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Old 3rd January 2010, 07:30 PM   #37
kronckew
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
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gratuitous posting of italian 1888 officer's sabre.



seems appropriate

p.s. - it's razor sharp. (OK, it's a mounted artillery model, but close)

The 1 Cavalry Division Eugenio di Savoia was an Cavalry Division of the Italian Army during World War II. The Eugenio di Savoia was mobilized in 1940, as a cavalry division and took part in the Invasion of Yugoslavia. The Division remained in Yugoslavia in the Italian XI Corps (Ljubljana) as an occupying force on the Dalmatian coast. After the Italiam surrender the Division was disbanded in September 1943. While in Yugoslavia, the 14 Alessandria Regiment is credited with having conducted the last cavalry charge by the Italiam Army in World War II. On 17 October 1942 the regiment was encircled by a group of Tito's partisans near Poloj in Croatia. That night the cavalry launched repeated sabre charges against the partisans. Despite heavy casualties, the charge succeeded and broke through to safety. The Division had undergone a level of mechanization. Each division had two cavalry regiments, a highly-mobile infantry (Bersaglieri) regiment, an artillery regiment, and a light tank group. The squadrons of the cavalry regiments were horse-mounted and, other than a motorcycle company, the Bersaglieri were issued with bicycles. The light tank group had a total of 61 tanks. The tanks were typically L3s or L6s.

Last edited by kronckew; 3rd January 2010 at 07:57 PM.
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