Charge of the Savoia Cavalleria at Izbushensky

Charge of Izbushensky
Part of Case Blue in the Eastern Front of World War II
Date 24 August 1942 Location Izbushensky Khutor, Soviet Union Coordinates: 49°56′12″N 42°33′24″E / 49.93667°N 42.55667°E / 49.93667; 42.55667 Result Italian victory
Belligerents
Italy	Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Alessandro, Count Bettoni Cazzago	Serafim Petrovich Merkulov
Strength
700	2,500
Casualties and losses
32 dead 52 wounded 100+ horses killed	150 dead 300 wounded 600 captured 4 cannons 10 mortars 50 machine guns

The Charge of the "Savoia Cavalleria" at Izbushensky was a clash between the Italian cavalry Regiment "Savoia Cavalleria" (3rd) and the Soviet 812th Siberian Infantry Regiment (304th Rifle Division), that took place on August 24, 1942, near the hamlet (khutor) of Izbushensky (Избушенский), close to the junction of the Don and Khopyor rivers. Though a minor skirmish on the Eastern Front, the Izbushensky charge had great propaganda resonance in Italy, and it is still remembered as the last significant cavalry charge in history.

Background[]

On 20 August, the Soviets launched an offensive on the Don river. The Italian 2nd Infantry Division Sforzesca was unable to withstand the enemy attack and in two days it was routed.^[1] The 3rd "Savoia Cavalleria" Regiment, 700 men in all, under command of Colonel Count Alessandro Bettoni Cazzago, was sent as a relief force in the area, with orders to occupy "objective spot height 213,5". During the evening of 23 August, it set camp 1,000 meters short of its objective, ready to occupy it the next morning. During the night, three battalions of the 812th Siberian Infantry Regiment, around 2,000 men, deployed at the objective. They entrenched themselves in an arc facing the Italian camp 800 metres distant with a front about 1,000 meters wide, waiting until sunrise to attack.

Charge[]

On August 24 at 3:30 am, an Italian mounted patrol, sent to reconnoitre the objective, made contact with the Soviets. The Soviets, having lost the element of surprise, opened fire on the entire line. With the camp under fire, Colonel Bettoni ordered an orthodox cavalry charge with drawn sabers, small arms and hand grenades, as the ground was particularly favourable, against the deployed and dug-in Soviet infantry. While the two batteries of horse artillery (so-called "flying batteries" or voloire in Piemontese) quickly deployed their eight pieces and opened fire, the anti-tank company and the machine-gun squadron deployed at the front of the Italian camp and started firing back. Bettoni ordered the 2nd Squadron (100 horsemen) to attack the Soviet left flank via a gully which opened suddenly on the Soviet left. Under the command of Captain De Leone, the squadron began a winding manoeuvre through the gully, succeeding in engaging the Soviets at the left end of the front, outflanking it and storming it longitudinally with drawn sabers.

Corporal Lolli, unable to draw, as his saber was stuck in its sheath, charged holding high a hand grenade; trumpeter Carenzi, having to handle both trumpet and pistol, unintentionally shot his own horse in the head.^[2] Some horses, even after being repeatedly hit by bullets, kept galloping for hundreds of meters, squirting blood at every beat, suddenly collapsing only a while after their actual death.^[3] After having crossed just about half of the Soviet line, the strength of the squadron was already reduced by half, and the commander himself had lost his horse.

Realizing that the 2nd Squadron was taking heavy casualties, and seeing through his binoculars that the Soviet riflemen, after the horsemen had jumped over their foxholes, got up and shot at their backs, Colonel Bettoni ordered the 4th Squadron to dismount and launch a frontal attack. This would allow the 2nd Squadron to regroup behind Soviet lines and initiate a return charge. The 4th Squadron was led by Captain Silvano Abbà, who was killed leading his men. He was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valour. Once the 2nd Squadron was back, its commander urged a new attack. This was performed by 3rd Squadron, led by Captain Marchio. Taking a similar route to the 1st Squadron, they, too, hit the Soviet left flank, without taking the detour through the gorge at the side of the battlefield. Major Modignani decided on his own accord to join the 3rd Squadron charge, together with the remaining dozen horsemen of the command.

All action ceased by 9:30 am, six hours after the engagement had commenced.

Aftermath[]

Thirty-two cavalrymen died, including the commanders of the 3rd and 4th Squadrons, and 52 were wounded. Well over 100 horses were also lost. The Soviets left behind 150 dead, 300 wounded, 600 prisoners (including some Mongolian platoons equipped with Italian uniforms, which had been taken from the Sforzesca division), 4 cannons, 10 mortars and 50 machine guns.^[4] Shortly afterwards, German liaison cavalry officers arrived from a nearby hill position held by an Aufklärungs Abteilung. They were deployed at the left of the Savoia and had witnessed everything from the neighbouring heights. They expressed their wonder and admiration for the anachronistic episode to Bettoni, saying, "Herr Colonel, these kinds of things, we do not know how to do anymore."^[5]

After removing the wounded and the dead, the battlefield remained covered with dead horses. The relatively high casualties that would have resulted from pursuing the Soviet troops would have had the effect of precluding the launching of any more charges, should the need arise. Given this consideration, Colonel Bettoni decided not to pursue the Soviets, who therefore retained a solid foothold on the west bank of the Don River. Nonetheless, the "Izbushensky Charge", as it was subsequently named, temporarily relieved the whole area of Soviet pressure, delayed the full Soviet attack on Tschebotarewskij by 24 hours, and likely bought time for the routed "Sforzesca" division to seek safety.^[4]

The bold action was honoured by adding the Gold Medal of Military Valour to the regiment standard and by awarding the medal to Captain Abbà and Major Modignani, both of whom died in action. Another 54 Silver Medals of Military Valour and 49 war crosses were also awarded.^[6]

A much-loved and much-honoured survivor of the Izbushensky charge was Albino, a horse which, though blinded in the battle, lived until 1960.^[4]

Media representations[]

In September 1942, the Istituto Luce dispatched a film crew in order to take staged footage of the Savoia in action. The only original pictures were shot by Captain Abbà right before starting the attack with the 4th Squadron. His camera was found on his body and was returned to his mother. They show, from far away, the dust of the 2nd Squadron about to end the first swipe.^[4]

In 1952, the movie Carica Eroica was made, directed by Francesco De Robertis and based on the Izbushensky Charge.

Notes[]

Bibliography[]

B. G. Just 2021, Isbuscenskij: The Last Charge of the Savoia Cavalry. (Amazon Kindle e-book.)

• Lucio Lami, Isbuscenskij, l'ultima carica, Mursia, Milano, 1970.
• Giorgio Vitali, Trotto, galoppo...caricat! – storia del Raggruppamento truppe a cavallo. Russia 1942–1943, Mursia, Milano, 1985