• Source: 213th Coastal Division (Italy)

The 213th Coastal Division (Italian: 213ª Divisione Costiera) was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. Royal Italian Army coastal divisions were second line divisions formed with reservists and equipped with second rate materiel. Recruited locally, they were often commanded by officers called out of retirement.




History


The division was activated on 15 November 1941 in Catania and assigned to XVI Army Corps, which was responsible for the defense of the eastern half of the island of Sicily. The division was responsible for the coastal defense of the coast between Punta Castelluccio in Agnone Bagni and Moleti south of Messina. The division fought against units of the British Eighth Army after the allies landed on Sicily on 10 July 1943. By 15 July 1943 the division had been severely decimated and was therefore officially declared lost due to wartime events.




Organization July 1943


213th Coastal Division
135th Coastal Regiment
CII Coastal Battalion
LXVI Replacements Battalion
CCCLXIX Coastal Battalion
CCCLXXII Coastal Battalion
140th Coastal Regiment (regimental command transferred without its battalion to the XIX Coastal Brigade in May 1943)
CCXXVIII Replacements Battalion
CCCLXXIII Coastal Battalion
21st Coastal Artillery Regiment
XXX Coastal Artillery Group (105/28 cannons)
CXLIV Coastal Artillery Group (105/14 mod. 18 howitzers)
CCXXX Coastal Artillery Group (100/22 mod. 14/19 howitzers)
553rd Machine Gun Company
554th Machine Gun Company
135th Mixed Engineer Platoon
213th Carabinieri Section
166th Field Post Office
Division Services
Attached to the division:

Harbor Defense Command "H", in Catania
CDXXXIV Coastal Battalion
CDLXXVII Coastal Battalion
XXVI Coastal Artillery Group (75/27 mod. 06 field guns)
105th Mortar Company (81mm mod. 35 mortars)
Armored Train 120/4/S, in Catania (6x 102/35 mod. 1914 naval guns, 4x 20/77 Scotti anti-aircraft guns)




Commanding officers


The division's commanding officers were:

Generale di Brigata Nazzareno Scattaglia (15 November 1941 - 5 March 1942)
Generale di Brigata Azzo Passalacqua (acting, 6-15 March 1942)
Generale di Brigata Nazzareno Scattaglia (16 March 1942 - 9 September 1942)
Generale di Brigata Ugo Buttà (10 September 1942 - 13 October 1942)
Generale di Brigata Antonio Tosi (14 October 1942 - 9 May 1943)
Generale di Brigata Carlo Gotti (9 May 1943 - 15 July 1943)




References



Paoletti, Ciro (2008). A Military History of Italy. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-98505-9.
Jowett, Philip S. (2000). The Italian Army 1940-45 (1): Europe 1940-1943. Osprey, Oxford - New York. ISBN 978-1-85532-864-8.

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• 213th Coastal Division (Italy)
• List of Italian divisions in World War II
• 210th Coastal Division (Italy)
• 211th Coastal Division (Italy)
• 223rd Coastal Division (Italy)
• 215th Coastal Division (Italy)
• 227th Coastal Division (Italy)
• 206th Coastal Division (Italy)
• 209th Coastal Division (Italy)
• 212th Coastal Division (Italy)