Second Italo-Ethiopian War order of battle: Italy explained

The Italian order of battle for the Second Italo-Ethiopian War on 8 October 1935.^[1] The Ethiopian order of battle is listed separately.

Comando Supremo Africa Orientale

Commander: General Emilio De Bono to November 1935, Field Marshal Pietro Badoglio November 1935 – June 1936

7th Artillery Group (77/28 field guns)
Granatieri di Sardegna Battalion (coming from Italy)
Alpini Battalion (coming from Italy)
Guardia di Finanza Battalion (coming from Italy)
3 Assault Battalions (still in Italy)
7th Artillery Group (Obice da 149/13 howitzer) (coming from Italy)
Engineer Unit Comando Supremo Africa Orientale
Bombardment, Reconnaissance, and Fighter Aviation Command A. O. – Gen. Mario Ajmone Cat
- 3rd Air Brigade – Brig.Gen. Ferruccio Ranza Eritrea (145 aircraft)
  - HQ Flight (4 × Caproni Ca.101 light bomber/transport aircraft)
  - Reconnaissance Squadron (un-numbered):
    - 34th Reconnaissance Flight (8 × Romeo Ro.1 reconnaissance and ground attack aircraft) attached to Eritrean Corps
    - 38th Reconnaissance Flight (10 × Ro.1)
    - 41st Reconnaissance Flight (10 × Ro.1)
    - 103rd Reconnaissance Flight (9 × IMAM Ro.37)
    - 116th Reconnaissance Flight (10 × Ro.1)
    - 118th Reconnaissance Flight (10 × Ro.1) attached to II Army Corps
    - 131st Reconnaissance Flight (10 × Ro.1)
    - Libyan Reconnaissance Flight (11 × Ro.1) attached to I Army Corps
  - 106th Fighter Flight (7 × CR.20)
  - 4th Bombers Squadron – Brig.Gen. Attilio Matricardi
    - 14th Bomber Flight "Hic Sunt Leones" – (10 × Caproni Ca.101 D/2)
    - 15th Bomber Flight "La Disperata" – (10 × Ca.101 D/2)
  - 27th Bomber Squadron
    - 17th Bomber Flight (5 × Caproni Ca.111 light bombers)
    - 18th Bomber Flight (5 × Ca.111)
  - Hydroplanes Detachments (4 × Marinens Flyvebaatfabrikk M.F.4 floatplane and 2 × CANT 25 flying boat fighter)
  - 7th Bomber Wing detached to Somalia with 38 aircraft – Brig.Gen. Ferruccio Ranza (see below)

