Divisional History :

On 18th June 1836 Royal Grenadiers Captain Alessandro Ferrero De La Marmora proposed to King Carlo Alberto of Savoy, the creation of a new infantry corps called the Bersaglieri. His idea was to have a light, fast, maneuverable infantry force that could harrass an enemy's flanks and perform reconnaissance and skirmish maneuvers. These new soldiers were trained to demonstrate boldness and disregard for danger. 

This tradition was dutifully continued in the Bersaglieri who served in the second world war.

After the Sept 1943 Italian surrender and subsequent "rescue" of Mussolini by German war hero Otto Skorzeny, Mussolini (urged by Hitler) created the new Italian Social Republic or RSI. With the Italian peninsula cut in half and King Victor Emanuel now siding with the Allies, German forces moved swiftly to surround, capture and disarm the Italian military elements still located north of Rome. All but the most senior of Italian officers were immediately interned in concentration camps throughout Germany. In November 1943, prisoners were allowed to volunteer for service in the new army of the RSI.Those who did were trained in Germany, and though their commanders were to be Italian, all decisions had to be cleared by German high command. In all, four divisions were raised: the Italia Bersaglieri division, the Littorio regular infantry division, the Monte Rosa Alpini division, and the San Marco marine division.

4th (later 1st) Bersaglieri Division "Italia"

The 4th Bersaglieri "Italia" was attached to the German 51st Gebirgskorps, Heeresgruppe "C" of the German 14th Armee, which was subordinated to and at the disposal of, Armee Ligurien.
Armee Ligurien was formed on July 31, 1944 from Armee abteilung von Zangen and various elements of the San Marco, Littorio, Italia, and Monterosa Italian divisions. The mixed Italo-German formation was responsible for guarding the western flank of Heeresgruppe "C" by providing coastal defenses from the area of La Spezia northwestward past Genoa to the Franco-Italian border. Many of these troops recieved their coastal defense artillary training in Normandy, France.

Armee Ligurien:

Commander: Maresciallo d Italia Rodolfo Graziani
Operations officer (La): Oberst Raban Freiherr von Canstein

Division Headquarters

Division Commander: General Mario Carloni: November 1943 through July 1944; General Guido Manardi: July 1944 through February 1945; General Mario Carloni: February 1945 through April 1945).

• DVK 180
(Deutsche Verbindungs Kommando, German Liaison Unit)

4th Signal Bn
4th Lines-of-Comunication Engineers Bn
4th Mountain Assault Engineers Bn
4th Transport Bn
4th Medical co
401st Medical co
4th Medical transport section
4th Field Butchery co
4th Field Bakery co
4th Logistic co
4th Veterinary co
4th - 7th - 8th MP sections
54th Replacement Bn

1st Bersaglieri Regiment

2nd Bersaglieri Regiment

7th Bersaglieri Regiment "Italia"
1st Bersaglieri Bn
2nd Bersaglieri Bn
3rd Bersaglieri Bn
107th AT co Cacciatori Carri (Tank Hunters) Company

8th Cacciatori degli Appenninini ("Appennines Hunters") Regiment "Italia"
1st Cacciatori Bn
2nd Cacciatori Bn
3rd Cacciatori Bn
108th AT co Cacciatori Carri (Tank Hunters) Company
4th Recce Bn
4th haevy AT co
104th Replacements Bn "Italia"

4th Artillery Regiment "Italia"
1st Arty Bn
2nd Arty Bn
3rd Arty Bn
4th Arty Bn
1 Group with 100/17 field guns,
3 Groups with 75/13 mountain guns





“ITALIA, ITALIA, ITALIA!”

Per l’onore d’Italia!


The 4th Bersaglieri Division "Italia" was formed in Heuberg, western Bavaria, on 25 November 1943. Its volunteers were ex-royal army from all branches, most of which were previously in German concentration camps. The initial 1,200 officer volunteers underwent extensive training from German instructors until March 1944.

The training was so successful that the newly trained leaders of the Italia Division were utilized to start the training of the Monterosa Division’s ranks while waiting for Italia conscripts from the Vercelli Recruitment Center.

Initially it had be decided that the Bersaglieri were to be the first RSI division formed due to the quickness that its cadres had reached a good level of preparation.

