The Italian Army 1940–45 (2): Africa 1940–43

51 Pages·6.73 MB·English

by  Philip Jowett, Stephen Andrew

mDDIJ j\;lEN-AT-AR~lS 349
MILITARY
y
HE TALIA A
1940-45 (2)
AF CA 1940-43
PI III.If> S. J()\YET'1' S'TEPI-IE:\ _\:\))RE\Y
CONTENTS
ITALY'S 'PARALLEL WAR' 3
• Mu olini trat gic vi ion
ITALIAN EAST AFRICA, 1940-41 3
• Th Italian I njal rri n
• The iava ion f rili'h rnaliland
PHILIPS.JOWETTwasbornin
Leedsin1961,andhasbeen
interestedinmilitaryhistory THE EAST AFRICAN CAMPAIGN, 1941 6
foraslongashecan
remember.Beforebeginning • amI aign urnmall'
hisseriesontheItalianArmy
ofWorldWarIIhewasthe THE LIBYAN CAMPAIGN, 1940-41 7
authorofthemuchpraised
Men-at-Arms306:Chinese • raziani s lore • ampai n ul11ma
CivilWarArmies1911-49.A
rugbyleagueenthusiastand
THE ITALIAN ARMY IN NORTH AFRICA,
amateurgenealogist,heis
marriedandlivesinLeeds. 1941-43 10
• R lati n'hip\ ilh rman f, r s
• quipm ntand m ral • p d' nl13n f lit unit.
• arm til'and anti-tank w ap n • 'amp'ugn UI11I11
UNIFORMS 18
• EastAfrica • I onh Tlca· u' pi ,..L11lll,i s
• th 'a!lcuiana mm;cioflo 'al!nr;rmo
• old w ath I'clothing• headg ar· 1g> ar f, [wear
• rank c insi nia· han frank branch in.ignia
.' i \~<lni Fa i-ti' Oi i in· aplur d unif nn-
• labl fclivi'i nal in.ignia " Ii· para hUl L1ni
• P Iizia d II' ri a Italiana
COLONIAL TROOPS, 1940-43 36
STEPHENANDREWwasborn ·Tr op arc footwear
in1961 inGlasgow(where • table
hestililivesandworks).
• han nal quipm nl
Inthelastfewyearshehas
establishedhimselfasone • Red
ofthebestyoungillustrators
ofmilitarysubjectsworking THE PLATES 43
today.Anentirelyself-taught
art·ist,heworkedasajunior
inadvertisinganddesign INDEX 48
agenciesbeforebecominga
freelanceillustratorin1993.
Militaryhistoryishispassion,
andsince1997hehas
illustratedOspreytitles
includingMAA306:Chinese
CivilWarArmies1911-49,
andthefive-volumesequence
ontheWorldWarIIGerman
Army.
SERIES EDITOR: MARTIN WINDROW
H I ALlAN AR Y
940-45
(2) AFRICA 1940-43
TEXT BY
PHILIP S. JOWETT
COLOUR PLATES BY
STEPHEN ANDREW
m:m:m
MILITARY
FnlIlUtlloII'oIdIn2001l>I'OspteyPubIisIWIO.an.CCu1. Dedication
CI\IpIlWay.1loIIev.Oldofd0X21llP.UMIIllI(,;ngOom
E..........~
Acknowledgements
M ngID-.ApWIfrom"If..dIoIlirlglor __ol~$lldy.
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~AcI,1-'noPI'!ol_~....,I-.~_.,. greatI'IO.W1'1berofpeoplewhohlft/'ehelped.....wrthinformation:
.......fYSltm,or_.,"If.......or1lJ...,."--"" St'--'",",,-,CharIes~.Neilctwnpion,Mike~
-=..-.~~~~-......,.og.~or_. PaulCornish.DWloDiMasua,Mar1<ClIIiI.DaVIdFlIta-,St_
'"""""'....pnar..nr-~ol1N~_~~1-. ~0a1l0PavoMc.GlynnRoberts.xtPIUlv.walIh.Fortheir
"-1O"~ 115S15~MthpI'IOlographstITlU51lhanllPIeroCIociaN.GeoIge
Forty,AlexeiIvanov,MarcoNovarme.Aot.tSledman.xtRex
ISBHIll5!>3Z105• Tynl.PartJetA.thlwtIu;IT'I,$go10NigelThomaslorhI$greathelp
WIththe,...cn.ts.-.:110Cot.mVitelt/lorhos~.Iwould
also?iU10thankJamesBooi.MarceloRa\'lIIOli..cIGuIdo
Rosognolilorlhlwplllencea1dlorthewiingness10shin.....
greatknowIecIgeoftheSl.OtIf8CtwrthaIeIow~~t.
