The 204th 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 15 January 1942 in

Sassari Sassari ( ; ; ; ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 120,497 inhabitants as of 2025, and a functional urban area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, it contains ...

by reorganizing the IV Coastal Sector Command. The division was initially assigned to XIII Army Corps, which was responsible for the defense of the island of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

. On 15 July 1943 the division was assigned to the reactivated XXX Army Corps, which took over the responsibility for the defense of the northern half of Sardinia. The division was based in

Porto Torres Porto Torres (; ) is a (municipality) and a city of the Province of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. Founded during the 1st century BC as , it was the first Roman colony of the entire Sardinia, island. It is situated on the coast at abo ...

and responsible for the coastal defense of the north-western and northern coast of Sardinia from, but excluding, Torre Foghe to Capo Coda Cavallo. The division's area of responsibility included the

Gulf of Asinara The Gulf of Asinara is a sea sector included between the Asinara Island, Cape Falcone and the town of Castelsardo, in northern Sardinia, Italy. The communes facing its coast include also Stintino, Porto Torres, Sassari, Sorso Sorso () is a ...

and Gulf of Alghero, and the Maddalena archipelago with its large

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 ...

base. On 1 August 1942 the IV Coastal Brigade was reactivated and took over the responsibility for the defense of the Maddalena archipelago and the north-eastern coast of Sardinia between Punta Li Francesi and Capo Coda Cavallo. The 204th Coastal Division, together with the 203rd Coastal Division, 205th Coastal Division, IV Coastal Brigade and XXXIII Coastal Brigade formed a first static defense line against allied landings on the island. Further inland the 30th Infantry Division "Sabauda", 31st Infantry Division "Calabria",

47th Infantry Division "Bari" The 47th Infantry Division "Bari" () was an infantry Division (military), division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Bari was formed on 15 September 1939 in the city of Bari. After the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile o ...

, and

184th Infantry Division "Nembo" The 184th Infantry Division "Nembo" () was an airborne division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. After the Armistice of Cassibile the division joined the Italian Co-belligerent Army's Italian Liberation Corps and together with th ...

were the mobile forces of the Armed Forces Command Sardinia. 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, together with all other divisions on Sardinia, refused German demands to surrender. Realizing the futility of attempting to gain control of Sardinia the German forces on the island retreated to

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

. The division joined the

Italian Co-belligerent Army The Italian Co-belligerent Army (Italian: ''Esercito Cobelligerante Italiano''), or Army of the South (''Esercito del Sud''), were names applied to various of the now former Royal Italian Army during the period when it fought alongside the Alli ...

and was renamed 204th Division. In August 1944 the division's command was shipped to the mainland where it was used to reform other commands.

Organization

* 204th Coastal Division, in

** 130th Coastal Regiment *** CCC Coastal Battalion *** CCCXCVIII Coastal Battalion *** CCCXCIX Coastal Battalion *** CMIV Coastal Battalion ** 149th Coastal Regiment *** CCCXCIV Coastal Battalion *** CCCXCVII Coastal Battalion *** CDI Coastal Battalion *** CDXCIX Coastal Battalion ** 46th Coastal Artillery Regiment *** XII Coastal Artillery Group *** XIII Coastal Artillery Group *** LXXXII Coastal Artillery Group *** LXXXIV Coastal Artillery Group *** CCXI Coastal Artillery Group ** CII Machine Gun Battalion *** 161st Machine Gun Company *** 162nd Machine Gun Company ** 204th Mixed Engineer Company ** 204th

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 ** 215th Field Post Office ** Division Services

Commanding officers

The division's commanding officer was: *

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 ...

Manlio Mora (15 January 1942 - 1944)

References

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