36th Infantry Division "Forlì"

The 36th Infantry Division "Forlì" (Italian: 36ª Divisione di fanteria "Forlì") was a infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Forlì was classified as a mountain infantry division, which meant that the division's artillery was moved by pack mules instead of the horse-drawn carriages of line infantry divisions. Italy's real mountain warfare divisions were the six alpine divisions manned by Alpini mountain troops. The division was formed on 31 March 1939 and named for the city of Forlì. The division was based in Saluzzo and most of its troops were drafted in the surrounding Langhe region in southern Piedmont. The division's two infantry regiments were based in Alba (43rd) and Saluzzo (44th), with the division's artillery regiment also based in Saluzzo.[1][2]

36th Infantry Division "Forlì"
36th Infantry Division "Forlì" insignia
Active1939–1943
Country Kingdom of Italy
Branch Royal Italian Army
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
Garrison/HQSaluzzo
EngagementsWorld War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Giulio Perugi
Insignia
Identification
symbol
Forlì Division gorget patches

History

The division's lineage begins with the XIII Brigade established on 24 June 1859 with the 23rd and 24th infantry regiments of the Army of the United Provinces of Central Italy. On 16 September 1859 the brigade received the name "Forlì". On 25 March 1860 the Brigade "Forlì" entered the Royal Sardinian Army three days after the Kingdom of Sardinia had annexed the United Provinces of Central Italy. Already before entering the Royal Sardinian Army the brigade's two infantry regiments had been renumbered on 30 December 1859 as 43rd Infantry Regiment and 44th Infantry Regiment.[3]

World War I

The brigade fought on the Italian front in World War I. On 10 October 1926 the brigade assumed the name of III Infantry Brigade and received the 37th Infantry Regiment "Ravenna" from the disbanded Brigade "Ravenna". The brigade was the infantry component of the 3rd Territorial Division of Alessandria, which also included the 11th Artillery Regiment.[1][4][5]

In 1930 the division exchanged the 44th Infantry Regiment "Forlì" for the 38th Infantry Regiment "Ravenna" with the 4th Territorial Division of Cuneo. In 1935 the division changed its name to 3rd Infantry Division "Monferrato". On 1 April 1934 the division exchanged the 38th Infantry Regiment "Ravenna" for 30th Infantry Regiment "Pisa" with the 26th Infantry Division "Assietta".[1]

On 31 March 1939 the 36th Infantry Division "Forlì" was activated in Saluzzo and on the same day the 3rd Infantry Division "Monferrato" was renamed as 3rd Infantry Division "Ravenna", becoming thus the heir to the Brigade "Ravenna", while the traditions of the Brigade "Forlì" were passed to the newly activated 36th division. On the same day the Forlì received the 43rd Infantry Regiment "Forlì" from the Ravenna division and the 44th Infantry Regiment "Forlì" from the 4th Territorial Division of Cuneo. On the same day the 36th Artillery Regiment joined the Forlì.[1]

World War II

On 10 June 1940 the Forlì was the part of the Italian 1st Army and took part in the Italian invasion of France.[6] The division was initially deployed on the French border in defensive positions in the Argentera valley and between the Rocca Peroni and Monte Maniglia mountains. On 22 June 1940 the Forlì attacked towards Meyronnes and the road junction of La Condamine-Châtelard, after bypassing French defenders north of mount Tête de Viraysse, it took the forts of Bec du Lièvre and Tête Dure on 23 June. As result, the Forlì advanced rapidly that day and captured Malboisset, before stopping before the village of Larche at the news of the Franco-Italian Armistice.

In early 1941 the Forlì moved to Albania to augment the Italian forces fighting in the Greco-Italian War. On 12 February 1941 it entered the frontline west of Lake Ohrid, in the Librazhd-Kalivaç-Dunicë area and partly along the Shkumbin river. On 20 February the Greek army attacked the Forlì positions, focusing on mount Kosicës and the Kalivaç valley in Korçë municipality. On April 10 1941 the Forlì went on the offensive as part of German-led Battle of Greece. The division attacked from Vloçisht to Gurisht. By 14 April 1941 it moved towards Leminot. When the Greek Army began to retreat due to the Germans' rapid advance in the east, and Forlì was able to reach Ersekë on 17 April 1941, where it stop at the Aoös river. After the Greek surrender the division was ordered to Larissa for occupation duties.

