The 132nd Armoured Division "Ariete" was formed in Milan in February 1939, it was initially made up of the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment, the 32nd Tank Infantry Regiment, equipped with &lt;a href="L3/35"&gt;L3/35&lt;/a&gt; tankettes, the 132nd Armored Artillery Regiment, and additional divisional support units. The division was moved to the French border at the outbreak of World War II, but was kept in reserve during the short campaign on that front. It was part of the Army of the Po, the strategic reserve. By that time the 32nd Tank Infantry Regiment had grown to eight battalions: three light ones with &lt;a href="L3/35"&gt;L3/35&lt;/a&gt; tankettes, two medium ones with &lt;a href="M11/39%20tank"&gt;M11/39 tank&lt;/a&gt;s, and three medium ones with &lt;a href="M13/40%20tank"&gt;M13/40 tank&lt;/a&gt;s.