24th Infantry Division "Pinerolo"

The 24th Infantry Division "Pinerolo" (Italian: 24ª Divisione di fanteria "Pinerolo") was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The division was based in Chieti, with its regiments in the Abruzzo region. The division was named for the city of Pinerolo. The division's regimental depots were shared with the 62nd Infantry Division "Marmarica", which was based in Derna in Libya and recruited its men from and trained them in Abruzzo.[1][2]

This article is about the historic Royal Italian Army 24th Infantry Division "Pinerolo". For the currently active Italian Army brigade, see Mechanized Brigade "Pinerolo".
24th Infantry Division "Pinerolo"
24th Infantry Division "Pinerolo" insignia
Active1939–1943
1952–1961
Country Kingdom of Italy
Branch Royal Italian Army
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
Garrison/HQChieti
EngagementsWorld War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Adolfo Infante
Insignia
Identification
symbol
Pinerolo Division gorget patches
18th Artillery Regiment "Pinerolo" entering Ohrid, Yugoslavia on 12 April 1941.

History

The division's lineage begins with the Brigade "Pinerolo" established on 21 December 1821, which on 19 December 1831 split to form the 1st and 2nd infantry regiments under the brigade's command. On 4 May 1839 the two regiments were re-numbered as 13th Regiment Brigade "Pinerolo" and 14th Regiment Brigade "Pinerolo".[3]

World War I

The brigade fought on the Italian front in World War I. On 10 November 1926 the brigade assumed the name of XXIV Infantry Brigade and received the 225th Infantry Regiment "Arezzo" from the disbanded Brigade "Arezzo". The brigade was the infantry component of the 24th Territorial Division of Chieti, which also included the 18th Artillery Regiment. In 1934 the division changed its name to 24th Infantry Division "Gran Sasso".[1][4][5]

Second Italo-Ethiopian War

The division participated in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, where it operated in the Tigray Region and fought in the Battle of Shire. After the war the division returned to Italy. On 1 March 1937 the 225th Infantry Regiment "Arezzo" was transferred to the 63rd Infantry Division "Cirene" in Libya. On 1 March 1938 the 225th Infantry Regiment "Arezzo" was renamed 158th Infantry Regiment "Liguria" and on the same day the 225th Infantry Regiment "Arezzo" was raised anew in Ascoli Piceno.[1]

On 24 May 1939 the division ceded 225th Infantry Regiment "Arezzo" to the newly activated 53rd Infantry Division "Arezzo". On the same day the XXIV Infantry Brigade was dissolved, with the two remaining infantry regiments coming under direct command of the division, and the 18th Artillery Regiment was given the name "Pinerolo".[1]

World War II

During the Italian invasion of France in June 1940 the division was the reserve of I Army Corps and remained in the area Moncenisio and Bardonecchia.[1]

Greco-Italian War

In January 1941 the division was sent to Albania to reinforce the crumbling Italian front during the Greek offensive in the Greco-Italian War. On 18 January 1941 the division was in Berat and entered the front near Këlcyrë. The division fought defensive battles for the next month ending with the defense of Tepelenë. From 9 March 1941 the division participated in the Italian Spring Offensive and advanced after strenuous combat to Çarshovë on the Greek-Albanian border.[1]

On 6 April the Axis Invasion of Yugoslavia commenced and on 8 April 1941 the Pinerolo moved to the Albanian-Yugoslav border near Lake Ohrid, crossed the border and took Ohrid in Macedonia.[1] From 9 April the division was in Prrenjas.[1]

Greece

In June 1941 the division transferred to Larissa in Thessaly, Greece to suppress the growing Greek Resistance. During its time in Thessaly the Pinerolo murdered Greek civilians in the Domenikon massacre. In November 1941 the regimental depot of the 50th Infantry Regiment "Parma" of the 49th Infantry Division "Parma" raised the 313th Infantry Regiment "Pinerolo" in Macerata.[6] The 313th Infantry Regiment joined the Pinerolo in Greece in March 1942. While the Pinerolo was on occupation duty in Greece the depot of the 14th Infantry Regiment "Pinerolo" raised on 1 January 1942 the 235th Infantry Regiment "Piceno" for the 152nd Infantry Division "Piceno".[7]

The division continued on anti-partisan duty until the Armistice of Cassibile was announced on 8 September 1943. In the confusion after the armistice the division was the only Italian division in continental Greece to refuse German demands to surrender.[1] While the 29th Infantry Division "Piemonte", 36th Infantry Division "Forlì", 37th Infantry Division "Modena", 56th Infantry Division "Casale", and 59th Infantry Division "Cagliari" surrendered to the inferior German forces the Pinerolo defended Larissa against German attacks. On 15 September the division moved into the Pindus mountain range, where the commander of the division Adolfo Infante struck with the mediation of a British military mission a collaboration agreement with the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS). However, by October the ELAS forced the troops of the Pinerolo to surrender its supplies and weapons, and used the Italian soldiers as forced labor for the rest of the war.[8] The remnants of the division were repatriated to Italy in March 1945.

