October 23, 1942, 9:40 PM: on a full moon night, 1,000 British cannons simultaneously open fire on the Italo-German positions, it's a hell that lasts 20 interminable minutes. The final act of the Battle of El Alamein has begun.
Its outcome will be decisive for the fate of the entire Second World War. Contending for El Alamein are General Bernard Law Montgomery, Commander of the British Imperial forces, which include British, New Zealand, Australian, Indian, South African, and French troops, and General Erwin Rommel, Commander of the Afrikakorps leading the Italo-German troops.
The glow of the weapons disperses in the light-flooded sky: the fate of the Italo-German army is already written in the numbers: men, equipment, fuel, everything plays in favor of the British. Strategic errors in past months, such as the failure to invade Malta, a crucial strategic stop to adequately face the military commitments in North Africa, will cost the Axis troops dearly.
On November 4, the battle is over, the fallen give the measure of the clash: 9,000 Germans, 13,500 British, 17,000 Italians.
The last to surrender will be the Italian Paratroopers of the Folgore: a heroic courage that deserves the honor of the enemy and the memory of those who survive, and of those who today continue to serve this glorious unit with honor.
From "El Alamein" by Paolo Caccia Dominioni:
Three Italian prisoners, a general and two colonels, get out of a vehicle.
They wear the "Folgore" uniform: they are Frattini, commander, Bignami, deputy commander, and Boffa, commander of the paratrooper artillery.
An interpreter approaches.
"Are you the commander of the Folgore? A British general wishes to greet you".
General Hugues of the 44th, the division that suffered the main setback in the attack on the "Folgore," presents himself.
The three Italians and the Englishman, standing and stiff, greet each other.
The Englishman gestures to extend his hand: Frattini remains motionless.
The English hand withdraws.
"There was a rumor," says Hugues, "that the commander of the 'Folgore' had fallen. I learned that it is not true and I want to say that I am glad."
Frattini: "Thank you".
"I also wanted to say that in my long military life I had never encountered soldiers like those of the Folgore."
Introduction
At km 120 of the Alexandria-Marsa Matruh coastal road, two armies and two brilliant strategists faced each other: Rommel, Commander of the Afrika Korps, and Montgomery, Commander of the 8th British Army.
In 1942, there was only a small station along the railway that from the Nile Delta reached the border with Libya and which the British had extended up to near Tobruk.
Located on the Gulf of Arabs, the locality, 180 kilometers from Maesa Matruh and 105 from Alexandria, was just a name on the map. No one could imagine that armed men under a dozen flags (more than the "two flags" of the name) would battle in that desolate place: the Italo-Germans, determined to reach Alexandria, Cairo, and Suez, the British, the Commonwealth troops, and the allies equally determined to block the path of the former.
In 1940, anticipating Italy's entry into the war and an advance by our Tenth Army towards Egypt, the British Commander of the Middle East, General Archibald Wavell, and the Commander of the French Armeé d'Orient, General Maxime Weygand, conducted a reconnaissance at El Alamein, having assessed the importance of the position, difficult to reach from the south. When the Italians reached El Alamein, they discovered that some concrete works, prepared by the British, bore the date 1940: clear evidence that the defenses had not been improvised.
Thus, a position difficult to bypass, indeed, just under 60 kilometers from the coast, the desert, broken here and there by small elevations that became of great tactical importance and overshadowed to the south by the 217 meters of the natural rocky "pyramid" of Quaret El Himeimat, plunges towards the El Qattara depression (134 meters below sea level), dotted with quicksands and yielding terrain.
Another curiosity, this one very important, is that in the El-Alamein area, the only fresh water springs of that stretch of the Egyptian western desert were found.
The evident disproportion of forces in the field, in favor of the English (the British Eighth Army numbered 220,000 men, against the 96,000 of the Italo-German Afrika Korps), was aggravated by the lack of supplies and the fact that maritime transports bound for Libya were relentlessly torpedoed by the English.
