Army Liguria (''Armee Ligurien'', or LXXXXVII Army) was an army formed for the

National Republican Army The National Republican Army (; abbreviated ENR), colloquially known as the Army of the North ( Italian: ''Esercito del Nord'') was the army of the Italian Social Republic (, or RSI) from 1943 to 1945, fighting on the side of Nazi Germany durin ...

(''Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano'', or ENR). The ENR was the national army of Italian dictator

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic (, ; RSI; , ), known prior to December 1943 as the National Republican State of Italy (; SNRI), but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò (, ), was a List of World War II puppet states#Germany, German puppe ...

(''Repubblica Sociale Italiana'', or RSI). Formation of this RSI army started in 1943 and the army was disbanded in 1945. Army Liguria included several German units and its Italian units were sometimes transferred to German formations. Between November 1944 and February 1945, the formation was alternatively known as Army Group Liguria (''Armeegruppe Ligurien'') due to the subordination of 14th Army under it.

Formation

On 16 October 1943, the Rastenburg Protocol was signed with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and the RSI was allowed to raise four division-sized military formations. The four divisions—1st Italian "Italia" Infantry Division, 2nd Italian "Littorio" Infantry Division, 3rd Italian "San Marco" Marine Division, and 4th Italian "Monte Rosa" Alpine Division—were to ultimately total 52,000 men.

Service

In July 1944, the first of these divisions completed training and was sent to the front. Like the smaller RSI units—the Black Brigades and the Decima Flottiglia MAS—the newly formed RSI divisions generally participated in anti-partisan activities. While there were exceptions, these divisions saw front line actions against the Allies, especially at the

Gothic Line The Gothic Line (; ) was a German and Italian defensive line of the Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence along the summits of the northern part of the Apennine Mountains du ...

. As the remaining divisions completed training, they were combined with German units and formed into Army Group Liguria. The RSI Minister of Defense,

Rodolfo Graziani Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli ( , ; 11 August 1882 – 11 January 1955), was an Italian military officer in the Kingdom of Italy's Royal Italian Army, Royal Army, primarily noted for his campaigns in Africa before and during World Wa ...

, commanded all Army forces of the RSI. On 1 May 1945. The Army Group Liguria surrendered after being defeated at the

Spring 1945 offensive in Italy The Spring 1945 offensive in Italy, codenamed Operation Grapeshot, was the final Allies of World War II, Allied attack during the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign in the final stages of the Second World War. The attack in the Lom ...

Order of battle

* Order of Battle for the LXXXXVII "Liguria" Army - as of 30 April 1945 ''The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan'', Hans Dollinger, Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 67-27047 Army Group Liguria - (Marshal

) ** Lombardia Corps (General Kurt Jahn) *** 3rd Italian "San Marco" Marine Infantry Division *** 134th German Infantry Brigade ** LXXV Corps (General Hans Schlemmer) *** 2nd Italian "Littorio" Infantry Division *** 4th Italian "Monte Rosa" Alpine DivisionSome few elements of the Monte Rosa Division was transferred to the Lombardy Corps *** 5th German Mountain Division *** 34th German Infantry Division The 1st Bersaglieri "Italia" Division was attached to the 14th German Army.

References

{{Armies of the German Army

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 ...

Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Field armies of Germany in World War II

Formation

Service

Order of battle

See also

References