World War I The division's lineage begins with the Brigade "Perugia" raised on 1 March 1915 with the 129th and 130th infantry regiments. The brigade fought on the
Italian front in
World War I and together with its regiments was disbanded after the war in January 1920.
Dalmatia The division left its bases in
Umbria on 7 December 1941 and was shipped from
Bari to
Split in
Dalmatia, where the division arrived on 10 December. The Perugia's headquarters was at Split, with its units in Split,
Šibenik,
Trogir, and
Sinj and its area of responsibility included the islands along the
Dalmatian coast and the territory inland up to the mountain passes to
Bosnia and Herzegovina. The division found itself immediately engaged by
Yugoslav partisans, with the Perugia undertaking large scale anti-partisan operations from February to April 1942 and the partisans striking relentlessly the Split-Šibenik railway and the key roads in the area.
Montenegro In late July 1942 the Perugia moved to
Cetinje in
Montenegro and was responsible for the territory between
Lake Skadar and the
Bay of Kotor. The Perugia garrisoned the
Gruda, Mrčine,
Crkvice, Ledenice,
Kotor and Grabovac. The division was instantly attacked by the local partisan forces with intense, incessant fighting occurring in the mountainous area around
Grahovo and
Vilusi. In May–June 1943 the division participated in the
Battle of Sutjeska.
Albania In August 1943 the division moved to
Gjirokastër in southern
Albania. The division garrisoned the cities of Gjirokastër and
Delvinë with the 129th Infantry Regiment and the cities of
Këlcyrë and
Tepelenë with the 130th Infantry Regiment. After the
Armistice of Cassibile was announced on 8 September 1943 the Perugia was
attacked by German forces and Albanian partisans. The Perugia's commander ordered his troops to move to the coast and embark to Italy. To achieve this the division split in two formations: one marching from Gjirokastër to
Sarandë and the other from Tepelenë to
Vlorë. Heavy German attacks prevent this maneuver and the division tried to concentrate on 14 September around Tepelenë, but on the way there both formations found themselves under constant attacks by German forces and heavily harassed by partisan formations, which tried to take possession of the Perugia's weapons and materiel. After the failure to unite its forces at Tepelenë the division returned to the original plan and both formations battled their way out of the Albanian mountains towards the coast. The survivors of the 130th Infantry Regiment reached Vlorë and set up a defensive perimeter, which managed to withstand the German attacks until 20 September 1943. The remnants of the 129th Infantry Regiment, together with the division's command, reached Sarandë, where the Germans besieged the Italians. Approximately 1,000 men could be shipped back to Italy with the vessels in the harbor. No help from Italy or the Allies arrived and so between 3–5 October the German
1st Mountain Division overran most of the Perugia's positions and immediately executed all captured officers and non-commissioned officers - 120 in total, including the division's commander
Ernesto Chiminello. On 7 October the Germans captured the last positions of the Perugia in the mountains near
Kuç and executed another 32 officers and non-commissioned officers. About 170 survivors of the division joined the Albanian partisans and formed with the survivors of the
41st Infantry Division "Firenze" and
53rd Infantry Division "Arezzo" the
Antonio Gramsci Battalion. The battalion fought with the
Albanian National Liberation Army until the Germans retreated from Albania. The battalion paraded under arms through
Tirana on 28 November 1944 and the survivors were repatriated to Italy in May 1945. == Organization ==