Italian order of battle for the Second Italo-Ethiopian War

The Italian order of battle for the Second Italo-Ethiopian War on 8 October 1935. The Ethiopian order of battle is listed separately.

Comando Supremo Africa Orientale

Commander: General Emilio De Bono to November 1935, Field Marshal Pietro Badoglio November 1935 – June 1936

  • 7th Artillery Group (Cannone da 77 mm/28 field guns)
  • Granatieri Battalion (coming from Italy)
  • Alpini Battalion (coming from Italy)
  • Guardia di Finanza Battalion (coming from Italy)
  • 3 Assault Battalions (still in Italy)
  • 7th Artillery Group (Obice da 149/13 howitzer) (coming from Italy)
  • Engineer Unit Comando Supremo Africa Orientale
  • Bombardment, Reconnaissance, and Fighter Aviation Command A. O. – Gen. Aimone Cat
    • 3rd Air Brigade – Brig.Gen. Ferruccio Ranza Eritrea (145 aircraft)
      • HQ Flight (4 × Caproni Ca.101 light bomber/transport aircraft)
      • Reconnaissance Squadron (un-numbered):
        • 34th Reconnaissance Flight (8 × Romeo Ro.1 reconnaissance and ground attack aircraft) attached to Eritrean Corps
        • 38th Reconnaissance Flight (10 × Ro.1)
        • 41st Reconnaissance Flight (10 × Ro.1)
        • 103rd Reconnaissance Flight (9 × IMAM Ro.37)
        • 116th Reconnaissance Flight (10 × Ro.1)
        • 118th Reconnaissance Flight (10 × Ro.1) attached to 2nd Corps
        • 131st Reconnaissance Flight (10 × Ro.1)
        • Libyan Reconnaissance Flight (11 × Ro.1) attached to 1st Corps
      • 106th Fighter Flight (7 × CR.20)
      • 4th Bombers Squadron – Brig.Gen. Attilio Matricardi
        • 14th Bomber Flight "Hic Sunt Leones" – (10 × Caproni Ca.101 D/2)
        • 15th Bomber Flight "La Disperata" – (10 × Ca.101 D/2)
      • 27th Bomber Squadron
        • 17th Bomber Flight (5 × Caproni Ca.111 light bombers)
        • 18th Bomber Flight (5 × Ca.111)
      • Hydroplanes Detachments (4 × Marinens Flyvebaatfabrikk M.F.4 floatplane and 2 × CANT 25 flying boat fighter)
      • 7th Bomber Wing detached to Somalia with 38 aircraft – Brig.Gen. Ferruccio Ranza (see below)

Northern Front – Eritrea
  • 1st Corps – Ruggiero Santini[1]
    • 26th (Assietta) Division – Gen. Enrico Riccardi
    • 30th (Sabauda) Division – Gen. Italo Gariboldi[1]
    • 5th (Pusteria) Alpine Division – Gen. Luigi Negri Cesi
    • 4th (3rd of January) CCNN Division (still in Italy) – Gen. Alessandro Traditi
    • X Battalion indigeni (Eritrean Ascari)
    • XV Battalion indigeni (Eritrean Ascari)
    • Banda dello Scimezana (native troop)
    • 5th Cavalry Squadron Group
    • 3rd Motorized Artillery Group (77 mm/28)
    • 5th Motorized Artillery Group (Cannone da 105 mm/28)
    • Artillery Command of positions of Agame
    • 1st Corps A.O. Engineer Unit
    • Libyan Reconnaissance Flight (11 × Ro.1)
  • 2nd Corps – Pietro Maravigna
    • 19th (Gavinana) Division – Gen. Nino Salvatore Villa Santa
    • 24th (Gran Sasso) Division – Gen. Adalberto Principe (Adi Ugri-Quala zone)
    • 3rd (21 April) CCNN Division – Gen. Giacomo Appiotti
    • Gruppo Bande Altopiano (native troop)
    • 10th Cavalry Squadron
    • Artillery Group Command (100 mm/17)
    • Artillery Command of positions in western Tigre (Eritrean Ascari)
    • 2nd Corps Engineer Unit
    • 118th Reconnaissance Flight (10 × Ro.1) (Libyan)
  • Eritrean Corps – Alessandro Pirzio Biroli
    • 1st Eritrean Division – Gen. Salvatore di Pietro
    • 2nd Eritrean Division – Gen. Achille Vaccarisi
    • 1st (23rd of March) CCNN Division – Maj.Gen. Ettore Bastico
    • 1st Battalion Group CCNN dell'Eritrea – Filippo Diamanti
      • 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Italian East Africa Backshirts Infantry Battalions
      • East Africa Blackshirts MMG Company
    • Banda dell'Hassamò (Irregular troop)
    • 6th Cavalry Squadron Group
    • Native Cavalry Squadron Group (Eritrean Ascari troop)
    • 2nd Motorized Artillery Group 77 mm/28
    • 3rd Motorized Artillery Group 100 mm/17 gun
    • 4th Fast Tanks Squadrons Group
    • Artillery Command of positions in eastern Tigre
    • Eritrean Corps Engineer Unit
    • 34th Reconnaissance Flight (8 × Ro.1)(Libyan)
  • Western Lowlands Zone – Brig.Gen. Amedeo Couture
    • XXVII Battalion indigeni (Eritrean Ascari)
    • XXVIII Battalion indigeni (Eritrean Ascari)
    • Irregulars Foot Bands Group
    • "Celere" (fast) Group
    • Eritrea Fast Tanks Squadron
  • Eastern Lowlands Zone – Brig.Gen. Oreste Mariotti
    • XXIV Battalion indigeni (Eritrean Ascari)
    • XXVI Battalion indigeni (Eritrean Ascari)
    • Libyan Battalion
    • Massaua Irregulars Band
    • Northern Dankalia Irregulars Band
    • Southern Dankalia Irregulars Band
    • 7th Artillery Battery (120L25)
    • 37th Artillery Battery (77L28 – pack camels)

