Allied invasion of Italy order of battle

Allied Invasion of Italy Order of Battle is a listing of the significant Allied and Axis formations that were involved during the Allied invasion of Italy (the landings at Salerno, Reggio and Taranto) 3 September – 16 September 1943.

Allied Forces

• Allied Forces Headquarters - Mediterranean (AFHQ)
  Commanded by General Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Allied Naval Forces - Mediterranean
  Commanded by Admiral Andrew Cunningham
  • Western Task Force (Operation Avalanche)
    Commanded by Vice Admiral H.K. Hewitt
  • Force H
    Commanded by Vice Admiral Sir Algernon Willis
  • Naval Task Force, Operation Slapstick
    Commanded by Vice Admiral Arthur Power
• Mediterranean Air Command (Allied)
  Commanded by Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder, Headquarters at Algiers, Algeria^[1]

Allied 15th Army Group

Allied 15th Army Group under the command of General Sir Harold Alexander.

Under direct Army Group command

• British 1st Airborne Division^[2]
  (Operation Slapstick at Taranto), commanded by Major-General George F. Hopkinson (Killed in action 9 September replaced by Major-General Ernest Down)
  • 1st Parachute Brigade - Brigadier G.W. Lathbury
    • 1st Parachute Battalion
    • 2nd Parachute Battalion
    • 3rd Parachute Battalion
    • 16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
  • 2nd Parachute Brigade - Brigadier Ernest Down
    • 4th Parachute Battalion
    • 5th Parachute Battalion
    • 6th Parachute Battalion
    • 127th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
  • 4th Parachute Brigade - Brigadier J.W. Hackett
    • 10th Parachute Battalion
    • 11th Parachute Battalion
    • 156th Parachute Battalion
    • 133rd (Parachute) Field Ambulance
  • 1st Airlanding Brigade - Brigadier Pip Hicks
    • 1st Battalion Border Regiment
    • 2nd Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment
    • 181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance
  • Glider Pilot Regiment

U.S. Fifth Army

(Operation Avalanche at Salerno) U.S. Fifth Army commanded by Lieutenant General Mark Clark.

Army troops

• U.S. Ranger Force - Lieutenant-Colonel William Darby
  • 1st Ranger Battalion
  • 3rd Ranger Battalion
  • 4th Ranger Battalion

• British Special Service Brigade - Brigadier Robert Laycock
  • No. 2 (Army) Commando
  • No. 41 (Royal Marine) Commando

U.S. VI Corps

U.S. VI Corps commanded by Major General Ernest J. Dawley

• U.S. 3rd Infantry Division
  Commanded by Major General Lucian K. Truscott.
  • 7th Infantry Regiment
  • 15th Infantry Regiment
  • 30th Infantry Regiment
• U.S. 34th Infantry Division
  Commanded by Major General Charles W. Ryder.
  • 133rd Infantry Regiment
  • 135th Infantry Regiment
  • 168th Infantry Regiment
• U.S. 36th Infantry Division
  Commanded by Major General Fred L. Walker.
  • 141st Infantry Regiment
  • 142nd Infantry Regiment
  • 143rd Infantry Regiment
• U.S. 45th Infantry Division
  Commanded by Major General Troy H. Middleton.
  • 157th Infantry Regiment
  • 179th Infantry Regiment
  • 180th Infantry Regiment

British X Corps

British X Corps commanded by Lieutenant-General Richard McCreery.

• British 46th Infantry Division^[3]
  Commanded by Major-General John Hawkesworth
  • 128th (Hampshire) Infantry Brigade - Brigadier M.A. James
    • 2nd Battalion, Hampshire Regiment
    • 1/4th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment
    • 5th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment
  • 138th Infantry Brigade - Brigadier G.P.Harding
    • 6th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment
    • 2/4th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
    • 6th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment
  • 139th Infantry Brigade - Brigadier R.E.H. Stott
    • 2/5th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment
    • 5th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters
    • 16th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry
  • Divisional Troops
    • 2nd Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (Machine Gun Battalion)
    • 46th Reconnaissance Regiment, Reconnaissance Corps
    • 70th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
    • 71st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
    • 172nd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
    • 58th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery
    • 5th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery
    • 115th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
      • 270th Field Company, Royal Engineers
      • 271st Field Company, Royal Engineers
      • 272nd Field Company, Royal Engineers
      • 273rd Field Park Company, Royal Engineers

