Croat legion in Italian Service

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GLADIVM
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Croat legion in Italian Service

#1

Post by GLADIVM » 15 Mar 2007, 15:42

Besides the Croatian regiment which fought at Stalingrad , there was a smaller croatian unit integrated into the italian 8th army on the river Don frontline .
The croat legion on the Don fought well and was destroyed together with the 3rd bersaglieri regiment around Meskov in winter 42/43 .
I know about the good combat record of this unit but would like to know more about its raising . Basically it was raised because Mussolini was unhappy that a croatian regiment has joined germans in fighting against soviet union and requested that a similar force to be raised to fight alongside with italians .
The unit was called Legione Croata and given Fascist Militia uniforms and badges , its force was composed on militia basis of two weak battalions ( 500 mens around each ) and should have been made up by volunteers .
It seems that Pavelic was not too happy about this legion but finally agreed to its raising . And this is all I have .
I would like to have more background infos about the legion's history and men and if they were realy volunteers or not .
Did any of the legionaires return back from russia in postwar Yugoslavia ?
Thanks for any help .

Yours

GLADIVM

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Allen Milcic
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#2

Post by Allen Milcic » 16 Mar 2007, 22:44

Hi Gladium:

The Light Mobile Regiment (Laki Prijevozni Zdrug) was formed on July 26, 1941, after a meeting between Italian General Antonio Oxilio and Poglavnik Ante Pavelic. The gist of the meeting was: Mussolini's pride was injured by the participation of Croat volunteers in the German and not in Italian armed forces. A majority of the troops for the unit came from a battalion of volunteers that were intended as reinforcements for the 369th Regiment that was fighting as part of the Wehrmacht in the Soviet Union.

The regiment was formed with 1100 soldiers, 70 NCO's and 45 officers (1215 total), divided into 3 infantry companies, 1 machine-gun company, 1 (81mm) mortar company and 1 (65mm) artillery battery. The commanding officer was Lt.-Colonel Egon Zitnik (a Croat).

The unit first trained in Varazdin, Croatia, where they awaited the Italians to organize their expeditionary force for the Eastern Front. During training, the unit performed sweeps in the Kordun, Banija and Bosanska Krajina regions of Croatia, searching for small groups of Yugoslav soldiers and bands of outlaws that were hiding in the forests and fighting against the new Croatian state.

On December 17th 1941, the unit travelled to Italy where they received their full complement of weapons and transports. 3 months of intense training exercises followed. At the end of the training schedule, the regiment was visited by General Ugo Cavallerio of the Italian Headquarters Staff, and the Minister of Defense of Croatia, Slavko Kvaternik. The regimental battle flag was presented at this ceremony, and the men took their oath to Italy, Croatia, the Duce, the Italian King, and the Poglavnik.

The regiment arrived on the Eastern Front on April 16th 1942, near the town of Harcjusk. Here they were attached to the Italian 3rd Rapid Division "Principe Amadeo Duca D'Aosta", and received the remainder of their equipment and transports (44 trucks, 3 automobiles and 6 motorcycles). On the 11th of May, near the town of Pervomajska, the regiment fought its first battle, alongside the 63rd Blackshirt "Tagliamento" unit. 5 men were lost in this minor engagement.

The regiment, during the next 10 months, fought around the towns of Stokovo, Greko-Timofejevka, and Veseli-Nikitovo. On July 11th 1942, the regiment was transfered to the Italian XXXVth Corps. The very next day, with a battle-group of Blackshirts, the regiment fought its way 30km deep into Soviet lines. Battles follow around Vladimirovka, Krasna Poljana and Fjodorovka. On July 28th 1942 the regiment crossed the Donjec River at Lubanskoje. On August 25th 1942, the Soviets counter-attacked and the regiment was involved in heavy fighting. The Croatians managed to hold their lines, inflicting 20 casualties and capturing 101 Soviet soldiers. The Croatians lost 8 dead and 12 wounded. For this battle, the regiment was decorated by the commander of the XXXVth Corps.

