Brescia Mechanized Brigade The " Brescia " Mechanized Brigade was an mechanized brigade of the Italian Army . Its core units were mechanized Infantry battalions . The brigades headquarter was in the city of Brescia . History . Constitution . The " Brescia " Brigade was formed with the 19th and 20th infantry regiments on 1 November 1859 in Bergamo . Along with the " Cremona " Brigade in Brescia and the 6th Field Artillery Regiment it formed the 6th Division of the Line . The brigade along with the " Valtellina " Brigade formed the 5th Division of the Line in the Third Italian War of Independence , where it fought in the Battle of Custoza . The brigade participated in the Capture of Rome and then saw service in the Italian colonial wars : the First Italo - Ethiopian War and the Italo - Turkish War . World War I . During World War I the brigade fought on the Italian Front and was awarded the Military Order of Italy for its conduct during the Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo on the Banjšice Plateau . In 1918 the brigade was sent to Western Front in France and fought there in the last allied offensive of the war . At the end of the war the brigade had reached Rimogne . World War II . In 1926 the brigade received the 16th Infantry Regiment " Savona " and became the infantry component of the 27th Infantry Division " Sila " . The same year the brigade was renamed as XXVII Infantry Brigade . In 1935 - 36 the brigade was employed in Ethiopia during the Second Italo - Abyssinian War . In 1939 the brigade lost the 16th Infantry Regiment " Savona " and was renamed 27th Infantry Division " Brescia " . This binary division consisted of only two infantry regiments ( 19th and 20th ) and the 55th Field Artillery Regiment . The division participated in the Western Desert Campaign , distinguishing itself during the Siege of Tobruk . The division was completely destroyed during the Second Battle of El Alamein . Cold War . The brigade was activated again during a major reorganization of the Italian Army : in 1975 the regiment level was abolished and battalions came under direct command of newly formed brigades , which combined units from different arms . On 21 October 1975 the " Brescia " Mechanized Brigade and the " Isonzo " Mechanized Brigade were activated from disbanded regiments of the " Mantova " Infantry Division . The division was augmented with the " Pozzuolo del Friuli " Armored Brigade to full mechanized division . The " Mantova " Mechnaized Division was part of the 5th Army Corps based in North - Eastern Italy . The 5th Army Corps was tasked with defending the Italian - Yugoslavian border against possible attacks by either the Warsaw Pact , or Yugoslavia or both . The brigade ’ s authorized strength was 4 , 760 men ( 272 Officers , 630 non - commissioned officers and 3 , 858 soldiers ) and it was initially composed by the following units : On 1 October 1986 the Italian Army abolished the divisional level and brigades , that until then had been under one of the Armys four divisions , came forthwith under direct command of the Armys 3rd and 5th Army Corps . The " Brescia " along with the " Trieste " Mechanized Brigade came under the 3rd Army Corps . After the end of the Cold War the Italian Army began to draw down its forces and the " Brescia " was one of the first brigades to be disbanded . On 27 July 1991 the brigade was officially deactivated along with most of its subordinate units . The only remaining unit , the 52nd Field Artillery Group joined the " Legnano " Mechanized Brigade .