First Battle of Don

The First Defensive Battle of the Don was a series of difficult battles fought by Italy’s 8th Army on the Don River in Russia in the summer of 1942 during World War II. The fighting started when Soviet troops made a strong attack against the Italian positions on the river. Some Italian units were pushed back and lost important bridgeheads at Serafimovič and Verčne Mamon, and the 2nd Infantry Division “Sforzesca” collapsed in places, causing German concern about Italian weakness. Later, more Italian units arrived such as the 3rd Celere Division “Principe Amedeo Duca d’Aosta,” the Savoia Cavalleria, the Monte Cervino Battalion, and the 5th Infantry Division “Cosseria” to support the 9th Division “Pasubio” and the 3rd Division “Ravenna.” These reinforcements helped stop the Soviet advance, even though not all lost positions were regained.

First Battle of Don
Part of Eastern Front of World War II
The Eastern Front and the directions of the German summer offensive of 1942.
Date 20 August–1 September 1942 Location Don region, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Result Italian defensive victory
Belligerents
Italy Supported by:  Germany	Soviet Union Supported by:  United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Giovanni Messe	Andrei Yeremenko
Casualties and losses
900 killed 4200 injured 1700 missing

Background

Since summer 1941, Mussolini sought to strengthen Italy’s presence on the Eastern Front for prestige and access to raw materials, and in early 1942 Hitler needing reinforcements after heavy losses near Moscow ressed him to expand Italian forces in Russia; thus on 1 May 1942 the 8th Army (ARMIR) under General Italo Gariboldi was formed, incorporating the CSIR as the XXXV Corps under General Giovanni Messe, along with the 2nd Army Corps and the Alpine Corps, and deployed from July 1942 during Operation Blue, taking positions along the Don River while briefly considering but ultimately abandoning the use of Alpine troops in the Caucasus; between July and mid-August the Italian 3rd Infantry Division “Principe Amedeo Duca d’Aosta,” fighting with German units, attempted to eliminate the Serafimovich bridgehead in intense battles that reduced but did not destroy the Soviet position, suffering over 1,700 casualties before being replaced by the “Sforzesca” Division for rest and reorganisation.^[1][2][3]

Battle

During August 1942, as the German 6th Army pushed toward Stalingrad and reached the Volga on 23 August, the Red Army launched determined counterattacks along the Don to disrupt Axis communications and slow the German advance. From 13–18 August, the Voronezh and Stalingrad Fronts attacked the Hungarian and Italian sectors, securing key bridgeheads at Korotojak and Kremenskaya. On 20 August the Italian XXXV Army Corps, particularly the inexperienced “Sforzesca” Division, was struck by the Soviet 63rd and 21st Armies; its positions collapsed under pressure and the division retreated in confusion toward Jagodnij and Čebotarevskij.^[4] To prevent a wider collapse, the Italian 8th Army rushed reinforcements including the Celere Division, the “Monte Cervino” Battalion, the Croatian Legion, and German units to stabilize the line. A counterattack on 23 August failed, though Italian cavalry, especially the Savoia Cavalleria at Isbuscenskij, temporarily slowed Soviet forces. Renewed Soviet attacks by the 14th Guards and 203rd Rifle Divisions achieved limited gains before the Axis line solidified by 26 August. A German–Italian counteroffensive on 1 September also failed, leaving the Soviets firmly in control of the expanded Serafimovič bridgehead. At the same time, Soviet forces struck further north against the Italian “Ravenna” Division, establishing another bridgehead at Osetrovka, which later played a major role in the successful launch of Operation Little Saturn and the eventual destruction of the Italian 8th Army. Although gaining major success the Soviets failed to destroy the German–Italian defense.^[2]