Sent to the front in February 1936

  • 3rd Corps – Lt.Gen. Ettore Bastico
    • 27th (Sila) Division (coming from Italy) – Gen. Francesco Bertini
    • 1st (23rd of March) CCNN Division – Gen. Filiberto Ludovico from Eritrean Corps[1]

Formed in January 1936

  • 4th Corps – Gen. Ezio Babbini
    • 5th (Cosseria) Division – Gen. Pietro Pintor
    • 2nd (28th of October) CCNN Division – Gen. Umberto Somma
    • 5th (1st of February) CCNN Division (still in Italy) – Gen. Attillo Teruzzi

Organized in March 1936

  • Celere Column A.O. (Eritrea), Lt.Gen. Achille Starace
    • 82nd CCNN Battalion "Mussolini"/6th CCNN Battalions Group, motorised
    • 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment
    • 8th Artillery Group (77 mm/28, motorised)
    • Included truck-transported machine-guns, armoured cars, altogether 3,000 men and 500 motor vehicles.

Southern Front – Somaliland
  • Graziani Column – General Rodolfo Graziani
    • 29th Division (Peloritana) – Gen. Giuseppe Pavone
    • Libyan Division (Libyan Colonial troops) – Guglielmo Nasi
    • 6th (Tevere) CCNN Division (still in Italy) – Enrico Boscardi
    • Lancers of Aosta Cavalry Regiment
    • 6 Battalions, Royal Colonial Troop Corps (Arabo-Somali Colonial troops)
    • Camel Mounted Artillery
    • 6 Dubat Bands (Companies of Somali Irregulars)
    • Ogaden border region command – Colonel Luigi Frusci
      • 9 L3 tanks, 20 Armoured cars
      • 6 Royal Colonial Troop Corps Battalions (Arabo-Somali Colonial troops)
      • 6 Dubat Bands (Companies of Somali Irregulars)
      • 150 trucks
    • Sultan Olol Dinke Column (Feudal Army) – Olol Dinke, Sultan of Sciavelli
      • 1000 Dubat (mounted Somali warriors of the Ajuran clan)
  • 7th Bomber Wing – Brig.Gen. Ferruccio Ranza (38 aircraft)
    • 25th Bomber Squadron:
      • 8th Bomber Flight (10 × Ca.101 bis)
      • 9th Bomber Flight (10 × Ca.101 bis)
    • Reconnaissance Flight (10 × Ro.1)
    • 107th Fighter Flight (8 × CR.20)

Notes The 7th (Cirene) CCNN Division was deployed in Libya to threaten the Suez Canal should the British close it to Italian traffic. It was never deployed to Ethiopia but was considered to have taken part in the campaign. It actually acted as a local garrison and engaged in various construction projects.

gollark: Discounting hundreds of years of massive progress in many areas due to a somewhat bad statistic is uncool.
gollark: You are, again, missing the point.
gollark: That is a word, yes.
gollark: You can probably try it part time.
gollark: Yes, true, governments will complain.

See also
  • Second Italo-Abyssinian War
  • Ethiopian Order of Battle Second Italo-Abyssinian War

Footnotes
  1. Barker 1968, p. 317.

References
  • Barker, A. J. (1968). The Civilising Mission: The Italo-Ethiopian War 1935–6. London: Cassell. ISBN 978-0-304-93201-6.
  • De Bono, E. (1937). La conquista dell' Impero La preparazione e le prime operazioni [The Preparation and First Operations]. I (2nd ed.). Roma: Istituto Nazionale Fascista di Cultura. pp. 175–177. OCLC 46203391.
  • Gentili, Roberto (1992). Guerra aerea sull'Etiopia 1935–1939 [Air War in Ethiopia 1935–1939]. Firenze: EDAI. OCLC 797456198.
  • Mockler, Anthony (2003). Haile Selassie's War. New York: Olive Branch Press. ISBN 978-1-56656-473-1.
  • Pedriali, Ferdinando (1997). Guerra Etiopica 1935–1936 [Italian Aviation in the colonial wars – Ethiopian War 1935–1936]. L'aeronautica Italiana nelle guerre coloniali. Roma: Stato Maggiore Aeronautica – Ufficio Storico. OCLC 955062025.
  • Starace, A. (1937). La marcia su Gondar della colonna celere A.O. e le successive operazioni nella Etiopia Occidentale [The March on Gondar, the Expedited Column A.O. and Subsequent Operations in Western Ethiopia]. Milano: A. Mondadori. OCLC 799891187.
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