At the start of Italy’s war, the Italian Army had no
assault engineering units designed to take on enemy fortifications.
The performance of pioneer units in the German blitzkrieg demonstrated
to the Italians the need for such units, leading to the creation of the
Guastatori del Genio which began training units in late 1940.
By early 1941 these specialised assault engineers were fighting in
North Africa, and by mid-1942 they were also on the Eastern Front.
During the Sicilian campaign the 11th Guastatori Battalion was attached
to the ‘Livorno’ Division, fighting alongside them throughout the
campaign.
Contains 10 metal Italian Guastatori miniatures:
- NCO with rifle and pistol
- 2 x two-man flamethrower teams
- 2 engineers with rifles and bangalore torpedoes
- 3 engineers with rifles
- Plastic bases
Models supplied unassembled and unpainted
