A second Parachuting School was established in
Viterbo and the
184th Infantry Division "Nembo" was raised. A third division, the
183rd Infantry Division "Ciclone" was in the process of forming but the
Armistice of Cassibile and the following
German invasion of Italy interrupted its organization.
Folgore In 1941 the 5,000-man strong
185th Infantry Division "Folgore" was raised for the planned assault on
Malta in
Operation Hercules. When the Malta invasion was cancelled the paratroopers were sent as regular infantry to
Libya, despite being poorly equipped for this role. The division was engaged in ground combat operations in the
Western Desert Campaign from July 1942 until its destruction in the
Second Battle of El Alamein. After the battle the survivors were grouped into the CLXXXV Paratroopers Battalion. During the Second battle of El Alamein the division was attacked by six British divisions (two armored and four infantry). Lacking effective anti-tank weapons, the Italian paratroopers stopped British tanks with their obsolete
47/32 guns and
petrol bombs. The Folgore, having run out of water, withdrew from the El Alamein at 2:00 a.m. on 3 November 1942. At 2:35 p.m. on 6 November what was left of the division was surrounded by the British forces. The exhausted paratroopers destroyed their weapons and then surrendered.
Nembo The
184th Infantry Division "Nembo" was raised in 1942. In summer 1943 the Nembo was sent to
Sardinia, where it survived the
Armistice of Cassibile almost intact. Shipped to the Italian mainland in May 1944 the division joined the
Italian Liberation Corps of the
Italian Co-Belligerent Army. The division fought in the battle
Battle of Ancona and was disbanded on 24 September 1944 to form with its personnel the
Combat Group "Folgore".
Ciclone The
183rd Infantry Division "Ciclone" was planned to become the third Italian paratroopers division, however the
Armistice of Cassibile and disbanded by the
invading Germans. == RSI Paracadutisti ==