Christmas Battle (1941)

The Christmas Battle (Italian: La battaglia di natale) was fought between forces of the Soviet Red Army and the Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia from 25 December to 28 December, 1941.

Battle
On Christmas Day 1941, Soviet forces attacked the Italian Celere Cavalry Division with the 35th and 68th Cavalry Divisions and the 136th Rifle Division. The Italians, later supported by parts of the Torino and Pasubio infantry divisions, managed to hold their lines despite being outnumbered. By December 27, a counterattack by Italian and German troops regained all lost ground. The battle ended with about 168 Italians killed and 207 missing, while Soviet losses were over 2,000 dead and 1,200 captured, along with many guns and vehicles. The Italian success was helped by good coordination between infantry and artillery, and the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment played a key role in both defense and counterattack.

 References 

Category:European battles of World War II
Category:Battles involving the Soviet Union
Category:Battles involving Italy
Category:World War II
Category:Battles of World War II involving Italy