105th Infantry Division "Rovigo"

105th Infantry Division "Rovigo"
105th Infantry Division "Rovigo" insignia
Active	15 March 1942– 9 September 1943
Country	Kingdom of Italy
Branch	Royal Italian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Division
Engagements	World War II
Insignia
Identification symbol	Rovigo Division gorget patches

The 105th Infantry Division "Rovigo" (Italian: 105ª Divisione di fanteria "Rovigo") was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Rovigo was named for the city of Rovigo and classified as an auto-transportable division, meaning it had some motorized transport, but not enough to move the entire division at once.^[1][2]

History

World War I

The division's lineage begins with the Brigade "Rovigo" raised on 20 May 1916 with the 227th and 228th infantry regiments. The brigade fought on the Italian front in World War I and was disbanded on 15 November 1917 after it had been overrun during the Battle of Caporetto.^[1]

World War II

The 105th Infantry Division "Rovigo" was activated in Padua on 15 March 1942 and consisted of the 227th and 228th infantry regiments, and the 117th Artillery Regiment. As a division raised during the war the Rovigo did not have its own regimental depots and therefore its regiments were raised by the depots of the auto-transportable 10th Infantry Division "Piave": the 227th Infantry Regiment "Rovigo" was raised in Vicenza on 5 January 1942 by the 57th Infantry Regiment "Piave"^[3] and the 228th Infantry Regiment "Rovigo" was raised in Padua on 1 January 1942 by the 58th Infantry Regiment "Piave",^[4] while the 117th Artillery Regiment "Rovigo" was raised in Novara by the depot of the 17th Artillery Regiment "Sforzesca".^[1]

In June 1942 the division moved its units to Southern Piedmont and then in November 1942 to Liguria after XXII Army Corps and its units guarding the Ligurian coast had participated in the occupation of Southern France and remained there as occupation force. In Liguria the Rovigo formed the mobile reserve behind the 201st Coastal Division in the area of Ventimiglia, Sanremo, Imperia, Albenga, and Loano, from where the task of mobile reserve was continued by the 103rd Infantry Division "Piacenza". After the Armistice of Cassibile was announced on 8 September 1943 the division disintegrated and its remnants were dissolved by the invading Germans on 9 September.^[1][2]

Organization

• 105th Infantry Division "Rovigo"^[1][2]
  • 227th Infantry Regiment "Rovigo"^[3]
    • Command Company
    • 3× Fusilier battalions
    • Support Weapons Company (65/17 infantry support guns)
    • Mortar Company (81mm mod. 35 mortars)
  • 228th Infantry Regiment "Rovigo"^[4]
    • Command Company
    • 3× Fusilier battalions
    • Support Weapons Company (65/17 infantry support guns)
    • Mortar Company (81mm mod. 35 mortars)
  • 117th Artillery Regiment "Rovigo"^[5]
    • Command Unit
    • I Group (100/17 mod. 14 howitzers; replaced in October 1942 with 100/22 mod. 14/19 howitzers)
    • II Group (75/27 mod. 11 field guns)
    • III Group (75/13 mod. 15 mountain guns; transferred on 7 May 1942 from the 159th Artillery Regiment "Veneto")
    • IV Group (75/13 mod. 15 mountain guns; transferred on 7 May 1942 from the 159th Artillery Regiment "Veneto")
    • 362nd Anti-aircraft Battery (20/65 mod. 35 anti-aircraft guns, formed on 12 January 1943)
    • Ammunition and Supply Unit
  • 117th Artillery Regiment "Rovigo" (after being reorganized in June 1943)^[5]
    • Command Unit
    • I Group (100/22 mod. 14/19 howitzers)
    • II Group (100/22 mod. 14/19 howitzers)
    • III Group (75/18 mod. 34 howitzers)
    • IV Group (75/18 mod. 34 howitzers)
    • 362nd Anti-aircraft Battery (20/65 mod. 35 anti-aircraft guns)
    • Ammunition and Supply Unit
  • CCV Mortar Battalion (81mm mod. 35 mortars; joined the division in October 1942)
  • 305th Anti-tank Company (47/32 anti-tank guns)
  • 80th Engineer Company
  • 150th Telegraph and Radio Operators Company
  • 105th Medical Section
    • 2× Field hospitals
    • 1× Surgical unit
  • 106th Supply Section
  • Bakers Section
  • 152nd Carabinieri Section
  • 153rd Carabinieri Section
  • 105th Field Post Office

Commanding officers

The division's commanding officers were:^[1][2]

• Generale di Brigata Ottorino Battista Dabbeni (15 March 1942 - 14 September 1942)
• Generale di Divisione Pietro Belletti (15 September 1942 - 9 October 1942)
• Generale di Brigata Emilio Rovida (10 October 1942 - 9 September 1943

References

• Paoletti, Ciro (2008). A Military History of Italy. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-98505-9.