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212th Coastal Division
212th Coastal Division
Active	1942 – 1943
Country	Kingdom of Italy
Branch	Royal Italian Army
Size	Division
Garrison/HQ	Catanzaro
Engagements	World War II
Insignia
Identification; symbol	; 212th Coastal Division gorget patches

The 212th Coastal Division (Italian: 212ª Divisione Costiera) was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II.^[1] Royal Italian Army coastal divisions were second line divisions formed with reservists and equipped with second rate materiel. They were often commanded by officers called out of retirement.^[2]

History

The division was activated on 15 November 1941 in Catanzaro by reorganizing the XII Coastal Sector Command.^[3] The division was assigned to XXXI Army Corps, which was responsible for the defense of southern Calabria.^[1] The division was responsible for the coastal defence of the coast of central Calabria: on the Tyrrhenian Sea side from Capo Vaticano to the outskirts of Serra d'Aiello, on the Ionian Sea side from Badolato to Cropani.^[4]

In early September 1943 the division prepared to fight the British XIII Corps, which had landed on 3 September 1943 in southern Calabria in Operation Baytown and was advancing towards the 212th Coastal Division's positions. After the Armistice of Cassibile was announced on 8 September 1943 the division remained at its positions and surrendered to the British XIII Corps. Afterwards the division joined the Italian Co-belligerent Army, but did not participate in the Italian campaign. The division was dissolved in summer 1944.^[4]

Organization

212th Coastal Division, in Catanzaro^[4]^[1]
- 103rd Coastal Regiment (transferred to the 214th Coastal Division on 1 July 1943)
  - CCCXLII Coastal Battalion
  - VI Dismounted Squadrons Group/ Regiment "Lancieri di Novara"
- 115th Coastal Regiment
  - CCXVI Coastal Battalion
  - CCCXLVI Coastal Battalion
  - XII Dismounted Squadrons Group/ Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Alessandria"
- 144th Coastal Regiment
  - CCX Coastal Battalion
  - CCCXLVII Coastal Battalion
  - VII Dismounted Squadrons Group/ Regiment "Lancieri di Firenze"
  - VIII Dismounted Squadrons Group/ Regiment "Lancieri di Aosta"
- 45th Coastal Artillery Grouping
  - IX Coastal Artillery Group
  - XI Coastal Artillery Group
  - LXXXIX Coastal Artillery Group
  - CCVII Artillery Group (152/40 naval guns)
- CVIII Machine Gun Battalion
- 56th Anti-tank Company (47/32 anti-tank guns; transferred from the 56th Infantry Division "Casale")
- 108th Mortar Company (81mm mod. 35 mortars)
- 414th Mortar Company 81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
- 212th Mixed Engineer Company
- 189th Anti-paratroopers Unit
- 320th Anti-paratroopers Unit
- 321st Anti-paratroopers Unit
- 324th Anti-paratroopers Unit
- 443rd Anti-paratroopers Unit
- 444th Anti-paratroopers Unit
- 445th Anti-paratroopers Unit
- 446th Anti-paratroopers Unit
- 212th Carabinieri Section
- 181st Field Post Office
- Division Services

Attached to the division:^[1]

DCIV Coastal Battalion
Armored Train 152/3/T, in Crotone (4x 152/40 naval guns, 4x 20/77 Scotti anti-aircraft guns;^[5] transferred to the 214th Coastal Division on 1 July 1943)

Commanding officers

The division's commanding officers were:^[1]

Generale di Brigata Ugo Medori (15 November 1941 - 1 March 1942)
Colonel Felice Pellegrini (acting, 2-13 March 1942)
Generale di Brigata Ugo Medori (14 March 1942 - ?)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Bollettino dell'Archivio dell'Ufficio Storico N.II-3 e 4 2002. Rome: Ministero della Difesa - Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito - Ufficio Storico. 2002. p. 368. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
^ Jowett p 6
^ Circolare n. 19440 del 22/10/1941 dello S.M.R.E. Uff. Ordinamento - 2a Sezione. "Cronistoria dei reparti costieri". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 12 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ ^a ^b ^c "212a Divisione Costiera". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
^ "Treni Armati della Marina". Italian Navy. Retrieved 7 October 2021.

Paoletti, Ciro (2008). A Military History of Italy. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-98505-9.
Jowett, Philip S. (2000). The Italian Army 1940-45 (1): Europe 1940-1943. Osprey, Oxford - New York. ISBN 978-1-85532-864-8.