Battaglione Duca d'Aosta - a little mystery

[gttf]

Hello,

I’m doing some research on a little known unit of the Regia Aeronautica (cobelligerent), established in Southern Italy during 1944 (after the Armistice on Sept., 8th, 1943); the unit is the Battaglione Arditi (Assault Bataillon) “Duca d’Aosta” (an infantry unit of the Italian Air Force), AKA Battaglione Azzurro (Blue Bataillon, from the colour of the uniforms).
This unit had a short existence (January to September, 1944), included about 1000 men (mostly from units of Regia Aeronautica) and its CO was Ten. Col. Angelo Mastragostino (former fighter pilot), with Cap. Giuseppe Cimicchi (former torpedo-bomber pilot), as deputy CO.
The Bataillon, trained and equipped as an assault unit, was disbanded in september 1944, before to see any action on the frontline, as it has not been duly authorized by the Allied Air Force Sub-Commission. In the meantime, some “arditi” were dropped behind German lines (probably in the framework of SOE Operation Potato) for sabotage operations on railways in Central Italy, on behalf of both SIM (Italian Secret Service) and SOE.
After the disbanding, a part of the relevant Personnel was transferred to the Italian Parachute Division Nembo and the remaining was assigned elsewhere (my father, for example, was assigned to Scuola Addestramento Caccia e Bombardamento – Fighter and Bomber Training School) in Campo Vesuvio, near Naples.
This is the synthesis of the history of the Battaglione, according to the primary sources (the documents in the archives of the Historical Branch of the Italian Air Force in Rome) and the very few secundary sources (an article on the monthly Storia Militare (January, 2012) and some hints in two-three books about history of Italian (Cobelligerent) Air Force).
Nevertheless, I’ve found a kind of report of a former soldier of “Duca d’Aosta” (passed away in 2008) which gives a different (and quite surprising) version of the end of this unit: according to this version,the Battaglione (or, at least, part of it) would have actually been deployed, during July, 1944 near Mount Canfàito, approx 10 km from Matelica and 50 km from Recanati (Marche region, Central Italy).
The unit would have replaced a bataillon of the 2nd Polish Corps, suffering a lot of casualties (BTW, the former soldier of “Duca d’Aosta” was wounded) and being disbanded for this reason.
The report of this veteran gives details about the establishment, training, equipment and weapons, consistent with the primary sources and with the few accounts by my father (sadly passed away in 1972, when I was a child) about his war experiences in that unit, as far as I can remember. These details are very accurate and I don’t see any reason to consider the report as a fake.
Unfortunately, this version is in contrast with the official version, as I have tried to summarize before.
Now, my question is the following: is there any member of this forum which has any element to corroborate the veteran’s version ? Does any expert of history of the 2nd Polish Corps friend have information about the replacement of a Polish bataillon with an Italian bataillon in te area indicated before, in July (at latest, August) 1944 ?
I've been trying to solve this little mystery for a few years, so far without success.
Thank you in advance for any contribution (and apologies for this too long and surely boring message).
Best regards

Fabrizio

 

[jwsleser]

Good day and welcome to the forum!

Interesting research. At this point I can't help much as I don't have many books on the RA after Sep 43.

Can you cite the research you have (source and pages)? It would help to not duplicate previous research. For example, does Arena's La Regia Aeronautica 1943 - 1946 mention the unit?

I did a quick check in Il corpo italiano di liberazione (USSME) but didn't find any mention of this battalion. The CIL was with the Polish Corps at that time, so it might have been noted.

I did find this on the Internet, I reparti corazzati del Regio Esercito e l’Armistizio – Vol. 2 that mentions the unit.

Pista! Jeff

 

[gttf]

Hello Jeff, thank you for your reply.
The sources mentioning the "Duca d'Aosta" (at least, those I've found ) are the following:

• Giorleo, A. Palestra azzurra. L’Aeronautica Militare e il paracadutismo. Cronistoria dalle origini ad oggi, Stato Maggiore Aeronautica, Ufficio Storico, Roma, 1975, pag. 55
• Longo, L.E. I reparti speciali italiani nella seconda guerra mondiale (1940-1943), Mursia, Milano, 1991, pag. 167 (footnote)
• Cimicchi, G. Aquile sul Mediterraneo, 2ª ed., Roma, Edizioni Ardita, 1958 (CV of Giuseppe Cimicchi as an appendix to the text)
• Arena, N. La Regia Aeronautica 1943-1946, Parte II Dalla guerra di liberazione alla Repubblica, STEM-
  Mucchi, Modena, 1978, pag. 37
• De Toro, A. La Marina del Sud e la difesa della Venezia Giulia (1944-1945) in Rivista Storica, Agosto
  1995, pagg. 48÷53 (mentioned as Battaglione Azzurro)
• Andriola, F. 1944-1945: la strana alleanza tra marinai del Sud e della R.S.I. per difendere Trieste e le
  terre dell’Est in Bollettino d’Archivio dell’Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare, Anno XIII, marzo 1998,
  pagg. 119÷142 (mentioned as Battaglione Azzurro)

I didn't know the reference you linked, but the info is not new for me as I found it in the documents filed in Fondo SMA, 1o Reparto, 1o Versamento, Busta 112, fascicolo 244 (Archivio Ufficio Storico AMI, Rome), as letter 475/Add on March, 29th, 1944.

