Post Numéro: 10 de Enrico Cernuschi 19 Jan 2005, 20:12
The ARMIR was retired, like the other Axis armies and corps, from the first line after Feb. 1943. It begin to come back in Italy in May 1943 and, during that time, it had to encounter only some minor skirmish with partisans bands. The Regia Aeronautica little Air Force come back in Italy during the same season.
The Regia Marina MTBs and pocket sumbarines remained in the Balck Sea fighting as usual. The worn out MAS boats were delivered to the Germans in May 1943 while their crews were sent in Italy to man the new, bigger, motosiluranti (MTBs) while the subs went on until the 8 Sept. 1943 armistice sinking, on 26 August 1943, a further Soviet submarine (SC-207).
After the armistice the submarines went on against the same enemy until Nov. 1943. The RSI sent, in 1944, new crews to man them but only was was operational when Bucharest surrendered, in Aug. 1944.
The RSI sent two air transport groups in Russia too, in 1944 (Trabucchi e Terraciano).
There was, not mentioning a small group of some hundreds of paratroopers on scout cars attached at the beginning of January 1944 to the German 2nd Fall. Divisions for a pair of months before to be sent at Anzio, some minor auxiliary units too (medical and so on). About 10 small battalions of Black Shirts (litlte more than 5.000 men with some campaign artillery) coming from the Balkans were employed in Hungary against the Russians since Dec. 1944 until the beginning of 1945. The last surviviors come back in Italy in March 1945 and paraded in front of Mussolini, they dressed the German Army uniform, anyway, amd their status was, at best, a dubious one being considered Italian Soldiers in German service until the end of the war.
Bye EC