On December 19th 1942, the regiment was holding Hills 210 and 168 near Hracin. Here they were surrounded by a massive Soviet attack, but continued fighting till December 21st 1942, when they ran out of ammunition and were over-run. There were no survivors and the unit was totally destroyed.

After the destruction of the "Light Mobile Regiment", the Italians sponsored the creation of a new "Legion" unit. It came into existence in May of 1943, only 4 months before the Italian collapse, as a 1,800 man strong infantry regiment, reinforced with its own replacement battalion and an artillery battalion of 2 batteries. This "Legion" was sent to northern Italy, to the Lake Garda area, and then the Italo-Slovene border area. After the Italian surrender, the men of the Legion were used to reinforce the existing German-Croatian Divisions, mostly the 373rd "Tigar" Division.

Information based mostly on the book: "Hrvatsko domobranstvo u drugom svjetskom ratu" I dio.

Best regards,
Allen/

NOTE: edited for spelling errors
Last edited by Allen Milcic on 17 Mar 2007, 16:00, edited 1 time in total.


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#3

Post by GLADIVM » 17 Mar 2007, 12:33

Thanks Allen ,

I knew I could count on you .

Yours

GLADIVM

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#4

Post by Allen Milcic » 27 Apr 2007, 05:14

ADDENDUM:

Some new information on the "2nd" Croatian Legion serving with the Italians:
With the tragic fate of the Croatian legionaries on the Eastern Front fighting under the Italian flag, the Italians requested that a new, so-called II. Regiment be formed, in order to erase the bad impressions left after the first unit was destroyed due to a number of mistakes by the Italian military leadership. Therefore, in February 1943, 900 new Croatian volunteers arrived for training in Riva del Plata, where they were still located at the time of the Italian capitulation. A demand to the Croatians to also lay down their arms was refused, and instead the Croats fought their way towards Croatia. In the fighting, 9 Croats and a number of Italians that had joined them were killed. The citizens of Riva del Plata placed memorial stones on their graves, and Croatian emigrants recently repaired the graveyard, placed new headstones and cleaned the graves.
Translated from the Croatian to the English language by me; text found in the book "Hrvatsko domobranstvo u drugom svjetskom ratu, II dio" by Ivan Kosutic. The text is followed by a photograph of one of the legionary's graves; the gravestone reads: "2 Legione Croata, Serg. Slavko Zuletovic".

I have tried unsuccesfully to locate this "Riva del Plata" on an Italian map. Is the town's name wrong, or could someone perhaps advise me of its location? Perhaps the author is referring to the town of Riva del Garda?

Allen/

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#5

Post by GLADIVM » 27 Apr 2007, 15:40

Yes is Riva del Garda , on the Garda Lake .

Thanks for yr further infos which confirms what I read about croatians legionares killed fighting germans after 8th sept , unfortunately I do not recall the source .

Yours

GLADIVM

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Re: Croat legion in Italian Service

#6

Post by tigre » 07 May 2023, 16:47

Hello to all :D; a complement..................................

Lako prevozni zdrug Hrvatske legije (Legione Croata Autotrasportabile).

On the very day of the start of Operation Barbarossa (June 22, 1941), Ante Pavelic, the head of the newly independent Croatian state, called an extraordinary meeting of the government. All the civil and military leaders of the country participated and discussed how Croatia should participate in the Crusade against Bolshevism: the Croatian armed forces should march on the eastern front alongside the German ally. The Croatian leader intended to win the sympathy of Germany in this way, to counteract the country's ill-tolerated dependence on Fascist Italy. Pavelic owed a lot to Mussolini and Fascist Italy, but the loss of some territories, the imposition of an Italian monarchy, the dependence of the Croatian armed forces on the Italian ones, had been poorly digested by the Croatian leader. In addition, Pavelic hoped that this brotherhood in arms with the German armed forces would produce highly trained military men with whom to lay the foundations for the formation of the new Croatian army. At the end of the meeting, the German plenipotentiary representative in Croatia, Edmund Glaise von Horstenau, was contacted by General Kvaternik, commander of the Croatian armed forces, who suggested that Pavelic contact the Führer.