The deployments and battle plans
From north to south, the Italo-German Axis deployment was as follows: in the north, the infantry divisions "Trento", "Bologna", and "Brescia". At the southernmost end, the Paratrooper division "Folgore", just arrived in North Africa. Behind the "Folgore", the "Pavia" division. In the front line, supporting the Italian forces, the 164th German division and General Ramcke's Paratrooper brigade. The maneuver units, held in the second line, were in the north the armored division "Littorio" and the 15th Panzer Division, and in the south the armored division "Ariete" and the 21st Panzer Division. In reserve, the "Trieste" division and the 90th German division.
The deployment adopted by Montgomery was formed in the north by the 30th Corps, in the south the 13th, and behind them, the best-trained and best-armed unit, namely the 10th Armored Corps.
The 30th Corps included the Indian, New Zealand, Australian, and South African divisions; in the 13th, in addition to two English divisions, two French brigades and a Greek brigade.
The English General thus had at his immediate disposal three armored divisions and the equivalent of seven infantry divisions. The concentration of such large forces required many ingenious concealment measures and many precautions.
His plan was to attack the center of the northern sector, where the "Trento" and the 164th German division were deployed, attempting to break through the section held by the Italians, considered weaker and worse armed than their German comrades. Having done this, open two corridors in the minefields, through which to pass the armored vehicles that were to eliminate the enemy panzers. The tanks would protect the infantry's advance and sweep away the Axis front-line units. In a second phase, the destruction of the covering Italo-German troops was planned. Finally, the reserves were to be eliminated.
Montgomery's plan was a feint to the south, then to attack in force in the north. In the preceding days, while preparing, he had masked and camouflaged (even employing a film scriptwriter - Barkas - and an illusionist - Maskelyne) a very strong concentration in the north (86 infantry battalions, 150,000 men, several thousand vehicles, 3,247 guns, thousands of tons of supplies, 1,350 tanks, 1,200 aircraft) while arranging another much smaller and disorganized contingent to the south, which deceived Rommel before departing; more than convinced that the English with the forces they had in the south could not launch an offensive before November.
Above all, it was necessary for Great Britain to prevent the enemy air force from fully realizing the magnitude of the preparations. This effort was crowned with complete success so that the attack constituted a real surprise for the enemy.
With Rommel absent (hospitalized in Germany at the end of September), the battle began at precisely 21:40 on October 23, 1942, on a full moon night, when Montgomery's thousand guns opened fire simultaneously along the front, concentrating the fire on the artillery positions on the Axis troops for about twenty minutes; the fire was then directed against the positions occupied by the infantry.
The Battle, initial clash
At 22:00 on October 23, 1942, the infantry action began, which would be followed by the shock action. Under the protection of the artillery fire, made more effective by aerial bombardments, the XXX and XIII corps, commanded respectively by Generals Leese and Horrocks, advanced, attacking on a front of four divisions; the entire XXX corps tried to open two breaches through the enemy's fortified lines.
Behind it followed the two armored divisions of the X corps (General Lumsden) to exploit any success.
Significant progress was made under the protection of overwhelming fire; by dawn, deep pockets had been created in the enemy deployment. However, up to that point, no breach had been opened in the deep system of minefields and German defensive positions. The resistance of the Germans and Italians was fierce, exceeding expectations.
But at dawn on October 24, the 30th British Corps reached the assigned objectives, but its tired and worn-out infantry could not contribute to ensuring the passage of the tanks through the breach opened in the northern sector. Meanwhile, German General Stumme, Rommel's replacement, died 24 hours after the battle began. According to some sources of apoplexy, with a gunshot to the temple, according to others.
In the very early hours of the 25th, Montgomery briefed the highest-ranking commanders, ordering the armored forces to attack again before dawn, in accordance with his initial instructions. Indeed, during the day more ground was gained after fierce fighting; the height known as Kidney Ridge became the scene of a furious battle with the enemy armored divisions, the 15th German and the Italian "Ariete", which launched a series of violent counterattacks.
