NOVO ORLOVKA, RUSSIA,
22 December 1941:
By mid December the Italians were well aware of the looming Russian
offensive. From the gates of Moscow, Soviet attacks rolled north
and south and sooner or later the CSIR would be involved. Aerial
recon and sustained patrol activity identified a strong enemy
troop concentration consisting of four Russian infantry divisions
(74th, 296th, 136th and 265th), and two cavalry divisions (35th,
68th), supported by independent tank units, engineers and artillery
formations. The Russians aimed this offensive in the CSIR sector
at the junction between the Italian Expeditionary Corps and the
German XLIX Alpine Corps. The 3rd Regiment of the 3rd Celere Division
(Principe Amedeo D’Aosta), the 63rd Black Shirt Legion (Tagliamento)
and, on the far left, elements of the Torino Division held the
sector. The Italians, sensing their time was fast approaching,
sent out recon patrols almost every night. A recon patrol was
called a Pattuglione, and some sought to identify the attack routes
and to disrupt the enemy units assembling for the incoming offensive.
On a pitch-black night, December 22, a Pattuglione from the LXXIX
Battalion of 63rd Black Shirt Legion infiltrated forward enemy
lines to destroy an artillery battery. Low, dense clouds and the
noticeable raised temperature, clear signs of an incoming storm,
helped the Pattuglione to reach its objective safe and undetected.
Yet the Black Shirts knew that once the fireworks started, coming
back would not be so easy.
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