Italian Army Elite Units & Special Forces 1940-43 by Pier Battistelli

Author:Pier Battistelli
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Italian Army Elite Units & Special Forces 1940–43
ISBN: 9781849088954
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Published: 2011-10-03T04:00:00+00:00

OPERATIONS: NORTH AFRICA

On 14 January 1941 the 3rd and 4th Guastatori companies were sent to North Africa, forming the provisional Battaglione Guastatori di Formazione, under command of the 1° Raggruppamento Speciale Genio. Being practically without tasks until Rommel’s drive into Cyrenaica in April 1941, they were employed at first in constructing field fortifications. On 27 April both companies were deployed around the Tobruk fortress, detached to the Ariete and Brescia divisions, and taking part with them in the attacks on the Ras el Medauar positions on 30 April–4 May. These resulted in heavy losses; the companies had a total of 95 killed, wounded and missing, without achieving a breakthrough, but their outstanding performance earned them Rommel’s praise. Thereafter the two companies were sent to rest and reorganize; despite the arrival of some 50 replacements from Italy, each eventually reduced the number of its platoons from four to two. On 15 August 1941 the two understrength companies formed the XXXII Battaglione Guastatori which, later that same month, was deployed to face Tobruk once again under command of XXI Corpo d’Armata.

Meanwhile, after a baptism of fire in the early stages of the invasion of Yugoslavia, on 18 April 1941 the 1st, 2nd, 7th and 8th companies were brought together to form the XXXI Battaglione Guastatori, some 1,300 strong. After a period of training in the Turin area in August, in mid-September 1941 it too was sent to North Africa and deployed under XXI Corpo d’Armata in the Tobruk area. The 5th, 6th and 9th (Alpini) companies were in Albania by 15 March 1941, and were committed to the Greek campaign, forming the XXX Battaglione Guastatori. After taking part in the attack on southern Yugoslavia in April it was brought back to Italy for re-training.

On 18 November 1941, when the British Crusader offensive began with the aim of raising the siege of Tobruk, the XXXI and XXXII Battaglioni Guastatori became involved in a kind of warfare for which they were neither trained nor equipped. The XXXI Battaglione, deployed with the Pavia and Bologna divisions at Tobruk, fought first at Belhamed and then at Bu Hamud, using its explosives against British tanks. Ordered to withdraw to Gazala on 7 December, the battalion (lacking motor transport) was attacked and almost wiped out by a British armoured car column on 19 December, when the unit suffered some 200 casualties. An accidental explosion cost another 16 killed and 22 wounded, and by January 1942 the XXXI Battaglione had lost a total of 362 men. Sent to Tripoli to reorganize, the battalion was reduced to three companies by merging the remnant of 2nd Company into the 1st Company. The XXXII Battaglione, also deployed at Tobruk, suffered fewer losses – about 17 per cent of its strength. This enabled it to be one of the leading Italian units to take part in Rommel’s second drive into Cyrenaica in January– February 1942; nevertheless, in May 1942 the battalion was down to a strength of 263 all ranks.

On 17 March 1942

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