156th Infantry Division "Vicenza"

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156th Infantry Division "Vicenza"
156a Divisione Fanteria Vicenza.png
156th Infantry Division "Vicenza" insignia
Active10 March 1942 - 15 May 1943
CountryItaly Kingdom of Italy
BranchItaly Royal Italian Army
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
EngagementsWorld War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Etelvoldo Pascolini
Insignia
Identification
symbol		Mostrina - 277°, 278°, 279° "Vicenza".png World War II - Mostrina - 156° Rgt. Artiglieria "Vicenza".png World War II - Mostrina - CLVI Btg. Genio Divisione "Vicenza".png World War II - Mostrina - Sanità Divisione "Vicenza".png World War II - Mostrina - Artiglieria di divisione motorizzata e corazzata.png World War II - Mostrina - Battaglioni mitraglieri.png
Vicenza Division gorget patches

The 156th Infantry Division "Vicenza" (Italian: 151ª Divisione di fanteria "Vicenza") was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Vicenza was formed on 10 March 1942 and named for the city of Vicenza. The Vicenza was classified as an occupation infantry division, which meant that the division's artillery regiment consisted of two artillery groups instead of the three artillery groups of line infantry divisions and that the divisional mortar battalion was replaced by a divisional machine gun battalion. The division was sent to the Eastern front, as part of the Italian Army in Russia. The division guarded the army's line of communications and rear area against Soviet partisans.[1][2]

The Vicenza was overrun and destroyed by Soviet forces during Operation Little Saturn. Of the division's 10,466 men 7,760 were killed or missing during the battle in January 1943.[3]

History[]

World War I[]

The division's lineage begins with the Brigade "Vicenza" raised in July 1917 with the 277th, 278th, and 279th infantry regiments. The brigade fought on the Italian front in World War I and together with its regiments was disbanded after the war in February 1919.[1]

World War II[]

The 156th Infantry Division Vicenza was activated in Brescia on 10 March 1942 and consisted of the 277th and 278th infantry regiments, and the 156th Artillery Regiment. As a division raised during the war the Vicenza did not have its own regimental depots and therefore its regiments were raised in February 1942 by the depots of the 15th Infantry Division "Bergamo": the 277th Infantry Regiment "Vicenza" in Rijeka by the 25th Infantry Regiment "Bergamo", the 278th Infantry Regiment "Vicenza" in Rijeka by the 26th Infantry Regiment "Bergamo", and the 156th Artillery Regiment "Vicenza" by the 4th Artillery Regiment "Bergamo" in Lovran.[1][4][5]

The division arrived in Eastern Ukraine in July 1942. It assembled its units in Yenakiieve and Horlivka. It followed the Italian Army in Russia's advance to the Don river, operating in the army's rear area and securing the lines of communication. On 16 December 1942 the Vicenza entered the front between the 2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" and 4th Alpine Division "Cuneense". On 18 January the Italian division's were in full retreat, walking through the icy Russian steppe towards the new Axis lines. On 25 January the Italians fought a battle at Nikitovka, and the next day the Battle of Nikolayevka. On the same day the main column of the Vicenza was surrounded and annihilated by Soviet Forces near Valuyki.[1][2]

The few survivors were repatriated to Brescia, where the division was officially dissolved on 15 May 1943.[1][2]

Organization[]

When the division deployed to the Soviet Union it consisted of the following units:[6]

  • 156a Divisione Fanteria Vicenza.png 156th Infantry Division "Vicenza"[1][2]
    • 277th Infantry Regiment "Vicenza"[4]
    • 278th Infantry Regiment "Vicenza"[5]
      • Command Company
      • 3x Fusilier battalions
      • Anti-tank Company (47/32 anti-tank guns)
      • Mortar Company (81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
    • 156th Artillery Regiment "Vicenza" (not fully formed when the division moved to the Soviet Union, remained in Italy)
    • 201st Motorized Artillery Regiment (attached in Soviet Union)
      • Command Unit
      • I Groups (75/32 field guns)
      • II Group (75/32 field guns)
      • III Group (75/32 field guns)
      • 2x Anti-aircraft batteries (20/65 Mod. 35 anti-aircraft guns)
      • Ammunition and Supply Unit
    • CLVI Machine Gun Battalion
    • CLVI Mixed Engineer Battalion
      • 156th Engineer Company
      • 256th Telegraph and Radio Operators Company
    • 256th Anti-tank Company (47/32 anti-tank guns)
    • 156th Medical Section
      • 161st Field Hospital
      • 162nd Field Hospital
      • 1x Surgical unit
    • 1121st Transport Section (unclear if the section deployed with the division to the Soviet Union)
    • 156th Supply Section
    • 256th Bakers Section
    • 136th Carabinieri Section
    • 137th Carabinieri Section
    • 156th Field Post Office

In the Soviet Union the XXVI Carabinieri Battalion was attached to the division.[6]

Commanding officers[]

The division's commanding officers were:[1][2]

  • Generale di Divisione (10 March 1942 - 7 December 1942)
  • Generale di Brigata Etelvoldo Pascolini (8 December 1942 - 15 May 1943)

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "156ª Divisione di fanteria "Vicenza"". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e Bollettino dell'Archivio dell'Ufficio Storico N.II-3 e 4 2002. Rome: Ministero della Difesa - Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito - Ufficio Storico. 2002. p. 345. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Breve Storia - Divisione Vicenza".
  4. ^ a b "277° Reggimento di fanteria "Vicenza"". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  5. ^ a b "278° Reggimento di fanteria "Vicenza"". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  6. ^ a b Le operazioni delle Unità Italiane al Fronte Russo (1941-1943) (1977). Quadro di battaglia dell’8ª Armata italiana in Russia. Rome: Ministero della Difesa Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito Ufficio Storico Roma, 1977. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  • Paoletti, Ciro (2008). A Military History of Italy. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-98505-9.


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