28th Bersaglieri Battalion "Oslavia"

The 28th Bersaglieri Battalion "Oslavia" is an inactive battalion of the Italian Army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality. Raised as XXVIII Bersaglieri Battalion in 1861 the battalion became autonomous on 20 October 1975 and received the war flag and traditions of the 9th Bersaglieri Regiment of the Royal Italian Army.[1]

28th Bersaglieri Battalion "Oslavia"
28° Battaglione bersaglieri "Oslavia"
Battalion coat of arms
Active	1861 - 28 November 1917 20 February 1919 - 5 November 1942 21 October 1975 - 15 October 1996
Country	Italy
Branch	Italian Army
Part of	Armored Brigade "Centauro"
Garrison/HQ	Bellinzago Novarese
Motto(s)	"Invicte, acriter, celerrime"
Anniversaries	18 June 1836
Decorations	1x Military Order of Italy 2x Bronze Medals of Military Valour
Insignia
Bersaglieri gorget patches

History

Formation

The XXVIII Bersaglieri Battalion was raised in 1861 and part of the 6th Bersaglieri Regiment. On 1 January 1871 the 9th Bersaglieri Regiment was raised and the XXVIII battalion was transferred to it.

World War I

During World War I the regiment's IX Cyclists Battalion distinguished itself at Oslavia during the Fourth Battle of the Isonzo, while the regiment and its three Bersaglieri battalions were disbanded on 28 November 1917 after being annihilated during the Italian retreat after the disastrous Battle of Caporetto. Regiment and XXVIII battalion were raised again on 20 February 1919 by renaming of the 20th Bersaglieri Regiment and LXX Bersaglieri Battalion.[2][1]

World War II

On 1 April 1939 the regiment entered the 101st Motorized Division "Trieste", with which it participated in the Western Desert campaign in Libya. On 5 November 1942 during the Second Battle of El Alamein the regiment was surrounded and destroyed by the advancing British Eighth Army.[2][1]

Cold War

In 1963 the XXVIII Bersaglieri Battalion was raised again as mechanized infantry unit of the 31st Tank Regiment. During the 1975 army reform the XXVIII Bersaglieri Battalion was renamed 28th Bersaglieri Battalion "Oslavia" on 21 October 1975 and received the war flag and traditions of the 9th Bersaglieri Regiment. The battalion was based in Bellinzago Novarese and part of the 31st Armored Brigade "Curtatone", which was renamed Armored Brigade "Centauro" in 1986. On 15 October 1996 the "Oslavia" battalion was disbanded and the war flag of the 9th Bersaglieri Regiment was transferred to the Shrine of the Flags in the Vittoriano in Rome.[1]

See also

• Bersaglieri

References

1. F. dell'Uomo, R. Puletti (1998). L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000 - Vol. Primo - Tomo I. Rome: SME - Ufficio Storico. p. 434.
2. "9° Reggimento Bersaglieri". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 21 November 2019.