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June 1940, north Africa division paper ToE and actual ToE

FrancoFB

Member
In the June of '40, the italian army had three type of division in the north Africa
the most common type was the "Divisione autotrasportabile tipo A.S.", there were nine (Sabratha, Sirte, Marmarica, Cirene, Pavia, Bologna, Brescia, Savona, Catanzaro)
on the paper they organization was
Division HQ
Two infantry rgt, each with: three rifle btln, one 81mm mortar coy, one 65/17 battery.
One replacement btln
One mg btln
One motorcyclist Bersaglieri coy
One 47/32 anti tank coy
One artillery rgt, with: two 75/27 btln, one 100/17 btln, two 20/65 btryes
One mixed engineer btln
Services
Eventually one L-3 tank(-ette) btln

men: 453 officer, 594 NCO, 9,931 enlisted= 10,978 (with the L btln)
weapons: 9,025 rifles, 262 LMG, 232 MG, 111 45mm mortar, 12 81mm mortar, 16 20/65 guns, 8 47/32 guns, 8 65/17 guns, 24 75/27 guns, 12 100/17 howitzer,
vehicles: 398 car/truck, 249 motorcycles/three-wheeler, 36 tractor, 180 bicycles, 46 L-3

a two divisions army corps would have, if w/o support unit 136 pieces, 246 mortars, 464 MG, 524 LMG, 18,050 rifles, 796 car/truck, 496 motortcycles/three-wheler, 72 tractors, 360 bicycles, 92 L-3, actually a bit more for the HQ staff.

the famous Allegato 4 give us the situation at 1st June (or maybe at 1st May)
a note "Forza effettiva" is the men strength and include also the men not available that day, so include sick, on leave and so
the army corps X, XX, XXI had only AT A.S. 40 divisions this would be respectively 2, 4, 2, but the XX and XXI include also all the GAF units

p.s. i corrected the mean of forza effettiva
 
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FrancoFB

Member
Here the Allegato 4
 

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FrancoFB

Member
Paper Weapons for unit in the AT A.S.40 division, my informed distribution:
HQ: 4 LMG
Infantry rgt (x2): 4-65/17, 6 81mm mortar, 54 45mm mortar, 25 MG, 108 LMG
Replacement btln: 3 45mm mortar, 12 MG, 27 LMG
MG btln: 48 MG
Motorcyclist coy: 4 MG, 12 LMG
A.T. coy: 8-47/32
Artillery rgt: 12-100/17, 24-75/27, 16-20/65, 18 MG
L-3 btln: 46 L-3 with 92 MG

this count let out three LMG, possibly they are in the L-3 btln, and eight MG and i've no idea where they can be.
(it's possible a alternative count, if the motorcycle coy was a mg coy (but i never heard so), it had a weaponry of twelwe MG, so the MG count is ok but we have uncounted fifteen LMG they can be put an other nine in the replacement btln, the remain six can go to L-3 btln (or four there and two to HQ

EDIT: see post #80 for a update
 
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FrancoFB

Member
Working on the X army corps data by the 4 Allegato
this had 12,155 men, 24 quadrupeds (this are surely from HQ or support unit if there are), 15,605 rifles, 480 LMG, 259 MG, 148 pieces, 128 mortars, 552 car/truck, 278 motorcycles/three-wheeler, 24 bicycles, no tankettes.

supposed organization of the X corps division (Bologna and Savona)
HQ: 4 LMG
Infantry rgt (x2): 4-65/17, 3 to 4 81mm mortars*, 27 45mm mortars, 25 MG, 108 LMG * in average 3.5
Replacement btln: 3 45mm mortar, 6 MG, 18 LMG
MG btln: 48 MG
A.T. coy: probably 6-47/32
Artillery rgt: 12-100/17, 24-75/27, 8-20/65, 18 MG

32 pieces are in corps artillery, and 4 LMG in corps HQ
 
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FrancoFB

Member
Working on the XXI army corps data by the 4 Allegato
this had 29,755 men, 46 quadrupeds, 31,773 rifles, 513 LMG, 1173 MG, 317 pieces, 135 mortars, 1,577 vehicles, 440 motorcycles/three-wheeler, 77 bicycles, 138 L-3.

supposed organization of the XXI corps division (Marmarica and Cirene)
HQ: 4 LMG
Infantry rgt (x2): 4-65/17, 5 to 6 81mm mortars*, 27 45mm mortars, 25 MG, 108 LMG * in average 5.25
Replacement btln: 3 45mm mortar, 6 MG, 27 LMG
MG btln: 48 MG
A.T. coy: probably 6-47/32
Artillery rgt: 12-100/17, 24-75/27, 16-20/65, 18 MG
L-3 btln: 46 L-3, counted also as 92 MG

A note on the GAF
the GAF infantry is made up of fixed MG coys, in this sector the GAF was reinforced from at least one libyan rifle btln, there were also at least thirty btry of the GAF
Corps support: there was a L-3 btln, and artillery one A.A. btln and two heavy field (105/28 guns) btln

P.S. i changed a bit after the new information on the GAF weaponry, go up LMG in replacement btln from 18 to 27, and go down 47/32 in the A.T. coy from 8 to 6, with only 85 guns in the field army it's very hard that a AT coy was a full strength
 
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FrancoFB

Member
Before i forget in the Allegato 5 is reported that from 1st june to 10th June landed in Tripolitania 39,184 men and an other 29,775 landed in Cirenaica
 

FrancoFB

Member
I suppose that Brescia and Pavia were organized like Bologna and Savona; Sabratha and Sirte like Cirene and Marmarica
Without many data, but we can assume that Catanzaro was organized like Bologna and Savona but with 2 batteries of 20/65
 
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Dili

Member
Why the Btg complementi would have 12 MG instead of 8 like the others?