• British 56th Infantry Division^[4]
  Commanded by Major-General Douglas Graham.
  • 167th (London) Infantry Brigade - Brigadier C.E.A. Firth
    • 8th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
    • 9th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
    • 7th Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
  • 169th (London) Infantry Brigade - Brigadier L.O. Lyne
    • 2/5th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
    • 2/6th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
    • 2/7th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
  • 201st Guards Brigade - Brigadier J.A. Gascoigne
    • 6th Battalion, Grenadier Guards
    • 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards
    • 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards
  • Divisional Troops
    • 6th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment (Machine Gun Battalion)
    • 44th Reconnaissance Regiment, Reconnaissance Corps
    • 64th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
    • 65th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
    • 113th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
    • 67th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery
    • 69th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery
    • 57th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
    • 100th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
      • 220th Field Company, Royal Engineers
      • 221st Field Company, Royal Engineers
      • 42nd Field Company, Royal Engineers
      • 563rd Field Park Company, Royal Engineers

• British 7th Armoured Division^[5]
  Commanded by Major-General George Erskine.
  • 22nd Armoured Brigade - Brigadier W.R.N. Hinde
    • 1st Royal Tank Regiment
    • 5th Royal Tank Regiment
    • 4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters)
    • 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own)
  • 131st Infantry Brigade - Brigadier Lashmer Whistler
    • 1/5th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
    • 1/6th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
    • 1/7th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
  • Divisional Troops
    • 11th Hussars
    • 3rd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery
    • 5th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery
    • 146th Field Battery, Royal Artillery
    • 65th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery
    • 15th Light Anti-aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
      • 4th Field Squadron, Royal Engineers
      • 621st Field Squadron, Royal Engineers
      • 143rd Field Park Squadron, Royal Engineers

• Corps Troops
  • Royal Scots Greys (Sherman tanks, attached to 56th Division)^[6]
  • 40th Royal Tank Regiment (attached to British 46th Infantry Division)^[3]

Army Group Reserve available to U.S. Fifth Army

• U.S. 82nd Airborne Division
  Commanded by Major General Matthew Bunker Ridgway.
  • 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment
  • 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment
  • 325th Glider Infantry Regiment
• U.S. 1st Armored Division
  Commanded by Major General Ernest N. Harmon. (note, 1st Armored Division was in Morocco being reorganized in the new "light armored division" organization. It began to arrive at Naples on 28 October 1943 and thus was not in the Army Group reserve for the landings in Italy).

British Eighth Army

British Eighth Army commanded by General Bernard Montgomery

British XIII Corps

(Operation Baytown at Reggio di Calabria) British XIII Corps commanded by Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey

