1st Libyan Division "Sibelle"

This division was formed from 2 independent raggrupamenti (brigades) of Libyan troops in August 1940. It deployed 900 Italians and 6400 Libyans in 2 infantry regiments, 1st and 2nd Libyan, each with three battalions, and the 1st Libyan Artillery Regiment, along with an engineer battalion and an anti-tank company.

The artillery regiment had 2 battalions, each with 12x 75mm L/28 guns and 2 batteries of 8x 20mm AA guns. It was deployed to XXI Corps when it advanced into Egypt in September 1940. It was deployed in a fortified camp on the coast at Mektila when the British counterattacked in December. Initially it was only placed under surveillance by Shelbyforce and it attempted to evacuate its position and retreat west. Several attacks by Shelbyforce with the attached Matildas of 6th RTR were repulsed at first, but the 1st Libyan Division eventually surrendered on the 11th of December. Although some small Libyan units were formed later in the war, Sibelle was never reformed.

1st CCNN Division "23 Marzo"

The unit's name is derived from the date the Fascist Party was formed in 1919. It was first mobilized in April 1935 for service in Ethiopia. It consisted of the 131st (HQ in La Spezia), the 192nd (Firenze) and the 202nd (Perugia) CCNN Legions. Each was composed of 2 battalions of infantry as well as a machine gun company and a battery of 65mm L/ 17 infantry support guns. The last two legions had a flamethrower section as well. There weren't any CCNN divisional artillery or support troops, as these were assigned from Army assets.

It left Napoli in August 1935 and arrived in Eritrea on 21 September where it was assigned to III Corps. It engaged in several battles during the campaign, but did not distinguish itself. It returned to Italy in 1936 to be disbanded.

It reformed later that year for service in Spain. It arrived in January 1937 as a raggrupamento (brigade) with only 2 legions, each with 3 infantry battalions and 12x 75mm guns. The Italian forces in Spain were deployed en masse under Italian control as the Corpo di Truppi Voluntari (CTV) and participated in most of the major battles. Mussolini demanded -that they hold the "position of honor" where the heaviest fighting occurred to properly exploit their superior equipment and motorized capabilities (by Spanish Civil War standards).

23 Marzo moved to the front with the rest of the CTV in March 1937 and fought at the battle of Guadalajara, where it sustained heavy casualties along with the rest of the CTV. The CTV was consequently reorganized with 23 Marzo reinforced to division strength with troops and equipment from the disbanded Dio lo Vuole division. It now had 3 legions and a full artillery regiment of 75mm and 100mm guns. It was itself disbanded in September 1938 and its equipment turned over to the mixed Italo-Spanish Arrow divisions; most of its men returned to Italy.

It reformed at Taguira in Libya in September 1939 as part of 5th Army from various independent CCNN legions already present in Tripolitania. It had 7900 men in the 219th and 223rd Legions, each with 3 infantry battalions, and the 201st Artillery Regiment, which had a battalion of 12x 100mm L/17 howitzers, 2 battalions of 12x 75mm L/28 guns and 2 batteries of 8x 20mm AA guns.

Divisional support troops comprised a battalion each of engineers and machine guns and an anti-tank company. It was transferred to the 10th Army in June 1940 and invaded Egypt that September. 23 Marzo managed to evade the initial British attacks in December 1940 by retreating to Sidi Omar and then to Bardia. It surrendered to 16th Australian Infantry Brigade after a brief fight when Bardia was attacked in force.

23 Marzo was resurrected in mid-1942 as part of the Italian contribution to the "Crusade in the East." It was structured in 2 groups, each with 3 legions, 2 of infantry and one equipped with mortars and heavy machine guns along with some infantry guns.

The Valle Scriva Group consisted of the 5th and 41st Legions and the 34th Support Legion. The Leonesa Group had the 14th and 15th Legions and the 38th Support Legion. It was assigned to II Corps and destroyed on the Don in late 1942 during the encirclement of Stalingrad, although remnants remained in Russia until March 1943.