Full story on the Last Italian cavalry charge in WW 2

[Hans]

I had previous posted a short version of this story. This is the full story - translated into military miniatures language however - Interesting tale. Comes from the Italian Military newsgroup

1)- NAME: the correct name of the battle should be Isbuschenskij. It’s

sometimes reported in English sources as Chebotarevsky (I guess that the

correct spelling should be Tscherbotarewskij, but with Russians names ...

who knows!) but that location was actualy 6kms south of the batterfield, and

was the location of the Italian HQ in that sector. Strange how both the

references in English I have found use this name, that I have never found in

any Italian source.

2)- OOB: the russians were the 812th Fusiliers Rgt. (guess that it was a

Siberian unit, and it proved to be a very combattive one). The CD2 TO&E for

the Italian Cavalry Rgt. shoud be slightly corrected, as follows:

- The MG Squadron (5th Squadron) did not carry its MGs on carts. The MMGs

and their ammos were carried on pack horses, so it should be better to give

them 4 x"MMG Cavalry Stands" (must dismount to fire).

- The AT battery was attached only later in the year.

- Each Squadron was organized either on 4 platoons (30 men each), or on 3

platoons, (39 men each ). This latter organization was implemented during

the war, but I do not have any definitive source on how the Savoia was

organized at the moment of the batlle. In both cases each Squadron should be

*possibly* better represented by 3 x Cavalry Stands instead of 2.

3)- THE BATTLE: the russian Rgt. had approached during the night to a short

distance in front of the Italian lines, where it waited in "light

entrenchments" to start an attack . Their position was quite concealed from

view by the very high grass present in the zone, and by several folds of the

ground. At dawn pickets of the Savoia noticed the presence of the enemy

forces, and the commander of the "Savoia Cavalleria" Rgt., Col. Bettoni,

ordered an immediate charge.

The formation of the Rgt was, at the moment, on two lines (first line – left

to right - 4th and 3rd Squadrons : second line - left to right 1st, 5th and

2nd Squadrons). The 5th Squadron (MG Squadron) moved forward, dismounted,

and "fixed" with its fire the front line of the Russians., while the 2nd

Squadron started to move in a large circle to the right , apparently away

from the Russians, in coloumn of platoons. But as soon as it had gained a

slightly advanced position it performed a quick left wheel by platoons, and

charged with good elan in the middle of the Russian formation in line

formation, crossing all their position diagonaly, accompained by a section

of MMG of the 5th Squadron that, having found no time to dismount, charged

swords in hand with the rest.

Having reached the back of the Russian lines, the Squadron quickly reformed

and charged back along the same line. Albeit utterly surprised and haevy

disrupted by the quickness and violence of the charge, the Russians reacted

immediatelly and very creditably, moving forward against the Italian main

position with decision while severly engaging the now hard pressed 2nd

Squadron. To extricate the 2nd Squadron and break the impetus of the Russian

advance Col.Bettoni launched the dismounted 4th Squadron in a frontal

"dismounted charge" (cavalry slang!) that managed to stall for a few moment

the Russian assault. At this critical point the 3rd Squadron was launched in

a mounted charge too, diagonaly like the 2nd, while the dismounted 1st

Squadron started a turning movement on the left flank. A vicious

hand-to-hand fighting followed, until the Russians broke the field. As proof

of the bitterness of the fight and the remarkable "pluck" of both sides the

losses of the Savoia were 39 KIA and 79 WIA (about 20% of the engaged

force), while the Russians reportedly lost about 150 KIA and about 900

prisoners (over 300 of them WIA), plus 4x76mm field guns, 10x82mm mortars

and about 50x MGs. Immediately after the end of the fighting, the chivalrous

Col.Bettoni ordered a mounted "march past" of the Squadrons on the

battlefield with lowered swords, "in honour off all the fallen on the field

of honour".

