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60-681: Awlad Muhammad (or Ouled Muhammed ) was a tribe that ruled over the Fezzan region from 1550 to 1812. At their height, their domain extended from Sokna in the north to Murzuq in the south. Starting in 1577, the sultanate had to fend off against various attacks by the Ottoman and the Karamanli dynasty which often resulted in the looting, capture or vassilization of Fezzan. Some of these campaigns were conducted in 1679-1682, 1690, 1716, 1718 and 1811/1812. This Libyan history -related article

120-464: A captured Italian vehicle. The motorized divisions were similar to the "North Africa" type division, but they included a regiment of highly-mobile elite riflemen ( Bersaglieri ). The Bersaglieri appear to have actually received the motorcycles and trucks they were allocated. From the beginning of the war, some infantry divisions were theoretically fully mechanized and were designated as motor-transportable divisions. Again, in practice, few units had

180-595: A difference. By design, an armoured division included one tank regiment, one artillery regiment, one highly-mobile infantry ( Bersaglieri ) regiment, a divisional support and a mixed engineer company. The tank regiment could have between three and five tank battalions. At full strength, each battalion had 55 tanks. Once sufficient numbers of the M13/40 tanks and its upgrades were available, Italian armored divisions began to possess some offensive capability. The Italians also developed several self-propelled 75 mm guns on

240-449: A divisional headquarters, two Alpini regiments, a mountain artillery regiment, a mixed engineer battalion, a chemical warfare company, two reserve Alpini battalions, and divisional services. The divisional headquarters included an anti-tank platoon. Each Alpini regiment included a headquarters company, with a platoon of flamethrowers . Each regiment also included three Alpini battalions and the service support units assigned. At full strength,

300-612: A few days the Yugoslavian army and invaded Greece. The Axis victory was swift: on April 17, 1941, Yugoslavia surrendered after only eleven days, while Greece was fully occupied in May and was placed under the triple occupation of Italy, Germany and Bulgaria . After these setbacks, Mussolini accepted assistance from Hitler and the Royal Army was reinforced (and in some cases even trained to modern military tactics and organizations) by

360-811: A few months. Tunisia , just occupied together with the German Army in November 1942, was lost in May 1943. In July 1943 Sicily was invaded by the Allies and on 8 September 1943 Italy signed the Armistice with the Allies . Because of the chaotic way the Armistice was done, the Italian Royal Army ( Regio Esercito ) suffered a terrible crisis of leadership between September and October 1943. The German occupation of Italy and of Italian positions in

420-779: A high cost to the Italian army. Only in July, after the French surrender to Germany, did the Royal Army initiate a limited campaign from Italian colonies in Africa (Libya and Italian East Africa) against British possessions in Africa ( Egypt , Kenya and Sudan ). Italian forces invaded Egypt. In August, the Italian Royal Army obtained Italy's only major victory in World War II without German assistance when it conquered British Somaliland . In

480-602: A light tank group. The squadrons of the cavalry regiments were horse-mounted and, other than a motorcycle company, the Bersaglieri were issued with bicycles. The light tank group had a total of 61 tanks. The tanks were typically L3s or L6s . During the first years of World War II , Italy had only small light and medium tanks ( L3/35 , L6/40 , M11/39 , M13/40 and M15/42 ) tanks. When Italy declared war in 1940, Italy's armored divisions were still composed of hundreds of L3 tankettes. These vehicles were hardly on par with

540-643: A mortar battalion, an engineer battalion, and a pack gun company. The division also had some division-level services and could have a division-level reserve infantry battalion. The typical infantry regiment was composed of three rifle battalions. However, some regiments had as many as five battalions. By design, each regiment had 24 heavy machine guns , 108 light machine guns , six 81 mm mortars ( Mortaio da 81/14 Modello 35 ), fifty-four 45 mm mortars ( Brixia Model 35 ), and four 65 mm infantry guns ( Cannone da 65/17 ). The divisional artillery regiment typically had 36 field pieces by design. There

