The Italian order of battle for the Second Italo-Ethiopian War on 8 October 1935. 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 "Sabauda" 104th CC.NN. Legion "Santorre di Santarosa" 215th CC.NN. Legion "Del Cimino" 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 (attached to the division) 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 "L'Aquila" 252nd CC.NN. Legion "Acciaiata" 263rd CC.NN. Legion "Tommaso Gulli" 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 1st Mixed Brigade – Brig. Gen. Gallina 1st Native Battalion Group 5th Native Battalion Group 3rd Mixed Brigade – Brig. Gen. Cubeddu 2nd Native Battalion Group 6th Native Battalion Group 2nd Eritrean Division – Gen. Achille Vaccarisi 2nd Mixed Brigade – Brig. Gen. Lorenzo Dalmazzo 3rd Native Battalion Group 7th Native Battalion Group 4th Mixed Brigade – Brig. Gen. Gustavo Pesenti 4th Native Battalion Group 8th Native Battalion Group 1st Eritrean CC.NN. Battalion Group – Filippo Diamanti I, II, III and IV Italian East African CC.NN. Infantry Battalions East African CC.NN. Machine-Gunners 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 "Indomita" 192nd CC.NN. Legion "Francesco Ferrucci" 202nd CC.NN. Legion "Cacciatori del Tevere"
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 "Garibaldina" 116th CC.NN. Legion "Alpina" 180th CC.NN. Legion "Alessandro Farnese" 5th CC.NN. Division "1 Febbraio" (still in Italy) – Gen. Attilio Teruzzi 107th CC.NN. Legion "Cairoli" 128th CC.NN. Legion "Randaccio" 142nd CC.NN. Legion "Berica"
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 Southern Front – 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) – Gen. Guglielmo Nasi 1st Libyan Infantry Regiment 2nd Libyan Infantry Regiment 3rd Libyan Infantry Regiment 1st Libyan Artillery Regiment 6th CC.NN. Division "Tevere" (still in Italy) – Enrico Boscardi 219th CC.NN. Legion "Vittorio Veneto" 220th CC.NN. Legion 221st CC.NN. Legion "Fasci italiani all'estero" 321st CC.NN. Legion "Fasci italiani all'estero" I Machine Gunners Squadrons Group "Genova" and II Machine Gunners Squadrons Group "Genova" (formed by the Regiment "Genova Cavalleria") III Machine Gunners Squadrons Group "Aosta" and IV Machine Gunners Squadrons Group "Aosta" (formed by the 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" (temporarily formed unit) 61st Infantry Regiment "Sicilia" (detached from the 8th Infantry Division "Po") 81st Infantry Regiment "Torino" (detached from the 22nd Infantry Division "Cacciatori delle Alpi") 25th Artillery Regiment (detached from the 26th Infantry Division "Assietta") Motorized Division "Trento" 115th Infantry Regiment "Treviso" 116th Infantry Regiment "Treviso" 46th Artillery Regiment 7th CC.NN. Division "Cirene" 190th CC.NN. Legion "Pisa" 196th CC.NN. Legion "Petrarca" 198th CC.NN. Legion "Maremma" 219th CC.NN. Legion "Ricciotti" 241st CC.NN. Legion "Volturno" 267th CC.NN. Legion "Etna" 271st CC.NN. Legion "Vespri" 352nd CC.NN. Legion "Acciaiata" 7th Motorized Artillery Regiment (Royal Italian Army)
See also Second Italo-Ethiopian War List of Second Italo-Ethiopian War weapons of Italy Ethiopian order of battle in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War
Footnotes
References
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