Kustosz2137
Member
Some time ago, while doing research on 31. Reggimento Fanteria Carrista I've stumbled upon an issue, that I still haven't managed to resolve. That issue being the history of the regiment's light tank battalions after the conquest of Greece and Yugoslavia.
During those campaigns 31. Rgt. fielded four Battaglioni Carri L:
- I/31. (initially VII. d'Assalto „Vezzani”)
- II/31. (initially VIII. d'Assalto „Bettoia”)
- III/31. (initially X. d'Assalto „Menzinger”)
- IV/31. (initially XXXI. d'Assalto „Cerboni”)
Following those events two battalions of the regiment were sent to Dalmatia as autonomous units (still dependent on regimental depot) in July 1941, fulfilling anti-partisan duties. The other two were disbanded in August of the same year and their crews assigned to the newly formed LI. Battaglione Carri M. The issue starts when we try to identify those battalions.
According to most sources*, the battalions sent to Dalmatia were I. and II., while III. and IV. were disbanded.
*(e.g. Pignato & Cappellano's „Gli Autoveicoli...”, Parri's „Tracce di Cingolo”).
This however is contradicted by dell'Uomo & Puletti's „L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000”, where they stated, that the Dalmatian battalions were the I. and III., while II. and IV. were disbanded.
When we look deeper the case seems to be even more complicated.
According to Parri's „A nessuno secondi”, Salvatore Zappala - 1st commander of the LI. Btg. M - also commanded the I/31. before being assigned to this new unit. If that's the case, why would they take the commander from another, still existing battalion and assign him to the LI., instead of taking one of the officers, whose battalion was just disbanded?
At least three other officers of the LI. (Cap. Tito Puddu of the command company, Cap. Vittorio Caraccio of the 2nd company and Ten. Luciano Guardabasso of the 3rd company) also previously belonged to some L battalion(s) of the 31. Rgt.
Identifying their exact previous assignments would be a great help.
Another issue appears when we try to look for the 31.'s battalions operating in the Balkans up to September 1943. According to different sources these were:
Pignato & Cappellano's „Gli Autoveicoli...”:
- II. in Dalmatia and III. In Montenegro in 1942;
- I. and II. listed as dependent on 31. Rgt. Depot in 1943 (according to his listing, no III. Btg. L was active at the time under any regiment).
Tallillos' „Carro L3”:
- Two unspecified battalions of the 31. in Dalmatia in July - September 1941;
- III. replacing the other two in September 1941;
- III. in Montenegro and part of the II. somewhere in the Balkans (additionally I. and the other part of the II. still active in Siena) in September 1943.
Tallillos' „Carro L6”:
- I. in Dalmatia in September 1943 (listing only units equipped with L6 tanks).
Parri's „A nessuno secondi”:
- I. and II. in Dalmatia and III. in Montenegro since July 1941, continuously till September 1943.
- In May 1943 6ª Compagnia bis of the III. battalion was documented in Bosnia.
Corbatti & Nava's „Come il diamante!”:
- III. in Montenegro since July 1941 till October 1943. After the armistice it was incorporated into German 118. Jäger Division (mentioning only some units allied with Germans after the armistice).
Seems like those authors can't agree on which battalions operated there and when.
Some even mention three battalions existing at the same time, which shouldn't be possible after the August 1941, as two of them were supposedly disbanded to form the LI. battalion.
Now lest check which of these information can be confirmed without a doubt:
- At least one of the 31.'s L tanks battalions was disbanded to form the LI. M tank battalion. LI.'s officers were veterans of the Balkan campaigns and despite differences every source agrees, that 31. had no more than three battalions after 1941.
- I/31. was present in Dalmatia in September 1943. Two of its L6 tanks were photographed there (5484 and 5488 with the characteristic lion head emblem) after staying loyal to the Germans. This document confirms assignment of the 5484 tank to the I/31.:
- III/31. was present in Montenegro in September 1943. This unit is well documented by both Italians and Germans.
Additionally, substantiation for awarding one of its members with a Croce di guerra al valore militare confirms, that at least one of its companies (6ª bis) was present in Bosnia in May 1943.
Additionally, there are several factors that are important to mention, which can make this case even more convoluted:
- Numbering of the divisional regiments' light tank battalions was fluent. This means, that battalions could've been renumbered if needed.
Something like this happened to the 33. regiment, which got rid of its I. Btg. in summer 1940 and later in May 1941 renumbered its remaining battalions (II. became the new I., III. became the new II. etc.).
- This photo is part of a series, supposedly depicting 6th company of the III/31. after being incorporated into the 118. Jäg. Division:
Old Italian markings were covered with German ones, however if we look closely, especially at this particular tank, we can see an Italian battalion number, barely visible under the new marking.
