156th Infantry Division Vicenza

The 156th Infantry Division Vicenza was an infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II. The Vicenza was formed in January 1942 as a garrison division. It was then sent to the Eastern front, as part of the Italian Army in Russia to act as a reserve, behind the front on "line of communications", rear area security and anti-partisan duties. Then in July 1942, it was sent into the front line, where it was overrun and destroyed in the Soviet offensive of December 1942-January 1943.[1][2] Of 10,466 men in the division, 7,760 were killed or missing.[3]

156th Infantry Division Vicenza
156th Infantry Division Vicenza Insignia
Active	1942
Country	Regno d'Italia Kingdom of Italy
Branch	Regio Esercito Royal Italian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Division
Nickname(s)	Vicenza
Engagements	World War II

Order of battle

• 277. Vicenza Infantry Regiment
• 278. Vicenza Infantry Regiment
• 156. Artillery Regiment
• 156. Machine Gun Battalion
• 256. Anti-Tank Company
• 156. Engineer Battalion
• 156. Medical Section
• 161. Field Hospital
• 162. Field Hospital
• 136. Carabinieri Section
• 137. Carabinieri Section [nb 1][1]

Notes

Footnotes

1. An Italian Infantry Division normally consisted of two Infantry Regiments (three Battalions each), an Artillery Regiment, a Mortar Battalion (two companies), an Anti Tank Company, a Blackshirt Legion of two Battalions was sometimes attached. Each Division had only about 7,000 men, The Infantry and Artillery Regiments contained 1,650 men, the Blackshirt Legion 1,200, each company 150 men.[4]

Citations

1. Marcus Wendal. "Italian Army". Axis History. Archived from the original on 2009-05-13. Retrieved 2009-05-09.
2. " The Julia Division, which had come to Russia with 16,000 men and 4,000 mules, had fought very well and had never been overrun, and had gone home with 3,200 men and forty mules. The Tridentina had a surviving strength of 6,500 men, the Cuneense only 1,600, and the Vicenza which had been in the rear most of the time counted only 1,300 survivors." The Forgotten Axis: Germany's Partners and Foreign Volunteers in World War II, J. Lee Ready, p. 248, McFarland, 1987
3. http://www.divisionevicenza.com/storia
4. Paoletti, p 170

• Paoletti, Ciro (2008). A Military History of Italy. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-275-98505-9.
• Jowett, Phillip. The Italian Army 1040-45 (3): Italy 1943-45. Osprey Publishing, Westminster. ISBN 978-1-85532-866-2.