600-648: A new Fascist army in his " Italian Social Republic " ( Repubblica Sociale Italiana , or RSI) in northern Italy. This army was called the National Republican Army ( Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano , or ENR). While it lasted until April 1945, the RSI never amounted to being more than a puppet state of Nazi Germany . All male Italian citizens between the ages of 18 and 54 were liable for military service. During World War II, 18-year-olds were conscripted without any preliminary military training. Conscription

660-415: A reorganization in 1938, Italian infantry divisions were known as "binary" divisions ( divisione binaria ). This is because Italian infantry divisions were based on two regiments instead of the three that prevailed prior to the reorganization. By comparison, German divisions had three infantry regiments. In addition to the two infantry regiments, the Italian infantry division included an artillery regiment,

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720-552: A result, were incapable of providing the armoured spearhead that the German tank ( panzer ) formations could. Initially, a total of about 100 "medium" M11 tanks were available. But, while these vehicles were an improvement over the L3s, they were still more like "light" tanks. In addition, they were poorly designed (main armament in a "fixed" position), far too few, too under-gunned, too thinly armoured, too slow, and too unreliable to make

780-607: A war until at least October 1942. Although the Kingdom of Italy was considered a major power , Italian industry was relatively weak compared to other major powers in Europe . In 1940, Italian industry probably was no more than 15% of that of France or of the United Kingdom . The lack of a stronger automotive industry made it difficult for Italy to mechanize its military . In the new Italian Empire , Italy had used most of

840-472: A way that can be summarized by the sacrifice of the Division Folgore: the historian Renzo De Felice wrote that "...of the 5.000 "Folgore" paratroopers sent to Africa 4 months before, the survived were only 32 officers and 262 soldiers, most of them wounded. Before the surrender, they shot until the last ammo and the last hand-grenade...". After the defeat at El Alamein , the Royal Army lost Libya in

900-402: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Fezzan After the 1934 formation of Libya, the Fezzan province was designated as one of the three primary provinces of the country , alongside Tripolitania province to the north and Cyrenaica province to the northeast. In Berber languages , Fezzan (or ifezzan ) means "rough rocks". Fezzan could also be a derivation from

960-557: The Dodecanese Islands were exempt from military service and had been so since 1925. Previously in times of peace, those between the ages of 18 and 54 served in several stages. The first consisted of pre-military training which began at 18 and lasted until "the completion of the trainee's 20th year"; which was followed by being a conscript for 18 months after they turned 21. When finishing their conscript service they did another round of training lasting until they were 33 which

1020-828: The Idehan Ubari and the Idehan Murzuq cover much of the remaining land of Fezzan. From the 5th century BCE to the 5th century CE, Fezzan was home to the Garamantes , who operated the Trans-Saharan trade routes successively between Carthage and the Roman Empire in North Africa and Sahelian states of west and central Africa. The Roman generals Septimus Flaccus in 19 BCE and Suetonius Paulinus in 50 CE led small-scale military expeditions into

1080-479: The Military Territory of Fezzan-Ghadames . French administration was largely exercised through Fezzan notables of the family of Sayf Al Nasr. Disquieting to the tribes in western Fezzan was the administrative attachment of Ghat , and its surrounding area, to French-ruled Algeria . However, when the French military control ceased in 1951, all of Fezzan became part of the Kingdom of Libya . Fezzan

1140-523: The " Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia " ( Corpo di Spedizione Italiano in Russia , or CSIR) arrived and assisted with the German conquest of Ukraine . By 1942, Italian forces in the Soviet Union were more than doubled to become the " Italian Army in Russia " ( Armata Italiana in Russia , or ARMIR). This army, also known as the Italian 8th Army," was deployed in the outskirts of Stalingrad where it

1200-643: The 13th and 14th centuries, the Fezzan became a part of the Kanem Empire , which extended as far as Zella, Libya . Wars against the Kanem–Bornu Empire in the early sixteenth century led to the founding of the Awlad Muhammad dynasty, with Murzuk becoming the capital of Fezzan. Around 1565 it was ruled by Muhammad ibn al-Muntasir. The Ottoman rulers of North Africa asserted their control over

