For those of you who are curious, the names associated with the Italian divisions are usually derived from units of the old pre-unification Army of Sardinia from which they are descended. Often these denote the original home station as of 1860, but they are no longer relevant to the Italian Army of 1939. Thus the Venezia Division is based in Firenze (Florence) in 1939. The names of the cities in Italy are given in Italian to correspond with standard Europa practice.

1. Superga (infantry)
Home Station: Torino.

See TEM #8 for full details.

2. Sforzesca (infantry)
Home Station: Novara.

Fought in France June 1940. Transferred to reserve in Metropolitan Italy until January 1941, when it was sent to Albania. It occupied the Epirus region of Greece after the conclusion of the Balkan campaign. Returned to Italy, July 1941, but was sent to Russia in June 1942 as part of the 8th Army. It was mauled on the Don by the Soviets during the Stalingrad operation with the survivors repatriated to Italy in March 1943. It was reforming in the Veneto area with personnel from the 157th Infantry Division, but was dissolved upon the armistice in September 1943.

3. Ravenna (infantry)
Home Station: Alessandria.

This division was activated October 1939 and fought on the Alpine front in June 1940. It transferred to the Yugoslav border in early 1941. It was marginally involved in the Balkan campaign and was back in Italy by May. Transferred to Russia in July 1942 and was crushed on the Don in January 1943. It was returned to Italy in May 1943 and was reforming in Tuscany until the surrender.

4. Livorno (infantry)
Home Station: Cuneo.

The 4th was held in reserve during the French campaign and returned to Italy in July 1940. It remained in reserve until 1942. It was converted to an assault and landing division during spring of 1942 for the potential invasion of Malta. It moved from Roma to Sicily in February 1943 where it fought the Allies until evacuated in August. It was reforming as a "type 43" division in the Piedmont area until the surrender.

5. Cosseria (infantry)
Home Station: Imperia.

This division was partially mobilized in October 1939 and went to the Alpine front during the French campaign, where it occupied Mentone during June. It returned to Italy in August 1940 where it was in reserve until its transfer to the Russian front in July 1942 as part of 8th Army. It was destroyed in December 1942 and its remnants left the USSR in March 1943. Reforming in the Milano area until the armistice.

6. Cuneo (infantry)
Home Station: Milano.

Partially mobilized in October 1939 and fought against the French in June 1940. It moved to Albania in December 1940 as a part of 9th Army. It occupied the Greek islands of Nasso, Nicaria, Sira Andro, Santorini, and Samos until the Italian surrender.

7. Lupi di Toscana (Wolves of Tuscany) (infantry)
Home Station: Brescia.

The 7th fought on the Alpine front during the invasion of France. Afterwards, it was in reserve until January 1941 when it went to Albania and was mauled by the Greeks. It was part of the Greek occupation forces until returning to Italy in 1942. The 7th Division invaded Vichy France in November 1942 and occupied the port of Toulon until late August 1943. Upon its return to Italy it was disarmed by the Germans in Roma and Livorno in September 1943.

9. Pasubio (Semi-motorized infantry)
Home Station: Verona.

The 9th Division remained in reserve in Northern Italy until it invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941. It assisted in the capture of Split and Sibenik. The 9th was later sent to Russia as a part of the original CSIR (Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia) in August 1941. It participated in the capture of Stalino in late 1941, but was destroyed in the Don fighting in December 1942. It returned to Italy in March 1943 and was reforming in the Gazzanise area until the Italian surrender to the Allies.

10. Piave (Semi-motorized infantry)
Home Station: Padova.

Mobilized in June 1940 and kept in reserve. It was transferred to Sicily in February 1941, but was sent to the Venezia-Giulia area shortly afterwards with the formation of the Second Army, and remained there until the end of May 1941. It then moved into Liguria as a part of the general reserve. It was fully motorized during mid-1942. After the Torch invasion it occupied St. Tropez in Vichy France. In January 1943 it was sent to Roma as part of the Motorized Corps. It fought against the Germans during the armistice and was not dissolved until October as the division was used to keep order in the city of Roma.

11. Brennero (infantry)
Home Station: Bressanone.

It was partially mobilized in October 1939 and was sent to the Alpine front. It transferred to Albania in December 1940 and fought until May 1941. It was in Greece until July 1942, when its area of responsibility was enlarged to cover Epirus and Durazzo in Albania. After the surrender, many of its members volunteered to fight with the Germans and the division was broken up into small anti-partisan detachments during September-ctober 1943.