At Hitler's request, Rommel left the hospital and resumed command in the late afternoon of the 25th. Fierce fighting took place throughout the 26th along the deep pocket opened up to that point in the enemy lines, and especially again in the Kidney Ridge area.
The German air force, which had remained inactive for the previous two days, launched its last challenge to British air superiority. There were several clashes, most of which ended in favor of Montgomery.
The efforts of the XIII Corps delayed but failed to prevent the transfer of German armored units to what Rommel now knew was the decisive sector of the battle. This movement was, however, severely hampered by the RAF.
Throughout October 27th and 28th, a violent battle raged for the height of Kidney, repeatedly unleashed by the 15th and 21st German armored divisions, newly arrived from the southern sector.
The British advance resumed on the 28th in the corridors, under the rapid and deadly fire of German anti-tank guns; British tanks knocked out were already being counted in dozens.
This is the climax. By the evening of the 28th, about three hundred British tanks had been destroyed. The 1st British Armored Division, beyond the corridor, at one point risked being attacked and pushed back by the 21st German Panzer Division.
To avoid the worst, Montgomery pushed the 7th Armored Division north and ordered the 9th Australian Division to also strike north. The situation did not look promising. The commander of the Eighth Army thought he would break through in a span of about ten hours, but his calculations proved terribly wrong.
At this point, the British General gave orders to carry out the decisive breakthrough (operation "Supercharge", or battering ram).
The decisive breakthrough, "Supercharge"
This is how operation "Supercharge" unfolded, according to the words of British General Alexander: "On the night of the 28th and then again on October 30th, the Australians attacked north towards the coast, finally managing to isolate four German battalions left in place. The enemy seemed firmly convinced that we intended to attack along the road and the railway line and reacted to our thrust with extreme energy. Rommel moved the 2nd Armored Division from its position west of our salient, added the 90th Light Division which was guarding the north flank of the same salient, and launched the two units in furious attacks to disengage the encircled troops. The position left vacant by the 2nd Armored Division allowed the "Trieste" division to advance, which was its last reserve unit not yet employed. While Rommel was thus heavily engaged and exhausting the last fresh formations he had left in an attempt to disengage a single regiment, we were able to complete the reorganization of our forces for operation "Supercharge" without being disturbed. The magnificent thrust of the Australians, carried out with a continuous series of fierce battles, had turned the tide of the entire battle in favor of the British.
At one in the morning on November 2nd, operation "Supercharge" began. Protected by a barrage of 300 artillery pieces, the British brigades attached to the New Zealand division broke through the enemy defense system and the IX British Armored Brigade surged forward. However, they encountered a new line of defense, strong with numerous anti-tank positions, along the Ei Rahman track. This resulted in a long battle that cost the brigade heavy losses; however, the corridor behind them was kept open, and the British armored division was able to advance along it".
On the evening of November 2nd, according to the same German sources, the German armored divisions, which began the battle with 240 operational tanks, lined up only 38, but instead of retreating, on November 3rd, a peremptory order from Hitler arrived, imposing on the Afrika Korps to be killed on the spot rather than retreat a meter. Thus Rommel sent orders to all units to resist at all costs, refusing to accept the pleas of his generals, who opposed this conduct.
In the early hours of the 4th, the V Indian Brigade launched a lightning attack eight kilometers south of Tel El-Aggagir, successfully.
Montgomery is in full advance, having bypassed the Italo-German anti-tank barrier. The German General Von Thoma, on the front line, surrendered to the British, thus not respecting the order imposed by Hitler on his men. At 3:30 PM, a message reached Rommel: the Italian "Ariete" division no longer exists, having sacrificed itself to hold the positions.
The British have opened a breach twenty kilometers wide. At 8 PM, upon learning that the British armored brigade had already reached the coastal road, Erwin Rommel decided on the only possible solution: retreat.
