Changes

Lieutenant Tuci was posthumously awarded the ''Medaglia D'Argento'' (the Silver Medal, Italy's second highest military award for bravery, in helping his platoon of engineers fight off an Australian counterattack.<ref>"La sera del 29 il 1° plotone della 3a, agli ordini del Sototenente Ernesto Betti, andò in azione con un gruppo comandato dal Tenente dei Bersaglieri Melis. Questo reparto era costituito di un plotone Arditi dell'8° Bersaglieri e di 2 carri M13. Guastatori aprirono un varco nel campo minato protetto da filo spinato, antistante la Ridotto R3, I'assaltarono e la conquistarono utilizzando lanciafiamme e cariche cubiche ... Un commento al Bollettino di Guerra, trasmesso alle 13:00 del 10 maggio, informava che reparti del Genio Guastatori avevano espugnato 5 fortini della cerchia di Tobruk." Genio Guastatori, Silvestri Angioni Lombardi , p. 47, Edizioni R.E.I., 2015</ref>

Lieutenant Tuci was posthumously awarded the ''Medaglia D'Argento'' (the Silver Medal, Italy's second highest military award for bravery, in helping his platoon of engineers fight off an Australian counterattack.<ref>"La sera del 29 il 1° plotone della 3a, agli ordini del Sototenente Ernesto Betti, andò in azione con un gruppo comandato dal Tenente dei Bersaglieri Melis. Questo reparto era costituito di un plotone Arditi dell'8° Bersaglieri e di 2 carri M13. Guastatori aprirono un varco nel campo minato protetto da filo spinato, antistante la Ridotto R3, I'assaltarono e la conquistarono utilizzando lanciafiamme e cariche cubiche ... Un commento al Bollettino di Guerra, trasmesso alle 13:00 del 10 maggio, informava che reparti del Genio Guastatori avevano espugnato 5 fortini della cerchia di Tobruk." Genio Guastatori, Silvestri Angioni Lombardi , p. 47, Edizioni R.E.I., 2015</ref>

==Operation Crusader==

==Operation Crusader==

On November 23rd, the ''Bologna'' Division again withstood another strong British attack from Tobruk aimed at penetrating into the area of Sidi Rezegh, and the defenders bought sufficient time to allow the [[17th ''Pavia'' Infantry Division]] to mount an effective counter-attack and derail the British advance, as a German narrative later recorded:{{cquote|After a sudden artillery concentration the garrison of Fortress Tobruk, supported by sixty tanks, made an attack on the direction of Bel Hamid at noon, intending at long last unite with the main offence group. The Italian siege front around the fortress tried to offer a defence in the confusion but was forced to relinquish numerous strong points in the encirclement front about Bir Bu Assaten to superior enemy forces. The Italian "Pavia" Division was committed for a counterattack and managed to seal off the enemy breakthrough. <ref>German Experiences in Desert Warfare During World War II, Generalmajor Major Alfred Toppe (et al), Combat Studies Institute/Combined Arms Research Library, 1952</ref>}}

On November 23rd, the ''Bologna'' Division again withstood another strong British attack from Tobruk aimed at penetrating into the area of Sidi Rezegh, and the defenders bought sufficient time to allow the [[17th ''Pavia'' Infantry Division]] to mount an effective counter-attack and derail the British advance, as a German narrative later recorded:{{cquote|After a sudden artillery concentration the garrison of Fortress Tobruk, supported by sixty tanks, made an attack on the direction of Bel Hamid at noon, intending at long last unite with the main offence group. The Italian siege front around the fortress tried to offer a defence in the confusion but was forced to relinquish numerous strong points in the encirclement front about Bir Bu Assaten to superior enemy forces. The Italian "Pavia" Division was committed for a counterattack and managed to seal off the enemy breakthrough. <ref>German Experiences in Desert Warfare During World War II, Generalmajor Major Alfred Toppe (et al), Combat Studies Institute/Combined Arms Research Library, 1952</ref>}}

On May 3rd, the Australian 18th Brigade launched a counterattack but were only able to recapture one lost strongpoint in Italian hands. The Italian flamethrower attacks had dented Australian morale, with 30 Australian defenders reportedly evacuated in the first week of May suffering from self-inflicted-wounds.<ref>"More disturbing was the large number of self-inflicted wound (SIW) cases. During a single week in May the division reported thirty SIW cases..." Armies of Empire: The 9th Australian and 50th British Divisions in Battle 1939–1945, Allan Converse, p. 86, Cambridge University Press, 2011</ref>

That month, an underground "war neurosis clinic" was built in Tobruk and placed under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel E.L. Cooper and Captain A.J.M Sinclair, in order to treat 207 Australians needing psychological treatment in the aftermath of the Battle of The Salient.<ref>"In May 1941 a 'war neurosis clinic' of 70 beds was established in an underground concrete shelter in the city. Of the 204 admissions treated by Lt Colonel E.L. Cooper and Captain A.J.M Sinclair 61% were reported as serving with fighting units... " Shell Shock to PTSD: Military Psychiatry from 1900 to the Gulf War, Edgar Jones, Simon Wessely, p. 67, Psychology Press, 2005</ref>

 

In July 1942, the ''Bologna'' Division recovering at El Gazala was ordered forward to reinforce the El Alamein front. Lacking transports, the Italian infantry duly marched some 400 miles, being congratulated in person by Benito Mussolini in their long trek to the new Axis frontlines. On the night of August 25th, the ''Bologna'' suffered a defeat when its forward posts were overrun in a night attack from tough Maori troops from the New Zealand 28th Battalion, with the New Zealanders admitting losing 25 killed, wounded or captured in their surprise attack.

 

During the Battle of Alam el Halfa, the Bologna and supporting German 433rd Infantry Regiment stuck back, overrunning several Indian, South African and New Zealand units defending Ruweisat Ridge, capturing Point 211 with 70 British soldiers falling into Italian hands.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19420901&id=dbpRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=D2oDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5917,6800448&hl=en ROMMEL OPENS DRIVE IN EGYPT]</ref>

 

Cyril Falls, a noted British military historian, later confirmed the Italian success::{{cquote|In the centre of the British front a good Italian division, the Bologna, delivered a strong attack on the Ruweisat Ridge, and a considerable counter-attack was required to expel it from the footing it gained. (AFTERMATH OF WAR: THE EIGHT ARMY FROM ALAMEIN TO THE SANGRO. The Illustrated London news, Volume 212, Issues 5672-5684, p. 262, The Illustrated London News & Sketch Ltd., 1948</ref>}}

 

 

==References==

==References==