1260-684: The Allied tanks available in 1939 and were seriously out-classed by 1942. Better Italian tanks were produced but they were generally only available in limited numbers. Italian tanks typically suffered from poor main armaments and thin, bolted-on armour. It was not until summer of 1943 that the Italians developed a heavier tank (the P40 ). However, while the P40 was in the same class as the contemporary M4 Sherman , only five were ready for combat before Italy signed

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1320-755: The Army Group were armies. Armies were typically composed of two or more corps, along with separate units directly commanded at the army level. The corps were then typically composed of two or more divisions, along with separate units directly commanded at the corps level. The division was the basic formation of the Italian Royal Army. On 10 June 1940, the army had 59 infantry divisions, three Blackshirts (Voluntary Militia for National Security – Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale , MVSN) divisions, five high mountain ( alpini ) divisions, three mobile ( celere ) divisions, two motorized divisions, and three armored divisions. In addition, there were estimated to be

1380-797: The Balkans and elsewhere was swift and often violent. There were 73,277 casualties in those months. With King Victor Emmanuel III and Marshal Pietro Badoglio in command, the Royal Army entered the war on the side of the Allies . Fighting for what became known as the "Badoglio government," the Italian Co-Belligerent Army , the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force , and the Italian Co-Belligerent Navy were formed. Mussolini organized

1440-630: The Italian artillery and weapons dated from the First World War. Most important of all, the Italian generals were trained in the trench warfare of World War I and were not prepared at all for the new style of mechanized war based on the German "lightning war" model ( blitzkrieg ). From 1936 to 1939, Italy participated on the side of Spanish General Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War. The 50,000 to 75,000 strong " Corps of Volunteer Troops " ( Corpo Truppe Volontarie , CVT)

1500-582: The Libyan divisions followed the make-up of a standard binary infantry division. Each Libyan division had two colonial infantry regiments. Each infantry regiment had three infantry battalion and a Guns company (4 65/17 mm I-Guns ). The Libyan divisions also had an integral colonial artillery regiment and colonial engineering battalion. A typical Libyan division fielded 7,400 men (including 900 Italians). The artillery regiment by design included 24 77 mm guns. The " Maletti Group " ( Raggruppamento Maletti )

1560-806: The M13 chassis when the evolution in tank artillery made the 47 mm gun obsolete. Like the German 88 mm gun , the Italians learned that a 75 mm anti-aircraft gun ( Cannone da 75/46 C.A. modello 34 ) or a 90 mm anti-aircraft gun ( Cannone da 90/53 ) made effective anti-tank guns. While always in short supply, 57 of the 90 mm guns were ordered to be mounted on heavy trucks ( Autocannoni da 90/53 ) to enhance mobility. 30 guns were mounted on an M14/41 tank chassis as Tank Destroyer 90/53 ( Semovente 90/53 ). In 1940, Italy had two divisions in Italian North Africa composed of troops native to Libya commanded by Italian officers. In many ways

1620-576: The Royal Army were blocked by the Greek Army and bad weather. Soon Greek counter-attacks forced the Italians onto the defensive inside Albania. In March 1941, prior to the German invasion of Yugoslavia , the Italian Royal Army launched an offensive against the Greeks which ended with few meaningful gains and at high costs. A few weeks later the Axis forces of Germany, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria defeated in

1680-539: The Second World War. Nearly half a million Italians (including civilians) died between June 1940 and May 1945. The Royal Army suffered 161,729 casualties between 10 June 1940 and 8 September 1943 in the war against the Allies. There were an additional 18,655 Italian casualties in Italy (plus 54,622 Italian casualties in the rest of Europe) between September and October 1943. These casualties were suffered against

1740-578: The armistice that same year. The Germans acquired and used the few P40s which were produced. To supplement the deficiencies of the main armaments on most tanks, the Italian Army made use of self-propelled guns like the Semovente 75/18 and the Semovente 75/34 . The Italians also fielded some reliable armoured cars like the AB 41 . While Semovente 75/18s were available in some numbers in North Africa,

1800-523: The army's alpine divisions and tended to be of superior quality. In addition to being well trained for mountain warfare, they were expert in the handling of pack artillery . The alpine divisions differed from a standard infantry division in that each regiment had its own artillery, engineering, and ancillary services associated with the regiment on a permanent basis. This made each regiment of an alpine division relatively self-supporting and capable of independent action. By design, an alpine division consisted of

