Battle of Nikitovka
Battle of Nikitovka was fought between the Italian forces under the command of Giovanni Messe and Soviet Union during the Eastern Front of World War II.The 80th Regiment "Roma" successfully defeated a surprise attack of the Russians and occupied Nikitovka. However they found themselves completely blocked by the Russians at Nikitovka, several attempts were made by the other Italian deployment but they failed. On 13 November another battle was fought as a final attempt for a breakout which was successful and the Russians retreated. Nikitovka remained under Axis specially Italian occupation until it was recaptured by the Soviets on August 1943 in the Donbas strategic offensive.
Background
The C.S.I.R was ordered to invade and capture the strategic areas of Gorlovka and Nikitovka. However these battles would caused many casualties for the italian units, having no choice left Giovanni Messe further encouraged his men and started marching towards Gorlovka and Nikitovka. On night of 22nd October the Italian amry moved towards Kryvyi Rih and capturing the area after facing some resistance from the Russians. Then the army charged at Skotovoye and after a brief engagement forced the enemies to retreat. After passing through Grishino on 23 October, the Italian forces captured Scelesnoje after defeating the superior Russian forces.
On 1 November the Russians for an unknown reason retreated towards Gorlovka and Rikovo, the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment immediately advanced upon the retreating Russians, the Italians soon defeated the Russians and captured the locality. The 70th and 80th Regiment encounter resistance by the enemies and the rebels at Gorlovka. The fighting had to be distributed over the entire street layout with some fighting being done house by house, in sub-zero temperatures, constantly under the threat of snipers that required the fighters to be separated into smaller groups in order to reduce the chance of being an easy target. The Italians successfully captured Gorlovka at dawn on 2 November and the Russians retreated towards Novohryhorivka.
Battle
On 2nd November the 80th Regiment of the Axis forces after their victory at Gorlovka, advanced into Trudovaya but found themselves attacked by the Russians in the vicinity of Nikitovka. Since there was a gap of nearly 40 km between the Italian Royal Army and 17th Panzer Division the Russians tried to take advantage of this situation. The 80th Regiment reacted immediately by launching a counteroffensive and forcing the Russians to retreat. Then the Italians occupied Nikitovka on 6th November 1941. However the 80th Regiment "Roma" had advanced too far away from other Italian deployment and found themselves completely stuck and blocked by the Russians in Nikitovka.
Several attempts to unblock the 80th Regiment "Roma" were made, the first attempt was made on 10 November by 79th Infantry Regiment but they were defeated and forced to retreat on the same day another attempt was made by the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment but that too ended in a failure. The conditions were urgent because they did not have food, water or supplies, and it was cold and freezing the weapons and soldiers. During the battle another event occurred with a Russian woman, named Juliana Andr, who, even with her Colonel Chiaramonti objecting, approached the open field to try and get water from a well. Even though it was difficult for her because she thought of the soldiers as her enemy, she felt bad for them because she had watched them suffer too long, and she thought of her femininity when approaching the well, and suddenly became an instant victim from the burst of gunfire from the Soviets. The 80th Regiment "Roma" has buried her as if she were one of them with all of the dignity they would have reserved for a soldier.
Conditions on 11 November became completely hopeless and it was impossible for any of the troops left behind to recover the wounded or resupply themselves. On 12 November, the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment under command of Aminto Caretto pushed into Nikitovka but came under a heavy Russian barrage, which prevented them from advancing, causing them to withdraw. In the afternoon, Colonel Chiaramonti received news of Caretto's defeat and retreat; he then planned an attack after dark which the Italians executed with success. An Italian officer named Rosario Randazzo, who lost an arm, continued firing a machine gun through his mouth and was awarded a Gold Medal for his actions. A sudden, violent snowstorm allowed the 80th Regiment "Roma" to return to their positions with the wounded and frostbite, and finally unblocked the 80th Regiment "Roma", permitting the 80th Regiment to defeat the Soviet troops.