GGFF propaganda poster: Picture courtesy of avalanchepress.com
As the last rays of light were just starting to set over the horizon at Bir el Gobi, 43 tanks from the German 15 Panzer and 6 tanks from the German 21 Panzer, appeared on the flank of Point 188, and proceeded to thrash the now weakened 11th Indian, particularly the soldiers of the 2nd Mahratta who absorbed the blunt of the attack. Armor from the Ariete Division had also attempted to join in the Axis counter-attack, but was delayed by enemy opposition they encountered in route.
Many of the young Giovani Fascisti looked on with wonder from their slit trenches as they were witnessing for the first time the impressive sight of German armor on the attack. The British here did not have the firepower to counter the panzer attack; General Norrie, at the request of General Neil Ritchie, had ordered the British 4th Armoured to advance to an area over 30 miles away to counter a perceived advance by the Axis. Without the necessary firepower of the 4th, the German Panzers were able to completely drive the 11th Indian from the battlefield.
As happy as the soldiers of the GGFF were at the arrival of the Panzers, they were almost equally pleased to receive the much needed food and water that followed shortly behind them. As members of the GGFF finally got a chance to come out of their defensive positions and receive their rations, they were called to gather up, and many were pleasantly shocked to see that the man about to address them was none other than General Erwin Rommel. Rommel had ventured over to Bir el Gobi to evaluate the situation and confer with his subordinates on a course of action, but he took the time to give a quick speech to the young men of the GGFF thanking them for their effort on the field of battle over the past few days. With this defensive stand, the GGFF had definitely left their imprint on the war.
But the rest time here would be short. General Ludwig Cruwell, commander of the AfrikaKorps, decided that the position here would not be tenable for long, and thus ordered the troops, including the soldiers of the GGFF, to fall back to El Adem. As for the British forces, the 11th Indian Brigade would be pulled from the front line, and would need time off to regroup and refit after their encounter with the GGFF at Bir el Gobi. They would eventually return to battle, but their duel against the Giovani Fascisti would be one of their costliest of the entire war.
So to the Giovani Fascisti would continue the fight for the Axis for the remainder of war in North Africa. In July 1942, the Gruppo Speciale Giovani Fascisti was ‘converted” into 136° “Giovani Fascisti” Armoured Division, on paper at least. This designation was really in name only, and the GGFF was never truly equipped to be an actual Armoured Division.
Some GGFF units fought with distinction attached to the Italian Folgore Division during their masterful defensive stand at El Alamein. Later, as the Axis was forced back into Libya and finally Tunisia, the Giovani Fascist continued their unflagging determination against the enemy. They were often given the assignment of rearguard duty for the retreating Axis, thus the critical job of holding off the pursuing Allied forces was thrust upon them.
They would win the praise and admiration of fellow Italian and German soldiers alike. Though the Division would be nearly annihilated through the course of the final months of combat, the Giovani Fascisti held out from the inevitable as long as they could, and in fact would be the last Axis unit to surrender in North Africa in May of 1943.
The fighting at Point 174 was grueling to all those who participated in this fierce battle. The Fascisti stand would provide Mussolini and his regime with a propaganda coup. The exploits of these young warriors was trumpeted across all of Italy in an attempt to show how the power of will and determination of the Fascist could achieve victory.
When the soldiers of the GGFF were finally pulled back from the line and off of Point 174, they were not the same boys who had dug in just days before; they were perhaps collectively older and still somewhat exhausted from the strain of the days of battle. As they marched on maybe they were all now a little more jaded to the horrors of warfare. The one thing that can be said for certain about this determined band of warriors as they departed the battlefield was that they left as victors.
After the war, in 1959, Major Balisti donated to the Giovani Fascisti veterans a villa called “Piccola Caprera” near Ponti sul Mincio, Mantova. In his dedication, Balisti wrote the following message: “I leave this house for you to remain honest and live in Franciscan poverty. I leave this house, because you may have a place to meet and honor the homeland”.
Located today at “Piccola Caprera”, in which Balisti and his wife are buried, is the headquarters of the “Associazione Nazionale Volontari Bir El Gobi”. Also housed here at “Piccola Caprera” is the museum of the GGFF regiment. It is a fitting memorial, worthy of the men for which it was created to honor.
Special thanks to Lorenzo for editing, providing content (particularly on the genesis of the GGFF), and researching information from Italian sources for the article. Also, for creating the magnificent maps showing the different phases of the battle. Thank you my friend.
References:
Decisive Campaigns of the Second World War: John Gooch
Rommel’s Desert War: Martin Kitchen
NZRTC.Org
Wikipedia Articles
http://digilander.li.../birelgobi2.htm
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/cyrenaica/txu-oclc-6540189-39.jpg
http://www.piccolacaprera.it/
http://www.icsm.it/articoli/ri/gobi.html
http://www.isspe.it/Dic2001/calvaruso.htm
An Original Newsreel about the “March of Youth”
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