1860-516: The basic units making up the regiment were now an expandable company. The artillery regiment sometimes included a battery of German 88 mm guns. Mobility was increased and, in theory, an "A.S.42" type division was mechanized to a higher degree than standard infantry divisions. Unfortunately, in practice, few units had the full complement of motor vehicles. Italian motor vehicles, while in short supply, tended to be of better than average quality. British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery made use of

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1920-695: The conclusion of the East African campaign , the last organized Italian troops surrendered with military honors in Gondar while some Italian officers started a guerrilla war , mainly in Ethiopia and Eritrea . In Europe, Mussolini wanted to imitate the rapid German victories of 1939 to 1940. Mussolini began the Greco-Italian War by invading Greece from Albania in October 1940. The advances of

1980-502: The consent of the King (who always looked at France as the center of European politics) to declare war and enter the Second World War. Initially the King and his staff (conscious of the Italian lack of preparation to war) did not approve Mussolini's intentions, but when France was clearly defeated in June 1940, the Italian Royal Army ( Regio Esercito ) was abruptly sent to war. Mussolini made

2040-1009: The economic and military resources available during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War the conquest of Ethiopia, from 1935 to 1936, during the Spanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939, and during the Italian invasion of Albania in 1939. In the early 1930s, the Italian Royal Army successfully fought an Arab guerrilla war in Italian North Africa ( Africa Settentrionale Italiana , or ASI). The Italians fought another guerilla war in Italian East Africa ( Africa Orientale Italiana , or AOI) between 1936 and 1940. The Italian Royal Army remained comparatively weak in armaments. The Italian tanks were of poor quality. Italian radios were small in numbers. Much of

2100-423: The equivalent of about nine divisions of frontier guard troops. There were also numerous colonial formations at or near the division level composed of troops from Italian Libya and Italian East Africa . Impressive on paper, most Italian divisions did not have the full complement of men or materials when war was declared in 1940. The armored divisions had lightly armed " tankettes " instead of tanks . After

2160-430: The firepower and the mechanization available at the divisional level. As a result, a new "North Africa 1942" ( Africa settentrionale 1942 , or A.S.42) type division was developed. Similar to a standard infantry division, an "A.S.42" type division still had two infantry regiments, an artillery regiment, a mixed engineer battalion, a medical section, and a supply section. But the infantry regiments could vary greatly because

2220-435: The firepower for an Alpini regiment was 27 heavy machine guns, 81 light machine guns, 27 45 mm mortars, 12 81 mm mortars, and 27 flamethrowers. The mountain artillery regiment was split between the two infantry regiments. Each regiment was provided with a battalion of 75 mm howitzers, which were transported on pack animals. At the beginning of the war, the armoured divisions were filled with L3 tankettes and, as

2280-420: The first six months of war Italy obtained only minor territorial gains, as Mussolini mistakenly waited for a quick end of the war. In December 1940, British Commonwealth forces initiated Operation Compass which, by February 1941, had occupied Cyrenaica and destroyed the Italian 10th Army. In January 1941, other British Commonwealth forces launched an invasion of Italian East Africa. By November of that year, at

2340-479: The full complement of motor vehicles. Other than being transported by motor vehicle, these divisions were organized like a standard infantry division, with two exceptions. Motor-transportable divisions had a larger complement of mortars and they did not have a MVSN Legion. In 1942, the motor-transportable divisions in North Africa were upgraded to become "North African" type motorised divisions. In spite of

2400-675: The limit the resources of the Italian Royal Army. In spring 1940, the available oil resources for possible military operations (of the Army and Navy) were for only one year. Unlike the German Fuhrer , Adolf Hitler , Mussolini was officially only the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy . Victor Emmanuel III remained Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Italian Royal Armed Forces. Mussolini needed

2460-661: The militant Sanusiya Sufi religious order. The Tuareg clans of the region were only pacified by European expansion shortly before the Second World War , and some of them collaborated with the Italian Army in the North African Campaign . Free French troops occupied Murzuk , a chief town of Fezzan, on 16 January 1943, and proceeded to administer Fezzan with a staff stationed in Sabha , forming

