X Arditi Reggimento

On July 20^th, 1942, with circular no. 40900, the General Staff, Stato Maggiore del Regio Esercito, formally establishes the Reggimento Arditi with its headquarters in Santa Severa, near Rome. For the Camionettisti the complete training takes place at headquarters while the Paracadutisti train in Tarquinia and the Nuotatori in Pola. Subsequently, on August 1^st, 1942, the I Battaglione Speciale Arditi is integrated as its inaugural operational unit. Ten days later, on August 11^th, 1942, the training of the II Battaglione Speciale Arditi commences, structured similarly with three companies (111ª Compagnia, 112ª Compagnia, and 113ª Compagnia) sharing the same areas of specialisation.

On September 15^th, 1942, the formation adopts the name X Arditi Regiment, under the leadership of Colonel Renzo Gazzaniga, a distinguished officer bearing the Military Order of Savoy, a Silver Medal for Military Valour, and two Bronze Medals for Military Valour.

By October, the regiment includes 87 officers, 150 Non-Commisioned Officers, and 493 men. Each company conducts operations in small patrols of one or two officers and about 10 to 20 men, depending on operational requirements.

Into Action

By January 1943, the II Battalion is still completing its training. Meanwhile, the I Battalion’s command element, along with the 101ª Compagnia and 102ª Compagnia, transfers to Cagliari. Two patrol detachments from each of these companies deploy to the Italian Aegean as well. The 103ª Compagnia, on the other hand, moves to North Africa. In April, 1943, two detachments from the 102ª Compagnia return from Rhodes.

At the start of 1943, the 103ª Compagnia Camionettisti with eight SPA-Viberti AS42 vehicles, joins the Raggruppamento Sahariano “Mannerini” between February 19^th, 1943 and February 23^rd, 1943, operate as part of the Italian 1^st Army during the Tunisian Campaign. In this challenging theatre, it carries out long-range patrols, desert raids, and occasionally serves in a standard motorised infantry role until the Axis forces in Tunisia ultimately cease resistance.

The Compagnia operates as a reconnaissance element for the 101ª Divisione Motorizzata “Trieste” in challenging terrain quite unlike the familiar Western Desert. They fight persistently through the Tunisian campaign in engagements at Mareth, Wadi Akarit, and Enfidaville, ultimately surrendering alongside other Axis forces in May. Two detachments of the 103ª Compagnia succeed to return in July.

On January 16^th, 1943, a small patrol from the 101ª Compagnia Paracadutisti, two officers, two Non-Commisioned Officers, and seven soldiers, jumps into the Algiers region to demolish a strategic railway bridge at Eddous. They successfully reach their objective and sabotage it. However, their escape plan involves travelling roughly 800 kilometres back to Axis-held territory on foot. The following day, low on ammunition, they clash with French colonial troops and have no choice but to surrender. Despite partial success, subsequent sabotage missions mounted by the X Arditi Reggimento elsewhere in Allied-controlled North Africa yield no tangible results.

In February 1943, two submarines, the Volframio and the Malachite, depart to insert patrols of the 102ª Compagnia Nuotatori into Algeria to strike vital railway bridges. Adverse sea conditions prevent the Volframio’s patrol from landing, and although the Malachite’s team goes ashore, navigational errors lead them astray. Eventually, they are captured, as are other airborne teams from the 101ª Compagnia Paracadutisti deployed on similar missions, such as the attempt against the bridge at Beni Mansur. Inexperience, flawed intelligence, and Allied foreknowledge (often gleaned through ULTRA intercepts) compromise these operations, with captured Arditi later recalling Allied officers stating, “We were expecting you.”

On March 1^st, 1943, the III Battalion is formed. Each battalion comprises three companies, one of paratroopers, one of swimmers, and one of truck drivers, each consisting of about ten patrols of 10 to 20 men. Every patrol has two officers, a commander and a deputy.

After Tunisia’s fall, the Italian military leadership conceives a daring plan known as “African Airfields.” It targets nine major Allied air bases in Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. On June 13^th, 1943, fourteen teams, totalling around 120 men, parachute into North Africa. However, their S.M. 82 transports miss the drop zones by several kilometres, scattering the paratroopers far from their objectives. Allied patrols intercept most squads soon after they land. None of the Arditi strike their assigned targets, and all are taken prisoner. Only two Regia Aeronautica paratroopers manage to reach the Benina airfield near Benghazi and destroy 25 aircraft.

In May 1943, the II Battalion’s command and its 112ª Compagnia and 113ª Compagnia redeploy to Sicily, while the 123ª Compagnia transfers from the III Battalion to the I Battalion, now stationed in Sardinia. In Sicily, they engage the British 8^th Army in the island’s eastern sector. Notably, they participate in the battle for the Primosole Bridge, supporting German paratroopers of the 1. Fallschirmjäger-Division. The Arditi, racing in SPA-Viberti 42 vehicles, counter-attack British airborne forces, momentarily forcing them back before mortar fire disables most of the Italian vehicles. Their involvement assists German troops in temporarily retaining control of the bridge.

