Re: After Italy's Surrender - What Role Did They Play Against Germany?

"Joe Osman" <Joseph.Osman@xxxxxxxxxxx> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:b93d98be-adf6-42bc-a00e-4e27c2155523@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
There was Italian naval infantry fighting on the German side in Italy
and southern France and naval units fighting for Japan as well.

Naval units fighting for Japan? Have you got any details?

The
Decima MAS or X-MAS was one such infantry unit. There were several
divisions (San Marco, Italia, Littorio and Monterosa) in the 500, 000+
man Fascist RSI army.

This figure seems inflated for the army. Of course the ENR (National
Republican Army) had plenty of non-combat units, and many anti-partisan,
garrison, coast units; but even so, once you deduct from that 500,000 the
strength of four small actual divisions, you are left with too many men.
Maybe 500,000 is a figure that includes the GNR (National Republican Guard,
the heir of the fascist militia MVSN), with some 89,000 men, and the
all-volunteer Black Guards, some other 30,000 men, and the X MAS you
mentioned, and all the other odds and ends of non-army, volunteer units.


Around 120, 000 Italians served in the German
Army, which had an "Italian Legion".

AFAIK, the Italian Legion was the early name of the Italian SS Division (29.
Waffen-Grenadier Division der SS, Italienische). This obviously wasn't a
"German Army" unit, it was a German SS unit. I wonder where those 120,000
men come from. Some small Italian units were attached here and there
throughout occupied Europe directly to German army units, but I doubt they
counted so many men.

The Army of Liguria was commanded
until almost the end of the war by an Italian general and had 3 German
and 3 Italian divisions.
Italian Service Units (ISUs) formed from former POWs also served on
the Allied side.

Sure, but on the Allied side also served 6 frontline units, the Italian
Combat Groups, each the strength of a small division or large brigade. One
of them was not ready in time to see action. Plus, if one counts the myriad
paramilitary, "police", anti-partisan non-army RSI units whose main purpose
was keeping the partisans at bay, then one should count, on the other side,
the partisans themselves.

.

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