20 Infantry Division Friuli
| 20th Infantry Division Friuli | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Active | 1939 - 20 September 1944 20th Infantry Division Friuli 21 September 1944 - 15 October 1945 Combat Group Friuli 16 October 1945 - 15 April 1960 Infantry Division Friuli 16 July 2013 - today Friuli Division Command |
| Country |
 Italy
|
| Branch | Italian Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Garrison/HQ | Florence |
| Nickname(s) | Friuli |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Major General Flaviano Godio |
| Notable commanders |
General Giacomo Carboni |
| Insignia | |
| Friuli Division Infantry Regiments Collar Insignia |  |
The Friuli is a division of the Italian Army since World War II.
The 20th Infantry Division Friuli was formed on 24 August 1939 by renaming the existing 20th Infantry Division Curtatone e Montanara. The division was immediately split to create the 44th Infantry Division Cremona. It was a reserve force in Valle Germanasca and Pellice valleys during the Italian invasion of southern France in June, 1940. From the beginning of April, 1941, it took part in the Invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941 as part of the Italian VI Corps. The Friuli division was tasked to advance to the Gorenja Vas, Gorenja Vas–Poljane area. It opened fire 6 April 1941, and entered Yugoslavia 11 April 1941. It reached Municipality of Loška Dolina and Municipality of Loški Potok 12 April 1941. The fighting ceased 18 April 1941, and 5 May 1941, the Friuli division was ordered back to Italy. When Italy and Germany occupied Vichy France after the Allied landings in French North Africa, the division was ordered to northern Corsica on 8 November 1942 to occupy the island, completing the transfer by 20 November 1942, while the 44th Infantry Division Cremona occupied Southern Corsica. From 8 September 1943, to 4 October 1943, it fought Germans on Corsica, with prominent battles occurring at , Bastia and . Afterward, the Friuli division was transferred to Sardinia to perform a security duties.
As of its deployment to Corsica in 1942:
Attached units in Corsica:
After the armistice between Italy and the Allies on 3 September 1943 the division in conjunction with the 44 Infantry Division Cremona and French Partisans engaged in heavy combat with the German Sturmbrigade Reichsführer SS and 90th Panzergrenadier Division and the Italian 12 Parachute Battalion of the 184 Parachute Regiment, which came from Sardinia and retreated through Corsica towards the harbor of Bastia in the islands north. On 13 September elements of the Free French 4th Moroccan Mountain Division were landed in Ajaccio to support the Italian efforts to stop the 30,000 retreating German troops. But during the night of 3 to 4 October the last German units were evacuated from Bastia leaving behind 700 dead and 350 POW's. After the end of operations on Corsica the division was sent as garrison unit to Sardinia. On 24 November the 88th CCNN Legion was renamed as 387th Infantry Regiment Friuli.
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Wikipedia