Thanks in advance

Fabrizio

PS I don't think that further bibliographic researches can shed new light on the subject unless infos come from Polish sources (maybe) or from memories of single individuals. All sources I've found (primary and secundary) give the unit as disbanded (as not properly authorized by Allied Control Commission) before it saw any action (apart from the arditi dropped behind enemy lines on behalf of SOE/SIM). The only report telling a different story about deployement and disbanding can be found at this link:

https://docplayer.it/55357226-Notiz...amorosi-11-bibbiena-ar-enrico-ceccarelli.html

Don't be surprised by the first page, the report is at the second page on...

 

[gttf]

BTW, I'm quite sure that the time window of the report is not August, 1944 but (more probably) end of June, first half of July, 1944 as the villages and towns mentioned in the text were liberated in that period.
A interesting detail: the report mentions Mauser rifles as part of the equipment of the unit, which is confirmed by the primary sources (even if it should be interesting to understand why a unit established to fight along with Allies was partly equipped with German weapons, maybe war booty). This detail was not known (to me, at least) up to the publishing of the article on Storia Militare on 2012: since the report was published at the end of 2008, this info was not of public domain (AFAIK): another clue about the truthfulness of the witness.
Regards

Fabrizio

 

[jwsleser]

Fabrizio

Thank you sharing this interest puzzle. I have done some cross checking and I believe there are serious issues with his story that question whether the btg. saw combat.

As you point out, the date is likely sometime in July as that is when the Allies attacked the Albert Line. Misremembering the month is not a big issue and not a point of concern.

The geographical information is very detailed and quite accurate. I found Monte Canfàito and the towns which creates a difficulty. I can't place any allied units in that area. The locations given are west of the CIL, which was on the left flank of the II Polish Corps. The only Polish unit that could be anywhere near those locations was the 12º Ulhan Regiment. That regiment was attached to the CIL, but nothing in the orders during that timeframe places the unit that far west. Additionally the IX reparto d'assalto (an RE unit) was assigned to support that unit. There is no mention of the btg. arditi « Duca d'Aosta» in the account.

Note that I have checked the UK, Canadian, New Zealand, US, and the Italian official histories. None of those sources places any combat in that area. I am unsure whether that area was in the II Polish Corps AO or the 10th UK Corps. As important, I don't know why any unit would attack that quota. It wasn't in any of the plans as that area was to be bypassed.

I have gone through the orders printed in the allegati in Il Corpo Italiano di Liberzione (1950). Using period maps, I have tracked the movement of the 12º Ulhan Regiment. It never moved that far to the west.

The training on Allied weapons was also a mystery. That didn't begin until fall 1944. Until then, Italian units used Italian weapons. Using Italian weapons would explain why he was given a Mauser as a sniper rifle. The assault units were normally issued a cavalry carbine, so it would not be suitable as a sniper rifle.

At this point I am not sure what to think. I feel he has conflated different events but that doesn't explain the detailed geography. There are missing bits of information.

Pista! Jeff

 

[gttf]

Thank you Jeff, for cross-checking so different sources.
I agree with you, about weapons: I have a complete list of equipment of this unit and the only non-Italian weapons seem to be Mauser rifles (350 Mauser were foreseen vs 303 MAB sub-machine guns: to much only for sniping, I guess) and "bombe K con governale (tedesche)": of the latter, 7.920 pieces were foreseen. I don't know the English equivalent for "bombe K..." (maybe handgrenade or rifle grenade), even if the word "governale" (it should be translated as "fins", I suppose) let me think to rifle grenades.
I made the same considerations as yours, when I have analyzed the report of that old soldier: after more than 40 years, dates could be confused, more rarely the places are confused. I've supposed that the deployment concerned only a small unit of the Battaglione (a company or less) but it seems that no fighting occurred in that specific area, so I don't know what to think about, too.

BTW, also the bataillon-wide live-fire exercises mentioned at the beginning of the report were surely performed; as far as I can remember, my father (NCO of the Bataillon Loreto and then of the Duca d'Aosta) told me the same, adding that in some occasions, some arditi were killed and wounded, especially during exercises with explosive. The aforementioned equipment list included 2.500 kg of T4 or TNT with all the relevant accessories (mercury fulminate detonators, fuses, etc.).

I have to say that my father, although not speaking gladly of his war experiences, gave me a version of the disbanding of the unit consistent with the sources I have. This is the reason why that report was so intriguing to me.
I'm very puzzled, as you can imagine.
Thanks again, Jeff
Regards
Fabrizio

 

[gttf]

BTW, thanks for your welcome to the forum !

 

[jwsleser]

Fabrizio

RE: Bombe K con governale. I believe this was the Gewehr-Granatpatrone 40. Bombe K likely is Grenade K(98) and governale means it wasn't the Schießbecher.