However, while General Carloni was waiting for the recruit battalions, news arrived that his intended recruits had been used by the Germans elsewhere in Italy. Due to the delay in recruits, Italia became the last division in the RSI Army preparation plan.

The first contingents arrived in Germany at the beginning of May 1944, but the main body didn’t reach Heuberg until the end of June 1944. The training was hard and extensive however, and by the end "Italia" was a well trained, hard fighting machine. Many of Italia's members had seen nearly constant action from Africa to post Armistice, and by now were seasoned veterans.

On 14 July 1944 General Carloni was nominated Commandant Of Monterosa, leaving Italia in the command of General Manardi. However, General Carloni returned in February 1945 to again lead
Italia until the end of the war.

The 14,000 Bersaglieri of the "Italia" Division received a combination of both Italian and German arms and equipment, giving them, like most RSI troops, a characteristically "Fascist" look. The basic uniform was Italian, but many had German field gear and small arms.


On June 6th 1944 a contingent of Italian troops on training maneuvers in Normandy found themselves in the middle of an Allied invasion.  Rommel, desperate to reinforce the Atlantic wall, and thwarted by the stubbornness of his superiors, had to make use of "secondary" axis troops. Most of the ethnic Germans guarding the beachfront fortifications were either old men or boys with little or no combat experience.
Large numbers of Romanians, Bulgarians, Russians, Vichy French and YES Italians were used to defend the beaches.

In most cases these second class soldiers were veterans and Rommel stated in his own diary that they often out-performed the ethnic German soldiers on hand. A very frank statement not lightly made in Nazi Germany.
Elements of the Bersaglieri Division "Italia", as well as the Littorio infantry , and San Marco Naval infantry Divisions took up positions in and around Normandy including the famous "Pont du hoc", Cezembre' Island and Caen.

Italian troops manned the six 155mm French coastal defense guns housed in case mates atop the 100ft cliff walls of Pont du hoc. Situated between Utah and Omaha beaches, these guns were thought to pose a great threat to the Allied landings. The 2nd US Ranger battalion was assigned the task of taking them out. The Italians, attached to the German 916th Grenadier regiment, helped to inflict nearly 50% casualties on the Rangers before surrendering.
The Italian Prisoners were taken aboard the USS Texas, and eventually were sent to an Italian prison camp in Utah, USA.

At the beginning of December 1944, Italia moved back to Italy to join Monterosa on the Gothic Line and form with it a new Army Corps. Later, when it was necessary to reinforce the Alps front, Bersaglieri replaced the Alpini all along their sector.
"Italia" was given front line duty on the famed Gothic line and saw action vs US, Brazilian, British common wealth and Partisan forces at the following places in Northern Italy between 1944 and 1945.

 

• Verona
• Parma
• Magra valley sector
• Cisa pass
• Replaced Ger 285th Inf. frontline Serchio River
• Garfagnana
• Treppignano
• Nuda
• Joined Ger 148th Inf. for defense of Soliera Gorge
• Allua village attack and defense
• Apennines campaign
• Abetone pass defensive maneuvers
• Radici pass defensive maneuvers

In addition to the "Italia" Bersaglieri division, early in 1943 after the armistice a regiment of Bersaglieri was hastily put together and trained in Germany to slow the advancing Allies. They were primarily trained in assault tactics and saw some hard fighting vs Allied and Partisan forces.

1st Bersaglieri volunteer Regiment:

• 1st Btn   "Benito Mussolini"
• 2nd Btn   "Goffredo Mameli"
• 3rd Btn   "Enrico Toti"
• 15th Coastal defense Btn
• 101 Replacements Btn

The regiment was initially formed after the Sept 1943 Italian surrender from volunteers of the old REI 8th Bersaglieri regiment "Luciano Manara". The 1st and 2nd Btns were attached to German Armee groups and saw action on the Gustav line, Adolf Hitler line and the Gothic line. The 3rd Btn was stationed in static positions in and around Verona. The 1st Bersaglieri Regiment was later folded into the 4th Bersaglieri Division in August 1944 and the Division was changed to the 1st Bersaglieri Division "Italia".





The "Italia" division, along with the German 14th Armee and Armee Ligurien, surrendered to Allied forces on May 2, 1945. Many of the Italian prisoners were handed over to the American funded "Mafia" or Partisan groups where they were tortured and killed.