50th Infantry Division "Regina"

The 50th Infantry Division "Regina" (Italian: 50ª Divisione di fanteria "Regina") was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Regina was formed on 1 March 1939 in the Italian Islands of the Aegean and entitled to the Queen (Italian: Regina). After the Armistice of Cassibile the division fought German Wehrmacht forces in the Battle of Rhodes. The majority of the division surrendered on 11 September 1943, while some smaller units resisted the Germans until 16 November 1943.[1][2]

50th Infantry Division "Regina"
50th Infantry Division "Regina" insignia
Active1939–1943
Country Kingdom of Italy
Branch Royal Italian Army
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
EngagementsWorld War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders		General Alessandro Piazzoni
Insignia
Identification
symbol
Regina Division gorget patches

History

The division's lineage begins with the Brigade of the Queen (Italian: Brigata della Regina) established in 1815, which on 25 October 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 9th and 10th infantry regiments.[3]

World War II

The division was originally deployed on the islands of Rhodes, Leros, Kos, Karpathos, Kasos, Kalymnos, Kastelorizo, Stampalia, Patmos, with small detachments on other islands. In 1940 the division was reinforced by the 201st CC.NN. Legion. On 20 November 1940, two companies from I Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment expelled Greek sailors who had captured Agathonisi island the previous day. In response to the British Operation Abstention, IV Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment recaptured the island of Kastelorizo on 28 February 1941. In the aftermath of the Battle of Greece in early May 1941, the 10th Infantry Regiment, stationed on Kos, proceeded to capture the Greek islands of Amorgos, Anafi, Ios, Naxos, Paros, Andros, Tinos, Kythnos, Kea, Serifos, Skyros, Mykonos, Samos, Ikaria. The capture proceeded without any resistance on the Greek side.

On 27 May 1941, a tactical group was detached from Regina (mostly troops from Rhodes), comprising I Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment; II Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment; an artillery battery; and an anti-tank company armed with 65/17 field guns from the 9th Infantry Regiment. This tactical group landed on Crete near Sitia on 28 May 1941 and proceeded to rendezvous with German forces at Ierapetra on 1 June 1941, fighting in minor clashes along the way.

On 15 May 1942, the Regina was reinforced in Rhodes by the newly formed 309th Infantry Regiment "Regina", and on 24 October 1942 the 331st Infantry Regiment "Brennero" from the 11th Infantry Division "Brennero", joined the Regina.[4] On 24 October 1942 the 331st Infantry Regiment "Brennero" was transferred to Rhodes.[5]

Armistice of Cassibile

After the Armistice of Cassibile was announced on 8 September 1943, the garrison of Kastelorizo surrendered to British forces in the early moves of the Dodecanese Campaign. Some sub-units of the CC.NN. legions on Rhodes joined the Germans after the Fall of Rhodes after brief fighting on 9–11 September 1943. The remaining units of the Italian garrison on Rhodes surrendered to the Germans.

Two infantry platoons and an artillery section from the Regina division, together with the British 1st Battalion, Durham Light Infantry and some RAF personnel fought against the Germans in the Battle of Kos on 1–4 October 1943.[6] Most of 3,500 men of the 10th Infantry Regiment "Regina" surrendered to the Germans without a fight.[7] The Germans captured 1,388 British and 3,145 Italian prisoners.[8] On 3 October, German troops executed the captured Italian commander of the island Colonel Felice Leggio and 101 of his officers, an event known as the Massacre of Kos. This was done in accordance with Adolf Hitler's order of 11 September to execute captured Italian officers.[9]

III Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment, with an artillery battery and a tank company, and with British forces, defended Leros during the 12–16 November 1943 Battle of Leros. Finally, the Italian garrison of Samos surrendered to German forces on 22 November 1943, after prolonged aerial bombardment.