Pavelic prepared a letter for Hitler the next day, expressing in it the desire of all the Croatian people to join the battle of all freedom-loving nations against communism; Pavelic offered to send Croatian land, air and naval forces to the Russian front. Hitler responded to the Croatian poglavnik (leader) on 1 July 1941, accepting the Croatian offer and thanking him for his prompt availability. However, Hitler went on to specify that the Croatian contribution should initially have been limited to an infantry expeditionary force, equipped and armed by the Germans. Although, as far as the air and naval forces are concerned, they would first have to be properly trained and equipped.

On July 2, 1941, the Leader of the NDH (from Croatian Nezavisna Država Hrvatska - Independent State of Croatia), Dr. Ante Pavelić, called on "Croatian patriots between the ages of 20 and 32, who have military training and who want to join the holy fight against the insolent Bolshevik intruder, for the freedom of the oppressed peoples, and especially for the security, honor, peace and well-being of the Croatian people, immediately applicable" to join the army, the German navy and air force to fight the Bolshevik threat in a united Europe. On the basis of this proclamation, the Army Command issued Order Number 8, which determined the manner and places of reception of volunteers. Nearly 9,000 volunteers flocked to the recruitment centers that were subjected to strict selection criteria. In the end, some 5,000 volunteer hopefuls were accepted and assembled in Varasdian, while the Bosnian Muslim volunteers assembled in Sarajevo. After the first medical visits, the volunteers were transferred to the Döllersheim camp in Austria.

Nominally an ally of the Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska - NDH), Italy included the NDH in its area of interest, which was definitively confirmed with the signing of the Treaties of Rome. With these agreements, the NDH became firmly linked to Italy and, among other things, subordinated the development of its armed forces to Italian interests and its supervision. For the Croatian public, the Treaties of Rome were a great disappointment, and dissatisfaction could also be felt in the NDH government, especially in the Ministry of Internal Defense, where, relying on the German ally, they were looking for the possibility of reducing the influence Italian in its armed forces.

The Italian General Staff considered the enlistment of Croats in the German war machine as a violation of the Rome Agreements and of what was established in the meeting in Venice on December 18 between the Poglavnik and Count Ciano. To balance the German military influence over the Croats, Italy demanded the formation of another unit to fight on the Eastern Front under his command, even if the unit was the size of a single battalion, more out of prestige than out of real necessity. The Croatian side reluctantly agreed to this request and agreed to form a motorized battalion, which on 26 July 1941 would receive the official name of the Croatian Legion Light Transportable Unit (Lako prevoznom zdrugu Hrvatske legije) or "Legione Croata Autotransportabile" as was his name in Italian.

Source: https://vojnapovijest.vecernji.hr/vojna ... je-1310860
https://issuu.com/rivista.militare1/doc ... s/15814803
http://www.maxafiero.it/legione_croata.htm
Lako prevozni zdrug Hrvatske legije (Legione Croata Autotransportabile) 1941.-1942. MILAN POJIĆ
https://www.televignole.it/la-legione-s ... -del-duce/

Cheers. Raúl M 8-).

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Re:

#7

Post by luda » 07 May 2023, 19:09

Allen Milcic wrote:
27 Apr 2007, 05:14

I have tried unsuccesfully to locate this "Riva del Plata" on an Italian map. Is the town's name wrong, or could someone perhaps advise me of its location? Perhaps the author is referring to the town of Riva del Garda?

Allen/
https://patrimonio.archivioluce.com/luc ... artPage%7D


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Re: Croat legion in Italian Service

#9

Post by tigre » 15 May 2023, 14:39

Hello to all :D; thanks for those links enorepap :wink:. More..................................

