Italian Co-Belligerent Army

The Italian Co-Belligerent Army (Esercito Cobelligerante Italiano), or the Army of the South (Esercito del Sud), was the army of the Italian Royalist forces fighting on the side of the Allies during World War II. The Italian Co-Belligerent Army was formed in southern Italy after the Allied armistice with Italy was declared on September 8, 1943; King Victor Emmanuel III had dismissed Benito Mussolini as Prime Minister in July 1943 following the Allied invasion of Southern Italy, and had nominated Marshal of Italy (Maresciallo d'Italia) Pietro Badoglio instead.

The Italian soldiers of the Co-Belligerent Army no longer fought for Mussolini or for the Axis. Their allegiance was to King Victor Emmanuel and to the Allies. In many regards, the Italian Co-Belligerent Army was a reorganized version of the Royal Italian Army (Regio Esercito).

Formation

On 28 September 1943, the Italian Co-Belligerent Army began when its first military unit was formed in tented reorganization camps near Lecce. Some of the first soldiers in this unit had just barely managed to escape internment by the Germans. In accordance with Royal Army Order 70/V, the Italian First Motorized Combat Group (1• Raggruppamento Motorizzato) was created. The unit included elements of two divisions of the old Italian Royal Army: The 18 Infantry Division Messina and the 58 Infantry Division Legnano The First Motorized Combat Group had a strength of 295 officers and 5,387 men.

The first action of the First Motorized Combat Group was in the Cassino sector at Monte Lungo. This action did much to remove the Allied distrust of the Italian soldiers fighting on their side. The unit suffered heavy casualties and performed well enough.

Following service with the American 5th Army and re-organization, the First Motorized Combat Group was transferred to the Polish II Corps on the extreme left of the British 8th Army.

Italian liberation corps

On 17 April 1944, the formation (now 22,000 men strong) assumed the name Italian Liberation Corps (Corpo Italiano di Liberazione, or CIL). The continuous influx of volunteers made it necessary to form further formations. The CIL was organized in two new divisions: The "Nembo" and the "Utili." The "Nembo" Division was formed around the old Royal Army's parachute division of the same name. The "Utili" Division was formed around the First Motorized Combat Group and was named after its commander, General Umberto Utili. In early 1944, a 5,000 man force of Italians fought on the Gustav Line around Monte Cassino and acquitted itself well. The Italians once again suffered heavy casualties.

Italian Co-Belligerent Army from late 1944 to 1945

Further information: Gothic Line order of battle and Operation Grapeshot order of battle

After the battle of Filottrano (July 1944), Italian troops were sent to the rear lines to rest and re-train. In the meantime they were re-kitted with standard British/Commonwealth equipment including Battle Dress uniforms and helmets (mostly new and not taken off corpses as hearsay sometimes has it).

By early 1945 the CIL had outgrown itself. It was used as the nucleus for six separate Combat Groups (Gruppi di Combattimento): "Cremona", "Legnano", "Friuli", "Mantova", "Piceno", and "Folgore". Each Combat Group was the equal to a weak division. The established strength for each was 432 officers, 8,578 other rank, 116 field guns, 170 mortars, 502 light machine guns, and 1,277 motor vehicles. The Combat Groups were given the names of old Royal Army divisions and followed the component numbering system of the component regiments to some extent. These groups were attached to various American and British formations on the Gothic Line. The following is the "order of battle" of the Italian Co-Belligerent Army as of April 1945

Cremona Combat Group (of British V Corps, 9 Apr 1945) - CO Major General Primieri

• 7th Italian Artillery Regiment [-1bty]
• 21st Italian Infantry Regiment [3btn]
• 22nd Italian Infantry Regiment [3btn]
• 144th Italian Engineer Battalion

Folgore Combat Group (of British XIII Corps, 9 Apr 1945) - CO Major General Morigi

• Nembo (Parachutist) Regiment [3btn]
• San Marco Regiment [3btn]
• 57th Italian Field Regiment [-1bty,1trp]
• 154th Italian Field Regiment
• 184th Italian Artillery Regiment
• 184th Italian Engineer Battalion

Friuli Combat Group (of British X Corps, 9 Apr 1945) - CO Major General Scattini

• 35th Italian Artillery Regiment
• 87th Italian Infantry Regiment [3btn]
• 88th Italian Infantry Regiment [3btn]
• 120th Italian Engineer Battalion

Legnano Combat Group (of U S II Corps), 9 Apr 1945 - CO Lieutenant General Umberto Utili

• 11th Italian Artillery Regiment
• 51st Italian Engineer Battalion
• 68th Italian Regiment Infantry
• Specialized Infantry Regiment (2x Alpini battalions (remnants of the 3rd Alpini Regiment) and 1x Bersaglieri battalion (remnants of the 4th Bersaglieri Regiment))

Legnano Combat Group (enlarged and reassigned to U S Fifth Army, 23 Apr 1945)

