Deployment of the armed forces of the Axis Minors (Italy, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia) by theatres of war in summer 1942.
Italian, Finnish, Romanian, Hungarian, Bulgarian and Slovakian distribution of forces after theatres of war in summer (June-July) 1942 according to nominal (paper) strengths.
ITALY
Table of Contents
Italian Forces: Divisions:
Theaters of War | Infantry, Mountain, Airborne and Black Shirt divisions | Motorized Infantry, Mobile and partly motorized African divisions | Armoured |
|---|---|---|---|
Comando Supremo Africa | 1 | 6 | 2 |
8th Army (Expeditionary Forces in Russia) | 6 | - | - |
in transfer to 8th Army in Russia | 3 | 1 | - |
Northern Italy | c.19 | 1 | - |
Central and Southern Italy | c.23 | - | - |
Sardinia, Corsica | c.9 | - | - |
Balkans, Croatia, Greece | c.29 | 1 | 1 |
TOTAL | 90 | 9 | 3 |
Italian Infantry:
Theaters of War | Infantry (rifle men) | automatic rifles | sub-machine guns | machine guns | mortars | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Comando Supremo Africa | 28,729 | 124+ | ? | 1,668 | 96 | ? |
8th Army (Expeditionary Forces in Russia) | 49,506 | ? | ? | 1,656 | 1,044 | ? |
in transfer to 8th Army in Russia | 29,414 | ? | ? | 960 | 582 | ? |
Northern Italy | 162,693 | ? | ? | 5,316 | 3,250 | ? |
Central and Southern Italy | 189,773 | ? | ? | 6,348 | 4,002 | ? |
Sardinia, Corsica | 74,259 | ? | ? | 2,484 | 1,566 | ? |
Balkans, Croatia, Greece | 247,030 | ? | ? | 8,208 | 4,999 | ? |
TOTAL | 781,404 | 124+ | ? | 26,640 | 15,539 | ? |
Italian Motor Vehicles and Artillery:
Theaters of War | Tanks | Assault Guns, AFV's | APC's | Trucks | Field guns | AT guns | AA guns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Comando Supremo Africa | 310 | 182 | ? | 4,200 (?) | 280 | 646 | 144 |
8th Army (Expeditionary Forces in Russia) | - | - | ? | 516 | 216 | 144 | 48 |
in transfer to 8th Army in Russia | 46 | - | ? | 476 | 144 | 88 | 32 |
Northern Italy | 46 | - | ? | 1,766 | 708 | 448 | 152 |
Central and Southern Italy | - | - | ? | 1,978 | 828 | 552 | 184 |
Sardinia, Corsica | - | - | ? | 774 | 324 | 216 | 72 |
Balkans, Croatia, Greece | 190 | 41 | ? | 2,844 | 1,118 | 691 | 258 |
TOTAL | 592 | 223 | ? | 12,554 | 3,618 | 2,785 | 890 |
FINLAND
Finnish Forces: Divisions:
Theaters of War | Infantry | Motorized Infantry, Cavalry | Armoured |
|---|---|---|---|
South-Eastern Army | 7 | - | - |
Karelian Army | 5 | 1 | - |
Lapland (German AOK Norway) | 2 | - | - |
Reserves | 2 | - | - |
TOTAL | 16 | 1 | - |
Finnish Infantry:
Theaters of War | Infantry (rifle men) | automatic rifles | sub-machine guns | machine guns | mortars | light anti-tank weapons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
South-Eastern Army | c.70,000 | ? | 1,750 | 812 | 126 | ? |
Karelian Army | c.60,000 | ? | 1,500 | 736 | 114 | ? |
Lapland (German AOK Norway | c.20,000 | ? | 500 | 232 | 36 | ? |
Reserves | c.20,000 | ? | 500 | 232 | 36 | ? |
TOTAL | 170,000 | ? | 4,250 | 2,012 | 312 | ? |
Finnish Motor Vehicles and Artillery:
Theaters of War | Tanks | Assault Guns, AFV's | APC's | Trucks | Feld guns | AT guns | AA guns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
South-Eastern Army | - | - | ? | - | 252 | 70 | - |
Karelian Army | c.150 | - | ? | c.400 | 204 | c.60 | - |
Lapland (German AOK Norway) | - | - | ? | - | 72 | 20 | - |
Reserves | - | - | ? | - | 72 | 20 | - |
TOTAL | 150 | - | ? | 400 | 600 | 170 | - |
ROMANIA
Romanian Forces: Divisions:
Theaters of War | Infantry, Mountain | Motorized Infantry, Cavalry | Armoured |
|---|---|---|---|
