33rd Infantry Division "Acqui"


The 33rd Infantry Division "Acqui" was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Acqui was classified as a mountain infantry division, which meant that its artillery was moved by pack mules instead of the horse-drawn carriages of line infantry divisions. Italy's real mountain warfare divisions were the six alpine divisions manned by Alpini mountain troops. The division was named for the city of Acqui. The division is notable for having been massacred with remarkable cruelty after surrendering to the Germans on 21 September 1943. The main detachments of the Acqui division in the islands of Cephalonia and Corfu were officially dissolved 25 September 1943.

History

The division's lineage begins with the Brigade "Acqui" established on 21 December 1821, which on 25 October 1831 split to form the 1st and 2nd infantry regiments under the brigade's command. On 4 May 1839, the two regiments were re-numbered as 17th and 18th infantry regiments.

World War I

The brigade fought on the Italian front in World War I. On 15 October 1926 the brigade command was disbanded and the brigade's two regiments were transferred to other brigades: the 17th Infantry Regiment "Acqui" to the XIV Infantry Brigade and the 18th Infantry Regiment "Acqui" to the XI Infantry Brigade.
In August 1939 the 33rd Infantry Division "Acqui" was formed in Meran and received on the same date its two namesake infantry regiments. On the same day the 33rd [Artillery Regiment "Acqui"] was reformed and assigned to the division.

World War II

Invasion of France

On 10 June 1940 the Italian invasion of France commenced and the Acqui engaged French forces in the Maddalena Pass-Argentera-Colle del Ferro area. After France surrendered to Germany in the evening of 22 June 1940, the Acqui crossed into French territory on 23 June 1940. Meeting weak opposition the division advanced to La Condamine-Châtelard. On 24 June 1940 the Acqui reached the Ubaye Valley, but at this point a Franco-Italian Armistice came into effect and the Acqui division returned Italy. The division's casualties in this campaign amounted to 32 dead, 15 missing, 90 wounded and 198 frostbitten.

Greco-Italian War

On 6 December 1940 the Acqui was ordered to move to Albania (1939–1943)|Albania] to reinforce the crumbling Italian front in the Greco-Italian War. The division arrived north-west of Vuno in the Himarë municipality on 18 December 1940 and was ordered to reinforce the positions of the 51st Infantry Division "Siena" in the Shushice river valley. On 19 December 1940 the Acqui battled a Greek offensive trying to capture Vlorë. For the rest of December the Acqui remained in its defensive posture. In January 1941 a bitter fight for the Qafa e Hazërit mountain trail started. The Qafa e Hazërit trail changed hands several times. In early February 1941 the division was pulled back to Smokthinë in the Shushice river valley to rest and refill its depleted ranks. In March 1941 the Acqui was again deployed to the front at Kakoz. In the course of the German-led Battle of Greece the Acqui attacked on 14 April 1941 at Bolenë, Horë-Vranisht and Maja e Mesimerit. On 16 April the Greek army began an organized retreat and the Acqui took the direct route to the border town of Konispol and then entered the Greek province of Filiates. On 20 April 1941 the Acqui captured Igoumenitsa and Syvota.
Between 20 December 1940 and 23 April 1941, the casualties in the Acqui Division were 481 killed, 1,163 missing, 1,361 wounded and 672 frostbitten.
After the Greek surrender the Acqui became the part of the occupation force on the islands of Corfu, Lefkada, Zakynthos and Cephalonia. To reinforce the thinly spread troops, the division was reinforced in May 1942 by the 317th Infantry Regiment "Acqui". During 1942, the division headquarters were briefly relocated to Lefkada before moving to Cephalonia in May 1943.

