24th Infantry Division "Pinerolo"

The division's lineage begins with the Brigade "Pinerolo" established on 21 December 1821, which on 19 December 1831 split to form the 1st and 2nd infantry regiments under the brigade's command. On 4 May 1839 the two regiments were re-numbered as 13th Regiment Brigade "Pinerolo" and 14th Regiment Brigade "Pinerolo". World War I The brigade fought on the Italian front in World War I. On 10 November 1926 the brigade assumed the name of XXIV Infantry Brigade and received the 225th Infantry Regiment "Arezzo" from the disbanded Brigade "Arezzo". The brigade was the infantry component of the 24th Territorial Division of Chieti, which also included the 18th Artillery Regiment. In 1934 the division changed its name to 24th Infantry Division "Gran Sasso". Second Italo-Ethiopian War The division participated in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, where it operated in the Tigray Region and fought in the Battle of Shire. After the war the division returned to Italy. On 1 March 1937 the 225th Infantry Regiment "Arezzo" was transferred to the 63rd Infantry Division "Cirene" in Libya. On 1 March 1938 the 225th Infantry Regiment "Arezzo" was renamed 158th Infantry Regiment "Liguria" and on the same day the 225th Infantry Regiment "Arezzo" was raised anew in Ascoli Piceno. The 313th Infantry Regiment joined the Pinerolo in Greece in March 1942. While the Pinerolo was on occupation duty in Greece the depot of the 14th Infantry Regiment "Pinerolo" raised on 1 January 1942 the 235th Infantry Regiment "Piceno" for the 152nd Infantry Division "Piceno". The division continued on anti-partisan duty until the Armistice of Cassibile was announced on 8 September 1943. In the confusion after the armistice the division was the only Italian division in continental Greece to refuse German demands to surrender. The remnants of the division were repatriated to Italy in March 1945. On 15 April 1952 the Italian Army raised the Infantry Division "Pinerolo" anew. On 1 September 1962 the division was reduced to brigade and it has been active as such since then as Mechanized Brigade "Pinerolo"). == Organization ==

Second Italo-Abyssinian War 1935 • 24th Infantry Division "Gran Sasso" • 13th Infantry Regiment "Pinerolo" • 14th Infantry Regiment "Pinerolo" • 225th Infantry Regiment "Arezzo" • 18th Artillery Regiment "Gran Sasso" • 524th Machine Gun Battalion • 24th Replacements Battalion • 24th Engineer Company Royal Italian Army divisions in the Ethiopian Campaign had a Pack-Mules unit of 3,000 mules and three regimental truck units with 20 light trucks each. World War II 1940 • 24th Infantry Division "Pinerolo", in Chieti • 13th Infantry Regiment "Pinerolo", in L'Aquila • Command Unit • I Group (100/17 mod. 14 howitzers) • II Group (75/27 mod. 06 field guns; transferred in December 1940 to the 32nd Artillery Regiment "Marche") • III Group (75/27 mod. 06 field guns; transferred in December 1940 to the 56th Artillery Regiment "Casale") • II Group (75/13 mod. 15 mountain guns; transferred in December 1940 from the 32nd Artillery Regiment "Marche") • III Group (75/13 mod. 15 mountain guns; transferred in December 1940 from the 56th Artillery Regiment "Casale") • 324th Anti-aircraft battery (20/65 Mod. 35 anti-aircraft guns) • Ammunition and Supply Unit • XXIV Mortar Battalion (81mm Mod. 35 mortars) • 24th Anti-tank Company (47/32 anti-tank guns) • 24th Telegraph and Radio Operators Company • 61st Engineer Company • 32nd Medical Section • 456th Field Hospital • 457th Field Hospital • 1x Field Hospital • 1x Surgical unit • 24th Truck Section • 82nd Transport Section (Fiat 666, Fiat 626, Alfa Romeo 800, Fiat 508CM - commander's car) • 132nd Supply Section • 145th Bakers Section • 122nd Carabinieri Section • 123rd Carabinieri Section • 65th Field Post Office Attached from 10 December 1940 until March 1942: • 136th CC.NN. Legion "Tre Monti" • CXXX CC.NN. Battalion (remained attached to the division until September 1943) • CXXXVI CC.NN. Battalion • 136th CC.NN. Machine Gun Company == Military honors ==

For its conduct during the Greco-Italian War the President of Italy awarded on 11 September 1959 to the 13th Infantry Regiment "Pinerolo" Italy's highest military honor, the Gold Medal of Military Valor. • 13th Infantry Regiment "Pinerolo" on 11 September 1959 == Commanding officers ==

The division's commanding officers were: • Generale di Divisione Angelo Stirpe (1938 – 9 June 1940) • Generale di Divisione Giuseppe De Stefanis (10 June 1940 – 18 April 1941) • Generale di Divisione Licurgo Zannini (19 April 1941 – 16 October 1941) • Generale di Divisione Cesare Benelli (17 October 1941 – 9 July 1943) • Generale di Divisione Adolfo Infante (10 July 1943 – 1 June 1944) == War crimes ==

The names of five Italian officers attached to the division were included in the Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects, a database set up by the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force in 1945 to try war criminals from the Axis powers, including Italy. In addition to perpetrating the Domenikon massacre, soldiers from the division also tortured Greek prisoners and committed several rapes while stationed in Greece. One member of the division who was involved in these war crimes, Giovanni Ravalli, was convicted after the war's end, though he was subsequently pardoned. == References ==