with German Army-Group South, Russia | 9 | 3 | - |
in transfer to Army Group South | 9 | 4 | 1 |
inside Romania | 15 | - | - |
TOTAL | 33 | 7 | 1 |
Romanian Infantry:
Theaters of War | Infantry (rifle men) | automatic rifles | sub-machine guns | machine guns | mortars | light anti-tank weapons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
with German Army-Group South, Russia | c.84,000 | ? | - | c.1,050 | c.210 | ? |
in transfer to Army Group South | c.92,000 | ? | - | c.1,150 | c.230 | ? |
inside Romania | c.120,000 | ? | - | c.1,500 | c.300 | ? |
TOTAL | 296,000 | ? | - | 3,700 | 740 | ? |
Romanian Motor Vehicles and Artillery:
Theaters of War | Tanks | Assault Guns, AFV's | APC's | Trucks | Feld guns | AT guns | AA guns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
with German Army-Group South, Russia | - | - | total c.400 Skoda | c.100 | 350 | 261 | - |
in transfer to Army Group South | c.150 | - | - | - | 386 | 318 | - |
inside Romania | - | - | - | - | 360 | 450 | - |
TOTAL | 150 | - | 400 | 100 | 1,096 | 1,029 | - |
HUNGARY
Hungarian Forces: Divisions:
Theaters of War | Infantry, Mountain | Motorized Infantry, Cavalry | Armoured |
|---|---|---|---|
with German Army-Group South, Russia | 7 | - | 1 |
in transfer to Army Group South | 2 | - | - |
with German Army-Group Center, Russia | 1 | - | - |
inside Hungary | 9 | - | - |
TOTAL | 19 | - | 1 |
Hungarian Infantry:
Theaters of War | Infantry (rifle men) | automatic rifles | sub-machine guns | machine guns | mortars | light anti-tank weapons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
with German Army-Group South, Russia | c.75,000 | ? | ? | c.1,150 | c.220 | 266 |
in transfer to Army Group South | c.20,000 | ? | ? | c.300 | c.230 | 76 |
with German Army-Group Center, Russia | c.10,000 | ? | ? | c.150 | c.30 | 38 |
inside Hungary | c.90,000 | ? | ? | c.1.350 | c.270 | 342 |
TOTAL | 195,000 | ? | - | 2,950 | 750 | 722 |
Hungarian Motor Vehicles and Artillery:
Theaters of War | Tanks | Assault Guns, AFV's | APC's | Trucks | Field guns | AT guns | AA guns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
with German Army-Group South, Russia | 107 | 24 | - | ca. 200 | 168 | c.300 | - |
in transfer to Army Group South | - | - | - | - | 48 | 80 | - |
with German Army-Group Center, Russia | - | - | - | - | 24 | 40 | - |
in Hungary | - | - | - | - | 216 | 360 | - |
TOTAL | 107 | 24 | - | 200 | 456 | 780 | - |
BULGARIA
Bulgarian Forces: Divisions:
Theaters of War | Infantry, Mountain | Motorized Infantry, Cavalry | Armoured |
|---|---|---|---|
5th Army at South-East Serbia | 3 | - | - |
5th Army at Macedonia | 3 | 1 | - |
I Occupation Corps | 7 | - | - |
inside Bulgaria | 8 | 1 | 1 |
TOTAL | 21 | 2 | 1 |
Bulgarian Infantry:
Theaters of War | Infantry (rifle men) | automatic rifles | sub-machine guns | machine guns | mortars | light anti-tank weapons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5th Army at South-East Serbia | c.12,000 | ? | ? | c.300 | c.30 | ? |
5th Army at Macedonia | c.16,000 | ? | ? | c.350 | c.35 | ? |
I Occupation Corps | c.28.000 | ? | ? | c.700 | c.70 | ? |
inside Bulgaria | c.36,000 | ? | ? | c.900 | c.90 | ? |
TOTAL | 92,000 | ? | - | 2,250 | 225 | ? |
Bulgarian Motor Vehicles and Artillery:
Theaters of War | Tanks | Assault Guns, AFV's | APC's | Trucks | Feld guns | AT guns | AA guns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5th Army at South-East Serbia | . | - | - | - | c.72 | c.30 | - |
5th Army at Macedonia | - | - | - | - | c.84 | c.35 | - |
I Occupation Corps | - | - | - | - | c.168 | c.70 | - |
inside Bulgaria | 121 | - | - | c.100 | c.216 | c.90 | - |