Lako prevozni zdrug Hrvatske legije (Legione Croata Autotrasportabile).

The first order on the establishment of the unit, which will become the Light Transportable (Motorized) Unit of the Croatian Legion, was signed by the Commander of the Land Army of the NDH, General Slavko Stanzer, by order of the Commander-in-Chief Slavko Kvaternik and dated July 18, 1941 in Zagreb. The battalion would consist of a HQ, the HQ company, three rifle companies (2 Catholic companies and 1 Muslim company) and a machine gun company (but in reality it was the other way around, that is to say 2/3 of the legionaries were Muslim volunteers and 1/ 3 were Catholic due to the sons of Bosnia reporting to the Legion in a higher percentage).

The Sava Divisional Area Commander would provide accommodation, food and rations for the Battalion members, while the "allied army" would provide weapons, military equipment and means of transport.

Even after the decision on the formation, the NDH government tried to evade this obligation, so it took advantage of the uprising that broke out in the area of western Bosnia, Kordun, Lika and Banija at the end of July 1941 to postpone the sending of the Light Transportable Unit for training in Italy. Thus, at the beginning of August 1941, the unit was deployed along the Una River, where it was supposed to control and secure rail traffic on the Una Railway from Bosanska Krupa to Bosanska Dubica. The unit commander at the time, Lieutenant Colonel Stjepan Neuberger, tried to quell the uprising in this area not only with armed force, but also through negotiations, which he largely succeeded in doing. But in a highly unusual event for such occasions, Neuberger brought his wife, Hedviga Neuberger, to these negotiations. During the negotiations, Neuberger was captured with all of his entourage, but later managed to escape captivity.

This fact aroused suspicion and an investigation was opened against Lieutenant Colonel Neuberger, in which it was discovered that he maintained links with the Yugoslav Communist Party (KPJ) and the group with which he was negotiating belonged to the National Liberation Movement of Yugoslavia. For this reason, on December 8, 1941, he was dismissed from the position of commander with loss of his rank and all rights acquired, and he was tried for high treason. He was sentenced to death by hanging, and the sentence was carried out on December 23, 1941 at 4:30 p.m.

On October 20, 1941, Cavallero informed the Ministry of War and the Army General Staff (Italians) that a Croatian legion would be sent to the Eastern Front attached to the CSIR as a supplementary corps. The Croatian soldiers, part regular army, part volunteer, wore an Italian-style uniform with rank insignia on the collar and the fasces on the chest, taking an oath of allegiance to the Duce. The "Legione Croata Autotrasportabile" would have been made up of more than a hundred officers and non-commissioned officers and about a thousand soldiers, but the General Staff could, if it had deemed it necessary, modify the number of troops by communicating the changes to the Croatian government through the Military Mission in Zagreb (General Giovanni Battista Oxilia). The necessary equipment and vehicles would be supplied by the Italian Royal Army (Regio Esercito), while Zagreb would supply some of the individual equipment.

Original plans called for the legion, having completed training in Croatia, to be transferred to the Russian front in January 1942, however the original core of legionnaires that would make up the unit were withdrawn from Bosnia - where they were employed in anti-partisan operations. - only at the beginning of November, to concentrate on Varaždin and expand with new elements. The farewell to the Legion took place on December 14 in Zagreb. The inspection was conducted by Military Commander Slavko Kvaternik, and the speech was delivered by Ante Pavelić, followed by a parade and departure for Italy. Before leaving for Italy, the Legion had 45 officers, 70 non-commissioned officers and 1,100 national guardsmen, a total of 1,225 soldiers and 108 horses. The unit also had a replacement company (Compagnia complemento) in Riva del Garda and a depot company in Karlovac. The training lasted until March 26, 1942, when its transport by rail to the Eastern Front began.