Author's note
010:1030405 lOO'T8!>432 To8~oid repelollon,agooddealofmaterialofgenerllllppllcalion10
lhesubjectollhlsbookwillbeloondinthe'Irst~olllmeInthis
FORACATALOGUEOFALLTITLESPUBUSH£O!lVOSPREY series- MAA340, TheItalulnArmy194().43{I}:Europe 194().43,
MILITARYAND"'\IlATlONPLEASEWRITETO;
whichclescnbesandlIIustralestheRoyalArmy"'conlill8lltal'
ThoM......1lnQ~.0spnIyPubtlIhlnglid. uniformandpersonalequipmeot.Itincludesctlarls0'Amryand
PO80.140.WelIIngbo<ough,~w"'Nfl4ZA.~Kinl/CIOm MVSNrankIflSIgfIIa:basicorgarnsatlOfltableslorInfllfltry,Alpine,
Em8I;1nI~.ull andCeIIfedivlliorts;andIIchartshowingtheITIIlIncomponent
00115,WI'JIS8'Vice..-.dcoIlIrpatchesoftheinfantrydivisionswhich
TN_etlng~.~0iNc1USA. SfIfWIdinEuQPlI,ncIudingRussia.
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OI_OiIJIIwy__WWW__.f~ ,PI 'oil0_
Artist's note
R6aden;mayc..re10r'IOlethilllheong/nalPMllongsII"omv.ftc:hthe
colot6platesinthrsbook'fII'E!fe~..avlJiIlIblelorpnvate
sale.....~copynghl:wtlatsoeYerisretIInedbythe
PublIshers.Allenqu.jesshcUdbeadO!lsed10:
Sl:llPhenAnlhw,
81EllislMd.~.GlasgowG662UA,ScotlMd
ThePublishersI'8greI!hattheycar1enterintonoCOfT'llSl)Onder
uportthosmaner
TlTl.EPAGEII.ca~lly dressed ltal~noffic...poNt:with•
sentryof~AI&hlJrls1JClIme!COf'PS.tFottC.~oInLiby.
befQf1lth8out~kof••r.T1Ieotflc..-.......wtIlte
S.hIorilo""}Kk"withbtK.kshoulderbo8rd.,.nd• tropiClIl
peakedcap.T1Ie",.~toIstumedoufIn Imm~ulate
wtIltefyll d....turban, coat;;ondslrullltTou.....,wfttt the
brownleath8rundoUerofttloepatternusedonlyb)'Colon~l
s<Md1ers..(G.Forty)
HE ITALIAN ARMY 1940-45
(2) AFRICA 1940-43
ITALY'S 'PARALLEL WAR'
c nd WOr! I arill Italian Arm
rica for ov I' 0 aI', tablishing an
f Eriu· .~, Lib a, ltaJian omaliland and
..ini ). B th taL 19 Os Ita1 had h I'
Lieutenant-ColonelJanarl,
commanderofthe2ndSpahis
Colonial CavalryRegiment, who
ledthesuccessfulItalianattack
ontheBritishSudanesetownof
KassalaInJuly1940.Hewears
aSahariana with theblack
shoulderboardswhichcarryhis
rankandthebadgeofthe
2ndSpahis- the 'Hawk's
Feathers' Regimem. Histropical
helmetisaprivatelypurchased
'Aden'pattern- cfPlateC2;
thebadgeoftheregiment is
mountedon thetricolournational
cockade.(MarceliaRavaioli)
r
war' to reo-i
ITALIAN EAST AFRICA, 1940-41
Ilal's mpir in Ea.l fri 'on i l d of ·ri -ea (sin e 1896), ELhiopi.
(inel9 ).and malilanc1(ine1925).Th> lerrilri .whihwr' 3
w r
1940
III
III n, of
r naLiv
. 'olonial' . Blackshirtsand nativetroops
celebratethecapture ofafortin
BritishSomalilandinAugust
1940.Looking morelikeascene
from 'Beau Geste'thanan
episodefrom amodemmilitary
operation,itdoestypifythe
natureofthisbriefcampaign.
Iii .•1<ln·IU ri di a\,ola' Thenativeascariswearabasic
uniformofbaggyshortsand
11 ofth prell1i r EOI'maLi n'
tunicwithcolouredturbans as
obI! d OO'cLh from wli s
headgear.Theinvadingforce
LiLie ·Afl'ica. M SL of' Lh musthavemadea colourful
Blackshirt L giOI . impression;itwasan eJlotic
Th r mind r of mixture includingcamel-mounted
nativetroopsandhordesof
dubatIrregularsmixedinwith a
handfuloftanks, armouredcars
andmotorcycle-mounted police.
