By October 1943, the Italian Army had all but ceased to exist. Due to confusion in the High Command, almost all divisions had been disarmed, mostly by the Germans, and Italian sovereignty was limited to a small area around Brindisi under the guns of the Allies. Only 430,000 men were still under arms, about half in Sardinia and the rest scattered throughout southern Italy and Corsica. Nine infantry divisions still existed, as well eleven coastal divisions and a few coastal brigades. Support units were almost non-existent and virtually all units were totally unfit for combat.

The Sardinian forces consisted of the 203rd, 204th and 205th Coastal Divisions, IVth and XXXth Coastal Brigades, as well as the 30th, 31st and 47th Infantry Divisions and a portion of the 184th Parachute Division Nembo. The remnants of the Italian garrison of Corsica, the 20th and 44th Infantry Divisions and 225th and 226th Coastal Divisions, were returned to Italy as the French reasserted control over the island. The Italian forces in Puglia consisted of the 209th and 210th Coastal Divisions, XXXIst Coastal Brigade, the Alpini Battalion Taurinense and the 152nd Reserve Infantry Division. The 104th Semi-Motorized Infantry Division, the 58th Infantry Division, the 211th, 212th, 214th and 227th Coastal Divisions, XIth and XIVth Coastal Brigades were all located in Calabria. Parts of the 6th, 18th and 155th Infantry Divisions had managed to escape Axis captivity by evacuating from the Balkans, but all equipment had been abandoned in the interests of a fast getaway.

Most of the Allied commanders of the time, including both Eisenhower and Alexander, were against Italian participation in the war against Germany. The Italian government offered the use of the Sardinian divisions as early as September 23rd, but the offer was refused due to the chaotic state of the Italian forces as well as a lack of proper training and equipment. With all of these problems it was felt that Italian troops would be more of a liability at the front than an asset. There was also a question about the political status of the Italian troops, as Italy didn't declare war against Germany until October 13th. As the battles in Italy soon began to devour men and the Allies realized that they had a useful propaganda tool, this attitude soon changed. It was decided to raise a small motorized unit of Italian troops as a test.

The Ragruppamento Motorizzato (Motorized Group) was formed in late September 1943 and began training at Avellino with Italian weapons and equipment. Most of the transport and the artillery regiment came from the 104th Mantova Infantry Division. The infantry regiment, the 67th, had a battalion each from the 58th and 18th Infantry Divisions as well as the LI Bersaglieri Training Battalion, which acted as the brigade reconnaissance unit. The 11th Artillery Regiment consisted of 4 groups, each of 2 four-gun batteries. One group had 105mm L/28 guns, another had 100mm L/22 howitzers and 2 had 75mm 08 mountain howitzers. A battery of 6x 20mm anti-aircraft guns, a company of L35 tankettes and an engineer company rounded out the group. It completed training in December and was sent into action with American forces at Monte Lugno on December 8th. It was supposed to be an easy test, but the veteran troops of the 25th Panzergrenadier Division had other ideas.

Expecting the security troops recently relieved by the panzergrenadiers, the Italian attack failed by noon and the troops had to be withdrawn after some of them panicked. The unit recovered in the next few days and enjoyed some success fighting alongside the 36th Division. It was withdrawn for reorganization in February. The 67th Infantry Regiment was sent to the 210th Coastal Division in exchange for the 68th, with battalions from the Palermo and Novara Divisions and the 4th Bersaglieri Regiment. It was further reinforced with the 185th Parachute Battalion Nembo, the Alpini Battalion Piemonte and the incompletely-trained IXth Arditi (commando) Battalion Col. Moschin. The engineer company was expanded into the 51st Battalion and a group of 47mm L/32 anti-tank guns was also added. Total strength was a little over 5000 men. It returned to the front under the command of the French and came under Polish command a week later when it assisted in the capture of Monte Marone in March. It was withdrawn for expansion in April after it had suffered some 420 casualties during 4 months in the line.

