22nd Infantry Division "Cacciatori delle Alpi"

During World War I the brigade fought initially on the Italian front, but in April 1918 it was transferred together with the Brigade "Brescia",[4] Brigade "Napoli",[5] and Brigade "Salerno"[6] to the Western Front in France. There the brigades fought in the Third Battle of the Aisne, Second Battle of the Marne, Battle of Saint-Thierry, and the Hundred Days Offensive.[7]

Some 220 officers and 6,000 soldiers of the "Alpi" Brigade remained in Belgium after the end of World War I under the command of the British XI Corps. Between 9 and 13 March 1919, they were moved to occupied Germany, first occupying the villages of Winden and Schaidt. On 1 April, they replaced the French 2nd Colonial Division on the front between Lauterbourg and Pfortz. On 17 May, their front was extended to Jockgrim. Between 17 and 19 June, they moved to the area around Worms and Oppenheim. They remained in Germany until 28 July.[8]

On 25 November 1926 the brigade assumed the name of XXII Infantry Brigade and received the 81st Infantry Regiment "Torino" from the disbanded Brigade "Torino". The brigade was the infantry component of the 22nd Territorial Division of Perugia, which also included the 1st Artillery Regiment. On 1 October 1934 the 52nd Infantry Regiment "Alpi" merged with the Complementary Infantry Officer Recruits School in Spoleto and was reorganized with two recruit battalions and one fusilier battalion. On 1 January 1935 the division changed its name to 22nd Infantry Division "Cacciatori delle Alpi".[1][9][10]

On 15 July 1936 the 81st Infantry Regiment "Torino" was transferred to the newly activated 52nd Infantry Division "Torino". In 1939 the XXII Infantry Brigade was dissolved, with the infantry regiments coming under direct command of the division, and the 1st Artillery Regiment received the name "Cacciatori delle Alpi". The same year the 52nd Infantry Regiment "Alpi" lost its training function and moved to Terni.[1]

Coat of Arms of the 51st Infantry Regiment "Alpi", 1939

Coat of Arms of the 52nd Infantry Regiment "Alpi", 1942

When the Italian invasion of France started 10 June 1940, the Cacciatori delle Alpi division remained in reserve as part of the 1st Army in the Perinaldo-Pigna, Liguria-Castel Vittorio area near the border with France. It was moved out of reserve on 19 June 1940 and assigned an attack sector at Triora-Vallecrosia-Camporosso, but the war with France ended on 24 June 1940 before the division saw combat.[1]

In early January 1941 the division was sent to Albania to reinforce the crumbling Italian front during the Greek offensive in the Greco-Italian War. The division reached Bubës on 18 January 1941 and assembled near Berat on 19 January. On 21 January the division entered the front between Qafa e Bubësit, Përroi i Branecit, with the task to block Greek attacks in the Osum river valley. On 25 January Greek forces attacked with the aim to force a path to Berat. By 28 January the Greeks had succeeded in breaking the Cacciatori's line and the severely decimated division gave way and retreated north until reaching the Shkumbin river. A minor defensive battle was won by Italians at Mali i Firtit on 9–10 February 1941, which stopped the Greek advance. With the start of the general Italian offensive on 15 April 1941, the Cacciatori delle Alpi participated in an attack on Korçë, reaching Cerovë after some fighting. It crossed the Vjosë river near Përmet on 21 April 1941, blocking the retreat route of the Greek army. On 28 April 1941 it moved to Korçë and from there to the Greek border around Mavri Petra mountain near Ersekë.[1]

In July 1941 the Cacciatori delle Alpi was transferred to Podgorica in Montenegro. In September 1941 it moved to the area between Split and Šibenik in Croatia. From 9 October until 9 November 1941 the division fought against Yugoslav Partisans on the Croatian-Serbian border. In December 1941, the division was transferred to Metković in Croatia. Sporadic fighting with partisans occurred from Dubrovnik to Gacko. The division took part in Operation Trio between 8 April and 14 June 1942, which was an anti-partisan operation in Croatia with the objective of destroying partisan and Chetnik forces.[11][12] The division was also involved in the Operation Foča between 5-12 May 1942. This operation was a follow-on from Operation Trio with the objective of destroying the Partisan forces in eastern Bosnia, which had been forced there by Operation Trio.[13]

While the Cacciatori delle Alpi was on occupation duty in Yugoslavia the division's regimental depots in Italy raised the 151st Infantry Division "Perugia": the depot of the 51st Infantry Regiment "Cacciatori delle Alpi" raised the 129th Infantry Regiment "Perugia", the depot of the 52nd Infantry Regiment "Cacciatori delle Alpi" raised the 130th Infantry Regiment "Perugia", and the depot of the 1st Artillery Regiment "Cacciatori delle Alpi" raised the 151st Artillery Regiment "Perugia".[14]

The division was in the Ljubljana and Rijeka areas when the Armistice of Cassibile was announced on 8 September 1943 and was disbanded by invading German forces on 11 September 1943.[1]