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2520-544: The mistake to believe that Britain would accept peace agreements with the Axis after France's surrender, and did not anticipate a long lasting war. Consequently, Italy entered the war inadequately prepared. Italy declared war on 10 June 1940 and initially the Royal Army started a campaign with limited advances in the Alps against the French Army. But the French were not quickly defeated on this front and all advances came at

2580-1052: The more potent Semovente 75/34s Semovente da 75/46s , Semovente 90/53s, Semovente 105/25s , and Semovente 149/40 were available in limited numbers or not at all prior to the armistice. Like the P40, the Germans acquired the few better quality self-propelled guns manufactured prior to the armistice and even continued to manufacture some after the armistice. The main infantry weapons were Carcano rifles, Beretta M1934 and M1935 pistols, Bodeo M1889 revolvers , Breda 30 light machine guns , Breda M37 and Fiat–Revelli Modello 1935 heavy machine guns , and Beretta Model 38 submachine guns . Second line units frequently made use of captured equipment such as Lebel Model 1886 rifles and, for colonial troops, Schwarzlose MG M.07/12s and Steyr-Mannlicher M1895 rifles, provided by Austria as war reparations after World War I . Mussolini's Under-Secretary for War Production, Carlo Favagrossa , had estimated that Italy could not possibly be prepared for

2640-617: The northern reaches of the Sahara , and the Roman explorer Julius Maternus traveled there in early 1st century CE. Paulinus reached Fezzan and went further south. With the end of the Roman Empire and the following commercial crisis, Fezzan began to lose importance. The population was greatly reduced due to the desertification process of the Sahara during the early Middle Ages . During

2700-527: The oil trade, and so have turned to smuggling migrants from other parts of Africa, which is feeding the European migrant crisis and is a $ 1 billion per year industry. [REDACTED] Media related to Fezzan at Wikimedia Commons 26°19′58″N 13°25′31″E  /  26.3328°N 13.4253°E  / 26.3328; 13.4253 Royal Italian Army during World War II The Royal Italian Army ( Regio Esercito ), participated in World War II on

2760-507: The pack gun company had 8 47 mm anti-tank guns. From 1 March 1940, an MVSN Legion of two battalions was attached to most infantry divisions. This was to increase the manpower available to each division and also to include Fascist troops. The arrival of the Blackshirt Legions effectively restored the triangular form of the divisions they reinforced. The personnel, named Alpini , drawn from Italy's mountainous regions for

2820-488: The powerful German Army . The Royal Army even started to receive better and more modern armaments from the Italian industry, after the pressures from Mussolini to activate to the maximum the Italian "war machine". The result was a combined German and Italian offensive during the spring and summer of 1941 throughout the entire Mediterranean area: Mussolini sent an Italian army against the Soviet Union . In July 1941,

2880-453: The region in the 17th century. In the reign of Abdulhamid II (1876–1909) Fezzan was used as a place of political exile for Young Turks because it was the most remote province from Istanbul . Beginning in 1911, Fezzan was occupied by Italy . However, Italy's control of the region was precarious until at least 1923, with the rise of Benito Mussolini . The Italians were resisted in their early attempts at conquest by tribal Arab adherents to

2940-647: The region's Greek name Phasania or Phazania , which may mean "the country of the pheasants ". Fezzan is crossed in the north by the ash-Shati Valley ( Wadi Al Shatii ) and in the west by the Wadi Irawan. These two areas, along with portions of the Tibesti Mountains crossing the Chadian border and a sprinkling of remote oases and border posts, are the only parts of the Fezzan able to support settled populations. The large dune seas known as ergs of

3000-714: The side of the Axis Powers on 1940. The Royal Italian Army notably fought at the Balkans , Western Alps , North and East Africa and Russia until its defeat in 1943 by the Allies. The Royal Italian Army was then turned into the Italian Co-Belligerent Army fighting alongside the Allies while some Italian forces joined the Germans as the National Republican Army on the Italian Social Republic in Northern Italy. The Italian Army of World War II