TOTAL | 121 | - | - | 100 | 540 | 225 | - |
SLOVAKIA
Slovak Forces: Divisions:
Theaters of War | Infantry, Mountain | Motorized Infantry, Cavalry | Armoured |
|---|---|---|---|
with German Army-Group South, Russia | - | 1 | - |
inside Slovakia | 2 | - | - |
TOTAL | 2 | 1 | - |
Slovak Infantry:
Theaters of War | Infantry (rifle men) | automatic rifles | sub-machine guns | machine guns | mortars | light anti-tank weapons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
with German Army-Group South, Russia | c.7,000 | ? | ? | c.200 | c.50 | ? |
inside Slovakia | c.20,000 | ? | ? | c.400 | c.100 | ? |
TOTAL | 27,000 | ? | ? | 600 | 150 | ? |
Slovak Motor Vehicles and Artillery:
Theaters of War | Tanks | Assault Guns, AFV's | APC's | Trucks | Field guns | AT guns | AA guns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
with German Army-Group South, Russia | c.20 | - | - | 695 | 27 | c.30 | - |
inside Slovakia | - | - | - | - | 54 | c.60 | - |
TOTAL | 20 | - | - | 695 | 81 | 90 | - |
Deployment of the Air Forces
The strength of the aircraft for the Regia Aeronautica dates from October-November 1942.
Strength of Regia Aeronautica:
Theaters of War | Fighter-bombers | light Bombers | Medium Bombers |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
Italian Mainland | 264 | - | 20 | 209 |
Sicily | 184 | - | - | 84 |
Sardinia | 33 | - | - | 72 |
Libya | c.210 | c.150 | c.25 | c.60 |
Aegean | 46 | - | - | 41 |
Greece | 81 | - | - | - |
Albania | 15 | - | - | 17 |
Slovenia, Dalmatia | - | - | - | 17 |
Russia | 40 | - | - | - |
TOTAL | 873 | 150 | 45 | 500 |
all other Axis Minor Air Forces:
Theaters of War | Fighters | Fighter-bombers | light Bombers | Medium Bombers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Finland | c.200 | - | c.50 | c.50 |
Romanian, Eastern Front | c.80 | - | c.25 | c.70 |
inside Romania | c.80 | - | - | c.100 |
Hungary, Eastern Front | c.50 | - | - | c.50 |
inside Hungary | c.40 | - | - | c.60 |
Bulgaria | c.150 | - | c.30 | c.30 |
Slovakia, Eastern Front | c.20 | - | c.10 | - |
TOTAL | 620 | - | 115 | 360 |
Deployment of Navies
Strength of Axis Minors:
Theaters of War | Battleships | Heavy Cruisers | Light Cruisers | Destroyers | Torpedo boats | MTBs | Subs | Merchant Fleet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regia Navale (Italy, Mediterranean) | 6 (+1 under long-time repair) | 4 | c.12 | c.45 | c.60 | ? | c.90 | c.483 (c.1.481m t) |
Finland (Baltic) | - | - | 1 (armoured coastal defence vessel) | - | - | c.7 | 5 | 432 (all sizes) |
Romania (Black Sea) | - | - | - | 7 | - | c.6 | 3 | 35 |
Bulgaria (Black Sea) | - | - | - | - | 4 | c.10 | - | 14 |
TOTAL | 7 (1 under repair) | 4 | c.13 | c.52 | c.64 | 23+ | c.98 | c.2 m t |
References and literature
The Armed Forces of World War II (Andrew Mollo)
Germany’s Eastern Front Allies 1941-45 (Peter Abbott, Nigel Thomas)
World War II – A Statistical Survey (John Ellis)
Der Grosse Atlas zum II. Weltkrieg (Peter Young)
Kriegstagebuch des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht, Band 1-8 (Percy E. Schramm)
The Finns did deploy a small armored division consisting of a mix of captured Soviet AFVs, German Stugs and conversions which used the British 25 lber. While never numbering more than 80 or 90 AFVs, it did exist.
Dear author,
please, wouldn’t you mind to correct the Italian words “Commando Supremo” to “Comando Supremo”. In fact, in Italian the meaning of the word commando (it.= assault team) differs from that one of comando (it.= command). Thank you very much!
Luca Valzano
Thanks for the info and fixed.