• Headquarters, Legnano Combat Group
• Legnano Ordnance Field Park
• Legnano Mechanical workshop
• 34th Carabinieri Section
• 51st Carabinieri Section
• 51st Supply and Transport Company
• 51st Medical Section
• 51st Italian Engineer Battalion
• 52nd BLU (British Liaison Unit)
• 244th Field Hospital
• 332nd Field Hospital
• 11th Italian Artillery Regiment
• 68th Italian Infantry Regiment
  • 1st Infantry Battalion
  • 2nd Infantry Battalion
  • 3rd Infantry Battalion
  • 405th Mortar Company (Stokes Mortar)
  • 56th Antitank Company (6-pounder)
• 69th Italian Speciale Infantry Regiment
  • 1st Bersaglieri Battalion
  • 2nd Alpini Battalion
  • 3rd Alpini Battalion
  • 15th Mortar Company (3-inch)
  • 16th Antitank Company (6-pounder)

Mantova Combat Group - CO Major General Bologna

• 76th Italian Infantry Regiment
• 114th Italian Infantry Regiment
• 155th Italian Artillery Regiment
• 104th Italian Engineer Battalion

Piceno Combat Group - CO Major General Beraudo di Pralormo

• 235th Italian Infantry Regiment
• 336th Italian Infantry Regiment
• 152nd Italian Artillery Regiment
• 152nd Italian Engineer Battalion

In addition to the Combat Groups the Italian Co-belligerent Army included also a force of 8 Auxiliary Divisions (Divisioni Ausiliarie, largely intended to perform labouring and second lined duties), around 200,000 men strong, largely employed by the Allies in various support and logistical activities, those auxiliary Great Units were the following:

• 205th Division (assigned to U S Army Air Forces Command in the Mediterranean)
  • 51 Gruppo Aviazione (Infantry and AA Artillery Air Force Regiment)
  • 52 Gruppo Aviazione (Infantry and AA Artillery Air Force Regiment)
  • 53 Gruppo Aviazione (Infantry and AA Artillery Air Force Regiment)
  • 54 Gruppo Aviazione (Infantry and AA Artillery Air Force Regiment)
  • 55 Gruppo Aviazione (Infantry and AA Artillery Air Force Regiment)
• 209th Division (in support of the British 1st District)
• 210th Division (assigned to U S Fifth Army)
• 212th Division, the largest of the Auxiliary Divisions, at its heights its complements exceeded 44,000 men operating in an assigned area of operations extended from Naples to Pisa and Livorno
• 227th Division (in support of the British 3rd District)
• 228th Division (assigned to U K Eighth Army)
• 230th Division (in support of the British forces)
  • 541 Infantry, Coast Artillery and AA Artillery Regiment
  • 403 Pioneer and labour Regiment (Engineer Corps)
  • 404 Pioneer and labour Regiment (Engineer Corps)
  • 406 Pioneer and labour Regiment (Engineer Corps)
  • 501 Security Battalion
  • 510 Security Battalion
  • 514 Security Battalion
  • XXI Supply trains Group (Gruppo salmerie, a Regiment size unit)
• 231st Division (assigned to British XIII Corps of the U S Fifth Army)

On the whole the Italian Co-Belligerent Army made up 1/8 of the fighting force and 1/4 of the entire force of 15th Army Group of the Allied Forces.

Not directly dependent from the Allied Headquarters in Italy the Co-Belligerent Army also deployed 3 Divisions (Divisioni di Sicurezza Interna) for internal security duties, as follows:

• Calabria Division (deployed for security duties in Lazio, Umbria and Abruzzi)
  • 5th Security Brigade
  • 6th Security Brigade
  • 31st Italian Engineer Battalion
• Aosta Division (in Sicily)
  • 3rd Security Brigade
  • 4th Security Brigade
  • 28th Italian Engineer Battalion
• Sabauda Division (in Sicily)
  • 1st Security Brigade
    • 45th Italian Infantry Regiment
    • 46th Italian Infantry Regiment
  • 2nd Security Brigade
    • 145th Italian Infantry Regiment
    • 16th Italian Artillery Regiment
  • 130th Italian Engineer Battalion

Italian Army

In 1946, the Kingdom of Italy became the Italian Republic. In a similar manner, what had been the royalist Co-Belligerent Army simply became the Italian Army (Esercito Italiano).

Famous members

• Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, President of the Republic of Italy from 1999 to 2006.
• Eugenio Corti
• Giovanni Messe
• Gianni Agnelli
• Valerio Zurlini
• Clemente Primieri
• Umberto Utili

See also

• Military history of Italy during World War II
• Italian Campaign in World War II
• Mediterranean Theatre of World War II
• Battle of Mignano Monte Lungo
• Gothic Line
• Italian Royal Army, Kingdom of Italy
• Italian National Republican Army, Italian Social Republic
• Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force
• Italian Co-Belligerent Navy
• Co-belligerence
• Operation Herring, the last combat parachute jump in the European Theater of Operations, made by Italian troops.

Sources

• Holland, James, Italy's Sorrw: A Year of War 1944-1945, St. Martin's Press, New York, ISBN 978-0-312-37396-2, ISBN 0-312-37396-1
• Jowett, Phillip, The Italian Army 1940-45 (3): Italy 1943-45, Osprey Publishing, Westminster, MD, ISBN 978-1-85532-866-2
• Mollo, Andrew, The Armed Forces of World War II, Crown Publishing, New York, ISBN 0-517-54478-4