On 1 January 1871 the 9th Bersaglieri Regiment was formed in
Bari with the XXVIII Battalion, XXX Battalion, XXXII Battalion, and XL Battalion, which were transferred from the
4th Bersaglieri Regiment. The four battalions were renumbered as I, II, III, and IV battalion upon entering the new regiment. On 16 September 1883 the IV Battalion was disbanded. On 18 June 1886, all Bersaglieri battalions resumed their original numbering and afterwards the 9th Bersaglieri Regiment consisted of the XXVIII Battalion, XXX Battalion, and XXXII Battalion. These three battalions had been formed in 1861, while the XL Battalion had been formed in 1865. All four battalions fought in the
Third Italian War of Independence in 1866. On 7 January 1869 the XXVIII Battalion crushed a peasants revolt in
San Giovanni in Persiceto, for which the battalion was awarded a
Bronze Medal of Military Valor. When the battalion joined the 9th Bersaglieri Regiment the medal was affixed to the regiment's flag and added to the regiment's coat of arms. In September 1870 the XXVIII Battalion and XL Battalion participated in the
capture of Rome. In July 1916 the regiment was deployed on
Monte Zebio and
Monte Colombara. In August of the same year the II Bersaglieri Brigade fought in the
Sixth Battle of the Isonzo and
Seventh Battle of the Isonzo. On 6 November 1916 the
7th Bersaglieri Regiment replaced the 9th Bersaglieri Regiment, which for the rest of the war was attached to infantry divisions as needed. From 24 to 31 May 1917 the regiment fought in the
Tenth Battle of the Isonzo on
Monte Ermada. One month later the regiment was on
Monte Ortigara for the
Battle of Mount Ortigara. In October 1917 the regiment was sent to
Caporetto to help stem the Austro-Hungarian
Caporetto Offensive. Over the next days the regiment was forced to retreat with the remnants of the Italian armies over the
Tagliamento river and then the
Piave river. On 17 November 1917 the regiment's remaining troops were transferred to the
4th Bersaglieri Regiment to bring that regiment back up to strength. On 28 November 1917 the 9th Bersaglieri Regiment was disbanded due to the heavy losses it had suffered during the retreat.
World War II On 11 April 1940 the regiment received the XL Auto-transported Battalion, the 105th Cannons Company, which was equipped with
47/32 mod. 35 anti-tank guns, and an Auto Unit. In June 1940 the regiment participated in the
Invasion of France. Afterwards the regiment moved from Treviso to
Cremona. On 3 November 1940 the XL Auto-transported Battalion was renumbered as XXVIII Auto-transported Battalion. On 10 November the regiment consisted of the following units: On 12 November 1976 the
President of the Italian Republic Giovanni Leone assigned with decree 846 the flag and traditions of the 9th Bersaglieri Regiment to the battalion. In 1986 the Italian Army abolished the divisional level and brigades, which until then had been under one of the Army's four divisions, came forthwith under direct command of the Army's
3rd Army Corps or
5th Army Corps. As the
Armored Division "Centauro" carried a
historically significant name, the division ceased to exist on 31 October in
Novara, and the next day in the same location the
31st Armored Brigade "Centauro" was activated. The new brigade took command of the units of the 31st Armored Brigade "Curtatone", whose name was stricken from the roll of active units of the Italian Army.
Recent times On 15 October 1996 the 28th Bersaglieri Battalion "Oslavia" was disbanded and on 18 October the flag of the 9th Bersaglieri Regiment was transferred to the Shrine of the Flags in the
Vittoriano in
Rome. == See also ==