The 2nd Alpine Division Tridentina was a World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 Mountain Infantry

Mountain warfare

Mountain warfare refers to warfare in the mountains or similarly rough terrain. This type of warfare is also called Alpine warfare, named after the Alps mountains...

 division

Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...

 of the Italian Army. The Alpini

Alpini

The Alpini, , are the elite mountain warfare soldiers of the Italian Army. They are currently organized in two operational brigades, which are subordinated to the Alpini Corps Command. The singular is Alpino ....

 that formed the divisions are a highly decorated and elite mountain corps of the Italian Army

Italian Army

The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...

 comprising both infantry and artillery units. After World War II, the traditions and name of the 2nd Alpine Division Tridentina were carried on by the Alpine Brigade Tridentina

Alpine Brigade Tridentina

The Alpini Brigade Tridentina was a light Infantry brigade of the Italian Army, specializing in mountain warfare. Its core units were the Alpini, the mountain infantry corps of the Italian Army, that distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II...

.

Order of battle

• 5th Alpini Regiment
  • Morbegno battalion
  • Tirano battalion
  • Edolo battalion
• 6th Alpini Regiment
  • Verona battalion
  • Vestone battalion
  • Val Chiese battalion
• 2nd Alpine Artillery Regiment
  • Val Camonica artillery group
  • Vicenza artillery group
  • Bergamo artillery group
• 2nd Engineer Battalion
• 206th Auto-Transport Battalion
• 402nd, 417th Carabinieri
  Carabinieri
  The Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...
  
   Companies
• 619th, 620th, 622nd, 623rd Field Hospitals

History

The division participated in the Axis invasion

Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...

 of the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

, but was all but destroyed in Operation Little Saturn in 1943.

See also

• Italian Army in Russia
  Italian Army in Russia
  The Italian Army in Russia was an army-sized unit of the Italian Royal Army which fought on the Eastern Front during World War II...