The last to surrender at El Alamein will be the Paratroopers of the "Folgore", clinging to the ground in the south, at the edge of the El Qattara depression, facing the 13th Corps which, according to the English version, is only supposed to engage to create a false objective, while in reality it is forced to fight one of the toughest and most exhausting local breakthrough battles of the entire front.
The Italian Paratroopers of the Folgore resisted for thirteen days WITHOUT GIVING UP A METER, without water and without food.
Exhausted and without ammunition, they continued to fight, attacking with their daggers, and when the English invited them to surrender, surrounded by the English, they climbed onto the carcasses of the tanks, chest out and dagger held high, they responded with the cry: “FOLGORE!!!”
Departing from Italy five thousand strong, they remained, among officers and troops, three hundred and four.
Upon surrender, the boys were given the Honor of Arms and the name of the division, FOLGORE, with their deeds, immediately and inevitably became legend.
Courage against steel: the role of the Folgore, worn out, BUT NOT DEFEATED
On the evening of October 23, as described, the sudden preparatory action of the enemy artillery began, heralding the imminence of the attack.
The English had 2,000 new tanks of the most modern types, (over 1,300 employed in the battle) mostly American, a very strong air force that dominated the sky uncontested, about 3,000 guns of every caliber and high power, with a stockpile of ammunition that allowed them to rain thousands of tons of shells on our lines for consecutive weeks.
From the edges of the El Qattara depression to the sea, a sudden gigantic flashing ignited, merging into a single volcanic blaze, accompanied by thousands of explosions that completely submerged our deployment, from the line of strongholds to the artillery positions and beyond, to disrupt and destroy anything that could enhance our resistance. The use of smoke screens paralyzed observation, hindered cannon fire, and prevented seeing the enemy's moves as they prepared to close in under our defenses to attack them.
The "Folgore" awaited the imminent impact with the firm will to oppose the adversary with maximum commitment and make the English pay dearly for their ambitious project.
Our boys seemed electrified by that battle atmosphere and the exceptional spectacle unfolding around them, and awaited without fear the development of events to meet the English and give them the "welcome".
At 20:40 on October 23, the adversary began an artillery fire of unusual violence and proportions that continued uninterrupted throughout the night of the 24th and fully invested the entire front manned by the "Folgore" Division.
From the detection of the flashes, it was possible to calculate that no less than 150 pieces (later confirmed to be 200) were acting against the front of the 187th regiment alone. Despite the massive artillery fire, the clanking of considerable masses of tanks closing in on the paratroopers' positions could occasionally be heard.
When, among the explosions and flashes that illuminated the positions like daylight, the commanders' order "to combat positions" was heard, a single cry responded, loud and unanimous "Folgore!". Immediately afterward, numerous enemy patrols, protected by smoke screens, attempted to reach the minefields to open gaps, but were inexorably repelled.
In the central sector, the advanced company, the 6th commanded by Captain Marenco, was exterminated after a violent hand-to-hand fight; of the 90 paratroopers that made up the company, only about twenty managed to retreat to our main line of defense. They had destroyed 30 tanks and killed about 150 Englishmen. In the afternoon of the 24th, in an attempt at a counterattack, the commander of the group Lieutenant Colonel Marescotti Ruspoli fell, and was posthumously awarded the gold medal.
Around 14:00 on October 25, a column of about forty tanks (4th Light Armored Brigade of the 7th British Armored Division) and two infantry battalions attacked the stronghold of the 12th company of the IV/187th commanded by Captain Cristofori. After a very violent fight, which led to phases of hand-to-hand combat, the enemy was repelled with particularly bloody losses, leaving 22 immobilized tanks on the ground.
On the night of the 26th, the adversary made the last attempt to break the "Folgore" front. Having ascertained the solidity of our line, they decided to mass against the salient of Deir el Munassib, with the aim of seizing it and then breaking through along a valley alignment (Deir el Munassib-Deir Alinda), which departs from those positions.
