Original Italian WWII 78th “Lupi di Toscana” Infantry Maggiore Officer’s Uniform with Ribbon Bar

Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is a lovely Italian officer’s uniform for a Maggiore serving with the 78th “Lupi di Toscana” Infantry. At the outbreak of World War II the regiment consisted of a command, a command company, three fusilier battalions, a support weapons battery equipped with 65/17 infantry support guns, and a mortar company equipped with 81mm Mod. 35 mortars. In June 1940 the division participated in the invasion of France. In fall of 1940 the division was sent to Albania, where Italian units were heavily engaged against Greek forces in the Greco-Italian War. There the division defended Tepelenë and then fought in the Zagori valley. After the German invasion of Greece the division remained in Epirus until October 1941 as occupation force.

On 3–9 November 1942 the division participated in Case Anton the Axis invasion of Vichy France. Afterwards the division remained on garrison duty in occupied France. On 3 September 1943 the division was ordered to move to Rome. Between 6-8 September three infantry battalions and some minor units of the division arrived in Lazio. The battalions were ordered to defend the airfields at Furbara and Cerveteri, where the Italian government hoped the American 82nd Airborne Division would land to support the Royal Italian Army's defense of Rome once the Armistice of Cassibile would be announced. After the armistice was announced on 8 September 1943 the Lupi di Toscana units in Lazio resisted invading German forces until 12 September, while the main body of the division was caught and disbanded by German forces in Liguria on 9 September 1943.

The uniform has the correct infantry buttons with gold-tape cuff ranks for the rank of “Maggiore”. There is a small bullion stripe on the right sleeve which we believe to denote long service. The red-piped shoulder boards with the crossed rifles & crown devices denote infantry. The velvet collar retains the two “gorget” collar tabs with a red background, white vertical stripe with a star over it, which denotes the 78th Infantry Regiment "Lupi di Toscana". 

The jacket has a six-place ribbon bar over the left breast pocket with the War Cross for Military Valor with a star, the War Merit Cross with a sword device, the War Merit Cross, the World War I Gold Medal Commemorative with three stars, the WWI Commemorative Medal of the Unity of Italy 1848 - 1918, and an unidentified medal with a green, white, and red ribbon.

The interior has no markings that we can find, which is common to see for a tailored officer’s uniform. The sleeves have fantastic rows of stitching which have kept the uniform in good order.

This is a fantastic Italian officer’s uniform, ready for further research and display!