Northern Front – Eritrea

I Army Corps – Ruggiero Santini
- 4th CC.NN. Division "3 Gennaio" (still in Italy) – Gen. Alessandro Traditi
  - 101st CC.NN. Legion, 104th CC.NN. Legion, 215th CC.NN. Legion
- 5th Alpine Division "Pusteria" – Gen. Luigi Negri Cesi
  - 7th Alpini Regiment, 11th Alpini Regiment, 5th Alpine Artillery Regiment
- 26th Infantry Division "Assietta" – Gen. Enrico Riccardi
  - 38th Infantry Regiment "Ravenna", 63rd Infantry Regiment "Cagliari", 25th Artillery Regiment
- 30th Infantry Division "Sabauda" – Gen. Italo Gariboldi
  - 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment, 46th Infantry Regiment "Reggio", 60th Infantry Regiment "Calabria", 16th Artillery Regiment
- X Indigenes Battalion (Eritrean Ascari)
- XV Indigenes Battalion (Eritrean Ascari)
- Banda dello Scimezana (native troop)
- 5th Cavalry Squadrons Group
- 3rd Motorized Artillery Group (77 mm/28)
- 5th Motorized Artillery Group (105/28 cannons)
- Artillery Command of positions of Agame
- I Army Corps Engineer Unit
- Libyan Reconnaissance Flight (11 × Ro.1)
II Army Corps – Pietro Maravigna
- 3rd CC.NN. Division "21 Aprile" – Gen. Giacomo Appiotti
  - 230th CC.NN. Legion, 252nd CC.NN. Legion, 263rd CC.NN. Legion
- 19th Infantry Division "Gavinana" – Gen. Nino Salvatore Villa Santa
  - 70th Infantry Regiment "Ancona", 83rd Infantry Regiment "Venezia", 84th Infantry Regiment "Venezia", 19th Artillery Regiment
- 24th Infantry Division "Gran Sasso" – Gen. Adalberto Principe (Adi Ugri-Quala zone)
  - 13th Infantry Regiment "Pinerolo", 14th Infantry Regiment "Pinerolo", 225th Infantry Regiment "Arezzo", 18th Artillery Regiment
- Gruppo Bande Altopiano (native troop)
- 10th Cavalry Squadrons Group
- Artillery Group Command (100 mm/17)
- Artillery Command of positions in western Tigre (Eritrean Ascari)
- 2nd Corps Engineer Unit
- 118th Reconnaissance Flight (10 × Ro.1) (Libyan)
Eritrean Corps – Alessandro Pirzio Biroli
- 1st Eritrean Division – Gen. Salvatore di Pietro
- 2nd Eritrean Division – Gen. Achille Vaccarisi
- 1st Eritrean CC.NN. Battalion Group – Filippo Diamanti
  - 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Italian East African CC.NN. Infantry Battalions
  - East African CC.NN. MMG Company
- Banda dell'Hassamò (Irregular troop)
- 6th Cavalry Squadrons Group
- Native Cavalry Squadron Group (Eritrean Ascari troop)
- 2nd Motorized Artillery Group 77 mm/28
- 3rd Motorized Artillery Group 100 mm/17 gun
- 4th Fast Tanks Squadrons Group
- Artillery Command of positions in eastern Tigre
- Eritrean Corps Engineer Unit
- 34th Reconnaissance Flight (8 × Ro.1)(Libyan)
Western Lowlands Zone – Brig.Gen. Amedeo Couture
- XXVII Indigenes Battalion (Eritrean Ascari)
- XXVIII Indigenes Battalion (Eritrean Ascari)
- Irregulars Foot Bands Group
- "Celere" (fast) Group
- Eritrea Fast Tanks Squadron
Eastern Lowlands Zone – Brig.Gen. Oreste Mariotti
- XXIV Indigenes Battalion (Eritrean Ascari)
- XXVI Indigenes Battalion (Eritrean Ascari)
- Libyan Battalion
- Massaua Irregulars Band
- Northern Dankalia Irregulars Band
- Southern Dankalia Irregulars Band
- 7th Artillery Battery (120L25)
- 37th Artillery Battery (77L28 – pack camels)

Sent to the front in February 1936

III Army Corps – Lt.Gen. Ettore Bastico
- 27th Infantry Division "Sila" – Gen. Francesco Bertini
  - 16th Infantry Regiment "Savona", 19th Infantry Regiment "Brescia", 20th Infantry Regiment "Brescia", 12th Artillery Regiment
- 1st CC.NN. Division "23 Marzo" – Gen. Filiberto Ludovico from Eritrean Corps
  - 135th CC.NN. Legion, 192nd CC.NN. Legion, 202nd CC.NN. Legion

Formed in January 1936

IV Army Corps – Gen. Ezio Babbini
- 5th Infantry Division "Cosseria" – Gen. Pietro Pintor
  - 41st Infantry Regiment "Modena", 42nd Infantry Regiment "Modena", 29th Artillery Regiment
- 2nd CC.NN. Division "28 Ottobre" – Gen. Umberto Somma
  - 114th CC.NN. Legion, 116th CC.NN. Legion, 180th CC.NN. Legion
- 5th CC.NN. Division "1 Febbraio" (still in Italy) – Gen. Attilio Teruzzi
  - 107th CC.NN. Legion, 128th CC.NN. Legion, 142nd CC.NN. Legion

Organized in March 1936

Celere Column A.O. (Eritrea), Lt.Gen. Achille Starace
- 82nd CC.NN. Battalion "Mussolini"/6th CC.NN. Battalions Group, motorised
- 8th Artillery Group (77 mm/28, motorised)
- Included truck-transported machine-guns, armoured cars, altogether 3,000 men and 500 motor vehicles.

