The division was activated on 15 November 1941 in
Catania by reorganizing the VI Coastal Sector Command. The division was assigned to
XVI Army Corps, which was responsible for the defense of the eastern half of the island of
Sicily. The division defended the beaches where the British
Eighth Army landed during the
Allied invasion of Sicily on 10 July 1943. On D-day the 206th Coastal Division and British forces fought for control of the beaches at
Avola,
Castelluzzo and
Cassibile, but the British superiority in materiel and numbers crushed the 206th Coastal Division, which by 11 July was reduced to small units surrounded by British forces. On 12 July British troops eliminated the last resistance and the division was declared lost due to wartime events. == Organization ==