Lombardy, the 180th CC.NN. Legion from the Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, and Piedmont, and the II CC.NN. Machine Gun Battalion from Liguria.[1]

Second Italo-Ethiopian War

The division assembled in Italian Eritrea on 18 September 1935 and moved to Senafe on the border with Ethiopia. The division participated in the Second Battle of Tembien. After the war the division was repatriated and then disbanded.[1]

World War II

The division was reformed in Naples 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 Sallum in Egypt by October. Heavily invested by British forces during Operation Compass the division retreated to Bardia, where it was encircled with other Italian units. After a short siege the division was destroyed during the Battle of Bardia on 3–5 January 1941.[2]

Organization

1935
Memorial stone for the CXXV CC.NN. Battalion, in Haddinnet, Ethiopia

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.[1]

  • 2nd CC.NN. Division "28 Ottobre"
    • 114th CC.NN. Legion "Garibaldina", in Bergamo
    • 116th CC.NN. Legion "Alpina", in Como
      • Command Company
      • CXVI CC.NN. Battalion, in Como
      • CXXV CC.NN. Battalion, in Brescia and Monza
      • 116th CC.NN. Machine Gun Company, in Como and Varese
      • 116th CC.NN. Artillery Battery, Milan (65/17 infantry support guns)
    • 180th CC.NN. Legion "Alessandro Farnese", in Parma
      • Command Company
      • CLXXIV CC.NN. Battalion, in Fidenza
      • CLXXX CC.NN. Battalion, in Parma
      • 180th CC.NN. Machine Gun Company, in Cremona and Casalmaggiore
      • 180th CC.NN. Artillery Battery, in Alessandria and Tortona (65/17 infantry support guns)
    • II CC.NN. Machine Gun Battalion, in Genova and Savona
    • II Artillery Group (65/17 infantry support guns, Royal Italian Army)
    • II Mixed Transport Unit (Royal Italian Army)
    • II Supply Unit (Royal Italian Army)
    • 2x CC.NN. replacement battalions
    • 2nd Special Engineer Company (Mixed CC.NN. and Royal Italian Army)
    • 2nd Medical Section (Royal Italian Army)
    • 2nd Logistic Section (Royal Italian Army)
    • 2nd Carabinieri Section

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.[3] The CXXV CC.NN. Battalion left a monumental stone' in Dogu'a Tembien, a metres-wide phonolite with inscriptions. It is located on top of the Dabba Selama mountain, and was carved by soldiers that participated in the First Battle of Tembien.[4]

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:[2][5]

  • 2nd CC.NN. Division "28 Ottobre"[5]
    • 231st CC.NN. Legion, in Sulmona
      • Command Company
      • CXXXI CC.NN. Battalion, in Sulmona
      • CXXXII CC.NN. Battalion, in Avezzano
      • CXXXV CC.NN. Battalion, in Teramo
      • 231st CC.NN. Machine Gun Company
    • 238th CC.NN. Legion, in Naples
      • Command Company
      • CXXXVIII CC.NN. Battalion, in Naples
      • CXL CC.NN. Battalion, in Salerno
      • CXLV CC.NN. Battalion, in Castellammare di Stabia
      • 238th CC.NN. Machine Gun Company
    • 202nd Motorized Artillery Regiment (Royal Italian Army)
    • CCII Machine Gun Battalion (Royal Italian Army)
    • CCII Mixed Engineer Battalion (Royal Italian Army)
      • Command Platoon
      • 1x Engineer Company
      • 1x Telegraph and Radio Operators Company
      • 1x Searchlight Section
    • 202nd CC.NN. Anti-tank Company (47/32 anti-tank guns)
    • 202nd CC.NN. Support Weapons Battery (65/17 infantry support guns)
    • 202nd CC.NN. Mortar Company (81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
    • 202nd Transport Section (Royal Italian Army)
    • 202nd Supply Section (Royal Italian Army)
    • 202nd Medical Section (Royal Italian Army)
      • 3x Field hospitals
      • 1x Surgical Unit
    • 703rd Carabinieri Section
    • 704th Carabinieri Section
    • 302nd Field Post Office

Attached during the Battle of Sollum:[5]

  • XX Tank Battalion "L" (L3/33 and L3/35 tankettes, Royal Italian Army)

Commanding officers

During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War:[1]

  • Generale di Divisione Umberto Somma (1 May 1935 – 1 September 1936)

During the Italian invasion of Egypt:[5]

  • Generale di Divisione Francesco Argentino (1939 – 5 January 1941, POW)

References
  1. "Divisione CC.NN. "28 Ottobre"". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  2. "2ª Divisione CC.NN. "28 Ottobre"". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  3. Del Boca, Angelo (2007). Il gas di Mussolini. Il fascismo e la guerra d'Etiopia. ISBN 9788835958598.
  4. Description of trekking routes in Dogu'a Tembien. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains – The Dogu'a Tembien District. SpringerNature. 2019. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
  5. Bollettino dell'Archivio dell'Ufficio Storico N.II-3 e 4 2002. Rome: Ministero della Difesa – Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito – Ufficio Storico. 2002. p. 353. Retrieved 16 October 2021.

Sources
  • Lucas, Ettore; Giorgio de Vecchi (1976). Storia delle Unità Combattenti della MVSN 1923-1943. Giovanni Volpe Editore. pp. 63–116 plus errata.
  • Madej, W.,V., Italian Army Order of Battle, 1939–1943,1981,Allentown, PA.
  • Madej, W.,V., Italian Army Order of Battle: 1940–44, 1990, Allentown, PA.
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