183rd Paratroopers Division "Ciclone" explained

Unit Name:183rd Paratroopers Division "Ciclone"
Dates:1943
Type:Infantry
Role:Airborne
Size:Division
Battles:World War II
Identification Symbol:
Ciclone Division gorget patches

183rd Paratroopers Division "Ciclone" (Italian: 183ª Divisione paracadutisti "Ciclone") was a short-lived airborne division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Ciclone began to form in summer 1943 at the Parachute School in Viterbo and by the end of summer four battalions had been trained.

After the Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces was announced on 8 September 1943 the XX Paratroopers Battalion was dispatched to occupy the Cisa and Futa passes in the Apennine Mountains between Bologna and Florence. Reinforced by elements of the XIX Paratroopers Battalion the paratroopers engaged in light skirmishes with Wehrmacht forces for three days before surrendering. After the surrender more than half of the division's troops decided to join the fascist Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana's paratrooper units.

Organization

Commanding officers

The division's commanding officer was:

See also

References

Notes

Notes and References

  1. Book: Bollettino dell'Archivio dell'Ufficio Storico N.II-3 e 4 2002 . 2002 . Ministero della Difesa - Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito - Ufficio Storico . Rome . 349 . 16 October 2021.