After the usual artillery and smoke screen preparation, at moonrise (10 PM) the 69th Infantry Brigade (50th British Division) and units of the "Free French" Brigade moved in three columns to attack the positions of the IV/187th regiment. One column, composed of two battalions of the "Green Howards" regiment and an armored car company, resumed the failed afternoon attack against the stronghold of the 12th company; another column formed of Gaullist assault elements engaged the 10th company; a third column consisting of battalions of the "Royal West Kent" regiment (44th British Division) and the IV/8th Hussars tank battalion (7th Armored Division), attacked from all sides the stronghold manned by the 11th company. Simultaneously, other units engaged the positions of the II battalion. By 11 PM, the entire front of the 187th regiment was thus pressed from all sides.
Elements of the IX battalion in the second echelon were moved during the night to reinforce the flanks of the formation, particularly threatened. Around 1 AM, the direct attacks against the positions of the 10th and 12th companies could be considered thwarted. The opposing columns, due to the heavy losses suffered, gave up any attempt to advance and were content to keep the defense engaged.
However, the situation of the 11th company was grave. The various fire centers of the company, attacked on every side and pressed closely by tanks, defended themselves desperately. The fight was extremely violent for a couple of hours; then, one by one, the anti-tank guns ran out of ammunition and, unable to be resupplied because they were isolated, were forced into silence. The automatic weapons were overwhelmed by the tanks. By 4 AM, only a couple of fire centers were still resisting; almost all the men of the company had fallen on their positions.
In this action, heroically fell, leading a last desperate counterattack attempt, the company commander Captain Costantino Ruspoli, to whose memory the gold medal was awarded.
At the first light of day on the 27th, the Commander of the IV/187th (Captain Valletti), wounded four times but voluntarily remaining on site, ordered a counterattack executed by a platoon under the command of Lieutenant Raffaele Trotta, commander of the 47/32 cannon company assigned to reinforce the IV battalion.
Once the action was completed, the lost positions were reconquered and firmly held; subsequently, Lieutenant Trotta was replaced by Lieutenant Gallo, who, in turn wounded, handed over command of the battalion to Major Vagliasindi.
During the day of the 27th, the enemy, effectively countered, attempted a further attack against the positions of the 10th/IV with Gaullist elements reinforced by a battalion of the Queen's Royal Regiment (44th British Division). The immediate, decisive reaction of the garrison, the timely intervention of the artillery thwarted the attack, and the enemy was repelled with heavy losses.
During the counterattack, the company commander, Lieutenant Gastone Simoni, heroically fell at the head of his men, to whose memory the gold medal was awarded.
Major of artillery Francesco Vagliasindi of the 185th regiment, whose group had been dissolved due to the losses suffered, and who had requested the honor of taking command of an infantry unit, fell at the head of the IV/187th regiment.
On the 28th, the enemy, exhausted, did not renew its attacks, limiting itself to pounding our positions with violent artillery and mortar fire.
In the following days, after some local skirmishes, the opposing fronts began to stabilize.
The offensive attempted by the enemy against the "Folgore" had bloodily failed after six days of fierce fighting and futile attacks. The adversary had only managed to partially occupy an advanced stronghold without undermining the solidity of the positions or affecting the line of resistance in the slightest. The enemy had left several hundred dead on the field; 52 tanks were lost; 164 men, including 12 officers, were captured.
Particularly significant was the blood tribute offered by the battalion and group commanders of the "Folgore": out of 16 officers who succeeded in commanding 9 units, there were 15 losses (10 killed and 5 wounded).
General Alexander, regarding the battles of those days, wrote: «It was found that the enemy was strong and well-positioned, therefore the attack was not insisted upon».
Regarding the two groupings into which the 186th was divided, it was said that the attack was carried out in two directions: from east to west, mainly on the front of the seventh battalion (Tantillo grouping) and essentially conducted by infantry.
