185th Paratroopers Division Folgore


185th Paratroopers Division Folgore or 185ª Divisione Paracadutisti Folgore was a Parachute Division of the Italian Army during World War II.

History

The history of the 185th Division "Folgore" spans from late 1930s, when its immediate ancestors were established, to 1945, when its immediate successor was disbanded.

Libyan paratroopers

Direct and immediate origins of the 185th Paratroopers Division "Folgore" lie in the Paratroopers units formed in the wake of the breaking out of the World War Two.
In 1938 Marshal of the Air Force Italo Balbo established the Camp-School for Paratrooper of the Libyan Troops under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Goffredo Tonini and stationed at the airport of Castel Benito near Tripoli.
By 1939 there were two Libyan Paratroopers Battalions. By early 1940 an Italian paratroopers battalion was also established.
At the beginning of the Italian participation in World War Two there were:
On 15 January 1941 both Libyan Paratroopers School and Libyan Paratroopers Battalion were assigned to the defence of El Fteiah airport with 850 troops.

Paratroopers Military Schools

After quarrels, in 1937 paratroopers schools were assigned by law to the Regia Aeronautica. Two years later, in 1939, two Paratroopers Military School based in Tarquinia and in Viterbo were established. School personnel was drawn from the Air force, while personnel to instruct consisted of Royal Italian Army officers and sub-officers.
The Tarquinia school included:
The 2-months Instructors course began in March 1940. In late November 1940 was established only one Paratroopers Battalion.

1st Paratroopers Division

On 1 September 1941 the Royal Italian Army raised the 1st Paratroopers Division in Tarquinia. The division initially was organized as follows:
For reasons of order of precedence the title I Paratroopers Battalion was reserved for the I Carabinieri Paratroopers Battalion. The division was intended to be used in Operation Hercules – the planned Axis invasion of Malta. On 30 April 1941 the Italian paratroopers were deployed for the first time when the II Paratroopers Battalion jumped onto Cephalonia.
In 1942 the division was further augmented: on 15 January the II Paratroopers Artillery Group was raised, followed by the III Paratroopers Artillery Group on 10 March. On the same date the Paratroopers Division Artillery Regiment was activated. The regiment took command of the three paratroopers artillery groups, which each fielded two batteries with four 47/32 cannons per battery. On 15 March 1942 the 3rd Paratroopers Infantry Regiment with the battalions VIII, IX, and X was raised in Tarquinia.

185th Infantry Division "Folgore"

On 27 July 1942 the division's name was changed to 185th Infantry Division "Folgore" and its regiments were renumbered and renamed as well. The new structure was as follows:
The division was then sent to Italian Libya to bolster Axis forces in the Western Desert campaign. Before the departing for North Africa the 185th Infantry Regiment "Folgore" and 187th Infantry Regiment "Folgore" switched units: the 185th ceded the more experienced II and IV to 187th, which in turn ceded the VIII and X to the 185th. When the division arrived in Africa the three artillery groups of the 185th Artillery Regiment "Folgore" were merged into two artillery groups of three batteries each, thus providing one group for each infantry regiment, which in turn could now provide one battery to each battalion of a regiment. Additionally a seventh battery was formed with surplus materiel found by the division during its transfer to the front.
On 15 September the 185th Infantry Regiment "Folgore", which had remained in Italy, left the division and changed its name to 185th Infantry Regiment "Nembo" and became the basis for the 184th Infantry Division "Nembo". To aid in the raising of the 183rd Infantry Regiment "Nembo" the 185th ceded its X Paratroopers Battalion to the 183rd and raised the XI Paratroopers Battalion in its stead.
In North Africa the division participated in the First and Second Battle of El Alamein. During the latter division put up a fierce defense against attacking Commonwealth forces, managing to drive repeated attacks conducted by tanks and infantry. However in the course of the battle the division was annihilated and declared lost on 23 November 1942.

El Alamein

During the Second battle of El Alamein the Folgore Division came under attack from three Allied divisions 44th Infantry Division, 50th Infantry Division, 7th Armoured Division, and the 1st Free French Brigade. Operation Lightfoot, launched on 24 October 1942, was designed to break through the weak Italian-held southern sector of the Alamein line where the Bologna, Brescia, Pavia and Folgore Divisions anchored the right flank. The Allied attack began with an artillery barrage, followed by an all out assault by the 7th Armoured and 44th Infantry divisions. However, all that was achieved at a high casualty rate was a small salient, which was soon recaptured.
In the following days between 25 October and 4 November, the 50th, 7th, 44th divisions, 1st and 2nd Free French and the Royal Hellenic Brigades, supported by artillery and armour, failed to break through in the southern sector. The Folgore used everything at their disposal including letting the Allied soldiers advance into a "cul-de-sac" and then launching a counterattack from all sides. They also used their 47mm Anti-tank guns from enfilade positions and Molotov cocktails to knock out advancing armor. On 6 November, after having exhausted all its ammunition, the remainder of the Division surrendered. The few survivors, who managed to withdraw, were reorganized into the 285th Formation Battalion and fought in Tunisia, where they surrendered to the Allies in 1943.

Battle analysis

At El-Alamein, throughout several engagements, the paratroopers were either able to resist the attacks made upon them or, when the Allied forces had been successful in completely wiping out the first line of Folgore outposts, to reform again, usually counterattacking. The main Allied effort during the battlewas in the northern part of the Axis line. However, the four divisions attacking the Folgore positions in the south had also been given breakthrough objectives. The 7th Armoured Division had been ordered to spare their tanks, so their attacks were called off after the bloody fighting during the night of October 24: 31 Allied tanks were destroyed or damaged during that night alone. At the end of the battle of El Alamein, Harry Zinder of Time magazine noted that the Italians paratroopers fought better than had been expected, and commented that: "In the south, the famed Folgore Paratroopers Division fought to the last round of ammunition". With a few survivors and some replacement, the 285º Battaglione Paracadutisti "Folgore", a battaillon-size unit commandeered by Captain Lombardini, was formed, and participated to the defense of the Mareth Line in Tunisia in mid 1943, particularly at the Battle of Takrouna, where it was destroyed.

Order of battle

The division was sent to Africa and fought in the Battle of El Alamein with the following structure:
For its conduct during the Second Battle of El Alamein the division as whole was awarded a Gold Medal of Military Valor. The 185th Artillery, 186th Paratroopers and 187th Paratroopers regiments received a second Gold Medal for specific actions during the Second Battle of El Alamein. Additionally the following soldiers of the division were awarded a Gold Medal of Military Valor during the Western Desert Campaign:
On 25 September 1944 the Italian Co-Belligerent Army raised the Combat Group "Folgore" with soldiers and materiel from the disbanded 184th Paratroopers Division "Nembo". After the war the combat group became the Mechanized Division "Folgore", which was disbanded on 31 October 1986.

Paratroopers Brigade Folgore

On 1 January 1963 the Italian Army raised the I Paratroopers Brigade in Pisa, which received the name "Folgore" on 10 June 1967. After the end of the Cold War the Italian Army decided to rename the battalions in the brigade as regiments for historical reasons. Therefore, the battalions in the Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore" were given the names of the regiments of the former 185th Paratroopers Division "Folgore".