RE: Live fire exercises. Yes, I am sure that the training happened. I am less sure that the btg. saw combat. The fact that Arena doesn't mention the btg. «Duca d'Aosta» in combat is a significant point. He discusses the other RA ground combat units in his earlier work on the RA 1940-1943.

The 5ª cp. carri LF was also part of the 1º raggruppamento motorizzato, being part of the V btg. c.c da 47/32. It appears that when the V btg. c.c. was assigned to the CIL in June 44, it had three cp. da 57/50 c.c. and no LF.

Pista! Jeff

​

 

[gttf]

Thank you Jeff.
Bombe K: Ok, got it
Live fire exercises: Ok, no doubt about training (apart from what said by witnesses): in the summary of the activities of the Regia Aeronautica along with Allies, presented by Gen. Piacentini, Air Force Minister of the Bonomi government, on August, 31st, 1944, during a meeting of the government, the para. 4.n) was devoted to the Battaglione Arditi (see book of Nino Arena, Vol. II, pag. 37) : the complete training (“completa preparazione”) of the unit was underlined, complaining that it was no possible to deploy it as a whole (“non ha potuto essere impiegato come unità organica”), without specifying the reasons.
Thanks for the details about 5^ Compagnia Carri L Lanciafiamme which, in march, 1944, was based in Lecce.
Another detail: in the report for which I've given the link in a previous message, a picture of the young ardito in the bataillon uniform is included. On the left side of the battledress, it is possible to see (although with a certain difficulty) a little shield, resembling the CIL badge. The badge was approved on June, 30th, 1944 and it was supposed to be placed on the left arm or, alternatively, on the left side of the chest (see Marzetti, P. Uniformi e distintivi italiani 1933-1945, Ermanno Albertelli Editore, 2^ edizione, Parma, 1995, pag. 184, Fig. 251/B). I don't know if this detail could mean anything, but I find it quite interesting.
At the end, I cannot disagree with you: all the documents available now do not support the "unofficial" (let me identify it this way) version of the deployment of, at least, a part of the unit on the frontline; this version still remains unexplained to me.
Thanks Jeff, for the stimulating discussions and the relevant details.
Best regards and my best season's greetings
Fabrizio
.

 

[jwsleser]

Fabrizo

I always like working on a puzzle. Thank you for sharing this challenge.

RE: Picture. Yes I assumed that the picture was of Andrea Maurano.

RE: badge. We have a conflict of sources. Viotti in his Uniformi e distinitivi dell'Esercito Italiano nella Seconda Guerra Mondiale pp. 367-368 states that the rectangular badge set on the tricolor of the Italian flag with the unit insignia (Marzetti p.185) was for the Gruppi di Combattimento and wasn't adopted until November 1944 (see fn 6). There was a badge adopted for the CIL on 30 June 1944, but it was a shield design and was similar to the type of shoulder insignia worn by the Allied troops (p.367).

I believe the badge above the pocket is too small and is likely a ribbon. However I am wondering about the badge on the pocket. Could that be the June 44 badge being worn incorrectly? I have not found a picture of that badge, only the description in Viotti.

...esso consisteva in uno scudo azzurro su cui era riportata la silhouette nera della figura statuaria di Alberto da Giussano (nella stessa posa del noto monumento), caricante una croce bianca sormontata dalla scritta «Libertas» sempre in bianco.

Pista! Jeff

 

[gttf]

Jeff,
the badge above the pocket is surely a ribbon.
The CIL badge from 30/06/1944 is the following (fig. 251/B, pag 185 of Marzetti's book).

It fits the Viotti's description, I think.
Comparing this image to the on-pocket-badge, I notice:

• white cross is not visible
• Libertas and CIL are not visible
• the visible line on the on-pocket-badge seems an envelope of the sword-arm-warrior head and right part of the warrior shield.

Maybe it is a different badge from what I thought.
In any case, the badge should be used on the left arm, but after 30/06/1944 it could be used on the breast (at least, this is said on the Italian language caption of this figure

Italian caption: "distintivo per il CIL che doveva essere portato da tutti gli appartenenti al CIL sulla manica sinistra della giubba in corrispondenza del primo terzo dell'avambraccio. Il distintivo fu approvato il 30 giugno 1944. (Poi a smalto da petto => breast enameled badge)

English caption : "CIL badge used on the left arm, from June 30th 1944.

another small mystery...
Fabrizio

 

[jwsleser]

Fabrizio

Sloppy reading on my part. When I looked at Marzetti's book, the number 252 that should have been next to the picture was missing from the page. I assumed that 252 was actually 251/B. I was in a hurry so didn't check closely. Thank you for the correction.

It has been a long time since I used Marzetti's book, so forgot the Italian captions usually contain more information. My go to book for uniform information is Viotti.

I translate 'Poi a smalto da petto' as 'later a small breast badge'. The original badge was approved on 30 June 1944, then sometime later a smaller breast badge was used (allowed?).

Agree the badge in the photo is not a CIL badge.

Pista! Jeff