For my first project for 2025, I've been doing a lot of research over the last few weeks to create the most accurate army list possible (at least for me) for Chain of Command:
The 4ª Divisione d'Assalto ‘Livorno’, which fought with so much determination and valour in the defence of Sicily in 1943.
The best-known and most famous combat mission was certainly their attack at Gela on the landed Americans, which, like that of the Fallschirm-Panzerdivision ‘Hermann Göring’ (Parachute Armoured Division), could only be defeated by direct fire from American cruisers and destroyers and in which the ‘Livorno’ suffered extremely high losses but continued to fight very well until their evacuation to the Italian mainland.
In contrast to the organisation of the British, Americans and Germans, it is much more difficult and time-consuming to obtain reliable information for Italian army units, the sources I have used are listed at the end of this post.
For the complete list just click on the picture of the list above.
Squad-Organisation and weapons
The reorganisation of both Divisions, Livorno and Superga, startet in March 1942 in Italy, Friuli later adopted this organisation too.
Most of the changes happened at the division level itself, for example both divisions received an anti-tank battalion consisting of 2 semoventi 47/32 SPG companies and an anti-tank rifle company (20mm Solothurn).
The artillery component was also upgraded with more modern, if not more powerful,
weapons and motorized - Livorno's with two battalions of 75/18 Mod.35 howitzers and one of 100/17.
The most significant change in organization was the adoption of a triangular organization for the rifle platoons by providing three rifle squads each of a sergeant and twelve other ranks including one LMG per squad.
The Superga division lost many of its personnel in mid 1942 for ad-hoc replacements for units in Tunisia and the full division was shipped to Tunisia in November 1942 but now diluted mostly with new personnel - and suffered in quality accordingly.
In 1943 there was a reorganisation of many of the infantry divisions outside North Africa but without touching the structure of the infantry platoons itself - they stayed with two squads per platoon as such.
But as now there were much more SMGs available, the fucilieri were issued 3 SMG per squad - one for the leader and two for the riflemen.
As I didn´t found any information, if Livorno/Superga received their share of SMGs too or not, this is included just as an option in the Support List.
Mortaio d'assalto Brixia Mod. 35 (Brixia Assault Mortar Mod. 35) and it´s use
Technical data and some background
The REI sought to develop multi-purpose support weapons that were part cannon, part mortar and one was the Brixia Assault Mortar Mod. 35, used at company level.
It was to replace the rifle grenade launchers considered too inaccurate.
According to the official description it was:
‘Weapon with curved, folding shaft, has the possibility of relatively tight shooting, especially at shorter distances. Of good accuracy. It is also mobile and defilable, capable of curved and relatively tense shooting. It is the weapon that prepares the assault, disrupting and neutralising adversary resistance nuclei that are not, or poorly, armoured with its fire. It acts by concentrations of fire on the same target.“
Rate of fire:
25-30 rounds per minute without sight adjustment
8-10 rounds per minute with shot-by-shot adjustment.
Range: minimum 50m (100m in peace time), maximum 500m
Horizontal sector: 200°; vertical -100°
It was indeed a very stable and accurate weapon, adjustable with great precision, capable of curved and taut shooting and was even capable of depression firing.
For example, with a Brixia Mod. 35, it was possible to penetrate a window of a building or a loophole, which was impossible for a traditional mortar.
The often lamented low power of the single bomb was in fact largely intentional. The concept of use saw it as a weapon to support the infantry assault in the last 200 metres, when accompanying artillery fire had to be suspended or moved further forward.
The idea was to use several weapons at once with a high rate of fire and good accuracy to create a screen of fire behind which the infantrymen could advance, as well as create rapid smoke curtains with smoke bombs.
The bombs therefore did not have to be very powerful in order not to risk hitting the attackers. In practice, they had to be hand grenades of superior range and accuracy that would make the defenders keep their heads down.
Weight/effectiveness/calibre of the ammunition was balanced and it was possible to cary a lot of ammunition.
It was possible to fire while keeping a very defiladed position on the ground, which was very much appreciated by the soldiers, or to execute shots, even with a stretched trajectory, with fair accuracy.
From a technical point of view, it was a well-conceived weapon, ingenious and efficient when used as designed, although somewhat complex and expensive in terms of construction. The German equivalent did not shine. The 50 mm Granatwerfer 36 was always seen by the Germans as an inaccurate, unstable, underpowered and not easy to use weapon.
The main advantage of the British two-inch mortar was its extreme simplicity, lightness and ease of use, although gradually in the course of the war the main use became the formation of smoke screens.
Squadra Mortaio d'assalto Brixia Mod. 35
According to the training manuals, a 45-mm mortar squad consisted of 3 mortars and a total of 14 men, and one squad was attached to each the company.
Depending on the mission, the Brixia M35s could be assigned individually to the platoons, but were primarily intended to operate as a squad to concentrate their fire on a single target.
Used and recommended sources
This list is based mainly on the following source:
„Tactical Structure in World War II. Italy. Infantry“; Leland Ness, 2 May 2023
Firstly he used original Italian sources that were captured by Germany 1943 and in turn captured by the Americans who microfilmed the sources before being returned to Italy.
And secondly he visited the Ufficio Storico, the Italian Army's historical office located in Rome.
For up-to-date information regarding the weapons of the Regio Esercito I strongly recommend:
„Le armi della fanteria italiana“; Filippo Cappellano and Nicola Pignato.
Colonel Dr. Filippo Cappellano is the chief of the Italian Army Historical Branch (Ufficio Storico SME) and his detailed description of the Brixia M35 mortar, its handling technical data, but also information on its tactical use in combat was very enlightening.
A good starting point too is the handbook based on the gathered informations by the US Military, dating from August 1943, which is freely available as PDF:
"TME30-420. Handbook on the Italian Forces."
Apart from these sources it’s always a good idea to visit these websites:
- http://www.regioesercito.it/index.html
- https://comandosupremo.com/ -> don´t miss the forum of this site!
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