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Italian CC.NN. (Blackshirts militia) division From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2nd CC.NN. Division "28 Ottobre" (Italian: 2ª Divisione CC.NN. "28 Ottobre") was an Italian CC.NN. (Blackshirts militia) division raised on 10 May 1935 for the Second Italo-Ethiopian War against Ethiopia. The name "28 Ottobre" ("28 October") was chosen to commemorate the Fascist March on Rome on 28 October 1922. The division took part in the Italian invasion of Egypt and was destroyed during the Battle of Bardia in January 1941.
2nd CC.NN. Division "28 Ottobre" | |
---|---|
Active | 10 May 1935 – 5 January 1941 |
Country | Italy |
Branch | MVSN |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Division |
Garrison/HQ | Naples |
Motto(s) | "Summa audacia et virtus" |
Engagements | Second Italo-Ethiopian War World War II |
Insignia | |
Identification symbol | 2nd CC.NN. Division gorget patches |
The division was one of six CC.NN. divisions raised in summer 1935 in preparation for the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. Its members were volunteers from the various armed militias of the National Fascist Party's paramilitary wing and came from four regions: the 114th and 116th CC.NN. legions from Lombardy, the 180th CC.NN. Legion from the Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, and Piedmont, and the II CC.NN. Machine Gun Battalion from Liguria.[1]
The division assembled in Italian Eritrea on 18 September 1935 and moved to Senafe on the border with Ethiopia. The division participated in the Second Battle of Tembien. After the war the division was repatriated and then disbanded.[1]
The division was reformed in Naples in 1939 and sent with three other CC.NN. divisions to Italian Libya. The division took part in the invasion of Egypt in September 1940, reaching Sallum in Egypt by October. Heavily invested by British forces during Operation Compass the division retreated to Bardia, where it was encircled with other Italian units. After a short siege the division was destroyed during the Battle of Bardia on 3–5 January 1941.[2]
Below follows the division's organization during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and the cities, in which its CC.NN. battalions and companies/batteries were raised.[1]
The supply unit had 1,600 mules and the mixed transport unit 80 light trucks. The division engaged in war crimes in Ethiopia during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.[3] The CXXV CC.NN. Battalion left a monumental stone' in Dogu'a Tembien, a metres-wide phonolite with inscriptions. It is located on top of the Dabba Selama mountain, and was carved by soldiers that participated in the First Battle of Tembien.[4]
Below follows the division's organization at the start of the Italian invasion of Egypt and the cities, in which its CC.NN. battalions were raised:[2][5]
Attached during the Battle of Sollum:[5]
During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War:[1]
During the Italian invasion of Egypt:[5]
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