The motorized group was dissolved and its components used to form a larger Italian presence at the front, albeit limited to 14,000 men by provisions of the Armistice. This new formation was known as the Corpo Italiano di Liberazione, the CIL. Also known by its commander's name as Divisione Utili, it fielded two brigades with the following structure: 

1st Brigade
4th Bersaglieri Regiment [XXIX and XXXIII Battalions]
3rd Alpini Regiment [Piemonte and Monte Granero Battalions]
185th Parachute Infantry Battalion Nembo
IVth Artillery Group [8x 75mm 1113 pack howitzers]

2nd Brigade
68th Infantry Regiment [I Palermo and II Novara Battalions]
Marine Battalion Bafile [Later expanded into the San Marcos Regiment with the addition of the Grado Battalion in August]
IXth Arditi Battalion Col. Moschin
Vth Artillery Group [8x 75mm 1113 pack howitzers]

11th Artillery Regiment
[Same structure as previously listed with addition of VIth Group of 8x 149mm L/28 howitzers and Vth Group was re-equipped with 57mm AT guns.]

Division Group CIL had the same support units as the Motorized Group.

The Nembo Division moved from Sardinia and was earmarked to join the CIL. Nembo was used as a reserve and was only sent to the front after the CIL was withdrawn. Both could not be on the front at the same time due to the armistice restrictions, as the CIL deployed over 14,000 troops and Nembo had 7,000. The Nembo Division consisted of the 183rd and 184th Infantry Regiments, each with 2 battalions, 184th Artillery Regiment with 1 battalion of 12x 100mm howitzers, another with 12x 75mm howitzers, and a third with 12x 75mm pack howitzers. The 184th Guastatori Battalion and the 184th light AA battery with 6x 20mm AA guns rounded out the division. The CIL was sent to the Adriatic sector for its baptism of fire and helped the Poles liberate Aquila, Chieti and Teramo. It was relieved by Nembo, which lost 300 men during the capture of Ancona. The Italian forces were then transferred to the command of British V Corps where the CIL fought inconclusively against the German 71st and 278th Divisions. Due to problems with supply and equipment, both divisions were removed from the line in late August and were disbanded on 24 September. The CIL's casualties during five months in the front line numbered 377 dead and 985 wounded and missing.

The Italian command felt it was imperative to maintain a presence at the front and new units were forming even before the units of the CIL had been disbanded. These so-called Gruppo di Combattieri [Combat Groups] began training under British instructors in September 1944. CIL veterans and new recruits were combined to create the new units which were armed and equipped with British equipment. Each Combat Group had 2 infantry regiments, each with 3 infantry battalions supported by a company of 3 inch mortars and another of 12x 6 pdr anti-tank guns. It also had an artillery regiment of 6 groups, 4 of 25 pdr howitzers, 1 of 17 pdr AT guns and another of 40mm AA guns. Each artillery group had 2 batteries of 4 guns, except for the AA group which mustered 6 guns per battery. A 2 company engineer battalion completed the complement of each combat group. This totaled over 9,000 men equipped with 500 heavy machine guns, 200 PIATs, 40x 3 inch mortars, 140x 2 inch mortars, 24x 6 pdr AT guns, 32x 25 pdr howitzers, 8x 17 pdr AT guns and 12x 40mm AA guns. A detailed breakdown of the composition of each Combat Group is given below:

Legnano Group
68th Infantry Regiment [I Palermo, II Novara, III Moschin Battalions]
Special Regiment [Piemonte, Abruzzi Alpini Battalions and Goito Bersaglieri Battalion]
11th Artillery Regiment
51st Engineer Battalion

Cremona Group
21st, 22nd Infantry Regiments
7th Artillery Regiment
144th Engineer Battalion

Piceno Group
235th, 236th Infantry Regiments
152nd Artillery Regiment
152nd Engineer Battalion

Friuli Group
87th Infantry Regiment [III Sardinian Grenadiers Battalion]
88th Infantry Regiment
35th Artillery Regiment
120th Engineer Battalion