Source: https://vojnapovijest.vecernji.hr/vojna ... je-1310860
https://issuu.com/rivista.militare1/doc ... s/15814803
http://www.maxafiero.it/legione_croata.htm
Lako prevozni zdrug Hrvatske legije (Legione Croata Autotransportabile) 1941.-1942. MILAN POJIĆ
https://www.televignole.it/la-legione-s ... -del-duce/

Cheers. Raúl M 8-).

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Re: Croat legion in Italian Service

#10

Post by enorepap » 16 May 2023, 11:38

Hello Raul

I have been following your very detailed interventions for many years and therefore I am happy with the fact you mentioned me.

I see you are also implementing the Genoa surrender thread. There would be many things to say that post-war Italian political memoirs have greatly emphasized for obvious purposes. But I don't want to derail this topic.

By the way, do you have any sources about the composition of the 181st Infanterie Division at the end of the war? I am interested in this because after the armistice in Montenegro it controlled some battalions of black shirts which remained faithful to the alliance with the Germans and, although I have many materials about this subject, the darkness reigns instead for the period April-May 1945.

Thanks again and best regards

Marcello

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Re: Croat legion in Italian Service

#11

Post by tigre » 21 May 2023, 17:45

Hello to all :D; more..................................

Lako prevozni zdrug Hrvatske legije (Legione Croata Autotrasportabile).

Legion equipment.

The Legion was equipped with the weapons and accoutrements required by the Royal Army (Regio Esercito), as well as anti-tank and accompanying weapons. Individual and organizational weaponry included:

Carcano Mod. 38 musket: bolt, 6.5 mm caliber, distributed to the entire troop;
Beretta Mod. 34 pistol: semi-automatic, short caliber 9 mm, for officers and other personnel assigned to national troops;
Model 33 helmet.

Instead, the heavy armament of the units envisioned at the time of constitution was:

32 Breda Mod. 30 machine guns;
12 Breda Mod. 37 machine guns;
9 Brixia Mod. 35 45 mm mortars;
7 81 mm Mod. 35 mortars;
5 anti-tank guns 47/32 Mod. 35.

The provision of quadrupeds and vehicles was also provided by the Royal Army (Regio Esercito) and was as follows:

108 cargo quadrupeds;
3 cars;
39 light trucks;
5 motorcycles;
14 bikes.

To the eastern front.

The route of the Legione Croata Autotrasportabile to the Eastern Front was covered in 3 rail transports, every 24 hours, on March 25, 27 and 29, 1942. The movement route was along the Brenner, Salzburg, Linz, Vienna, Budapest, Debrecen , Doma Vatre (in the Carpathians), Burdujeni Sauceava, Jaši Chisinau, Tigina, Tyraspol, Balta, Pervomajsk, Kirovograd, Krivoi Rog, Dnipropetrovsk, Yasinovataj to Kharkov. The members of the legion reached their destination, some 30 km from the battlefield on April 11, 12 and 16, 1942. Up to this landing point, the German Todt organization laid a normal European track everywhere. The trip was extremely interesting, although long and tiring.

Source: https://vojnapovijest.vecernji.hr/vojna ... je-1310860
https://issuu.com/rivista.militare1/doc ... s/15814803
http://www.maxafiero.it/legione_croata.htm
Lako prevozni zdrug Hrvatske legije (Legione Croata Autotransportabile) 1941.-1942. MILAN POJIĆ
https://www.televignole.it/la-legione-s ... -del-duce/

Marcello about the 181. ID, I'll check what comes out. Cheers. Raúl M 8-).
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Transfer to the Eastern Front...............................
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Re: Croat legion in Italian Service

#12

Post by enorepap » 21 May 2023, 19:34

Hallo Raul

Many thanks for these precious information.

Best regards

Marcello

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Re: Croat legion in Italian Service

#13

Post by tigre » 28 May 2023, 17:57

Hello to all :D; more..................................

Lako prevozni zdrug Hrvatske legije (Legione Croata Autotrasportabile).

