The Italian Infantry Battalion
Of all the formations which should be studied from World War Two, the Italian presents the greatest challenge. There is, quite simply, no readily available source for the casual researcher, other than the vaguest descriptions from some authors. I cannot pretend to have trawled extensively for an 'authorised' establishment, but likewise I have never happened across one in my general searches.
A recommendation to try the Italianista web discussion page has at least allowed me to amend the description of the Rifle Platoon, but I am still lacking a concise TO&E for the whole Battalion. Meanwhile, Brembilla Dario kindly provided a slightly more detailed description of the subunits of the Battalion.
The Infantry Battalion, circa 1940 to 1943
Battalion Headquarters
Headquarters Company
Message & Radiotelephone Platoon
Scout Platoon
Support Company, comprised of;
Headquarters Platoon
Two Machine Gun Platoons
Two Light Mortar Platoons
Three Rifle Companies (156 men), each comprised of;
Headquarters Platoon
Three Rifle Platoons, each comprised of;
Platoon Headquarters
Two Rifle Sections, each comprised of two Squads
Total strength of 876 all ranks
Points of note
Perhaps now people will understand why I have not previously ventured to add the Italian forces to this site. The above description is downright embarrassing and I am frankly ashamed to put my name to it.
The elements of the Battalion
Battalion Headquarters - carried out the normal command and control functions, and in this instance should be taken to cover transport and admin tasks as well as signals.
Heavy Machine Gun Platoon - each Platoon served four Breda 37 machine guns. The Breda was an awkward looking device, but seems to have been fairly reliable in action. It used the same odd strip feed mechanism found in Japanese Hotchkiss derived weapons rather than the more usual belt feed.
Light Mortar Platoon - one distinction of the Italian formation was the absence of the 81 mm mortar from the Battalion organisation. These were harboured into a Regimental reserve of six tubes and a Divisional unit with a further eighteen. In their place, the Infantry Battalion was plagued by the 45 mm Modello 35. This curious weapon made the British 2 inch tube seem magnificent by comparison. It fired a relatively small and ineffective round from a complex and inordinately heavy delivery system, never a good combination. Range was limited to some 500 metres. Each Platoon served nine such weapons, seemingly deployed out to the Rifle Platoons, though perhaps the second Platoon was retained as a Battalion reserve.
Company Headquarters - this was a quite sizeable unit, some thirty all ranks, though quite how they were employed I cannot say. The HQ does not appear to have offered anything in the form of fire support, so perhaps included medical and supply elements in addition to command functions.
The Rifle Platoon - the Rifle Platoon used an unusual internal organisation. Its HQ was simply an Officer accompanied by a batman who doubled as runner.
It controlled two Sections, each twenty strong, divided into an eleven man Rifle Squad and a nine man Light Machine Gun Squad. The former was lead by a Sergeant, commanding ten men armed with rifles and submachine guns. The latter was commanded by an NCO and comprised of two gunners, each with a light machine gun, plus two assistants, two ammunition bearers and two riflemen. That would give the Platoon a strength of forty two all ranks.
It is a unique arrangement as far as I know, and looks somewhat unwieldy. I wonder if perhaps in action commanders found it easier to deploy as four ten man Squads, each with their own LMG?
The LMG Squads used two Breda Modello 30 light machine gun each. The remainder of the Platoon would have been armed with a mixture of Beretta submachine guns and Mannlicher-Carcano bolt action rifles, though on what scale is unknown. These weapons are described in more detail on the Infantry Weapons of World War Two pages.
Summary
Not a great deal to say is there? Of all the descriptions I have committed to this site, the above is undoubtedly the least illuminating.
During the campaign in North Africa a variety of differing Company and Battalion formations were used. These increased support weapons at the expense of riflemen. One version deployed one Platoon each of Riflemen, Heavy Machine Guns, Anti-tank Rifle and towed Anti-tank Guns. The latter three Platoons each served three weapons of their respective type, while the Rifle Platoon lost a Squad and added a second light machine gunner to the remaining three. The Section Sergeants were also deleted. There were seemingly other formats on which I can offer no thoughts.
Infantry Weapons of World War Two