Mantova Group
76th, 114th Infantry Regiments
155nd Artillery Regiment
104th Engineer Battalion 

Folgore Group
Nembo Regiment [3 para-infantry battalions]
San Marcos Marine Regiment [Bafile, Grado, Carole Battalions]
184th Artillery Regiment
184th Engineer Battalion

Legnano was the first to go to the front in December 1944, followed by Cremona, Friuli and Folgore. Mantova was not ready until the end of May and Piceno was converted to a training and replacement unit in January 1945. Legnano served under the U.S. 2nd Corps and the others were sent to the British 5th and 13th Corps. Legnano and Friuli both helped liberate Bologna and most participated in the April offensive to good effect (only Mantova remained in reserve). As might be expected, the combat groups suffered lightly; losing 640 killed and 1995 wounded.

For all the valor displayed by the Italian combat units, they were only a small component of the forces contributed to the Allied cause by the Co-Belligerent government. The bulk of the forces were support units, not combat units. The Allies required the Italians to supply 100,000 internal security troops as well as 100,000 support, 45,000 territorials and 15,000 anti-aircraft troops. From an initial strength of 63,000 in October 1943, the support forces eventually comprised over 196,000 by war's end. Most of these units were formed from cadres supplied by the old coastal divisions. The majority of these units were engineer or construction troops, but some were security formations of one sort or another. Most were brigades, but 4 security division groups were formed from the former infantry divisions. The Calabria, Nembo and Sabauda divisions formed security division groups with the same name, but the Bari Division formed the Aosta Security Division Group. Each internal security division comprised 2 brigades of 2 regiments. Within each division the artillery regiment and the CCNN Legion were converted to ordinary infantry. The divisions were equipped solely with small arms, as all the artillery had been supplied to the CIL or mothballed.

A special brigade of 3,000 carabinieri volunteers was formed after the Allies took Roma. It supplied security for the city, as well as small teams to provide guidance and support to partisan units. The 28th Garibaldi Brigade was actually formed from former partisans in Firenze near the end of the war.

The support units were, in many ways, the most valuable Italian contribution to the Allied cause and suffered about 4100 casualties in the struggle against fascism.

The Italian Co-Belligerent forces grew from a single motorized brigade to a force of over 300,000 by the end of the war. By providing valuable support functions as well as a combat presence, the Italian Army gradually earned the trust of its former enemies. Total casualties for all Co-Belligerent units were 2094 dead, 5689 wounded and 669 missing. They proved that the Italian soldier could fight if motivated and properly led, and ultimately provided a framework for the modern Italian Army.

Europa Order of Battle

Dec I 43
1x 2-3-8* mot Inf X 1

Jan I 44
3x 2-4* Sec XX Grp Aosta, Cal, Sab

Apr II 44
1x 2-3-6 Mtn Cons X 210
Convert: 1 x 2-3-8* mot Inf X 1 to:
1x 3-4-6 Inf XX Grp CIL

May I 44
1x 2-3-6* Para-Inf XX Nembo

Jun I 44
1x 1-2-4 Static X 212
1x 0-1-5 RR Eng X 209
1x 0-2-5 Cons X 205

Jul I 44
1x 1-2-5* Cons X 227

Aug I 44
1x 0-2-5* Cons X 228

Sep I 44
1x 1-2-5 Cons X 230

Sep II 44
Withdraw: 1x 2-3-6* Para-Inf XX Nembo
and 1x 3-4-6 Inf XX Grp CIL
Receiving the following unit:
1x 1-2-4* Sec XX Nembo

Dec I 44
1x 2-3-6* Inf X Leg
1x 0-2-5 Cons X 231

Jan I 45
1x 2-3-6* Inf X Crm

Jan II 45
1x 1-2-6* Trng X Piceno

Feb II 45
1x 2-3-6* Inf X Friuli

Mar I 45
1x 2-3-6* Inf X Fol

May II 45
1x 2-3-6* Inf X Mn