Excellent stuff there Jeff. Thanks.
That 16 man squad...does De Valle describe the breakdown....5 man f.m team and 10 man rifle team with a section NCO in charge...is that it?
R
Italian Eritrean askari organisation 1936?
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Happy Wanderer
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Re: Italian Eritrean askari organisation 1936?
Rolf
No he doesn't provide any more details. Like you, I can only speculate on the organization. For all we know, this could be a unique A.O.I. thing where they added a man for ???? Or del Valle might have made an error and he meant 15.
if I were to speculate, I would guess the 16th man was another ammo bearer. The Italians paid carefully attention to logistics. The 1935 organization reduced the ammo bearers for the Breda 30 from 5 men to 3. It could be the leaders in A.O.I. decided that wasn't enough.
Pista! Jeff
No he doesn't provide any more details. Like you, I can only speculate on the organization. For all we know, this could be a unique A.O.I. thing where they added a man for ???? Or del Valle might have made an error and he meant 15.
if I were to speculate, I would guess the 16th man was another ammo bearer. The Italians paid carefully attention to logistics. The 1935 organization reduced the ammo bearers for the Breda 30 from 5 men to 3. It could be the leaders in A.O.I. decided that wasn't enough.
Pista! Jeff
Jeff Leser
Infantrymen of the Air
Infantrymen of the Air