| FOLGORESECTION |
The Folgore Division
The first Italian Paratrooper units, with the exception of the two Libyan
Battalions, were trained at Tarquinia's school. Inside this school, on 1940,
large numbers of volunteers, coming from every branch of the Royal Army, gave
birth to the 2 Para Bn, under the command of Ltc. Benzi. At the beginning of
1941 raised up 3 Para Bn, Commanding Officer Maj. Pignatelli di Cerchiara,
followed shortly by 4 Para Bn, CO Maj. Bechi Luserna. These three units, on 1
Apr. 1941, formed up 1st Para Regiment, under the command of Col. Riccardo
Bignami.
On the same month, coming to an end the long, bloody Greece campaign, the
Paratroopers were tasked with the capture of Cefalonia island. Specially for
the mission was summoned 2 Para, which moved down to Lecce two of its three
coys, under the tactical command of Maj. Zanninovich. On 30 April 1941, from
Galatina airport, 2 Para took off aboard some SM-82 aircraft's: the airdrop
took place in the Argostoli plain, and the action was successful without any
fighting. Once disarmed the resident Greek Bn, some four hundred policemen,
next day some more paratroopers unit requisitioned Greek fishing boats and
landed in the nearby Zante and Itaca islands, avoiding in doing so their fall
under German domain.
On 5 may the men of 2 Para were relieved by infantry units. The first wartime
airdrop for our paratroopers came to an end with a total success. In the
meantime, training and constitution of more battalions were under way; between
summer 41 and spring 42 seven Bn were formed, one of them being
para-saboteurs, while on 10 Aug. 41 an artillery group was raised. Now, times
were ripe to set up a Great Unit, a Division.
That was officially constituted on 1 Sep 41, bringing together 1st and 2nd
Para Reg. (5, 6 and 7 Bns), the 8 Para-saboteurs Bn, and the Artillery Group.
Obviously, not all the units were immediately on operational status and
available, but they became so in the ongoing.
Next march, a 3rd Para Reg. was incorporated (9,10 and 11 Bns), while before
June the Artillery Reg. got two groups more.
The Para Div., so formed, was far away from the other units of this level,
being organizationally lighter, with a diminished support and not encumbered
by heavy logistic structures. Even the artillery reg. was issued 47/32 guns
only, with only anti-tank tasks, and also that with serious limitations- but
it was unapt for instance to provide a normal fire support, lacking the curved
fire capability. Few the mortars and the machine guns, the only advantage
being the Beretta sub-machine gun the standard personal weapon.
On the other hand, this kind of weaponry was the best for the tasks the
Division would eventually get assigned: the airdrop, subsequent surprise raid
on a hard target, and the set-up of a beach-head to be defended for a limited
period of time, up to the link-up with the conventional forces.
All of these nice theories, the above mentioned, that to the future "Folgore"
Div. Were nevertheless denied by the war evolution.
The para div., this being
the new name of the Great Unit, was initially commanded by Gen. Francesco
Sapienza, then relieved by Gen. Enrico Frattini. The basic training was
carried out both in Tuscany and Lazio regions up to may 42, then they moved
south to Puglie for the advanced training, keeping in mind the foreseen mass
airdrop on Malta island, in the greater contest of the conventionally
code-named "C3" operation.
The excessive faith placed in the victories of Rommel and the fall of Tobruk
privileged the Egypt-oriented operations, therefore the fundamental action
onto Malta- about which the paratroopers trained so long- was discarded,
denying so the Division its right to be fully employed in a wartime air drop.
On Jul '42 the Army Staff decided to employ the Division in Northern Africa,
but the Para rejoiced very little, since almost at once they realized that
occasions of a future drop were scarce. But, since the jump kit was retained
and properly stored, some hope survived.
Simultaneously, the Division was re-christianized " 185 Para Div Folgore",
this name deriving from Latin motto " ex alto Fluor- like lighting from
above", already used by its 1st Para Reg.. The reorganization involved its
regiments too, that became 185, 186 and 187, with the Artillery and support
retaining the 185 number.
Anyway, the news were not over since the Army Staff ordered the 185 reg. To
stay back in motherland, as hard core of a second Para Div. They wanted to set
up. 185 had to release from under its command 4 and 5 Para Bn. To 187 Reg.,
retaining so only 3 Para Bn. From now on, Folgore was constituted on a binary
base, and bit by bit it started to redeploy the units to North Africa, partly
by air- from Lecce airfield- and partly by sea and road, long and difficult,
via the Balkans and Greece.
The first unit to touch the African soil was 4/187 Para, CO Ltc, Bechi
Luserna, reaching Fuka on 18 Jul., shortly followed
by other units. Staged in El Daba, for secrecy reasons paratroopers were
ordered neither to wear the wings, nor any other patch and badge capable of
having them identified by the enemy. It was a great sacrifice indeed, bittered
by two more: The assumption of "Africa hunters" phoney name, and the order
coming from Rome to give back all the jump kit, to be stored back in Derna.
The last hope of an airdrop so vanished.
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