[2] The division was activated on 15 November 1941 in Catanzaro by reorganizing the XII Coastal Sector Command.

[3] The division was assigned to XXXI Army Corps, which was responsible for the defense of southern Calabria.

[1] The division was responsible for the coastal defence of the coast of central Calabria: on the Tyrrhenian Sea side from Capo Vaticano to the outskirts of Serra d'Aiello, on the Ionian Sea side from Badolato to Cropani.

[4] In early September 1943 the division prepared to fight the British XIII Corps, which had landed on 3 September 1943 in southern Calabria in Operation Baytown and was advancing towards the 212th Coastal Division's positions.

After the Armistice of Cassibile was announced on 8 September 1943 the division remained at its positions and surrendered to the British XIII Corps.