On 15 April 1952 the Italian Army raised the Infantry Division "Pinerolo" anew. On 1 September 1962 the division was reduced to brigade and it has been active as such since then as Mechanized Brigade "Pinerolo").[1]

Organization

Second Italo-Abyssinian War 1935

Royal Italian Army divisions in the Ethiopian Campaign had a Pack-Mules unit of 3,000 mules and three regimental truck units with 20 light trucks each.

World War II 1940
Coat of Arms of the 14th Infantry Regiment "Pinerolo", 1939
  • 24th Infantry Division "Pinerolo", in Chieti
    • 13th Infantry Regiment "Pinerolo", in L'Aquila[4]
    • 14th Infantry Regiment "Pinerolo", in Chieti[5]
      • Command Company
      • 3x Fusilier battalions
      • Support Weapons Company (65/17 infantry support guns)
      • Mortar Company (81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
    • 313th Infantry Regiment "Pinerolo" (raised on 1 November 1941 in Macerata by the depot of the 50th Infantry Regiment "Parma")[6]
      • Command Company
      • 3x Fusilier battalions
      • Support Weapons Company (47/32 anti-tank guns)
      • Mortar Company (81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
    • 18th Artillery Regiment "Pinerolo", in L'Aquila
    • XXIV Mortar Battalion (81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
    • 24th Anti-tank Company (47/32 anti-tank guns)
    • 24th Telegraph and Radio Operators Company
    • 61st Engineer Company
    • 32nd Medical Section
      • 456th Field Hospital
      • 457th Field Hospital
      • 1x Field Hospital
      • 1x Surgical unit
    • 24th Truck Section
    • 82nd Transport Section (Fiat 666 , Fiat 626 , Alfa Romeo 800, Fiat 508CM - commander's car)
    • 132nd Supply Section
    • 145th Bakers Section
    • 122nd Carabinieri Section
    • 123rd Carabinieri Section
    • 65th Field Post Office

Attached from 10 December 1940 until March 1942:[2]

  • 136th CC.NN. Legion "Tre Monti"
    • CXXX CC.NN. Battalion (remained attached to the division until September 1943)
    • CXXXVI CC.NN. Battalion
    • 136th CC.NN. Machine Gun Company

Military honors

For its conduct during the Greco-Italian War the President of Italy awarded on 11 September 1959 to the 13th Infantry Regiment "Pinerolo" Italy's highest military honor, the Gold Medal of Military Valour.

  • 13th Infantry Regiment "Pinerolo" on 11 September 1959[9]

Commanding officers

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

War crimes

The names of five Italian officers attached to the division were included in the Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects, a database set up by the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force in 1945 to try war criminals from the Axis powers, including Italy. In addition to perpetrating the Domenikon massacre, soldiers from the division also tortured Greek prisoners and committed several rapes while stationed in Greece. One member of the division who was involved in these war crimes, Giovanni Ravalli, was convicted after the war's end, though he was subsequently pardoned.[10]

References
  1. "24ª Divisione di fanteria "Pinerolo"". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 26 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. 254. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  3. Voghera, Enrico (1909). Annuario militare del regno d'Italia - Volume I. Rome. p. 384.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. "13° Reggimento di fanteria "Pinerolo"". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  5. "14° Reggimento di fanteria "Pinerolo"". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  6. "313° Reggimento di fanteria "Pinerolo"". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  7. "235° Reggimento di fanteria "Piceno"". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  8. O'Ballance, Edgar (1966). The Greek Civil War: 1944-1949. New York, Praeger.
  9. "13° Reggimento Fanteria "Pinerolo"". President of Italy. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  10. Carroll, Rory (25 June 2001). "Italy's bloody secret". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  • Paoletti, Ciro (2008). A Military History of Italy. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-98505-9.


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