In the CSIR (Corpo di Spedizione Italiano in Russia).

From the crossing through Bessarabia, the traces of the war were immediately visible: desolation everywhere, all the stations burned down, towns and cities burned and destroyed, a single-track railway fixed by force and with a quick hand. Arriving in Kharkov, the Legion was billeted in the vicinity of the station where it remained until April 19. After the three-day break, it joined the 3rd Divisione Cellere "Principe Amadeo Duca d'Aosta", which was part of the Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia ("Corpo di Spedizione Italiano in Russia – C.S.I.R.”). The unit also received the rest of the vehicles, that is, 3 cars, 44 trucks and 6 motorcycles.

An officer belonging to the Legion pointed out that the "Celere" division was greatly reduced after the fighting during the winter of 1941/1942 (it had only 2 infantry regiments of 3 bersaglieri battalions each, an artillery regiment of 3 groups, 2 groups of 105 mm and a group of 75 mm) In total it could have about 8,000 men. After all, we experienced this later, because we regularly received from the division the most delicate and exposed sections of the front, which were conspicuous throughout the division and where the greatest losses were always suffered.

On April 20, 1942, the Legion moved to the Aleksejevo Orlovka - Rasipnoja position. The first information and impressions about the battlefield detail melting snow everywhere. Knee-deep mud. Immobilized cars. people on foot. Enemy planes scout, and at night they spray bombs. On April 22, 1942, the tCroats march to the front line at Rasipnoja and replace a battalion of the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment. On the right a German division is deployed, on the left the 6th Bersaglieri Regiment. The enemy dominates the position. A front of three kilometers is occupied. Legion Command Post is located in the city of Čistakovo. There is also the command of the German Corps. On May 5, the position was machine-gunned and bombarded by the enemy.

Shortly after, on May 14, 1941, it was assigned to a section near the town of Grekov-Timofejevka, a sector that it would occupy until the start of the German offensive ("Plan Blau"). The Legion HQ is located in the village of Stoškovo together with the marching company. The battles led by the Legion in this period were significantly less intense than those executed by its sister Croatian Legion unit – the 369th Reinforced (Croatian) Infantry Regiment. For the most part, these were violent reconnaissances or repulsed Soviet test attacks down to the battalion level.

On June 3, the first reinforcement from Riva del Garda arrived: 2 officers and 40 non-commissioned officers and national guards. In the "Diary" - dated June 21, it is written very tersely "Movement to Mihajlovka. That place is 1 km from Stoškovo. We are being replaced by bersaglierie of the 6th Regiment, but still half of the battalion remains in position. "

M. Dolovčak describes why half of the Unit remained in position ".....on the night of June 21 (22), when the exchange was halfway over the enemy was attracted by the noise of the Italians , and being in the immediate vicinity, executed a strong raid led by the political commissar and opening fierce fire on the position. In the resulting commotion, command of the entire formation was assumed by 1st Lieutenant Živko Banić, Commander of the 4th Machine Gun Company of the Legion and thanks to his calm actions, the Soviet night attack was repulsed with great losses for the enemy. When dawn broke among the many corpses, the body of the commissar was found with pliers to cut the wire barrier in his hands.

Source: https://vojnapovijest.vecernji.hr/vojna ... je-1310860
https://issuu.com/rivista.militare1/doc ... s/15814803
http://www.maxafiero.it/legione_croata.htm
Lako prevozni zdrug Hrvatske legije (Legione Croata Autotransportabile) 1941.-1942. MILAN POJIĆ
https://www.televignole.it/la-legione-s ... -del-duce/
Emme rossa!: Le camicie nere sul fronte russo 1941-1943

Cheers. Raúl M 8-).
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Arrival of the Croatian Legion at the front – April 18, 1942.....................................
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Re: Croat legion in Italian Service

#14

Post by tigre » 04 Jun 2023, 17:14

Hello to all :D; more..................................

