Changes

During the Second World War the Regiment formed part of the ''Ariete'' Armoured Division. When the armoured division arrived in North Africa, the Regiment comprised the 3rd, 5th and 12th Battalion plus the 132nd Anti-Tank Company.

During the Second World War the Regiment formed part of the ''Ariete'' Armoured Division. When the armoured division arrived in North Africa, the Regiment comprised the 3rd, 5th and 12th Battalion plus the 132nd Anti-Tank Company.

During General Erwin Rommel's first desert offensive in April 1941, British Commonwealth forces fell back to Tobruk, continuously pursued by the Italian and German motorcycle formations acting as spearheads. The 8th Bersaglieri Regiment, cut the escape route of the Mechili garrison and some 3,000 British Commonwealth prisoners were taken in the action.  

During General Erwin Rommel's first desert offensive in March/April 1941, British Commonwealth forces fell back to Tobruk, continuously pursued by the Italian and German motorcycle formations acting as spearheads. On 8 April, the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment, cut the escape route of the Mechili garrison and some 3,000 British Commonwealth prisoners were taken in the action.  

During the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]], the ''Ariete'' (under General Francesco Arena) fought a stubborn rearguard action on 4 November<ref>"Soon after midday, ten miles south-west of the Aqqaqir ridge, 22 Armoured Brigade came up against the tanks and anti-tank screen of the Italian rearguard, Ariete Division ... For most of the rest of the day, they slugged it out until finally, under the constant pounding, Ariete broke and ran, abandoning equipment everywhere ... The men they had fought were the Bersaglieri ... The cock-feather plumes in their helmets did not look so jaunty now as they lay twisted on the ground. The riflemen dug graves. They found piles  of propaganda postcards, men in feathered hats marching towards Cairo. There was a songbook too ... trying to make out the meaning of the lyrics. ''L Addio del Bersaglieri''." End of the Beginning, Phil Craig, Tim Clayton, Hachette, 2012</ref>, effectively derailing General Bernard Montgomery's plans to encircle and completely destroy the retreating ''Afrika Korps''. The German Army High Command recognized the effort of the tankers and Bersaglieri from the ''Ariete'' and claimed that the ''"British were made to pay for their penetration with enormous losses in men and material. The Italians fought to 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 El Alamein]], the ''Ariete'' (under General Francesco Arena) fought a stubborn rearguard action on 4 November<ref>"Soon after midday, ten miles south-west of the Aqqaqir ridge, 22 Armoured Brigade came up against the tanks and anti-tank screen of the Italian rearguard, Ariete Division ... For most of the rest of the day, they slugged it out until finally, under the constant pounding, Ariete broke and ran, abandoning equipment everywhere ... The men they had fought were the Bersaglieri ... The cock-feather plumes in their helmets did not look so jaunty now as they lay twisted on the ground. The riflemen dug graves. They found piles  of propaganda postcards, men in feathered hats marching towards Cairo. There was a songbook too ... trying to make out the meaning of the lyrics. ''L Addio del Bersaglieri''." End of the Beginning, Phil Craig, Tim Clayton, Hachette, 2012</ref>, effectively derailing General Bernard Montgomery's plans to encircle and completely destroy the retreating ''Afrika Korps''. The German Army High Command recognized the effort of the tankers and Bersaglieri from the ''Ariete'' and claimed that the ''"British were made to pay for their penetration with enormous losses in men and material. The Italians fought to the last man."''<ref>Rolling Thunder: A Century of Tank Warfare, Philip Kaplan, p. 139, Pen and Sword, 2013</ref>