58th Infantry Division Legnano

The 58th Infantry Division Legnano was an Infantry Division of the Royal Italian Army during the Second World War. It was raised on 8 February 1934 in Milan and was disestablished on 17 February 1944 in Apulia. On 24 May 1939 it also spun off the 6th Infantry Division Cuneo.

This article is about the historic Italian 58th Infantry Division Legnano. For the historic Italian Army brigade, see Legnano Mechanized Brigade.
58th Infantry Division Legnano
58th Infantry Division Legnano Insignia
Active1939–1945
CountryItaly
BranchItalian Army
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
Nickname(s)Legnano
EngagementsWorld War II

Action

In 1940 the division remained in Fenestrelle-Col de Fenestre as a reserve force of the 4th Army during the Italian invasion of France. The division was transferred to Albania in January 1941 to stop a Greek breakthrough during the Capture of Klisura Pass, reaching the coastal front line on 7 January 1941, and on 26 January it 1941 engaged Greek forces at Këlcyrë, which were trying to advance to Arrëza e Madhe on the northern flank of Battle of Trebeshina. The Legnano advance ultimately failed, forcing the division to halt by 8 March 1941. As a result, Legnano did not take part in the Italian Spring Offensive. After Greek units withdrew during the start of the Battle of Greece, the Legnano division entered Këlcyrë on 16 April 1941. The division reached Kuman before being reassigned to the reserve of the 9th Army. On 21 June Legnano began boarding ships in Vlorë to return to Lombardy.[1] The division was soon posted to Liguria.

In November 1942 the division was sent to France for the coastal defence of the Cannes-Saint-Tropez sector, effectively taking part in the occupation of Vichy France, and afterwards stayed in France on occupation duty. In August 1943 the division began a gradual return to Apulia in the south east of mainland Italy. It returned first to Bologna, and then headed for Brindisi in Apulia. After allied forces had landed on the Italian peninsula and an armistice between Italy and the Allies had been signed on 8 September 1943, some small detachments were already at Brindisi and Francavilla Fontana, while many others were stranded at Bologna and other locations on their way to their destination. The division remained loyal to the Italian King Victor Emmanuel III, who fled with his royal court from Rome to Brindisi. Therefore, Legnano began to work with the Allies, who soon arrived as a result of Operation Slapstick.

On 26 September 1943 the division re-formed as the Italian 1st Motorized Group, which was to aid the Allied war effort. In the following months, the division lost all its units, which were needed on the front lines. On 17 February 1944 the division was broken up, with its last units joining other divisions. On 24 September 1944 the 1st Brigade of the Italian Liberation Corps (Corpo Italiano di Liberazione, or CIL), was renamed as the Legnano Combat Group. The Combat Group consisted of the 68th Infantry Regiment Palermo, the 11th Motorized Artillery Regiment, the elite IX Assault Battalion and the Special Infantry Regiment, which contained the remnants of the 3rd Alpini Regiment and the 4th Bersaglieri Regiment. The Combat Group was equipped with British weapons and materiel. The new Legnano went to the front as part of the Polish II Corps, on the extreme left of the British 8th Army near the river Idice, and was tasked with liberating Bologna.

Orders of battle

Order of battle (1934)
  • 7. Infantry Regiment Cuneo
  • 8. Infantry Regiment Cuneo
  • 67. Infantry Regiment Palermo
  • 27. Artillery Regiment

Order of battle (1940)
  • 67. Palermo Infantry Regiment
  • 68. Palermo Infantry Regiment
  • 58. Artillery Regiment
  • 58. Mortar Battalion
  • 58. Anti-Tank Company
  • 58. Engineer Battalion
  • 61. Medical Section
  • 163. Motor Transport Group
  • 18. Carabinieri Section
  • 19. Carabinieri Section
  • 240. Carabinieri Section
  • 104. Bersaglieri Company [nb 1][3]

Order of battle (8 September 1943)
  • 67. Palermo Infantry Regiment
  • 68. Palermo Infantry Regiment
  • 58. Artillery Regiment
    • 1. Artillery group 100/17
    • 2. Artillery group 75/27
    • 3. Artillery group 75/18
    • 4. Anti-aircraft battery 20 mm
  • 58. Mortar Battalion
  • Signals section (photo-electric telegraph)
  • Signals platoon (radio)
  • Mining detachment
  • Various elements of the services

These units reached Apulia (by 8 September 1943):

  • 58. Mortar Battalion
  • 58. Machine gun company
  • Close support artillery battery of 68th infantry regiment
  • 12a Battery of 4th artillery group
  • 358a Anti-aircraft battery

Also reached Apulia (by 13 September 1943):

  • 162. Infantry regiment
  • 350. Coastal defence battalion
  • 323. Anti-paratrooper detachment
  • 407. Anti-paratrooper detachment
  • 4. Artillery group (battalion)
  • 99. Border guards battalion

Order of battle (26 September 1943) as 1st Motorized Group
  • 1st Motorized Group Command (formed with the men of the 58th Infantry Division Legnano Command Group)
    • 67th Infantry Regiment Palermo
    • V Anti-tank Battalion (newly formed)
    • V Anti-tank Battalion (newly formed)
    • 11th Motorized Artillery Regiment (from the 104th Motorised Division Mantova)
    • Engineer Company

Notes
Footnotes
  1. An Italian Infantry Division normally consisted of two Infantry Regiments (three Battalions each), an Artillery Regiment, a Mortar Battalion (two companies), an Anti Tank Company, a Blackshirt Legion of two Battalions was sometimes attached. Each Division had only about 7,000 men, The Infantry and Artillery Regiments contained 1,650 men, the Blackshirt Legion 1,200, each company 150 men.[2]
Citations
  1. http://www.regioesercito.it/reparti/fanteria/rediv58.htm
  2. Paoletti, p 170
  3. Marcus Wendal. "Italian Army". Axis History. Retrieved 28 April 2009.

References
  • Paoletti, Ciro (2008). A Military History of Italy. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-275-98505-9.
  • Jowett, Phillip. The Italian Army 1940–45 (3): Italy 1943–45. Osprey Publishing, Westminster. ISBN 978-1-85532-866-2.
  • Mollo, Andrew. The Armed Forces of World War II. Crown Publishing, New York. ISBN 0-517-54478-4.

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