12. Sassari (infantry)
Home Station: Trieste.

Mobilized on the Carso front in June 1940. It invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941 and occupied Croatia until January 1943 when it returned to Italy. It was in reserve in the Lazio area until it was dissolved during the armistice.

13. Re (infantry)
Home Station: Udine.

It wasn't mobilized until June of 1940 and remained in the Udine area until the invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941. It then occupied Croatia until August 1943 when it was sent to Roma. It surrendered to the Germans after heavy fighting, September 1943.

14. Isonzo (infantry)
Home Station: Goritzia.

It was mobilized in June 1940 on the Yugoslav frontier. It was a participant in the invasion of Yugoslavia and occupied Ljubljana until the armistice.

15. Bergamo (infantry)
Home Station: Fiume.

It was mobilized on the Carso front in June 1940. It attacked Yugoslavia in April 1941, capturing the port of Split. It remained in Dalmatia as part of the occupation forces. It resisted the Germans until the end of September 1943 and many individual soldiers joined Tito's partisans.

16. Pistoia (infantry)
Home Station: Bologna.

It was partially mobilized in June 1940 on the Alpine front. It remained in reserve in the Piedmont until its transfer to Libya in July 1942. Nominally motorized in October 1941, but this appears to have been on paper only. It was severely mauled at El Alamein in November 1942. Its remnants retreated with Rommel until finally destroyed in Tunisia in 1943.

17. Pavia (infantry)
Home Station: Ravenna.

Activated on the Tunisian border, and so was not involved in the first Libyan campaign. It transferred to the Deutsches Afrika Korps in 1942 where it besieged Tobruk. It was destroyed at El Alamein by the British in November 1942.

18. Messina (Infantry)
Home Station: Ancona.

It was part of the general reserve until April 1941 when it moved to northern Albania. It attacked Yugoslavia that month taking Cetinje and Kotor (and securing much of the Yugoslav navy). It garrisoned Herzegovina during the occupation. It surrendered to the Germans in September 1943, although parts of the 93d regiment and the 108th CCNN Legion escaped back to Italy.

19. Venezia (infantry)
Home Station: Firenze.

It was mobilized for the occupation of Albania and did so in May 1939. It was stationed in the Koritsa area and invaded Greece from there in October 1940. After the Greek surrender it occupied Epirus until its transfer to Montenegro in July 1941. It resisted German and Croat attempts to disarm it after the armistice with its personnel forming much of the Garibaldi Division that fought with the Yugoslav partisans.

20. Friuli (infantry)
Home Station: Pisa.

It fought in France in 1940, but became part of the 7th Army reserve until its transfer to the Yugoslav border in 1941. It was not, however, involved in the Balkan campaign. It converted to an assault and landing division in preparation for the invasion of Malta scheduled for the spring of 1942. In November it occupied Corsica during the invasion of Vichy France. It resisted the Nazis during September-October 1943 and fought along side the Allies in February 1945 as one of the CIL (Corpo Italiano Liberzione) groups.

21. Sardinian Grenadiers (infantry)
Home Station: Roma.

One of the last divisions still on a prewar triangle organization. It fought in France where it remained until August. It became part of the 7th Army reserve. Its 3rd regiment went to Albania where it was part of the Coastal Corps until its destruction. The rest of the division transferred to Yugoslavia and occupied Ljubljana until November 1942 when it moved to Roma. It became part of the Motorized/Armored Corps and ought the Germans at the surrender.

22. Cacciatori delle Alpi (Hunters of the Alps) (infantry)
Home Station: Perugia.

This division fought on the Alpine front in June 1940 and went into reserve in central Italy until its transfer to Albania in January 1941. In July it moved to Montenegro and in September to Dalmatia. Late in 1942 it was transferred to Ljubljana where it remained until the armistice.

23. Ferrara (infantry)
Home Station: Bari.

The 23rd was sent to Albania during the crisis in 1939 and was involved in the Greek campaign. It was pulled out of the line due to heavy losses in early 1941 and garrisoned Valona. It was sent on occupation duties to Centinje in May 1941 and occupied Montenegro until September 1943.

More Italian Divisional Histories (24-36)