While the Forlì was on occupation duty in Greece the division's regimental depots in Italy raised the 154th Infantry Division "Murge": the depot of the 43rd Infantry Regiment "Forlì" raised the 259th Infantry Regiment "Murge", the depot of the 44th Infantry Regiment "Forlì" raised the 260th Infantry Regiment "Murge", and the depot of the 36th Artillery Regiment "Forlì" raised the 154th Artillery Regiment "Murge".[7]

In August 1942 the Forlì was assigned occupation and coastal defence duties at Larissa, Volos and Lamia. In 1943, the Forlì has relocated further south, covering the Lamia – Amfikleia – Livadeia – Thebes and Attica area. Also, the Forlì was responsible for the control of the Euripus Strait, the island of Euboea and the area surrounding Athens.[1]

On 5-6 March 1943, troops of the Forlì set the town of Servia on fire in retaliation for the defeat and capture of an Italian battalion at the Battle of Fardykambos by the Greek Resistance.[8]

The Forlì surrendered to the German forces in Greece after the Armistice of Cassibile and was dissolved 16 September 1943.

343rd Infantry Regiment "Forlì"

On 1 November 1941 the regimental depot of the 16th Infantry Regiment "Savona" of the 55th Infantry Division "Savona" raised the 343rd Infantry Regiment "Forlì" in Cosenza. The regiment was meant to increase the Forlì's combat strength, but after spending 1942 as a coastal defense unit in Calabria the 343rd regiment was sent on 29th January 1943 to Albania, where it joined the 53rd Infantry Division "Arezzo".[9]

Organization
Coat of Arms of the 43rd Infantry Regiment "Forlì", 1939
  • 36th Infantry Division "Forlì", in Saluzzo[1][2]
    • 43rd Infantry Regiment "Forlì", in Alba[4]
    • 44th Infantry Regiment "Forlì", in Saluzzo[5]
      • Command Company
      • 3x Fusilier battalions
      • Support Weapons Company (65/17 infantry support guns)
      • Mortar Company (81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
    • 343rd Infantry Regiment "Forlì" (raised 1 November 1941 in Cosenza, transferred to the 53rd Infantry Division "Arezzo" on 29 January 1943)[9]
      • Command Company
      • 3x Fusiliers battalions
      • Support Weapons Company (47/32 anti-tank guns)
      • Mortar Company (81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
    • 36th Artillery Regiment "Forlì", in Saluzzo
    • XXXVI Mortar Battalion (81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
    • 36th Anti-tank Company (47/32 anti-tank guns)
    • 36th Telegraph and Radio Operators Company
    • 66th Engineer Company
    • 23rd Medical Section
      • 3x Field hospitals
      • 1x Surgical unit
    • 24th Supply Section
    • 36th Transport Section (replaced at the end of 1940 by the 347th Transport Section)
    • 19th Bakers Section
    • 9th Carabinieri Section
    • 12th Carabinieri Section
    • 38th Field Post Office

Attached to the division from June 1940 to 31 November 1941:[2]

Attached to the division from 1 December 1941 until 1942:[2]

  • 112th CC.NN. Legion "Dell’Urbe"
    • CXII CC.NN. (remained attached to the division until September 1943)
    • CXX CC.NN. Battalion
    • 112th CC.NN. Machine Gun Company

Attached to the division during its stay in Attica:[2]

Attached temporarily to the division in 1943:[2]

  • Regiment "Lancieri di Milano"
    • Command Squadron
    • Lancers Squadrons Group
      • 2x Lancer Squadrons
    • Machine Gun Platoon
    • Tank Platoon (L3/33 tankettes)
  • 3rd Artillery Grouping
    • CVII Artillery Group
    • CVIII Artillery Group
  • CCXXXIV Mobile Territorial Battalion (Reserve unit)
  • XLI Army Artillery Group
  • XCI Army Artillery Group

Commanding officers

The division's commanding officers were:[1][2]

CROWCASS

The names of four men attached to the division can be found in the Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects (CROWCASS) set up by the Anglo-American Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force in 1945. The names can be found at: Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects from the Kingdom of Italy.

References
  1. "36ª Divisione di fanteria "Forlì"". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  2. Bollettino dell'Archivio dell'Ufficio Storico N.II-3 e 4 2002. Rome: Ministero della Difesa - Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito - Ufficio Storico. 2002. p. 274. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  3. Voghera, Enrico (1909). Annuario militare del regno d'Italia - Volume I. Rome. p. 414.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. "43° Reggimento di fanteria "Forlì"". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  5. "44° Reggimento di fanteria "Forlì"". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  6. Mulholland, John. "Axis Order of Battle 10 June 1940 – The Italian Invasion of France". Axis History. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
  7. "154ª Divisione di fanteria "Murge"". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  8. Flountzis, Antonis (1977). Στρατόπεδα Λάρισας-Τρικάλων: Η γέννηση του αντάρτικου στη Θεσσαλία [Larisa-Trikala Camps: The Birth of the Partisan Movement in Thessaly] (in Greek). Athens: Papazisis. pp. 210–211. OCLC 8624538.
  9. "343° Reggimento di fanteria "Forlì"". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  • Paoletti, Ciro (2008). A Military History of Italy. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-98505-9.


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