This was copied from the Organization of the Libyan units thread.
Frederico wrote on 1 Dec 2019
Were the Eritrean and Somali Battalions of AOI similarly organized [as the Libyan units]? [jwsleser comment to clarify the question]
jwsleser wrote on 1 Dec 2019
I would need to research to determine if they are the same. Given what I know of the Italian military, I would say similar but not necessarily the same.
Frederico wrote on 1 Dec 2019
I imagine their battalion would not have had the 47/32 cc. element.
jwsleser wrote on 2 Dec 2019
Le operazioni in Africa Orientale tomo I p. 41 states the battalions have three cp. fucilieri and a cp. mitr. with a total of 18 f.m. and 6 mitr. No other details are provided.
I have done a literature search to see if there is a similar book for the units in the A.O.I. to the one I have that addresses the Libyan units. I didn't find any books that might answer this question.
diciassette2000 wrote on 2 Dec 2019
Jeff is right, the TOE of the colonial battalions in AOI was that and many times especially in the case of the battalions formed for mobilization after Italy entered the war did not even reach those schemes. However, it is significant to understand the state of the art in AOI to remember that there were no 47/32 anti-tank guns and only 31 37mm guns that were used in company-level formations by non-colonial troops. Some Pb Boys rifles were also used in spizzichi as well as the ubiquitous 65/17 in "counter version" (with the usual very few effects especially in Keren against the few Matilda (a company) lined up by the British .......
All the best
Maurizio
Frederico wrote on 2 Dec 2019
While not much, it's still more information than I had before.
Assuming everything is distributed evenly, that's 6 f.m. per cp. fuciliere, as opposed to the Libyan's 9 per company. Could we assume that the Btg. Eritreo/Somalo had fewer platoons, i.e. two platoons per company?
jwsleser wrote on 2 Dec 2019
Another guess is two sq. f., with each squad having one f.m. Two sq. f. was the 1940 organization.
Or it could be three sq. f. and one sq. f.m. with two f.m. That was an earlier TO&E. In a colonial setting, keeping the f.m. as a separate unit/asset makes more sense as the pl. cmdt. had great control over a limited asset. The colonial units were operating against a reduced threat when compared to the expected threat metropolitan units were organized to counter.
I feel two pl. would be very unusual given the need for these colonial units to operate over a wide area.
It is not unusual for colonial organizations to continue using older organizations due to various reasons, including a lack of equipment or simply not seeing a need to change.
The Italians used a wide range of different squad/platoon/company organizations such that any combination is possible.
This is only conjecture. We need better information to make a firm determination.
Frederico wrote on 1 Dec 2019
Were the Eritrean and Somali Battalions of AOI similarly organized [as the Libyan units]? [jwsleser comment to clarify the question]
jwsleser wrote on 1 Dec 2019
I would need to research to determine if they are the same. Given what I know of the Italian military, I would say similar but not necessarily the same.
Frederico wrote on 1 Dec 2019
I imagine their battalion would not have had the 47/32 cc. element.
jwsleser wrote on 2 Dec 2019
Le operazioni in Africa Orientale tomo I p. 41 states the battalions have three cp. fucilieri and a cp. mitr. with a total of 18 f.m. and 6 mitr. No other details are provided.
I have done a literature search to see if there is a similar book for the units in the A.O.I. to the one I have that addresses the Libyan units. I didn't find any books that might answer this question.
diciassette2000 wrote on 2 Dec 2019
Jeff is right, the TOE of the colonial battalions in AOI was that and many times especially in the case of the battalions formed for mobilization after Italy entered the war did not even reach those schemes. However, it is significant to understand the state of the art in AOI to remember that there were no 47/32 anti-tank guns and only 31 37mm guns that were used in company-level formations by non-colonial troops. Some Pb Boys rifles were also used in spizzichi as well as the ubiquitous 65/17 in "counter version" (with the usual very few effects especially in Keren against the few Matilda (a company) lined up by the British .......
All the best
Maurizio
Frederico wrote on 2 Dec 2019
While not much, it's still more information than I had before.
Assuming everything is distributed evenly, that's 6 f.m. per cp. fuciliere, as opposed to the Libyan's 9 per company. Could we assume that the Btg. Eritreo/Somalo had fewer platoons, i.e. two platoons per company?
jwsleser wrote on 2 Dec 2019
Another guess is two sq. f., with each squad having one f.m. Two sq. f. was the 1940 organization.
Or it could be three sq. f. and one sq. f.m. with two f.m. That was an earlier TO&E. In a colonial setting, keeping the f.m. as a separate unit/asset makes more sense as the pl. cmdt. had great control over a limited asset. The colonial units were operating against a reduced threat when compared to the expected threat metropolitan units were organized to counter.
I feel two pl. would be very unusual given the need for these colonial units to operate over a wide area.
It is not unusual for colonial organizations to continue using older organizations due to various reasons, including a lack of equipment or simply not seeing a need to change.
The Italians used a wide range of different squad/platoon/company organizations such that any combination is possible.
This is only conjecture. We need better information to make a firm determination.
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