Looking for information on the Italian Artillery mounted on a Lancia truck. I have seen a picture somewhere (can't seem to find it) and a miniatures company makes a model (GRF in 15mm). Especially interested in the organization of the unit(s) and what action they saw.
At the end of 1915 there were six field-car batteries (batterie auto-campali): 1st (in Udine) with one 75 E (Ehrhardt) and one 75 C (Rheinmetall modified by Italian Anti-aircfraft Commission) 2nd (in Cervignano) with four 75mm Mod. C.K. 3rd (in Casarsa) with two 75mm Mod. C.K., one 37mm, one 25mm MG 4th with two 75mm Mod. C.K. 5th and 6th with four 75mm Mod. C.K. They were built by the Artillery Arsenal in Pozzuoli and were use as anti-aircraft guns. All were placed on trucks.
In June 1915 Ansaldo received an order for 36 trucks armed with 102/35 naval guns (for 18 two-guns batteries). In July 1914 the order was increased to 72 guns (for 18 four-guns batteries). Later there were another order for 14 batteries armed with 105mm guns (in September reduced to six batteries). Three batteries armed with 76/17 guns had been offered by ansaldo before the entry of Italy in WW1 (24.05.1915), but the first guns was manufacured only in November 1915.
At the beginning of May 1916 the first batteries armed with 102/35 were put in the field: 1st group was sent in Val Lagarina, Vallarsa e Val d'Assa; 4th group was sent in the valleis near the Altipiano dei Sette Comuni. At the end of May the 2nd group arrived, and in July the 5th group too. Every group had three batteriesw. They were intensively used during the Stafeexpedition, against the A-H troops in Trentino.
There seems to be a misunderstanding of the term portee - this is not the same as a lorry mounted gun. A portee is a gun (usually a field piece) on its normal carriage that is carried on a truck rather than being towed. Although porteed guns can sometimes be fired from the lorry it is more usual for them to be unloaded and fires from the ground as normal. I don't think the guns described are portee they are lorry mounted guns.
In 1916-17 the plan for the establishment of new artillery units provided for: 16 replacement sections with two 102/35 guns; 100 102/35 guns not allotted to an unit (later increased to 200); 3 batteries armed with 105mm guns; 19 batteries armed with four 75 C.K. each and 14 replacement guns; 50 75mm Mod. 906 installed on partially armoured chassis Lancia 1Z. They had to bemanufactured in the second half of 1917, but on 9 May 1916 gen. Cadorna affirmed that the 102/35 guns were manufctured only as stop-gap guns, so now their production had to be stopped. Also the order of 105mm guns were canceled. Till the end of 1916 Ansaldo had delivered to the Army : 80 102/35 guns; 1 105/28 gun; 1 76/17 gun. The number of the groups armed with 102/35 guns rose to six. In 1917-18 the plan for the establishment of new artillery units provided only for: 13 batteries armed with four 75 C.K. each and 8 replacement guns; 12 batteries armed with four 75mm Mod. 906 (the guns orderd in 1916-17). During the Austro-German offensive in October 1916 (Caporetto) the “autocannoni” were intensively used and Italian Army lost30 102/35 guns and 28 75 C.K. After the breakthrough the “autocannoni” were assigned to “General Reserve of Artillery”. Their task was to “rush quickly in order to protect against unexpected and unpredictable threats”. In summer 1918 Italian Army had 26 75 C.K. guns and 76 102/35 guns, while the Navy had 6 76/30 guns on chassis Fiat 18B in Cortellazzo and further 2 of these guns north on Sogno, on Garda lake. At the end of the war there were twenty-one batteries armed with 75 C.K. (1st to 12th, 81st to 86th, 88th, 89th, 91st ).