Organization
  • 50th Infantry Division "Regina"
    • 9th Infantry Regiment "Regina", on Rhodes
      • Command Company
      • 4x Fusilier battalions (IV Battalion transferred to the 309th Infantry Regiment "Regina" on 15 May 1942, one battalion on Karpathos)
      • Support Weapons Company (65/17 infantry support guns)
      • 1st Mortar Company (81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
      • 2nd Mortar Company (81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
    • 10th Infantry Regiment "Regina", on Kos
      • Command Company
      • 4x Fusilier battalions (IV Battalion transferred to the 309th Infantry Regiment "Regina" on 15 May 1942, one battalion on Leros)
      • Support Weapons Company (65/17 infantry support guns)
      • 1st Mortar Company (81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
      • 2nd Mortar Company (81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
    • 309th Infantry Regiment "Regina", on Rhodes (raised on 20 March 1942, joined the Regina on 15 May 1942)
      • Command Company
      • I Fusiliers Battalion (former IV Fusiliers Battalion/ 9th Infantry Regiment "Regina")
      • II Fusiliers Battalion (former IV Fusiliers Battalion/ 10th Infantry Regiment "Regina")
      • III Fusiliers Battalion (former III Fusiliers Battalion/ 265th Infantry Regiment "Lecce" of the LI Special Brigade "Lecce")
      • Support Weapons Company (65/17 infantry support guns)
      • Mortar Company (81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
    • 331st Infantry Regiment "Brennero", on Rhodes (raised on 1 November 1941 by the 11th Infantry Division "Brennero", joined the Regina on 24 October 1942)
      • Command Company
      • 3x Fusilier battalions
      • Support Weapons Company (47/32 anti-tank guns)
      • Mortar Company (81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
    • 50th Artillery Regiment "Regina"
    • L Mortar Battalion (81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
    • 6th Machine Gun Company
    • 50th Machine Gun Company
    • 295th Machine Gun Company
    • 23rd Anti-tank Company (47/32 anti-tank guns)
    • 50th Anti-tank Company (47/32 anti-tank guns)
    • 46th Telegraph and Radio Operators Company (entered the L Mixed Engineer Battalion in 1943)
    • 91st Engineer Company (entered the L Mixed Engineer Battalion in 1943)
    • 250th Engineer Company (entered the L Mixed Engineer Battalion in 1942)
    • 50th Chemical Company (expanded to L Chemical Battalion in 1942)
    • Field Post Office

Attached:[2]

  • 201st CC.NN. Legion "Conte Verde"
    • CCI CC.NN. Battalion
    • CCCI CC.NN. Battalion
    • 401st CC.NN. Machine Gun Company
    • 402nd CC.NN. Machine Gun Company
    • 403rd CC.NN. Machine Gun Company
    • 1st CC.NN. Mortar Company (81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
    • 2nd CC.NN. Mortar Company (81mm Mod. 35 mortars)

Additional army units were directly subordinate to the Armed Forces Command "Isole Italiane Egeo" under Admiral Inigo Campioni:

  • Armed Forces Command "Italian Aegean Islands"
    • "Dodecaneso" Sector
      • 18x Static Coastal Machine Gun Companies
    • Carabinieri Grouping "Egeo"
    • Guardia di Finanza Grouping "Egeo"
    • 35th, 36th, and 55th Static Coastal Artillery Groupings
      • XVIII, XXIII, XXIX, XXX, XXXII, XXXIV, XXXV, XXXVI, XXXIX, XL and XLI groups
        • 19x batteries and 5x sections with 75/27, 6x static batteries with 75/27, 10x batteries with 149/12, and 8x batteries and 4x sections with 105/28 howitzers, and 3x static batteries with 210/8 mortars
    • 56th Static Anti-aircraft Artillery Grouping
      • LXXXIII, LXXXIV, LXXXVI Static Anti-aircraft Artillery groups
        • 10x batteries with 20/65 Mod. 35, 7x batteries with 75/27 CA, 2x batteries with 90/53, and 1x with battery 75/27 C.K. anti-aircraft guns
    • Army Corps Engineer Grouping
    • Autonomous Static Coastal Artillery Group "Coo"
      • 6x static batteries
    • Autonomous Static Coastal Artillery Group "Scarpanto"
      • 3x static batteries
    • CCCXII Tank Battalion "L"
      • 1st Tank Company (L3/33 tankettes)
      • 2nd Tank Company (L5/30 light tanks)

Commanding officers

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

References
  1. "50ª Divisione di fanteria "Regina"". 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. 292. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  3. Voghera, Enrico (1909). Annuario militare del regno d'Italia - Volume I. Rome. p. 380.
  4. "Regio Esercito - 309° Reggimento fanteria "Regina"".
  5. "Regio Esercito - 331° Reggimento fanteria "Brennero"".
  6. Anthony Rogers (2007), pp. 78-84.
  7. "Leros, Churchill's folly". Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  8. Chronik des Seekrieges 1939-1945, Württembergische Landesbibliothek, entry on October 1943
  9. "Massacres and Atrocities of WWII". Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  • Paoletti, Ciro (2008). A Military History of Italy. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-98505-9.


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