What's interesting, this number seems to be „II” instead of „III”, as we can see only two white lines sticking out.
Any ideas how all of this can be solved?
During those campaigns 31. Rgt. fielded four Battaglioni Carri L:
- I/31. (initially VII. d'Assalto „Vezzani”)
- II/31. (initially VIII. d'Assalto „Bettoia”)
- III/31. (initially X. d'Assalto „Menzinger”)
- IV/31. (initially XXXI. d'Assalto „Cerboni”)
Following those events two battalions of the regiment were sent to Dalmatia as autonomous units (still dependent on regimental depot) in July 1941, fulfilling anti-partisan duties. The other two were disbanded in August of the same year and their crews assigned to the newly formed LI. Battaglione Carri M. The issue starts when we try to identify those battalions.
According to most sources*, the battalions sent to Dalmatia were I. and II., while III. and IV. were disbanded.
*(e.g. Pignato & Cappellano's „Gli Autoveicoli...”, Parri's „Tracce di Cingolo”).
This however is contradicted by dell'Uomo & Puletti's „L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000”, where they stated, that the Dalmatian battalions were the I. and III., while II. and IV. were disbanded.
When we look deeper the case seems to be even more complicated.
According to Parri's „A nessuno secondi”, Salvatore Zappala - 1st commander of the LI. Btg. M - also commanded the I/31. before being assigned to this new unit. If that's the case, why would they take the commander from another, still existing battalion and assign him to the LI., instead of taking one of the officers, whose battalion was just disbanded?
At least three other officers of the LI. (Cap. Tito Puddu of the command company, Cap. Vittorio Caraccio of the 2nd company and Ten. Luciano Guardabasso of the 3rd company) also previously belonged to some L battalion(s) of the 31. Rgt.
Identifying their exact previous assignments would be a great help.
Another issue appears when we try to look for the 31.'s battalions operating in the Balkans up to September 1943. According to different sources these were:
Pignato & Cappellano's „Gli Autoveicoli...”:
- II. in Dalmatia and III. In Montenegro in 1942;
- I. and II. listed as dependent on 31. Rgt. Depot in 1943 (according to his listing, no III. Btg. L was active at the time under any regiment).
Tallillos' „Carro L3”:
- Two unspecified battalions of the 31. in Dalmatia in July - September 1941;
- III. replacing the other two in September 1941;
- III. in Montenegro and part of the II. somewhere in the Balkans (additionally I. and the other part of the II. still active in Siena) in September 1943.
Tallillos' „Carro L6”:
- I. in Dalmatia in September 1943 (listing only units equipped with L6 tanks).
Parri's „A nessuno secondi”:
- I. and II. in Dalmatia and III. in Montenegro since July 1941, continuously till September 1943.
- In May 1943 6ª Compagnia bis of the III. battalion was documented in Bosnia.
Corbatti & Nava's „Come il diamante!”:
- III. in Montenegro since July 1941 till October 1943. After the armistice it was incorporated into German 118. Jäger Division (mentioning only some units allied with Germans after the armistice).
Seems like those authors can't agree on which battalions operated there and when.
Some even mention three battalions existing at the same time, which shouldn't be possible after the August 1941, as two of them were supposedly disbanded to form the LI. battalion.
Now lest check which of these information can be confirmed without a doubt:
- At least one of the 31.'s L tanks battalions was disbanded to form the LI. M tank battalion. LI.'s officers were veterans of the Balkan campaigns and despite differences every source agrees, that 31. had no more than three battalions after 1941.
- I/31. was present in Dalmatia in September 1943. Two of its L6 tanks were photographed there (5484 and 5488 with the characteristic lion head emblem) after staying loyal to the Germans. This document confirms assignment of the 5484 tank to the I/31.:
- III/31. was present in Montenegro in September 1943. This unit is well documented by both Italians and Germans.
Additionally, substantiation for awarding one of its members with a Croce di guerra al valore militare confirms, that at least one of its companies (6ª bis) was present in Bosnia in May 1943.
Additionally, there are several factors that are important to mention, which can make this case even more convoluted:
- Numbering of the divisional regiments' light tank battalions was fluent. This means, that battalions could've been renumbered if needed.
Something like this happened to the 33. regiment, which got rid of its I. Btg. in summer 1940 and later in May 1941 renumbered its remaining battalions (II. became the new I., III. became the new II. etc.).
- This photo is part of a series, supposedly depicting 6th company of the III/31. after being incorporated into the 118. Jäg. Division:
Old Italian markings were covered with German ones, however if we look closely, especially at this particular tank, we can see an Italian battalion number, barely visible under the new marking.
What's interesting, this number seems to be „II” instead of „III”, as we can see only two white lines sticking out.
Any ideas how all of this can be solved?
