L Special Brigade (Italy)

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L Special Brigade
Active12 November 1942 - 5 May 1943
CountryItaly Kingdom of Italy
BranchItaly Royal Italian Army
TypeInfantry
SizeBrigade
EngagementsTunisian campaign
Insignia
Identification
symbol		World War II - Mostrina - "Lancieri di Aosta".png World War II - Mostrina - "Cavalleggeri di Lodi".png World War II - Mostrina - CC.NN- Battaglioni M.png World War II - Mostrina - Fanteria carrista.png World War II - Mostrina Artiglieria.png World War II - Mostrina - Guardia alla Frontiera Artiglieria.png
L Special Brigade gorget patches

The L Special Brigade (Italian: L Brigata Speciale) was an infantry brigade of the Royal Italian Army formed for the Tunisian campaign in World War II.[1]

History[]

On 8 November 1942 allied forces landed in Operation Torch in French Morocco and French Algeria, which put French Tunisia in reach of allied forces. Because of the nearness of Sicily to Tunisia and to protect the rear of the Panzer Army Africa, which was in retreat following the Second Battle of El Alamein the leaders of Germany and Italy Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini immediately dispatched forces to occupy Tunisia.

On 10 November 1942, the Run for Tunis commenced and the first German and Italian units arrived in Tunis and Bizerte. The L Special Brigade's command was activated on 12 November 1942 in Naples and flown to immediately to Tunisia, where it took command of the first Italian units to arrive.

While the bulk of the Axis forces moved westwards to counter advancing allies units, the L Special Brigade moved to the South of the country to secure the left flank of Panzer Army Africa's retreat route. On 20 November 1942 the brigade consisted of the following units:[1]

On 21 November 1942 the brigade arrived in Sfax and placed small detachments of its units along a line, running 50-100 km inland in parallel to the coast between Sousse and Gabès. With the arrival of more units the brigade garrisoned Kairouan, Sbeitla, and Sened Station and began an intensive exploration of the area to determine the most likely routes of advances of allied forces. By 8 December 1942 the brigade was at full strength and returned the companies and battery of the 1st Infantry Division "Superga".[1]

The first contact with allied forces occurred on 23 January 1943 to the West of Sfax. On 1-3 February 1943 the brigade retained control of Sened Station after a bitter battle against the American 168th Infantry Regiment.[2][1]

On 20 March 1943 in preparation for the Battle of El Guettar the American 1st Armored Division attacked the positions of the brigade in strength and the brigade had to fall back to prepared positions at Meknassy. The American forces renewed their offensive from 23 March and the brigade had to fall back with other Axis forces to the last Axis line at Enfidaville. There the brigade was dissolved on 5 May 1943 to reinforce the remaining units of the Italian 1st Army.[1]

Organization[]

The brigade's major units after 8 December 1942 were:[1]

Attached to the brigade in 1943:

Commanding officers[]

The division's commanding officer was:[1]

  • Generale di Brigata (12 November 1942 - 5 May 1943)

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "L'Esercito e i suoi corpi - Volume Terzo - Tomo I". Rome: Ministero della Difesa - Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito - Ufficio Storico. 1979. p. 466. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  2. ^ Knighton, Andrew. "American infantry win the fight for Sened Station, North Africa, in WWII". War History Online. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
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