206th Coastal Division soldiers taken prisoner by British forces. Typical of the second-rate equipment issued to the coastal divisions, the soldiers are wearing World War IAdrian helmets, rather than the more modern M33 helmets.
The 206th Coastal Division (Italian: 206ª Divisione Costiera) was an infantrydivision of the Royal Italian Army during World War II.[1] Royal Italian Army coastal divisions were second line divisions formed with reservists and equipped with second rate materiel. Recruited locally, they were often commanded by officers called out of retirement.[2]
History
The division was activated on 15 November 1941 in Catania by reorganizing the VI Coastal Sector Command.[3] The division was assigned to XVI Army Corps, which was responsible for the defense of the eastern half of the island of Sicily.[1] The division had its headquarter in Modica and was responsible for the coastal defense of the coast between Punta Braccetto in Santa Croce Camerina and Arenella to the South of Syracuse.[4]
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.[4]
^Circolare n. 19440 del 22/10/1941 dello S.M.R.E. Uff. Ordinamento - 2a Sezione. "Cronistoria dei reparti costieri". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 12 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