(RexTyre)
4
The Invasion of
British Somalilan'd
n 4 ,ugu.l L94() til
It lian laull hed an il
vasiol ofBJili'h omaliland
from Ethiopia, wl'li Il was
on of III fI w "u e, III
a LiOI b, th Italian Arm
in Ahi a during lh ec nd
World ar, Thi' barren
and 1111 t BliLi'h t rriLOI
\ taken b a c mbined
I
force ofalmo·t35, 00 III n,
of whom 30,000 were
native troop and 4 0
'Metropolilan' ( ump an)
per onne\. \I"hit 11' P
included a 'in<TL batlaJi n
Er m th Granalieri di
a ia' Divi ion, two IV
units a compan f ill/ 9111 dium lank,,'l 'quadr 11 ofli<T!lllank: and Agroupofblack motorcyclistsof
two 'quadran of Lderl armour d oar ,Th ioJanLJ' w re also 'lIpp rt d thePolizladell'AfricaItaliana,
b large numb rs L mall aJibre Ii ldgun.. picturedaftertakingpartin the
invasionofBritish Somaliland.
Th Italian ovcrwh 1m dll1 Lin ,0111m nweaJth oree. ill III clan,
All wearbrown leathercrash
bUl the ewer 'ali I, va ual·d Ii' 111 B'rb rJ b or th iO\~tldcrs<lI1'ived helmetsandcoatsandthe
in '~r , hi mall- cal tlmpailTll lIevenh I' , pI' ved o.Ll Ie I' th specialbeltand pouchesof
ILalian , \ h 10 l 2.052 kill d or mi"sing again.l BriLi.hI' s oj" onl the PAl- cfPlate01.This
250 In n. well-annedtrioall carrythe
modelofthepopularBeretta
M1938Asub-machinegunwith
ORDER OFBATTLE
afolding integralbayonet.The
10 OFBRITl H OMALILAND,A GU T 1940 Germansweresoimpressed
bythisefficientmixed-race
General Bertoldi Column organisationthattheyeven sent
personnelto the PAltraining
2l\!(V ballali ns
centreinanticipation ofhaving
1bn from' ranaLieti Ii av ia' Oi i ion
to fulfil thesamerolewhen
42nd, 58th, 66th. 62nd, 14 lh . 143rd olonial Blls Germanygained herown
4th omali Bn hoped-forAfricanconquests.
2 ilTeguJar nati bande (RaffaeleGirlando)
GeneralDe imone' ColunUl
20lh, .9th 4 Lb, 7th 64th, I'd
tJl 40th L4_nd lonial Bn 1940 MVSN
I t Oubal I' up Militia Division
,mplJo Bar/deofPAl +P rm 111pan Establishment
General Bertello Column
1 t & od am IOubal; 2nd, •I'd, th 6th uhal rOllp. 2MVSNLegions
10] t J02nd 01 nial Bn.,3rd oastal Bn of3bns
+MortarCoy&ArtySly
Reserv
ArtllleryRegf
4th, rd EnglneerBn
camel-I niJI r' MGBn
A/TCOy
Armour
1 ml an ~ lank', ] 'quadran tank 8.000allranks
2squadron' armoured car' 5
THE EAST AFRICAN CAMPAIGN, 1941
Th garri. n f Ltalian E t
:an Ia"lhi
th vinual I ur orth
TheDukeofAosta, commander naval and air thr t) it\
In-chiefofItalianforcesintheir
EastAfrican empire,awardsa
decorationtooneofhismenin
1940,Aosta earnedthe
ungrudging respectoftheBritish
forhisconductofthe 1941 East
African campaign, and forhis
personal leadershipatthebattle
ofAmbaAlaglIn May.Afterhis
ie
final surrenderheinsisted
thathisown troopscleartheir
minefields beforepassinginto
captivity- agesturetypicalof
thechivalrywhich distinguished advan e from [a'"ala and allabat
whatcouldhavebeenan ugly
campaign. Herehewears the
aris.a and Bura
uniformofageneralofthe
Italian airforce; abovethe rank
Insigniaon hissleevearetwo
badgesshowingpromotionfor
meritoriousservice.Thesoldier
receiving the awardiswearing
rdat
an'Aden'patternhelmet.
(JamesBurd)
11th rri an Oi\'
win north illl
rt an Oi,' dvan ,toJUiga-
fr m \d n I nd
Piau'
baba, apital of
6 an . p n cit '",
di'p r 10 a ~ w m 1I11tain
iv baba, al lhe
n
ItalianSomaliland.summer1940: 22 MaJ'
anNCOoftheSomaliandubator
'WhiteTurbans'.nativelight 11 ad-
Infantrywhoearnedagood
reputation asskirmishers. HeIs
wearing alightkhakitunicand
(utaskirtwithalightkhakidyed
turban;thecoloured whistlecord
aroundhisneckIsamarkof
rank. Hisex-Austro-Hungarlan
Armybeltwith fourpouchesis
1918Italianwarbooty;he is
probablyarmed with a
MannllcherM1995rifle-
cfPlateA.2.(Marco Novarese)
THE LIBYAN CAMPAIGN, 1940-41
VIilhin w k
B Ib .th d nami
h l down and kill
7
f
nLS and
l1laliv 1y
8