215th Coastal Division
The 215th Coastal Division () was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. Royal Italian Army coastal divisions were second line divisions formed with reservists and equipped with second rate materiel. They were often commanded by officers called out of retirement. History. The division was activated on 1 August 1943 in Florence by expanding the XVI Coastal Brigade and adding the Autonomous Sector Piombino-Elba. The division was assigned to II Army Corps and based its headquarter in Massa Marittima. The division was responsible for the coastal defense of the coast of southern  Tuscany from Cap San Vincenzo in San Vincenzo to Albinia. The division was also responsible for the defense of the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago and the harbor of Piombino. After the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943 the division's commander Cesare Maria De Vecchi authorized German forces to enter the port of Piombino and forbade to resist the invading German forces. The order was ignored by the Royal Italian Navy and army units in Piombino, which supported by the local population, fought a battle against the Germans on 10 September, that left more than  100 Germans dead and about 200 prisoners in Italian hands. The following day De Vecchi ordered to free the Germans and return their weapons to them, after which he signed the surrender of his division to the Germans. Commanding officers. The division's commanding officers were: