Notable Point · 3:05-3:29

Division command in the Mediterranean war

De Courten's wartime division commands connect him to the First Battle of Sirte and Operation Vigorous before his rise to naval leadership.

First Battle Of Sirte Mediterranean Theatre Naval Divisions Operation Vigorous Raffaele De Courten Regia Marina World War II

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Notes

During the Second World War, de Courten commanded the Seventh Division. He participated in the First Battle of Sirte in that command, then moved to the Eighth Division and took part in Operation Vigorous. His wartime career included promotion and the Silver Medal of Military Valor. These commands gave him operational experience in the Mediterranean before he took charge of the Navy Ministry and naval staff in 1943.

Source

Video: Chiefs of Staff of the Axis Navies: (Long Patrol) - P8/14: Raffaele de Courten
Date: 17 Sept 2021
Time: 3:05-3:29
Kind: Notable Point

Transcript passages

3:05-3:29De Courten commanded the Seventh and Eighth Divisions, fought in the First Battle of Sirte and Operation Vigorous, was promoted, and earned the Silver Medal of Military Valor. The opening associates the Seventh Division command with Italy entering the war in 1940. The Italian Navy biography dates his successive division commands from August 1941 to March 1943, so the public wording retains the wartime sequence without repeating the conflicting 1940 appointment claim (https://www.marina.difesa.it/noi-siamo-la-marina/organizzazione/csm/csmm/Pagine/RaffaeleDeCOURTEN.aspx).
3:36-3:48After Mussolini's deposition, de Courten takes the Navy Ministry and naval staff posts, following the earlier operational commands.