Also this might help.
At the start of war in
5.a armata front (Tunisia) the GAF have 395 MG (many Schwarlose, austrian ww1 vintage), 438 LMG, 18 47/32AT. 10.a armata front (Egitto) the GAF have 611 MG (all Schwartloze of Austrian WW1 vintage), 23 47/32AT
 
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FrancoFB

Member
Because in peacetime organization the btln had twelve MG
Yes can help
the Army had not SMG in the '40 had LMG
can ask the source?
the number are strange the GAF had much more strength in the West that in the East
 

Dili

Member
I corrected SMG for LMG, i am trying to get the source. Note that the LMG were doing also MG work in West so there were more strength there 395+438 vs 611
 

Dili

Member
I am not sure about the LMG numbers reading it again seems the author does not make sense. "438 contro 170 occorrenti" so it seems only 170 of 438 existed, so where does he finds the "exuberance"?
 

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FrancoFB

Member
The 170 it's the TOE, the surplus was used to compensate the MG lack

So the source is "Le operazioni in Africa Settentrionale..." by Montanari, i've not checked the text just the allegati, when possible i check the data for the XXI corps.
 

Dili

Member
So ocorrenti in TOE not in ocorrenti as in existing.
Anyway with XX Corps in Tripolitania with 1378 FM's 438 are in GAF and of 1293 MG 395 are in GAF
with XXI Corps in Cirenaica 513 FM none are in GAF and of 1173 MG, 611 are in GAF.

A significant part of these MG's/LMG's should be part of GAF artillery batteries if the usual 2 MG's per battery is respected. Probably a part should be also on depot.
 

FrancoFB

Member
The second most common type of division was the "Divisione CC.NN." the infantry of these came from the fascist party armed organization MVSN, there were three of this: "1a" (1st) "23 Marzo", "2a" (2nd) "28 Ottobre" and "4a" (4th) "3 Gennaio", a fourth the "3a" (3rd) "21 Aprile" was disbanded in May 1940 and with the Army units in her and new infantry rgt was formed the "64a" (64th) "Catanzaro" infantry division on a AT A.S. 40 division.
the CC.NN. division were included in the XXIII (1a and 2a) and XXII (4a) army corps, in the XXII there was also the Catanzaro, the weaponry available for the Allegato 4 is similar for both the corps (in the assumption that real day of Allegato 4 is f1st May, the second division in the XXII corps in the 3a CC.NN.).
The XXII and XXIII corps both had 368 LMG and 274 MG (after take out the 92 of the L-3 from the XXII), the XXII had 122 pieces and the XXIII 132, the XXII had also 6 mortars.

supposed organization for the CC.NN.* divisions:
HQ: 4 LMG
Infantry rgt (x2): 32 MG, 27 LMG
Replacement btln: 6 MG, 18 LMG
MG btln: 48 MG
A.T. coy: probably 6-47/32
Artillery rgt: 12-100/17, 24-75/27, 16-20/65, 18 MG
65/17 battery: 4-65/17, 1 MG

* One of this division the six mortar available, for me are 81mm (my distribution of 57 45mm mortars each of the eight other AT A.S. 40 divison left 0 availability of the light mortar)

paper organization from Ceva and Stefani book (i think is wrong), in this case they not give weaponry
HQ:
Infantry rgt (x2): each with three rifle btln, a mortar coy and a 65/17 btry
Replacement btln:
MG btln:
A.T. coy:
Artillery rgt: two 75/27 btln , one 100/17 btln and two 20/65 btry

EDT see post #81 for a update
 
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Franco...
The Catanzaro division was a self-transporting AS 40 division mobilized in May 1940 between Modena and Tuscany. She had arrived in AS staggered between 9 and 30 June 1940. It is also true that part of her staff had "inherited" it from CCNN departments belonging to the dissolved CCNN 3rd division but at the time of her return to AS nothing had now to do with that type of training. In fact, it kept the TOE type of the AS division self-transportable type 40 that you have already described in your excellent report. The only addition she had to the standard staff once she arrived in AS was the assignment of 12 Soluthurn rifles which went to form a weapons section for each battalion and two 47/32 pieces sold by the GAF which went to form the 5. or platoon of the counter-tank divisional company bringing the total staff of the department to 10 pieces.
all the best
Maurizio
 

FrancoFB

Member
The Allegato 4 report clearly similar weaponry for the divisions of XXII&XXIII corps, the report show date is 1st June, commonly the 3a CCNN was reported disbanded in May, so one of two is wrong, or the report date is wrong or the 3a CCNN was not disbanded in May.
Hoping we get others information on the subject

p.s. changed the previous post with the assumption that at the actual time of Allegato 4, the 3rd CCNN was active and the Catanzaro not formed.
 
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