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| | During [[Operation Barbarossa]] (the invasion of Russia) in August 1941, the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment formed part of the vanguard to secure a bridgehead on the Dnieper River for the panzers units and supporting German infantry, a task which they carried out successfully and suffered heavy casualties defending the Don River during the [[First Battle of Kiev]]. | | During [[Operation Barbarossa]] (the invasion of Russia) in August 1941, the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment formed part of the vanguard to secure a bridgehead on the Dnieper River for the panzers units and supporting German infantry, a task which they carried out successfully and suffered heavy casualties defending the Don River during the [[First Battle of Kiev]]. |
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| − | Their contribution in successfully defending the Gazala Line during [[Operation Crusader]] on 15 December 1941, was also absolutely vital to one of Rommel’s most significant victories in the defeat of the British 1st Battalion, Royal East Kent Regiment (''The Buffs'') and other units from the British-officered 5th Indian Brigade with over 1,000 Allied soldiers killed, wounded or captured during the Italo-German counterattack. | + | Their contribution with the 7th and 9th Bersaglieri Regiments successfully defending the Gazala Line during [[Operation Crusader]] on 15 December 1941, was also absolutely vital in defeating the British 1st Battalion, Royal East Kent Regiment (''The Buffs'') and other units from the British-officered 5th Indian Brigade, with over 1,000 British Commonwealth soldiers killed, wounded or captured during the Italo-German counterattack.<ref>"So, on the afternoon of 15 December, the Ariete with some 30 M13’s and with Bersaglieri motorcycle troops in close support, counterattacked along with the remaining 23 tanks of the 15th Panzer Division, and the attack was successful as the 1st Battalion, The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) and other troops of the 5th Indian Brigade lost over 1,000 men killed, wounded or taken prisoners." [http://www.comandosupremo.com/bologna-division.html/6 The Bologna Division: 19 November – 10 December, 1941]</ref> |
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| − | On 28 June 1942, the 12th Bersaglieri Regiment surrounded the fortress of Marsa Matruh, ensuring the capture of 6,500 Allied soldiers. | + | On 28 June 1942, the 12th Bersaglieri Regiment and supporting tanks from the ''Littorio'' Division surrounded the fortress of Marsa Matruh, ensuring the capture of 6,500 Allied soldiers. |
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| − | During the Second Battle of Alamein, the 12th Bersaglieri Regiment fought especially hard, manning the Italian 47mm and 90mm guns in defence of El Aqqaqir Ridge, destroying 70 tanks from the British 9th Armoured Brigade. Berlin Radio acknowledged that in this sector the ''"British were made to pay for their penetration with enormous losses in men andmaterial. The Italians fought till the last man."'' <ref>Rolling Thunder: A Century of Tank Warfare, Philip Kaplan, p. 139, Pen and Sword, 2013</ref> | + | During the Second Battle of Alamein, the 12th Bersaglieri Regiment fought especially hard, manning the Italian 47mm and 90mm guns in defence of El Aqqaqir Ridge, destroying 70 tanks from the British 9th Armoured Brigade. Berlin Radio acknowledged that in this sector the ''"British were made to pay for their penetration with enormous losses in men and material. The Italians fought till the last man."'' <ref>Rolling Thunder: A Century of Tank Warfare, Philip Kaplan, p. 139, Pen and Sword, 2013</ref> |
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| | During [[Operation Husky]] (the Allied invasion of Sicily), the 10th and 177th Bersaglieri Regiments fiercely contested the advance of the US 15th Regimental Combat Team and 1st and 3rd Ranger Battalions. Resistance was stiff enough to require house-to-house combat. US military historian Samuel Eliot Morison concluded that in the American advance ''"The Italians fought manfully for Agrigento".'' <ref>History of United States Naval Operations in World War II: Sicily - Salerno - Anzio, January 1943 - June 1944, Samuel Eliot Morison, p. 176, University of Illinois Press, 2001</ref> | | During [[Operation Husky]] (the Allied invasion of Sicily), the 10th and 177th Bersaglieri Regiments fiercely contested the advance of the US 15th Regimental Combat Team and 1st and 3rd Ranger Battalions. Resistance was stiff enough to require house-to-house combat. US military historian Samuel Eliot Morison concluded that in the American advance ''"The Italians fought manfully for Agrigento".'' <ref>History of United States Naval Operations in World War II: Sicily - Salerno - Anzio, January 1943 - June 1944, Samuel Eliot Morison, p. 176, University of Illinois Press, 2001</ref> |