Another significant mission occurs when the 4^a Pattuglia of the 112ª Compagnia, under Lieutenant Cesare Artoni, arrives near Augusta on the evening of July 30^th, 1943. Disembarking from M.A.S. motor boats approximately 5 kilometres from the town, they move inland despite losing some equipment at sea. After hiding for a time in Artoni’s family home, they reach a substantial Allied depot of materiel and fuel, plant explosives, and then depart using a small abandoned boat. By around 01:30 on August 1^st ,1943, they hear the blasts from afar. Later that morning, under hostile fire from British forces along the shore, they abandon their boat and swim for hours before reaching an Italian Coastal Battalion’s positions.

On June 10^th, 1943, the regiment adopts a revised organisational framework, adding three special companies, an additional land company, and a newly established IV Battalion on July 10^th, 1943.

The fall of mussolini and the Italian armatice

Following Mussolini’s dismissal on July 25^th, 1943, the Ministry of War orders the dissolution of the 136ª Divisione Corazzata “Giovani Fascisti” Many experienced veterans from the XI Battalion, alongside new recruits from the VI Battalion, subsequently choose to join the X Arditi Reggimento. Their inclusion leads to the formation of the 133ª Compagnia within the III Battalion, further enhancing the capabilities of this evolving special operations force.

On August 13^th, 1943, the II Battalion crosses the Strait of Messina, reuniting with the III and IV Battalions at their headquarters in Santa Severa. It is there that the regiment first learns of the armistice, a development that unsettles its command structure. Between the September 8^th, 1943 and September 9^th, 1943, the X Arditi Regiment, including the 111ª Compagnia and 122ª Compagnia, actively participates in the defence of Rome, engaging in combat during the turmoil that follows King Vittorio Emanuele III’s departure from the city.In the days that follow, the regiment itself disbands, though not its individual companies. Their subsequent choices vary: some support the Italian Social Republic; others join the co-belligerent army in the south. Afterwards, the majority head south, joining forces with other Arditi elements from Sardinia and aligning themselves with the new Italian units fighting alongside the Allies.

Elements of the 121ª Compagnia and 112ª Compagnia join the XII and smaller contingents from the III Battalion of the 184° Divisione Paracadutisti “Nembo” thus forming the first paratrooper unit of the National Republican Air Force. Two companies from the freshly raised XX Battalion of the 183ª Divisione Paracadutisti “Ciclone” also join them, as does Captain D’Abundo’s company, reinforced by personnel from “Nembo” based in Viterbo, as well as members of Arditi Distruttori della Regia Aeronautica. This combined Italian Volunteer Paratrooper Group takes up anti-landing positions along the coast of Lazio. On reaching a strength of about 1,000 men, it becomes the “Nembo” Paratrooper Group and comes under the operational control of General Ramcke’s 2. Fallschirmjäger-Division.

Between October 1943 and January 1944, Major Vito Marcianò establishes recruitment centres that select 700 determined soldiers. On February 2^nd, 1944, the II Battalion is re-formed and swears allegiance to the Italian Social Republic at Vercelli. Soon after, it is transferred to Grafenwöhr in Bavaria for training under German standards. By the end of July 1944, the unit returns to Italy, serving first under the 34. Infantrie-Division and then the 3ª Divisione Fanteria di Marina “San Marco” as the III Reconnaissance Group. From there, it mainly conducts anti-partisan operations in the Ligurian hinterland and the Langhe region. It ultimately disperses on April 30^th, 1945, after enduring heavy losses, having lost 380 of its 700 personnel (124 killed and 250 wounded).

Captain Paris, who commands the 112ª Compagnia, organises the Italian Arditi Camionettisti Group into two detachments, both outfitted with Fiat-SPA AS42 vehicles. These form the reconnaissance element of the 2. Fallschirmjäger-Division. Although now wearing Luftwaffe uniforms, the Arditi still display their distinctive badge on the left sleeve. Deployed with the 2. and 7. Fallschirmjäger-Regiment, they head to the Soviet Union, arriving in Zhitomir in November 1943. Their first action occurs around 40 kilometres from Kiev, where their mission is to cover the withdrawal of German forces. They then fight defensively at Kropyvnytskyi, Pervomaisk (February 1944), Olscanka, Jusefpol, and Tchaussowo. The group suffers severe casualties, losing all its vehicles and its commander, Paris. By September 1944, only 30 men return to Italy, where they join the Swimmers-Paratroopers Battalion of the Decima MAS.

While the I Battalion, consisting of the 102ª Compagnia, 110ª Compagnia, and 123ª Compagnia, remains stationed in Sardinia, it continues to resist disarmament orders after the armistice. On September 12^th, 1943, when German forces demand its surrender, the battalion stands firm and repels their attack.

On February 10^th, 1944, the I Battalion lands at Naples. By March 20^th, 1944, it assumes the designation IX Reparto d’Assalto and becomes part of the 1º Raggruppamento Motorizzato, a formation that later evolves into the  Corpo Italiano di Liberazione. On September 24^th, 1943, it integrates into the Gruppo di Combattimento “Legnano” of the new Italian Co-belligerent Army, serving as the III Battaglione “Col Moschin” of the 68º Reggimento fanteria “Legnano”

This battalion now numbers roughly 400 men, organised into a command company, three assault companies, and an escort company. It endures harsh combat conditions until the war concludes, suffering around 60 fatalities and 200 wounded before being disbanded on August 1^st, 1946.