On the front of the VII battalion, the attack continued until October 31, with alternating events, due to our counterattacks conducted with the support of tanks. It began with the destruction of our observation post centers, heroically defended with hand grenades and Molotov cocktails; it culminated on October 26 with the enemy forming a pocket in the center of the battalion's resistance position; and finally repelled by our counterattack on October 27, with the elimination of that pocket and the capture of a major, 3 captains, 4 lieutenants, 207 soldiers, weapons, and ammunition: in front of our positions, 67 enemy armored vehicles were counted as semi-destroyed. On October 28, an English "parliamentarian" appeared to request a truce to bury the fallen on both sides. The truce, granted, lasted three hours; at the end, the recovered dog tags of the fallen were exchanged: 50 paratroopers, about 150 English.
The enemy reorganized and positioned itself about 600 meters from our lines to resume its efforts between October 29 and the night of November 1, but seemingly with little determination and perhaps only for demonstrative purposes: following our reaction, it left another fifty prisoners in our hands.
On the front of the V battalion, the actual contact with the enemy occurred around 3 a.m. on October 24. Here too, it did not happen by surprise, because since midnight the advanced post of Qaret el Himeimat had reported hearing a large mass of enemy mechanized vehicles moving from southeast to northwest: an undeniable prelude to an enveloping attack against the exposed flank of our general deployment.
For this eventuality, given the nature and also the scarcity of available forces, the battalion commander, with the full consent of the regiment commander, had oriented himself to the following concept: to reduce to the extreme men and means deployed at the foot of the southern slopes of the Munaquir el Daba ridge, overlooking the salty depression, to monitor the minefield existing there and with the precise task of disorienting the enemy with their action while simultaneously providing a sure alarm to the command; to react from above with an immediate counterattack against enemy infantry that might appear from the south on the plateau (now deprived of the support of armored vehicles, necessarily delayed by the rugged nature of the accesses) thus catching them by surprise when they would have believed they had achieved success with extreme ease. To this end, the Battalion Commander, after withdrawing and gathering all men not strictly necessary for the service of the weapons, had about 3 platoons supported by some mortars. On its part, the regiment command, located as said a few hundred meters north of Naqb Rala, arming with makeshift personnel some 47/32 anti-tank guns (arrived without personnel on the 23rd), had set up a precautionary barrier, facing south of the Naqb Rala gorge; it had a handful of men composed of elements from the liaison platoon and the command; it had prepared for the influx (should the course of action make it necessary and possible) of men from the nearby rear centers of the VI battalion deployed on the plain: because, if it came to those extremes, he judged he had to play everything for everything.
The enemy action against the right flank of the battalion was resolved quickly and in the most brilliant manner for us: the explosions of some mines and the sudden brief and intense burst of machine gun fire, the throwing of hand grenades by the observation elements below, warned that contact had occurred at the foot of the Southern Ridge of Munaquir el Daba and that the appearance of enemy infantry on the Naqb Rala Plateau was imminent. The Battalion Commander divided the reinforcement into two groups for action on the right flank and in the front of the attackers; the regiment commander with the very modest formation unit headed towards the command of the Fifth battalion. But his intervention was not necessary; the V battalion resolved the situation with its means. As soon as, in the uncertain pre-dawn light, he saw the enemy infantry, recognizable by their characteristic helmets, silently spreading over the plateau, the Battalion Commander unleashed some very rapid mortar salvos and heavy machine gun bursts on them and, with the cry of Savoia, Viva l'Italia, "Folgore", gave the signal for the counter-assault: even the mortar company servants joined the fray. The enemy halted, attempted to resist but was overwhelmed and pursued until the last man had cleared the plateau, descending the southern slopes of Munaquir el Daba. The Battalion Commander, his Deputy Commander, the mortar company commander, and other officers were wounded, and overall the losses were significant, constituting the price of success. But on the front of the V battalion, the enemy did not launch any further attacks.