3)- "COLOUR" NOTES:

- Colonel Count Alessandro Bettoni di Cazzago, later decorated with the

Military order of Savoy, the highest Italian military award, was one of the

most famous obstacle-jump horseman in Europe: in the 10 years before WWII he

took part to 237 jump-contests winning a staggering 699 prizes. He was also

a fervent monarchist, and when in 1946 the monarchy was abolished in Italy

he "purloined" the old and battle-strained Royal Flag of the Regiment, and

took it to the exiled king in Portugal. For that he was court-martialed,

reduced in rank and "dishonourably discharged" from the Army.

- Another distinghuished horseman of the Savoia Cavalleria Rgt was Cpt.Abba,

that (IIRC!) won a silver medal at the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936

(cross-country horse race, again IIRC).

- For You 20mm gamers, note that the Italian Mod.1871 sabres were burnished

(black-plated), but a good number of troopers used "liberated" polished

steel cossak M-1935 "saska"s, that were much appreciated for their

razor-sharp blades and for their resistance to icy weather. All the mounted

part of the battle of Isbuschenskij was fought with sabres and

hand-grenades.

- Again for You 20mm gamers (or the VERY skilled 1/300 ones!) the "Savoia

Cavalleria" was the only rgt. of the Italian cavalry to wear red neck-ties

(in memory of a Savoia trooper that allegedly reported to the Duke of Savoy

the new of a Piedmontese victory at the battle of Torino - 1706, War of the

Spanish Succession - managing to say just "Savoie, bonne nouvelles!" -

Savoy, good news! - before his death for a ghastly and red-blooding wound to

the neck. His last words has been inscribed on the crest of the Regiment

since then). It was also custom of the Italian cavalry to always wear the

parade-dress white gloves before the charges, but as Isbuschenskij was a

rather "surprise" engagement, I doubt that they managed to find the time to

honour this tradition in this battle.

- Actually Isbuschenskij was not the last charge of the Italian cavalry in

WWII. This (dubious) honour goes to the now disbanded "Cavaleggeri di

Alessandria" Rgt. at Poloij in Croazia, on October 17th 1942, when the whole

rgt performed a desperate night charge to break through the encirclement of

a well entrenched Communist partisans "brigade". The charge was successfull,

but with shattering losses and, due to the very broken ground and the nature

of the night engagement, without the tactical finesse displayed by the

Savoia at Isbuschenskij.

Actualy the Savoia performed the charge almost "by the book", following the

1931 Cavalry Regulation, that is:

1)- Frontal engagement of the enemy by dismounted fire-action

2)- Mounted manouver against a flank of the enemy.

3)- Support of the mounted action by dismounted action.

4)- Exploitation of success by further mounted manouver.

The phases were to be enacted by separate Squadrons, "feeded" in the battle

at intervals so that the Rgt. could always count on available tactical

reserves. I apologize for the lenghty description of the battle, but it is

such a nice example of "modern" cavalry tactics that I guess it could be of

good interest for the more "exoteric" minded gamers.

I also faintly remember to have seen a booklet by the Italian Army

Historical Office about the charge, but in case it ought to be an early

post-war work, long out of print.

AFAIK there is not much else of "technical" published about this small

battle.

But I would suggest all the same "Isbuscenskij - L'Ultima Carica" by Lucio

Lami, published by Mursia, ISBN 8842522511.

The title is quite misleading, as the book is not really about the charge

itself (less than 20 pages about that!) but about the whole campaign of the

Savoia Cavalleria Rgt in Russia. It's not even terribly well detailed on the

purely "technical-military" aspect, but it's a magnificent rendering of the

"feeling" of this proud and ancient regiment in war, in its day-to-day

common small stories. If You are interested in gaining a not-bombastic,

not-derogatory impression of the italian soldiers in war this book is well

worth a reading. IMHO, of course.

This post by

Arturo F.Lorioli

Via Cipro 47

00136 Roma (Italy)

e-Mail: arturo@lorioli.it

[tar]

What was the date of the battle?

[Hans]

August 1942 during the battle of Isbuscenskij.

There was some debate about the date of other charges also