Lako prevozni zdrug Hrvatske legije (Legione Croata Autotrasportabile).

In the ARMIR (Italian Armata in Russia).

The Legion's first real offensive action was the attack on the village of Veselij on the night of 11/12 July. The occupation of the town would ensure the starting points for the subsequent offensive. M. Dolovčak gave an interesting description of that fact: "When the order to attack the village of Veseli was received/.../the situation was not clear in relation to the enemy forces/.../the intrepid Lieutenant Revnik Josip, offered to scout out the enemy situation with his selected volunteers. Using a narrow goat track, he approached the very enemy positions and with the fire of his guns drove the remaining enemy soldiers out of the trench and gave the signal for the legion's general attack.

The town was captured with minimal losses, and in his report to the command of the Italian Corps, the Commander of the Italian 3rd Divisione Cellere, General Mario Marazzani singled out this particular undertaking and praised the work of the Legion. On July 13, the Croatian Legion and the Battalion Group CC.NN. "Tagliamento", before the occupation of the Bokowo Antrazit coalfield, came to depend directly on the XXXVº Army Corps and started to form (together with the III Horse Artillery Group) the "Mittica" Group, which with the 9th Infantry Division "Pasubio" pursued the Russians to Krasnaja Polyana.

Soon after, the Italian forces, which had meanwhile been increased to the level of an army and was renamed the Italian 8th Army in Russia (or "Armata Italiana in Russia-ARMIR"). Since 18 July, the Legion had been on the march towards the Don as part of the Pasubio Division, in the XXXV Army Corps (CSIR was integrated into the newly formed Italian Army in Russia as the XXXV Army Corps). From the city of Vladimirovka to Vorošilovgrad, where they arrived on July 27, 1942, the members of the unit marched about 400 kilometers. After a short rest, the Legion was transferred by trucks to the city of Millerovo, 80 km away, on 31 July.

The Italian Army was to be deployed along the Don River with the task of covering the left wing of the German 6th Army, which was at the time advancing towards Stalingrad. The Legion was recuperating in Millerovo until August 08, when it "set off on trucks in the direction of Popovka-Kamenka, about 120 km north-east of Millerovo in intense heat of 38º C and a lot of dust." On August 12, from Kamenka the Legion was sent by trucks to the Don as part of the Pasubio division, which held with its 6 battalions about 45 km from the front line of the battlefield, and requested reinforcements. After 75 km of travel, the unit reached the Don front in the village of Tonin, 6 km south of the river bank.

Source: https://vojnapovijest.vecernji.hr/vojna ... je-1310860
https://issuu.com/rivista.militare1/doc ... s/15814803
http://www.maxafiero.it/legione_croata.htm
Lako prevozni zdrug Hrvatske legije (Legione Croata Autotransportabile) 1941.-1942. MILAN POJIĆ
https://www.televignole.it/la-legione-s ... -del-duce/
Emme rossa!: Le camicie nere sul fronte russo 1941-1943

Cheers. Raúl M 8-).
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Croatian legionnaires with members of the CC.NN. Battalion.....................
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Re: Croat legion in Italian Service

#15

Post by tigre » 11 Jun 2023, 17:31

Hello to all :D; more..................................

Lako prevozni zdrug Hrvatske legije (Legione Croata Autotrasportabile).

In the ARMIR (Italian Armata in Russia).

After reconnaissance, on August 17, the Legion is in Mjerkulov on the Don, where it replaces the battalion of the 80th Italian Regiment (Pasubio Division), occupying a position 8 and a half km long. Žitnik mentions the disproportion between the length of the sector and its numerical situation (3 companies of riflemen, each with two platoons of 40 men each, a total of 240 men) especially since the Don bank is covered with forests, and the Don itself in his section is 60-80 cm deep, so there is a danger of attack that requires continuous vigilance, day and night. In that sector, a more active combat and fire activity began. Attacks and raids almost every night. In the period from August 17 to 22, the Legion had 1 home guard killed and 4 wounded, and captured 32 Russian soldiers.