Between the VII and the V is the VI; this does not undergo any serious attempt at breaking through, but it endures significant losses due to bombardment actions and patrol actions that develop, particularly active, towards the section held by the VII, protecting its own left flank.
By the end of October, everything seems to be heading towards relative calm. The enemy has been repelled, but the overall losses suffered, especially among the officers, have been severe: For the 186th Regiment, the Deputy Commander of the regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Ruspoli), the commander of the VI battalion (Major Bergonzi), and some company commanders have fallen; among the wounded are the commander of the V battalion (Major Izzo), the adjutant major in 1st of the regiment (Captain Maggiulli), and Captain Doctor Guberti.
The commands of the V and VI battalions are held by newly promoted captains, the companies are mostly commanded by reserve second lieutenants or non-commissioned officers; the strength of the units is reduced to a few men. But the regret for the loss of so many comrades-in-arms is manly; far from suppressing spirits, it exalts in everyone the proud pride of having repelled the enemy everywhere by fighting strenuously. The general situation forced the Army command to order the retreat of the entire front: the order to the 186th was delivered by the Deputy Commander of the Division General Bignami at 9:30 PM on November 1: immediate execution; new line of deployment to be assumed by dawn on November 2: Rain Pool-Karet el Kadim; prohibition of carrying out destructions that could reveal the movement to the enemy; transport means available for towing the pieces and for loading at least part of the ammunition reserves; food and water (which had been accumulated in view of a strenuous resistance in place) none...
Everyone realized that for the regiment and the division, the most painful event was beginning; but everyone was determined to make this also the most glorious and legendary. The retreat in the desert.
The English BBC at the end of the battle, on November 11, commented: "The remnants of the Folgore division have resisted beyond all limits of human possibilities".
The Retreat
The battle is now won for the English, and the way is open for their tanks to pursue the enemy through the now obstacle-free desert. Rommel is now in full retreat, but there are transport means and fuel sufficient only for part of his troops, and the Germans claim precedence in the use of vehicles. Several thousand men belonging to the six Italian divisions are thus abandoned in the middle of the desert with little water and food, and with no other prospect than being surrounded and sent to concentration camps.
The battlefield is littered with destroyed or unusable tanks, cannons, and abandoned vehicles. The German air force has given up the desperate task of countering the RAF's air superiority, so the English air force operated almost undisturbed, relentlessly attacking with all its forces the long columns of men and vehicles fleeing westward. The retreat will be another masterpiece of the field marshal, because despite the defeat suffered, Montgomery will not succeed in encircling and definitively destroying the Afrika Korps.
However, at the end of the battle, four German divisions and eight Italian ones have ceased to exist as combat units. The English captured 30,000 prisoners with enormous quantities of material of all kinds. Here begins the odyssey of the 70,000 survivors of the Battle of El Alamein: 3,400 kilometers in the desert, vainly pursued by the enemy up to Tunisia. Survivors and fallen, they inevitably enter the legend, remembered not only by their own homeland but also by the enemy itself.
Quotes on the Heroism of the Folgore in the Battle of El Alamein
Nino Arena, from the Book “FOLGORE”
“Not a single white flag. No man raised his arms. 32 officers and 272 paratroopers, wounded and exhausted, were still in the ranks, with weapons in hand, standing, when the enemy captured them. Without water and supplies for seven days, and without ammunition, and after responding with yet another “FOLGORE!” to the calls to surrender with raised arms.”
English correspondent of Radio Cairo, Hearth Brighton, September 9, 1942
“The Italians fought very well. The Folgore Paratrooper Division, in particular, resisted beyond all possible human capacity and beyond all possible hope.”
Reuter Agency, London, November 11, 1942
“Admirable the dash and courage of the Italian Paratroopers of the Folgore Division”
BBC, December 3, 1942
"The last survivors of the Folgore were gathered, lifeless and with weapons in hand. No one surrendered. No one allowed themselves to be disarmed."