3060-420: The upgrade, these divisions were still not fully motorized. The divisions tended to rely primarily on non-divisional sources for transportation and were, therefore, only part-time motor-transportable. Mobile ( celere ) divisions were cavalry divisions that had undergone a level of mechanization. Each division had two cavalry regiments, a highly-mobile infantry ( Bersaglieri ) regiment, an artillery regiment, and

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3120-446: Was a " Royal " army. The nominal Commander-in-Chief of the Italian Royal Army was His Majesty King Vittorio Emanuele III . As Commander-in-Chief of all Italian armed forces, Vittorio Emanuele also commanded the Royal Air Force ( Regia Aeronautica ) and the Royal Navy ( Regia Marina ). However, in reality, most of the King's military responsibilities were assumed by the Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini . Below Mussolini

3180-405: Was a horsedrawn battery of 12 100 mm howitzers, a horsedrawn battery of twelve 75 mm guns, and a pack horse-mounted battery of 12 75 mm howitzers. In addition to the field pieces, there was a mechanized troop of eight 20 mm anti-aircraft guns. Much Italian artillery was obsolete and far too reliant on horse transport. The mortar battalion typically had 18 81 mm mortars and

3240-599: Was a stronghold for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi through much of the 2011 Libyan Civil War , though starting in July, anti-Gaddafi forces began to gain ground , taking control of the region's largest city of Sabha in mid-to-late September. The LF country code (.lf) was reserved "on behalf" of Libya Fezzan (for an "indeterminate period of time") by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). There are oil wells in Fezzan capable of producing 400,000 barrels per day, but oil companies fly in staff from northern Libya. The local tribes are not getting any money from

3300-534: Was an ad hoc unit composed of Libyan troops transported in trucks and was commanded by the unit's namesake, General Pietro Maletti . This partly motorized unit took part in the Italian invasion of Egypt in September 1940 and in the defense of the Nibeiwa Camp in December 1940 during Operation Compass . In addition to 2,500 Libyan troops in 6 battalions, the Maletti Group included a colonial artillery element and 2 coy of armor: 12 M11 medium tanks and 14 L3 tankettes. During 1942, attempts were made to increase both

3360-577: Was destroyed during the Battle of Stalingrad . In November 1942, with the arrival of the American Army in the Maghreb , the Italian Royal Army occupied Corsica and the French Provence up to the Rhone river. This was the last military expansion of Italy. The Battle of El Alamein , lasting from July to November 1942, was the turning point of the war for the Italians and the Allies. As Winston Churchill wrote in his Memories : "...before El Alamein we had only defeats, after El Alamein we had only victories...". The Italian Royal Army fought this battle in

3420-415: Was lastly followed by being placed in active reserve status until they were 54. Soldiers were recruited from their colonial empire as well such as in Ethiopia. For an Italian soldier to serve in the North African campaign they needed to "...meet only basic requirements such as their teeth being in order or being in reasonable health". Nearly four million Italians served in the Italian Royal Army during

3480-480: Was lax as those who were more well-off generally avoided military service and serving in the military largely fell on those belonging to the peasantry which made up nearly half of the country's population by 1940. The peasantry were poor, mostly illiterate, traditional and had a distrust of authority; because of this officers looked down upon their soldiers. Many Italian soldiers were poorly trained and would often surrender when being strongly under attack. Those living in

3540-488: Was of significant assistance to the Spanish Nationalist cause and was involved in the Aragon Offensive and the "March to the Sea." Unfortunately for the Italian Royal Army, a large number of Italian weapons and supplies were utilized by the CVT or provided to Spanish Nationalists forces during this conflict. In 1939, Italy conquered Albania without difficulty and forced King Zog to flee. As would be expected, Italy suffered few casualties. But this occupation stretched to

3600-491: Was the Supreme Command ( Comando Supremo ). The Supreme Command featured an organic staff which functioned through its defense ministries and through its various high commands. The defense ministries were based on function and included a Ministry of War, a Ministry of the Admiralty, and a Ministry of the Air. The high commands were based on geographic regions and included Army Group West, Army Group Albania, Army Group East Africa, Army Group Aegean, and Army Group Libya. Below

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