The 21 Infantry Division Granatieri di Sardegna was a Infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 Division

Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...

 of the Italian Army

Royal Italian Army (1940–1946)

This article is about the Italian Royal Army which participated in World War II.The Italian Royal Army was reformed in 1861 and lasted until 1946. The Royal Army started with the unification of Italy and the formation of the Kingdom of Italy . It ended with the dissolution of the monarchy...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The Granatieri di Sardegna Division can trace its origins to 1659 when the Duke Carlo Emanuele II of Savoy, formed a regiment of Guards. It became a unit in the national army in 1866. It participated in operations in Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

 in 1939. In June 1940, it was part of the Italian VII Army and due to the quick victory in the Battle of France

Battle of France

In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...

 was not involved in any operations.
It was mobilized in June 1940 and took part in the invasion of France. It took part in the Invasion of Yugoslavia

Invasion of Yugoslavia

The Invasion of Yugoslavia , also known as the April War , was the Axis Powers' attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II...

 and was later stationed in Ljubljana

Ljubljana

Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...

. It was transferred to Rome in November 1942, and in September 1943, after the Italian surrender to the Allies

Allies

In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...

, it resisted the German forces and was destroyed.

Commanders

• General Alfredo Guzzoni
  Alfredo Guzzoni
  Alfredo Guzzoni was an Italian military officer who served in both World War I and World War II.-Italian Army:Guzzoni joined the Italian Royal Army and fought in World War I....
  
  
• General Carlo Geloso
  Carlo Geloso
  Carlo Geloso , was an Italian military officer who rose to the rank of General, commanding the Italian occupation army in Greece during the Second World War....
  
  
• General Giovanni Vacchi
• General Ubaldo Soddu
  Ubaldo Soddu
  Ubaldo Soddu was an Italian military officer, who commanded the Italian Forces in the Greco-Italian War for a month.Soddu was born in Salerno. During the period of 1939-1940, Soddu was under-secretary at the Ministry of War...
  
  
• General Ezio Rossi
• General Umberto Spigo
• General Taddeo Orlando
• General Adolfo De Rienzi
• General Giunio Ruggiero
• General Gioacchino Solinas

Order of battle

• 1. Granatieri di Sardegna Infantry Regiment
• 2. Granatieri di Sardegna Infantry Regiment
• 3. Granatieri di Sardegna Infantry Regiment
• 13. Granatieri di Sardegna Artillery Regiment
• 21. Mortar Battalion
• 121. Anti-Tank Company
• 21. Engineer Battalion
• 1. Medical Section
• 161. Motor Transport Section
• 62. Carabinieri Section

See also

• Granatieri di Sardegna Mechanized Brigade
  Granatieri di Sardegna Mechanized Brigade
  The Granatieri di Sardegna Mechanized Brigade is a mechanized infantry brigade of the Italian Army, based mainly in Rome and central Italy.- Structure :...
  
  
• Military history of Italy during World War II
  Military history of Italy during World War II
  During World War II , the Kingdom of Italy had a varied and tumultuous military history. Defeated in Greece, France, East Africa and North Africa, the Italian invasion of British Somaliland was one of the only successful Italian campaigns of World War II accomplished without German support.In...
  
  
• Regio Esercito