136th Infantry Division Giovani Fascisti The 136th Infantry Division Giovani Fascisti was an infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II . History . The " Giovani Fascisti " ( Young Fascists or " GGFF " ) Division was formed from volunteers from the Young Fascist University . The volunteers were subject to a power struggle between the Army and the Fascist Blackshirts and of the original 24 battalions only two battalions survived to see action . The Division was sent to Libya in July 1941 . It was decided to reform them ( nicknamed by the Allies : " Mussolini ' s Boys " ) as an Armoured Division , the 136th Armoured Division Giovani Fascisti , but the conversion was never completed and it remained an infantry division . It was in action during Operation Crusader when the 11th Indian Brigade was heavily engaged against a strong point near Bir el Gobi , 25 miles south of Ed Duda . The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 136th Giovani Fascisti Infantry Regiment , held a hilltop position successfully and fought off repeated attacks by the British armour and Indian infantry units during the first week of December 1941 . The Mussolini ' s Boys began the Gazala battle in May 1942 as part of the army reserve , with four infantry battalions — the two original battalions , plus 9th Independent Infantry Battalion and the 3rd Battalion of the San Marco Marine Regiment ( which was later detached to join the Hecker amphibious group ) . During the course of the battle , the remaining three battalions went forward to assist the 102nd " Trento " Division ' s penetration of the Allied minefield zone . The division occupied the oasis of Siwa in Egypt in summer 1942 , in order to prevent possible military actions from the British Army to the south of the Axis Army attacking El Alamein . Indeed , in July 1942 , German Ju - 52 transport planes transported one battalion of the " Giovani Fascisti " to seize the strategic Oasis of Siwa , the largest air - landing assault conducted by the Axis in Africa . The rest of the division soon arrived as well , except for two companies from the 4th Anti - Tank Battalion . The oasis had been a staging area for raids by the Allied Long Range Desert Group into Libya , and now the Axis saw an opportunity to return the favor . Italian planners looked longingly at the tracks leading to the Nile . Field Marshal Erwin Rommel visited on September 1942 and reviewed the unit . Officers showed him their maps and scouting reports of the deep desert , and several Egyptian clan chiefs gave their opinions that no substantial Allied forces stood between Siwa and the Nile . The Young Fascist Division , the officers claimed , could unhinge the Allied positions on the coast from Siwa if only they had the fuel . While they waited , the Italians set up an Egyptian government - in - exile , complete with postage stamps , and flew the Egyptian flag alongside the Italian tricolor flag . Some units of the " Giovani Fascisti " fought in the second battle of El Alamein with the 185th Airborne Division Folgore . In mid - November , after Montgomery ' s victory , the Division withdrew from Siwa to Agedaiba and later to Tunisia . In the Mareth Line fought bravely the Allies with the remaining Axis troops . The Division was nearly totally destroyed in 1943 , during the fighting in Tunisia . Even if decimated , the " Giovani Fascisti " was the last Axis military unit to surrender to the Allies in North Africa on May 13 , 1943 .