Honors
Gold Medal for Military Valor War Flag of the 185th Paratrooper Artillery Regiment "Folgore"
Paratrooper artillery regiment of the glorious "Folgore" Division, together with the divisional units assigned to it, for three months, without rest, valiantly engaged in numerous offensive and defensive actions, always thwarting the impetuous advance of the enemy, vastly superior in numbers and means. In the epic battle of El Alamein, exhausted by the losses suffered, with all supplies of water, food, and ammunition cut off, with the faith that only the most sublime love of country can generate, they disdainfully rejected repeated calls to surrender, shouting "Folgore," thus demonstrating that the superiority of means could overwhelm the Italian paratroopers, but never bend them. Through countless episodes of collective and individual heroism, they prolonged the resistance until the total exhaustion of all means of combat, earning the respect and admiration of the enemy itself, thus writing one of the most brilliant pages of valor for the Italian Army.
North Africa, July 22 - October 12, 1942; Battle of El Alamein, October 23 - November 6, 1942.
Gold Medal for Military Valor War Flag of the 186th Paratrooper Regiment "Folgore"
Paratrooper regiment of the glorious "Folgore" Division, together with the divisional units assigned to it, for three months, without rest, valiantly engaged in numerous offensive and defensive actions, always thwarting the impetuous advance of the enemy, vastly superior in numbers and means. In the epic battle of El Alamein, exhausted by the losses suffered, with all supplies of water, food, and ammunition cut off, with the faith that only the most sublime love of country can generate, they disdainfully rejected repeated calls to surrender, shouting "Folgore," thus demonstrating that the superiority of means could overwhelm the Italian paratroopers, but never bend them. Through countless episodes of collective and individual heroism, they prolonged the resistance until the total exhaustion of all means of combat, earning the respect and admiration of the enemy itself, thus writing one of the most brilliant pages of valor for the Italian Army.
North Africa, July 22 - October 12, 1942; Battle of El Alamein, October 23 - November 6, 1942.
Gold Medal for Military Valor War Flag of the 187th Paratrooper Regiment "Folgore"
Paratrooper regiment of the glorious "Folgore" Division, together with the divisional units assigned to it, for three months, without rest, valiantly engaged in numerous offensive and defensive actions, always thwarting the impetuous advance of the enemy, vastly superior in numbers and means. In the epic battle of El Alamein, exhausted by the losses suffered, with all supplies of water, food, and ammunition cut off, with the faith that only the most sublime love of country can generate, they disdainfully rejected repeated calls to surrender, shouting "Folgore," thus demonstrating that the superiority of means could overwhelm the Italian paratroopers, but never bend them. Through countless episodes of collective and individual heroism, they prolonged the resistance until the total exhaustion of all means of combat, earning the respect and admiration of the enemy itself, thus writing one of the most brilliant pages of valor for the Italian Army.
North Africa, July 22 - October 12, 1942; Battle of El Alamein, October 23 - November 6, 1942.
Other Honors to the War Flag:
- 1st Carabinieri Battalion and 183rd Regiment "Nembo": 2 Silver Medals
- 183rd Regiment "Nembo": 1 Bronze Medal
- 184th Regiment "Nembo": 1 War Cross
Individual Honors:
- 6 Military Orders of Italy
- 62 Gold Medals
- 424 Bronze Medals
- 536 War Crosses
Among the sands no longer deserted, here stand on guard for eternity the boys of the Folgore, the flower of a people and an Army in arms.
Lt. Col. Giovanni Alberto Bechi Luserna, Chief of Staff Paratrooper Division "Nembo"
Fallen for an idea, without regret, honored in the memory of the same enemy, they point out to Italians, in good and adverse fortune, the path of honor and glory.
Traveler, stop and pay respect.
God of Armies, welcome the spirits of these boys in that corner of heaven reserved for martyrs and Heroes.
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