Simultaneously with the defense of the position in its sector, preparations are being made for the winter, which will be interrupted on August 22 when the Russians broke through to the right of the Legion, on the right wing of the Corps in the sector of Division “Sforzesca”. The division suffered a defeat and abandoned its positions, and the Russians penetrated 15 kilometers into the Italian side of the Don. And for the next two days, the position of the Italian troops became worse and worse.

In effect to hold off at least part of the enemy forces, the Red Army attacked the increasingly elongated wing of the German 6th Army in two places, near Serafimović and Kremanskaja on the Don River. The attack near Serafimović was aimed at the junction between the German 6th Army and the Italian 8th Army, and in the face of the Red Army attack, the Italian Sforzesca division, which was occupying the position (30 km long) on the extreme right wing of the army, collapsed and began to retreat in disorder. In order to close the resulting gap in the front line, the Italian command directed all available forces to this area, among others the Legione Croata Autotrasportabile, which at that time was part of the Pasubio Division.

For the Legion, it was the beginning of the most difficult battles on the Eastern Front. The commander, Lieutenant Colonel Zitnik, describes in his monthly report "/ ... / the Legion, due to a very critical situation with our neighboring division on the right (Sforzesca), had to move immediately from its previous positions, / . .,/ from the extreme left wing of the Pasubio Division, to the center of the Sforcesca Division.The Legion was replaced by two companies of alpini/bersalieri in their former positions on the night of 22/23, under enemy fire.

Sleepless and tired, the trucks of the legion transported the men in the morning some 45 km to the east, where attack columns were formed to recapture the lost positions of the Sforcesca Division and the legion integrated one of those columns as the 2nd Battalion, behind the battalion of the 80th Infantry Regiment, with which it was on the march all day August 23, covering about 15 km on foot with all weapons (and heavy weapons) on their backs. The battalion in front of us suffered a strong enemy counterattack at about 4:00 p.m. and heavy losses, especially among the officers, for which, like the other battalions, due to heavy enemy fire, they were unable to advance any further and got the order to go to the defense before nightfall. In accordance with the order, the Legion was returned to the position on the Don because the situation there also worsened.

On the night of August 24/25, in a violent attack by the Red Army, the Italians retreat in disorder. "Although all the legionnaires saw the withdrawal of the Italian battalion, whose soldiers were fleeing between our lines, and although the neighboring Italian units also yielded, and loud noises were heard on all sides, the Legion, in complete darkness/.../ performed brilliantly the assigned task and carried out a strong counterattack and in two hours, repulsed the enemy, captured 46 Russians, including the enemy battalion commander. The number of enemy dead is enormous. It is not an exaggeration to say that the Legion saved the Pasubio Division that night of complete disintegration and withdrawal. Losses tonight: 9 dead and 30 wounded."

At the same time, at 2 o'clock, the Legion was transferred to Mjerkulov, since the Russians had also broken through there. There it fought hard and bloody battles. The Russians were driven back from the Italian and German lines twice during the assault. The unit suffered significant losses in these battles, 14 NCOs and National Guardsmen killed and 33 wounded. Among others, the commander of the marching company, 1st Lieutenant Vladimir Kučiš, and Lieutenant Dragutin Obad, who died of his wounds on August 30 in a field hospital, were wounded.

Source: https://vojnapovijest.vecernji.hr/vojna ... je-1310860
https://issuu.com/rivista.militare1/doc ... s/15814803
http://www.maxafiero.it/legione_croata.htm
Lako prevozni zdrug Hrvatske legije (Legione Croata Autotransportabile) 1941.-1942. MILAN POJIĆ
https://www.televignole.it/la-legione-s ... -del-duce/
Emme rossa!: Le camicie nere sul fronte russo 1941-1943

Cheers. Raúl M 8-).
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First defensive battle of the Don..................................
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