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The Italian war in the Soviet Union, 1941-1943, began as part of Italy's involvement in Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. more...

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Italy's involvement began when Italian dictator Benito Mussolini ordered an Italian military contingent be prepared for the Eastern Front to fight in Russia.

From 1941 to 1943 the Italians maintained two armies to fight in the war in the Soviet Union. The first Italian army was called the \"Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia\" (Corpo di Spedizione Italiano in Russia, or CSIR). The second, larger Italian army was called the \"Italian 8th Army.\" This larger Italian army was also called the \"Italian Army in Russia\" (Armata Italiana in Russia, or ARMIR) and it subsumed the CSIR.

The Corpo di Spedizione Italiano in Russia

Constituted on 10 July 1941, the \"Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia\" (Corpo di Spedizione Italiano in Russia, or CSIR) arrived in Russia between July and August of 1941. The CSIR was initially subordinated to German General Eugen Ritter von Schobert’s 11th Army. On 14 August 1941, the CSIR was transferred to the control of German General Ewald von Kleist’s Panzer Group 1. On 25 October 1941, Panzer Group 1 was redesignated as the 1st Panzer Army. The CSIR remained under von Kleist’s command until 3 June 1942 when it was subordinated to German General Richard Ruoff’s 17th Army.

The CSIR's original commander, Italian General Francesco Zingales, fell ill in Vienna during the early stages of transport to Russia. On 14 July 1941, Zingales was replaced by Italian General Giovanni Messe.

The CSIR was comprised of three divisions: the Torino 52nd Truck-Moveable Infantry Division, the Pasubio 9th Truck-Moveable Infantry Division, and the Principe Amedeo Duca d' Aosta (Prince Amedeo Duke of Aosta) 3rd Celere (Fast) Division. Torino and Pasubio were known as \"truck-moveable\" divisions. What this meant in practice was that an assortment of commercial vehicles with company logos intact were pressed into service. The Prince Amedeo Duke of Aosta Fast Division was a combination of traditional saber wielding horse cavalry and motorised units. Much of the division's artillery was horse-drawn. The Bersaglieri (elite riflemen) in this unit often made use of motorcycles or bicycles.

The initial strength of the CSIR stood at about 3,000 officers and 59,000 men, 5,500 motor vehicles, and over 4,000 horses and mules. The units of the CSIR were primarily lightly armed infantry, horse cavalry, and Bersaglieri. The Torino and Pasubio divisions were composed of two infantry regiments and a regiment of artillery. The Prince Amedeo Duke of Aosta Fast Division was composed of four regiments, and included a number of armored vehicles such as L3/35 tankettes, Fiat L6/40 light tanks and Semovente 47/32 self-propelled anti-tank guns. The regiments of the division were the 3rd Dragoons Savoia Cavalry Regiment, the 5th Lancers Novara Cavalry Regiment, the 3rd Fast Artillery Regiment, and the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment. The units of the CSIR represented a mixed lot and moved by various ways, ranging from motorized vehicles to horses, bicycles and foot.