The Battle of Petrikowka (present-day

Petrykivka Petrykivka ( uk, Петриківка) is an urban-type settlement in Dnipro Raion, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (province) in east-central Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Petrykivka settlement hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Populatio ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

) took place between 27 and 30 September 1941, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Fought between

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and Soviet forces, it was the first significant engagement involving the

Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia During World War II, the Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia (''Corpo di Spedizione Italiano in Russia'', or CSIR) was a corps-sized expeditionary unit of the ''Regio Esercito'' (Italian Army) that fought on the Eastern Front. In July 1942 the ...

Formation of bridgeheads

On 16 September 1941 the 9th Motorised Division Pasubio was temporarily aggregated to the German 17th Army of Heeresgruppe Sud under

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

von Rundstedt, and on 18 September it took position along the

Oril The Oril () is a river in Ukraine, a left tributary of the river Dnieper. It is long and its basin area is .� ...

river. On 23 September, the Pasubio Division created a

bridgehead In military strategy, a bridgehead (or bridge-head) is the strategically important area of ground around the end of a bridge or other place of possible crossing over a body of water which at time of conflict is sought to be defended or taken over ...

at Tsarytchanka, beyond the

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and B ...

river, in order to allow the German armoured units to cross to the other bank. Soviet forces launched heavy attacks against the bridgehead for three days, but it resisted; farther north, the 80th Infantry Regiment "Roma" (also part of the Pasubio Division) launched a surprise attack and created another bridgehead at Voinovka. These two bridgeheads allowed German armoured units to cross the river with their tanks and thus break through the Soviet lines. Meanwhile, the

52nd Motorised Division Torino 5 (five) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typ ...

and the 63rd Assault

Blackshirt The Voluntary Militia for National Security ( it, Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts ( it, Camicie Nere, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the Nation ...

Legion "Tagliamento" were transferred to

Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...

, whereas the 3rd Cavalry Division Amedeo Duca d'Aosta was left to garrison the positions along the Dnieper and prepare for crossing.

Capture of Petrikowka

The German plan called now for encirclement of the Soviet forces, therefore a

pincer movement The pincer movement, or double envelopment, is a military maneuver in which forces simultaneously attack both flanks (sides) of an enemy formation. This classic maneuver holds an important foothold throughout the history of warfare. The pin ...

, converging on the town of Petrikowka, was decided. The

of General

Giovanni Messe Giovanni Messe (10 December 1883 – 18 December 1968) was an Italian field marshal and politician. In the Second World War, he was captured in Tunisia, but made chief of staff of the Italian Co-belligerent Army after the armistice of Septemb ...

was tasked with this manoeuver; the Pasubio Division (now back under Italian command) would attack from north-east, and the Torino Division from south-east. In the morning of 28 September 1941 the Torino Division attacked the Soviet forces, in order to broaden the bridgehead and reach Obuskvskje. Soviet forces opposed a tenacious resistance, but despite this and the

minefield A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

s the Torino Division eventually broke through the lines held by the Soviet 47th Tank Division near Petrikowka. On the following day, both the Torino and the Pasubio divisions were ordered to carry on with their advance towards Petrikowka, where the two divisions were to rejoin and thus cut off the Soviet retreat. At the same time, the Duca d'Aosta Division would send two

Bersaglieri The Bersaglieri, singular Bersagliere, (, "sharpshooter") are a troop of marksmen in the Italian Army's infantry corps. They were originally created by General Alessandro La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Royal Sardinian Army, which ...

battalions on the other bank of the Dnieper, to start to sweep up the Soviet soldiers trapped in the pocket. The two regiments of the Torino Division (81st and 82nd Infantry Regiment) and the Tagliamento Legion started their advance in the morning, clashing with several dissolving Soviet units and taking a number of prisoners. The

vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives fr ...

s of the Torino Division were the first to reach Petrikowka, where they met units from the Pasubio Division around 18:00. The Duca d'Aosta Division, after crossing the river, started the sweeping operations, and rejoined the other Italian units in Petrikowka in the evening. The sweeps continued on the following day. Total Italian casualties numbered 291 men, of whom 87 were killed, 190 wounded and 14 missing. About 10,000 Soviet prisoners were captured, along with a large amount of

weapon A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...

s and quadrupeds."Le operazioni delle unità italiane al fronte russo (1941–1943)", Italian Army Historical Branch, Rome, 1993, p. 101.

Bibliography

* "Le operazioni delle unità italiane al fronte russo (1941–1943)", Italian Army Historical Branch, Rome, 1993 * Pierluigi Romeo di Colloredo, "Croce di ghiaccio", Genoa, 2010 * Leonardo Malatesta, "Storia della legione Tagliamento, Dalla fondazione alla guerra di Russia", vol 1°, Pietro Macchione Editore, Varese, 201. *Jowett, The Italian Army 1940–45 (3), pg.10 *18th Army (Soviet Union)

References

{{coord missing, Ukraine Petrikowka Petrikowka Petrikowka 1941 in the Soviet Union Petrikowka September 1941 events