• 5th British Infantry Division^[7]
  Commanded by Major-General Gerard Bucknall
  • 13th Infantry Brigade - Brigadier L.M. Campbell
    • 2nd Battalion Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
    • 2nd Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
    • 2nd Battalion Wiltshire Regiment
  • 15th Infantry Brigade - Brigadier E.O. Martin
    • 1st Battalion Green Howards
    • 1st Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
    • 1st Battalion York and Lancaster Regiment
  • 17th Infantry Brigade - Brigadier Dudley Ward
    • 2nd Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers
    • 2nd Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment
    • 6th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders
  • Divisional troops
    • 7th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment (Machine Gun Battalion)
    • 5th Reconnaissance Regiment, Reconnaissance Corps
    • 91st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
    • 92nd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
    • 156th (Lanarkshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
    • 52nd Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery
    • 18th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
      • 38th Field Company, Royal Engineers
      • 245th Field Company, Royal Engineers
      • 252nd Field Company, Royal Engineers
      • 254th Field Park Company, Royal Engineers
• 1st Canadian Infantry Division^[8]
  Commanded by Major-General Guy Simonds
  • 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade - Brigadier general#Brigadier general ranks by country H.D. Graham
    • The Royal Canadian Regiment
    • 1st Battalion, The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment
    • 1st Battalion, 48th Highlanders of Canada
  • 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade - Brigadier Chris Vokes
    • Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
    • 1st Battalion, The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada
    • 1st Battalion, The Loyal Edmonton Regiment
  • 3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade - Brigadier M.H.S. Penhale
    • Royal 22^e Régiment
    • 1st Battalion, The Carleton and York Regiment
    • 1st Battalion, The West Nova Scotia Regiment
  • 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade - Brigadier R.A. Wyman
    • 11th Armoured Regiment (The Ontario Regiment)
    • 12th Armoured Regiment (Three Rivers Regiment)
    • 14th Armoured Regiment (The Calgary Regiment)
  • Divisional troops
    • 4th Reconnaissance Regiment (4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards)
    • 1st Infantry Division Support Battalion (The Saskatoon Light Infantry) (Machine Gun Battalion)
    • 1st Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery
    • 2nd Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
    • 3rd Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
    • 1st Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
    • 1st Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
    • 1st Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers
    • 3rd Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers
    • 4th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers
    • 2nd Field Park Company, Royal Canadian Engineers
• British 231st Infantry Brigade Group - Brigadier Roy Urquhart^[7]
  • 2nd Battalion Devonshire Regiment
  • 1st Battalion Hampshire Regiment
  • 1st Battalion Dorsetshire Regiment
  • 165th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
  • 295th Field Company, Royal Engineers
• Corps artillery
  • 6th Army Group, Royal Artillery
  • 2nd Anti-Aircraft Brigade
• Corps troops
  • 1st Special Reconnaissance Squadron
  • No. 3 Commando
  • No. 40 (Royal Marine) Commando
• Also supporting XIII Corps
  • 5th Army Group, Royal Artillery
  • XXX Corps Artillery

German Forces

Army Command South

Commanded by Field Marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) Albert Kesselring

German Tenth Army

Commanded by General (Generaloberst) Heinrich von Vietinghoff

XIV Panzer Corps

Commanded by Major-General (Generalleutnant) Hermann Balck (acting commander).

• 16th Panzer Division
  Commanded by Brigadier-General (Generalmajor) Rudolf Sieckenius.

• 15th Panzer Grenadier Division
  Commanded by Brigadier-General (Generalmajor) Eberhard Rodt.

• Luftwaffe Panzer Division Hermann Göring
  Commanded by Major-general (Generalleutnant) Paul Conrath.

LXXVI Panzer Corps

Commanded by Lieutenant-General (General der Panzertruppe) Traugott Herr.

• German 29th Panzergrenadier Division
  Commanded by Brigadier-General (Generalmajor) Walter Fries.
  • 15th Panzer Grenadier Regiment^[9]
  • 71st Panzer Grenadier Regiment^[9]

• 26th Panzer Division
  Commanded by Brigadier-General (Generalmajor) Smilo Freiherr von Lüttwitz

• 1st Parachute Division
  Commanded by Major-General (Generalleutnant) Richard Heidrich
  • 1st Parachute Regiment - (less 3rd Battalion detached to Hermann Göring Division)^[10]
  • 3rd Parachute Regiment - (detached to 26th Panzer Division^[10] and then to 29th Panzer Grenadier Division^[11])
  • 4th Parachute Regiment - (detached to 26th Panzer Division)^[10]

Notes

Footnotes

Citations

1. Secret Document 161, Location of units in the Royal Air Force, 34th issue, July 1943, Royal Air Force Museum accession number PR02859.
2. Molony, pp. 242, 244 & 245.
3. Molony, p. 278n.
4. Molony, p. 277n.
5. Molony, p. 337n.
6. Molony, p. 276n.
7. Molony, p. 234n.
8. Molony, pp. 117 & 234.
9. Molony, p. 239.
10. Molony, p. 243n.
11. Molony, p. 231n.

References

• Houterman, Hans; Koppes, Jeroen. "World War II unit histories and officers". Retrieved 2010-07-27.
• Molony, Brigadier C.J.C.; with Flynn, Captain F.C. (R.N.); Davies, Major-General H.L. & Gleave, Group Captain T.P. (2004) [1st. pub. HMSO:1973]. Butler, Sir James, ed. The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume V: The Campaign in Sicily 1943 and The Campaign in Italy 3rd September 1943 to 31st March 1944. History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. Uckfield, UK: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 1-84574-069-6.
• "Orders of Battle.com". Retrieved 2010-07-27.