The 201st Coastal Division () was an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

division of the

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army () (RE) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfredo Fanti signed a decree c ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Royal Italian Army coastal divisions were second line divisions formed with reservists and equipped with second rate

materiel Materiel or matériel (; ) is supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commerce, commercial supply chain management, supply chain context. Military In a military context, ...

. Recruited locally, they were often commanded by officers called out of retirement.Jowett p 6

History

The division was activated on 1 November 1942 in Genoa by expanding the I Coastal Brigade. The division was assigned to XV Army Corps and in December 1942 moved to

Savona Savona (; ) is a seaport and (municipality) in the west part of the northern Italian region of Liguria, and the capital of the Province of Savona. Facing the Ligurian Sea, Savona is the main center of the Riviera di Ponente (the western se ...

. The division was responsible for the coastal defense of the coast of

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

between

Menton Menton (; in classical norm or in Mistralian norm, , ; ; or depending on the orthography) is a Commune in France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italia ...

in occupied France and Punta del Mesco near

La Spezia La Spezia (, or ; ; , in the local ) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second-largest city in the Liguria ...

. In January 1943 the division moved its headquarter to

. After the announcement of the

Armistice of Cassibile The Armistice of Cassibile ( Italian: ''Armistizio di Cassibile'') was an armistice that was signed on 3 September 1943 by Italy and the Allies, marking the end of hostilities between Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was made public ...

on 8 September 1943 the division was disbanded by invading German forces.

Organization

* 201st Coastal Division, in

** Harbor Defense Command Genoa, in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

*** 102nd Coastal Regiment ** 5th Coastal Regiment *** CCV Coastal Battalion *** CCCXXIV Coastal Battalion *** CDLXXXI Coastal Battalion *** XV Machine Gun Battalion *** CXI Machine Gun Battalion ** 131st Coastal Regiment *** X Dismounted Squadrons Group/ Regiment "Lancieri di Vittorio Emanuele II" *** XXI Coastal Battalion *** CCVI Coastal Battalion *** CDLXXXII Coastal Battalion ** 5th Coastal Artillery Regiment *** V Coastal Artillery Group (1x battery 105/28 cannons and 1x battery 149/35 heavy guns) *** VI Coastal Artillery Group (1x battery 105/28 cannons and 1x battery 149/35 heavy guns; detached to Harbor Defense Command Genoa) *** CXXV Coastal Artillery Group (3x batteries 105/15 howitzers) *** CXXXII Coastal Artillery Group (1x battery 75/17 cannons and 2x batteries 105/15 howitzers) ** 52nd Anti-paratroopers Unit ** 53rd Anti-paratroopers Unit ** 54th Anti-paratroopers Unit ** 201st

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign poli ...

Section ** 1x Field Post Office ** Divisional ServicesJowett p 6 Attached to the division: * 1st Army Artillery Grouping (from 4 December 1942) ** I Group (3x batteries 149/35 heavy guns) ** II Group (3x batteries 149/35 heavy guns) * 7th Army Artillery Grouping (from 15 November 1942) ** IX Group (3x batteries 149/35 heavy guns) ** X Group (3x batteries 149/35 heavy guns) ** XI Group (3x batteries 149/35 heavy guns) ** XII Group (3x batteries 149/35 heavy guns) * Marimobil, in

(

Royal Italian Navy The , ) (RM) or Royal Italian Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy () from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the changed its name to ''Marina Militare'' ("Military Navy"). Origins ...

) ** Armored Train 120/2/S, in

Vado Ligure Vado Ligure (), in antiquity Vada Sabatia, is a port town and ''comune'' in the province of Savona, Liguria, in northern Italy. The town despite its size has become one of the largest ports in Northwest Italy. Economy Vado has a large indus ...

(4x 120/45 Mod. 1918 naval guns, 4x 20/77 Scotti anti-aircraft guns) ** Armored Train 152/4/T, in

Albisola Superiore Albisola Superiore ( Genoese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about northeast of Savona. Main sights *Medieval castle *Sanctuary of ''Madonna della P ...

(4x 152/40 naval guns, 4x 20/77 anti-aircraft guns) ** Armored Train 152/5/S, in

Voltri Voltri is a quartiere of the Italian city of Genoa, located west of the city centre. It was formerly an independent comune. In 2015, Voltri and the nearby hamlets included in Genoa's VII Municipio (Crevari, Acquasanta, Vesima, Fabbriche) had a ...

(4x 152/40 naval guns, 4x 20/77 anti-aircraft guns) ** Armored Train 76/1/S, in

Sampierdarena Sampierdarena (also San Pier d'Arena; Ligurian: San Pè d'ænn-a) is a major port and industrial area of Genoa, in northwest Italy. With San Teodoro it forms the West Central (Centro Ovest) ''municipio''. Geography Sampierdarena lies on ...

(6x 76/40 mod. 16 naval guns, 4x 20/77 anti-aircraft guns)

Commanding officers

The division's commanding officers were: * Generale di Brigata Costantino Salvi (1 November 1942 - 1943) *

Generale di Divisione Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps g ...

Enrico Gazzale (1943 - 8 September 1943)

References

* * {{Italian Divisions World War II Coastal divisions of Italy Infantry divisions of Italy in World War II