National Republican Army
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National Republican Army | |
---|---|
Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano | |
Active | 1943–1945 |
Country | Italian Social Republic |
Allegiance | Benito Mussolini |
Type | Army |
Size | 300,000 soldiers[citation needed] |
Garrison/HQ | Rome (before November 1943) Brescia (after November 1943) |
Colors | Green, White and Red |
Anniversaries | 28 October |
Engagements | Italian Campaign Yugoslav campaign |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Benito Mussolini Rodolfo Graziani Mario Carloni Junio Valerio Borghese |
The National Republican Army (Italian: Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano; abbreviated ENR) was the army of the Italian Social Republic (Italian: Repubblica Sociale Italiana, or RSI) from 1943 to 1945 that fought on the side of Nazi Germany during World War II.
The ENR was officially formed 28 October 1943, by merging former
History
As a consequence of the
On 12 September 1943, the Germans launched "Operation Oak" (Unternehmen Eiche) and rescued Mussolini. The Fascist Italian Social Republic (Repubblica Sociale Italiana, or RSI) was formed as a puppet state in northern Italy with Mussolini as its leader. Marshal Rodolfo Graziani was named as the RSI's Minister of Defense.
On 16 October, the Rastenburg Protocol was signed with Nazi Germany. In accordance with this protocol, the RSI was allowed to raise division-sized military formations. This allowed Graziani to raise four RSI divisions totaling 52,000 men. In July 1944, the first of these divisions completed training and was sent to the front.
Recruiting military forces was difficult for the RSI, as most of the Italian army had been interned by German forces in 1943, many Italians had been
During the winter of 1944–1945, armed Italians were on both sides of the
On 26 December 1944, several sizable RSI military units, including elements of the 4th Italian "Monterosa" Alpine Division and the 3rd Italian "San Marco" Marine Division, participated in Operation Winter Storm. This was a combined German and Italian offensive against the American 92nd Infantry Division. The battle was fought in the Apennines. While limited in scale, this was a successful offensive and the RSI units did their part.
In February 1945, the 92nd Infantry Division again came up against RSI units. This time it was Bersaglieri of the 1st Italian "Italia" Infantry Division. The Italians successfully halted the US division's advance. RSI Minister of Defense Graziani, was even able to say that he commanded an entire Army. This was the Italo-German Liguria Army. However, the situation subsequently deteriorated for the Axis forces on the Gothic Line.
In late April, at Collecchio, the last remaining RSI troops were bottled up along with two Wehrmacht Divisions by the 1st Brazilian Division, being forced to surrender after some days of fighting.[3][4]
On 29 April, Graziani surrendered and was present at Caserta when a representative of German General Heinrich von Vietinghoff-Scheel signed the unconditional instrument of surrender for all Axis forces in Italy. But, possibly as a sign of the low esteem in which the Allies held the RSI, Graziani's signature was not required at Caserta.[5] The surrender was to take effect on 2 May. Graziani ordered the RSI forces under his command to lay down their arms on 1 May.
The military of the RSI suffered some 34,770 dead during the war and, given conventional killed-to-wounded and killed-to-missing ratios, probably in excess of 100,000 casualties total. The majority of deaths (~21,600) were incurred by anti-partisan formations, such as National Guards, Black Brigades, and Territorial Militia. The rest (~13,170) were incurred by regular military forces mostly facing the Allies. The dead break down as: 13,500 members of the
Organization
The ENR consisted of four infantry divisions which were raised, trained, and equipped in Germany:
- 1st Bersaglieri Division "Italia"
- 2nd Grenadier Division "Littorio"
- 3rd Marine Infantry Division "San Marco"
- 4th Alpine Division "Monterosa"
There were also a large number of smaller autonomous units.
Ranks
See also
- Battle of Garfagnana
- Italian Campaign (World War II)
- Italian Co-belligerent Army
- Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II
- Military history of Italy during World War II
- Royal Italian Army
References
- ^ a b Smith 1983, p. 308.
- ^ Blaxland 1979, p. 243.
- ^ Popa 1996, p. 23.
- ^ Giannasi 2004, pp. 146–148.
- ^ Dollinger 1968, p. 211.
- ^ In 2010, the Ufficio dell'Albo d'Oro recorded 13,021 RSI soldiers killed; however, the Ufficio dell'Albo d'Oro excludes from its lists of the fallen the individuals who committed war crimes. In the context of the RSI, where numerous war crimes were committed in the anti-partisan warfare, and many individuals were therefore involved in such crimes (especially GNR and Black Brigades personnel), this influences negatively the casualty count, under a statistical point of view. The "RSI Historical Foundation" (Fondazione RSI Istituto Storico) has drafted a list that lists the names of some 35,000 RSI military personnel killed in action or executed during and immediately after World War II (including the "revenge killings" that occurred at the end of the hostilities and in their immediate aftermath).
Sources
- Blaxland, Gregory (1979). Alexander's generals: The Italian campaign 1944-45. W. Kimber. ISBN 0-7183-0386-5.
- Dollinger, Hans (1968) [1965]. The decline and fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan: a pictorial history of the final days of World War II. Translated by LCCN 67-27047. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
- Giannasi, Andrea (2004). Il Brasile in guerra: la partecipazione della Força Expedicionaria Brasileira alla campagna d'Italia (1944-1945) [Brazil at War: the Brazilian Expeditionary Force's participation in the Italian campaign (1944-1945)] (in Italian). Prospettiva Editrice. ISBN 8874182848.
- Jowett, Philip S. (2001). The Italian Army, 1940-1945 (3): Italy, 1943-45. ISBN 1855328666. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
- Popa, Thomas A. (1996). Po Valley. United States Army Center of Military History. ISBN 0-16-048134-1. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
- Smith, Denis Mack (1983). Mussolini: A Biography. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0394716589.