Southern Front – Somaliland

Graziani Column – General Rodolfo Graziani
- 29th Infantry Division "Peloritana" – Gen. Giuseppe Pavone
  - 3rd Infantry Regiment "Piemonte", 4th Infantry Regiment "Piemonte", 75th Infantry Regiment "Napoli", 24th Artillery Regiment
- Libyan Division (Libyan Colonial troops) – Guglielmo Nasi
- 6th CC.NN. Division "Tevere" (still in Italy) – Enrico Boscardi
  - 219th CC.NN. Legion, 220th CC.NN. Legion, 221st CC.NN. Legion, 321st CC.NN. Legion
- Regiment "Lancieri di Aosta"
- 6x Battalions, Royal Colonial Troop Corps (Arab-Somali Colonial troops)
- Camel Mounted Artillery
- 6x Dubat Bands (Companies of Somali Irregulars)
- Ogaden border region command – Colonel Luigi Frusci
  - 9 L3 tanks, 20 Armoured cars
  - 6 Royal Colonial Troop Corps Battalions (Arabo-Somali Colonial troops)
  - 6 Dubat Bands (Companies of Somali Irregulars)
  - 150 trucks
- Sultan Olol Dinke Column (Feudal Army) – Olol Dinke, Sultan of Sciavelli
  - 1000 Dubat (mounted Somali warriors of the Ajuran clan)
7th Bomber Wing – Brig.Gen. Ferruccio Ranza (38 aircraft)
- 25th Bomber Squadron:
  - 8th Bomber Flight (10 × Ca.101 bis)
  - 9th Bomber Flight (10 × Ca.101 bis)
- Reconnaissance Flight (10 × Ro.1)
- 107th Fighter Flight (8 × CR.20)

Libya

Forces were deployed in Libya to threaten the Suez Canal should the British close it to Italian traffic. These units were considered to have taken part in the campaign.

18th Infantry Division "Metauro"
- 93rd Infantry Regiment "Messina", 157th Infantry Regiment "Liguria", 2nd Artillery Regiment
126th Infantry Division "Assietta II"
- 61st Infantry Regiment "Sicilia", 81st Infantry Regiment "Torino", 25th Artillery Regiment
Motorized Division "Trento"
- 115th Infantry Regiment "Treviso", 116th Infantry Regiment "Treviso", 46th Artillery Regiment
7th CC.NN. Division "Cirene"
- 190th CC.NN. Legion, 196th CC.NN. Legion, 198th CC.NN. Legion, 241st CC.NN. Legion, 271st CC.NN. Legion, 267th CC.NN. Legion, 352nd CC.NN. Legion, 7th Motorized Artillery Regiment

References

Book: Barker, A. J. . The Civilising Mission: The Italo-Ethiopian War 1935–6 . 1968 . Cassell . London . 978-0-304-93201-6.
Book: De Bono, E. . La conquista dell' Impero La preparazione e le prime operazioni . The Preparation and First Operations . I . 2nd . Roma . Istituto Nazionale Fascista di Cultura . 1937 . 175–177 . 46203391.
Book: Gentili, Roberto . Guerra aerea sull'Etiopia 1935–1939 . Air War in Ethiopia 1935–1939 . Firenze . EDAI . 1992 . 797456198.
Book: Mockler, Anthony . Haile Selassie's War . Olive Branch Press . 2003 . New York . 978-1-56656-473-1.
Book: Pedriali, Ferdinando . L'aeronautica Italiana nelle guerre coloniali . Guerra Etiopica 1935–1936 . Italian Aviation in the colonial wars – Ethiopian War 1935–1936 . 1997 . Roma . Stato Maggiore Aeronautica – Ufficio Storico . 955062025.
Book: Starace, A. . La marcia su Gondar della colonna celere A.O. e le successive operazioni nella Etiopia Occidentale . The March on Gondar, the Expedited Column A.O. and Subsequent Operations in Western Ethiopia . Milano . A. Mondadori . 1937 . 799891187.

External links

Regio Esercito:La Milizia nella Campagna d'Africa 1935–1936 Now on Internet Archive, archived on May 19, 2007
Italian Army of the Ethiopian Conquest
Italian Air Force in Italian East Africa 1919–1939, Part I – End of 1919 to 3 October 1935 (Invasion of Ethiopia)
Generals of WWII: Italy

Notes and References

Book: Franco dell'Uomo, Massimo Multari, Amedeo Chiusano, Filippo Cappellano . L'Esercito Italiano nel XX secolo . 1999 . Ufficio Storico dello Stato Maggiore Esercito . Rome . 28.