The basic game rules for Command Decision include a great deal of organizational information, but also leave large gaps. There is orilyso much space in the game and so we had to devote what space was available to the more common units. This means that many of the more unusual and colorful units of the war had to be ignored. One area particularly close to my heart which we left out was cavalry. Nowthat20mm Italian WWll cavalry is available in white metal from Aketon in the U.S., I decided to dust off my information, on these interesting (and effective) troops and present it as an article in THE COURIER. The Italians had fifteen regular regiments of cavalry during the war. Although many of these became mechanized as the war continued, a number were horsed throughout. Six of these regiments were assigned to the three Celere divisions while the rest were independent. Each Celere division, in addition to its two horsed regiments, included one motorized Bersaglieri regiment, one light motorized artillery regiment (termed "Articelere"), and a light tank battalion. The light tank battalion, since it was technically a cavalry unit, was officially a "light tank squadron group" (Gruppi Squadroni Carri L). The organic units of the three Celere divisions were: 1st "Eugenio di Savoia" Celere Division 2nd Piemonte Reale Regiment 1st Articelere Regiment 12th Saluzzo Regiment I Gruppi Squadroni Carrri L "San Giusto" 11th Bersaglieri Regiment 2nd "Emanuele Filberto Teste di Ferro" Celere Division 9th Firenze Regiment 2nd Articelere Regiment 10th Vittor Emanuale II Regiment II Gruppi Squadroni Carri L "San Marco" 6th Bersaglieri Regiment 3rd "Princepe Amadee Dura d'Aosta" Celere Division 3rd Savoia Regiment 3rd Articelere Regiment 5th Novara Regiment I Gruppi Squadroni Carri L "San Giorgio" 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment Aside from anti-partisan duty in the Balkans, only one Celere division saw action during the war. The Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia include the 3rd P.A.D.A. Celere Division. It arrived in the Soviet Union at the front on July 17, 1941 and participated in much of the fighting in the south for the rest of 1942 under the command of the German 11th Army and later the 1st PanzerArmy. The division's tank battalion was the only ltalian armored unit in the Soviet Union. Between January and February of 1942 the 3rd Celere Division was converted to a motorized division by the addition of additional motorized infantry and artillery. At the same time the two horsed cavalry regiments were removed from the division and formed the "Raggruppamento a. Cavallo", also referred to as the "Barbo" Cavalry Brigade. The cavalry brigade fought with the vanguard of the Italian 8th Army as it closed up on the Don River and was involved in several sharp fights during August. Largely destroyed by the Soviet counteroffensive of December, the last of the horsed cavalry units were withdrawn from combat and returned to Italy by the end of 1942. While in the Soviet Union, they had performed a valuable service, forming the bulk of the Italian mobile troops. ITALIAN CELERE DIVISION: 1941 Organization for Command Decision Division Headquarers with: 1 command stand 1 car 1 staff radio truck Divisional Recon Company with: 3 recon Bersaglieri motorcycle stands 2 Cavalry Regiments, each with: Headquarters: 1 cavalry command stand 1 cavalry recon stand 1 machinegun squadron with: 2 MMG Stands 2 carts 2 Squadron Groups, each with: Headquarters: 1 cavalry command stand 2 squadrons, each with: 3 cavalry stands 1 Bersagileri Regiment with: Headquarters: 1 command stand 1 car 1 staff radio truck 1 Infantry Gun Battery with: 1 65L17 infantry gun 1 gun crew 1 light truck 1 Bicycle Battalion with: Headquarters: 1 command motorcycle stand 3 companies, each with: 3 bicycle infantry stands 1 machinegun company with: 2 bicycle MMG stands 1 Autoporto (motorized) Battalion with: Headquarters: 1 command stand 1 car 3 companies, each with: 3 infantry stands 1 heavy truck 1 company with: 1 47L32 antitank gun 1 gun crew 1 light truck 1 Motorcycle Battalion with: Headquarters: 1 command motorcycle stand 1 company with: 3 motorcycle infantry stands 1 motorcycle MMC stand 1 company with: 2 L3/33 tanks 1 Articelere Regiment with: Headquarters with: 1 command stand 1 car 1 staff radio truck 1 heavy ammo truck with trailer 2 Light Antiaircraft Batteries, each with: 2 20L65 AA guns 2 gun crews 2 light trucks 2 Light Battalions, each with: 1 command stand 1 forward observer stand 2 cars 2 75L27 guns 2 gun crews (double stands) 2 medium trucks 1 Field Battalion with: 1 command stand 1 forward observer stand 2 cars 3 100L17 howitzers 3 gun crews (double stands) 3 medium trucks 1 Light Tank Battalion with: Headquarters: 1 command L3/35 tank 1 recon motorcycle stand 1 maintenance van 1 tank transporter trailer 2 companies, each with: 1 command L5/35 4 L3/25 tanks 1 recon-motorcycle stand Notes: 1. In 1942 the light tank battalion of the 3rd Celere Division was reequipped with L6/40 tanks. 2. In 1942 the cavalry regiments were removed form the 3rd Division and formed as a Separate brigade. Their organization remained the same, The brigade also included one battalion of horse artillery. ISCHBUCHENSKII A Command Decision Scenario Background: In late August of 1942 the Italian 8th Army was closing up on the Don River. With the leg-mobile infantry straggling far to the rear, light mobile u nits screened the Don Riverline when, on August 20th, the Soviets launched a three-division attack to capture bridgeheads and relieve the pressure on Stalingrad. The Italian covering force at first gave ground and then reorganized for a counterattack to eliminate the Soviet bridgeheads. While the bulk of the motorized units formed two attack columns in the center, the two horsed cavalry regiments covered the flanks with the double mission of carrying outflanking attacks and exploiting the success. On August 24th the 3rd Savoia Dragoons launched their attack near the village of Ischbuchenskij and wrote one of the more memorable pages in their history. Reinforced by a battalion of 751-27 horse artillery, the regiment destroyed a reinforced Soviet rifle battalion by a combination of a frontal holding attack by a dismounted squadron coupled with a wide turning maneuver by a mounted squadron group culminating in the last mounted charge of the Italian Army in history. ITALIAN FORCES 3rd Savoia Dragoon Regiment Headquarters: 1 cavalry command stand 1 cavalry recon stand 1 machinegun squadron with: 2 MMG stands 2 carts 2 Squadron Groups, each with: Headquarters: 1 cavalry command stand 2 squadrons, each with: 3 cavalry stands Horse Artillery Group 1 command cavalry stand 1 forward observer cavalry stand 2 75L57 guns 2 gun crews 2 limbers 1 ammo wagon SOVIET FORCES Reinforced Rifle Battalion Headquarters: 1 command stand Three rifle companies, each with: 2 infantry stands One machinegun company with: 1 MMC stand One mortar company with: 1 82mm mortar (double stand) One antitank rifle platoon with: 1 PTRD antitank rifle stand One attached SMG company with: 2 SMG stands One attached recon company with 1 recon SMG stand BIBLIOGRAPHY Gibelfini, Lt. Col Vi., "The Last Charge", Tradition, Number Forty-Six. Prieskop, Franklyn C., The Italian Army in World War II, unpublished manuscript. Riccio, Ralph, Italian Tanks and Fighting Vehicles of World War 2, Kristall Publications, Ltd., (Henleyon-Thames, Oxon, England: 1975). Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. VIII No. 4 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1988 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com