Massacre of the Acqui Division

After the Armistice of Cassibile was announced on 8 September 1943 the division resisted German orders to surrender. In retaliation the Germans executed thousands of the division's soldiers in what is known as the "Cephalonia massacre". One of the largest prisoner of war massacres of the war, and one of the largest-scale German atrocities to be committed by Wehrmacht troops, Of the division's approximately 12,000 soldiers 1,300 died fighting the Germans and between 5,200 and 6,000 soldiers and all the division's officers were murdered by the German 1st Mountain Division.
The events in Cephalonia were repeated, to a lesser extent, elsewhere: in Corfu, the 8,000-strong Italian garrison comprised elements of three divisions, including the Acqui's 18th Regiment Infantry Regiment, and the I Battalion, 49th Infantry Regiment "Parma" from the 49th Infantry Division "Parma". On 24 September, the Germans landed a force on the island, and by the next day they were able to induce the Italians to capitulation. All 280 Italian officers on the island were executed during the next two days on the orders of General Hubert Lanz, in accordance with Hitler's directives. The bodies were loaded onto a ship and disposed of in the sea. Similar executions of officers also occurred in the aftermath of the Battle of Kos, when the Italian commander and 90 of his officers were shot.
Many of the Acqui's soldiers, who had survived the massacres on Cephalonia and Corfu died in the subsequent weeks:
  • On 28 September 1943 the ship P.fo Ardena either struck a naval mine or was intentionally scuttled by explosive charges. Of the 840 Italian POWs on board, 720 perished.
  • On 10 October 1943, the ship Mario Roselli was bombed while anchoring in Corfu bay and severely damaged by allied aircraft. Out of more than 5,000 Italian POWs 1,302 perished.
  • On 13 October 1943, the ship P.fo Marguerita was sunk, presumably after striking a naval mine, after departing from Argostoli, Cephalonia. 544 Italian POWs perished.

    Organization

  • 33rd Infantry Division "Acqui", in Meran
  • * 17th Infantry Regiment "Acqui", in Schlanders
  • ** Command Company
  • ** 3x Fusilier battalions
  • ** Support Weapons Company
  • ** Mortar Company
  • * 18th Infantry Regiment "Acqui", in Meran
  • ** Command Company
  • ** 3x Fusilier battalions
  • ** Support Weapons Company
  • ** Mortar Company
  • * 317th Infantry Regiment "Acqui"
  • ** Command Company
  • ** 3x Fusilier battalions
  • ** Support Weapons Company
  • ** Mortar Company
  • * 33rd Artillery Regiment "Acqui", in Trento
  • ** Command Unit
  • ** I Group
  • ** II Group
  • ** III Group
  • ** 33rd Anti-aircraft Battery
  • ** 333rd Anti-aircraft Battery
  • ** Ammunition and Supply Unit
  • * XXXIII Mortar Battalion
  • * 33rd Anti-tank Company
  • * 31st Engineer Company
  • * 33rd Telegraph and Radio Operators Company
  • * 3rd Medical Section
  • * 5th Supply Section
  • * 33rd Truck Section
  • * 143rd Transport Section
  • * 9th Bakers Section
  • * 27th Carabinieri Section
  • * 30th Carabinieri Section
  • * 2nd Field Post Office
Attached to the division from early 1940 to 14 November 1940:
  • 23rd CC.NN. Legion "Bersaglieri del Mincio"
  • * XX CC.NN. Battalion
  • * XXIII CC.NN. Battalion
  • * 23rd CC.NN. Machine Gun Company
Attached to the division from 14 November 1940 until early 1942:
  • 18th CC.NN. Legion "Costantissima"
  • * XIX CC.NN. Battalion
  • * XXVII CC.NN. Battalion
  • * 18th CC.NN. Machine Gun Company
Attached to the division in 1943:
  • CX Machine Gun Battalion
  • III Anti-aircraft Group
  • VII Group
  • XCIV Group
  • CLXXXVIII Group

    Military honors

For their conduct after the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on Cephalonia and Corfu the President of Italy awarded on 16 February 1948 to the regiments of the 33rd Infantry Division "Acqui" Italy's highest military honor, the Gold Medal of Military Valor.
The division's commanding officers were:
In 2002 the Italian Army activated three division commands, with one of the three always readily deployable for NATO missions. Each division was given the traditions of a division that had served with distinction in World War II. Therefore on 31 December 2002 the 3rd Italian Division in San Giorgio a Cremano was renamed Division Command "Acqui".