Sassari Mechanized Brigade The " Sassari " Mechanized Brigade is a mechanized infantry brigade of the Italian Army , based on the island of Sardinia . Its core is two infantry regiments which distinguished themselves in combat during World War I . History . World War I . During the general mobilization in preparation for entering World War I the Italian Army raised the " Sassari " Infantry Brigade on 1 March 1915 , at Tempio Pausania and Sinnai on Sardinia . The brigade consisted of the 151st Infantry Regiment and 152nd Infantry Regiment . Unlike all other Italian infantry brigades the " Sassari " was recruited locally on Sardinia ; even most officers came from the island . The brigade saw its first combat in the summer of 1915 in the First Battle of the Isonzo and distinguished itself in the Second Battle of the Isonzo . In May 1916 the brigade was sent to the Asiago Plateau to help in the Italian effort to stop the Austrian Spring offensive . In the month of June 1916 the brigade conquered Monte Fior , Monte Castelgomberto , Monte Spil , Monte Miela and Monte Zebio . For these actions both regiments of the brigade were awarded a Gold Medal of Military Valor . After the Italian defeat in the Battle of Caporetto and the following flight of the remnants of the Italian Army towards the Piave the " Sassari " fought with extraordinary discipline and toughness . In fact the last battalion to retreat over the Piave and to safety was a battalion of the " Sassari " brigade . Between 28 to 31 January 1918 the " Sassari " was again in the first line during the first Italian offensive operations after the Army had spent the second half of 1917 in a defensive posture . To the north of Vicenza the brigade managed to capture the Col del Rosso , Col d ’ Ecchele and Monte Valbella and for this feat was awarded a second Gold Medal of Military Valor for both its regiments . A feat not achieved by any other brigade in the course of the war . At the end of the war the " Sassari " was the highest decorated Italian unit of World War I , and individual soldiers of the Brigade earned : However the brigade had also suffered the highest loss rate of all Italian Infantry brigades in the war : 2 , 164 dead , and 12 , 858 wounded and missing in action ; a death rate of 13 . 8 % of all men that had served in the brigade during the war . The Italian writer Emilio Lussu had served in the brigade during World War I and would later write an anti - war book about his experiences : A Year on the High Plateau ( " Un anno sull ' altipiano " ) . World War II . After the end of World War I the Italian Army disbanded all brigades raised during the war with the exception of the " Sassari " brigade and three further brigades , which also had distinguished themselves during the war : " Liguria " , " Arezzo " and " Avellino " . The brigade moved to Trieste as part of the 12th Infantry Division " Timavo " ' . In 1926 the brigade gained the 12th Infantry Regiment " Casale " and changed its name to XII Infantry Brigade . Along with the 34th Artillery Regiment the brigade were the only units of the 12th Division . In 1939 the brigade lost the 12th Infantry regiment and was renamed 12th Infantry Division " Sassari " . This binary division consisted of only two infantry regiments ( 151st and 152nd ) and the 34th Field Artillery Regiment . To increase the weak strength of the division in 1941 the division was joined by the 73rd Blackshirt Assault Legion " Boiardo " , a battalion sized militia unit of the Italian Fascist Party . The division remained in Istria on garrison duty until 6 April 1941 when Axis forces began the invasion of Yugoslavia . The first Yugoslav cities to fall were Prezid and Čabar on 12 April , followed Novi Lazi and Borovec on 14 April . On 19 April the division reached Delnice , the following day Knin . for the next two years the divisios command remained in Knin , while the divisions units were continuously employed in anti - partisan operations : in Šibenik , Brod na Kupi , Gračac , Petrovac and Drvar . The heaviest fighting occurred during July 1942 when the division tried to clean the Velebit mountains from partisan forces . In March 1943 , after the Battle of the Neretva , the division transferred to Rome to aid in the defense of the city in case of an Allied attack . During this time the division was reorganized along the lines of the Mod . 43 reform of the Italian Army and was augmented with the XII Mortar Battalion and the XII " Semovente " Battalion which was equipped with 24 Semovente 75 / 18 self - propelled gun s . In total the division fielded 14 , 500 troops , 24 Semovente and 80 artillery pieces . After the Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces of 8 September 1943 the division found itself fighting Italy ' s former allies the Germans and along with the 21st Infantry Division " Granatieri di Sardegna " and 135th Armored Division " Ariete II " the " Sassari " defended Rome for two days . On 10 September 1943 the remnants of the " Sassari " joined the 21st Infantry Division " Granatieri di Sardegna " and the 8th Cavalry Regiment " Lancieri di Montebello " and hundredths of civilian volunteers at Porta San Paolo for a last stand . Civilians at Porta San Paolo included communist leader Luigi Longo , lawyer Giuliano Vassalli , writer Emilio Lussu , unionist leader Vincenzo Baldazzi , Mario Zagari , retired Air Force generals Sabato Martelli Castaldi and Roberto Lordi , and 18 year old future partisan leader Marisa Musu . The future Italian president Sandro Pertini brought a detachment of Socialist resistance fighters to Porta San Paolo and around 12 : 30 the Catholic Communist movement arrived with further reinforcements including famed actor Carlo Ninchi . However by 17 : 00 the Germans broke the line of the Italian defenders , who had suffered 570 dead . Soon after the Italian military units surrendered to the Germans as the flight of the Italian King Victor Emmanuel III from Rome had made further resistance senseless . However the Italian soldiers handed thousands of weapons over to the civilian population , which was quick to form an organized resistance movement in the city of Rome . Recent history . The " Sassari " was recreated in Sardinia on 1 December 1988 as " Sassari " Motorized Brigade with two light infantry battalions : The brigade was under command of the Sardinia Autonomous Military Command / Sardinia Military Region in Cagliari , which had administrative command of all units based in Sardinia and was furthermore tasked with the defense of the island in case of war . Besides the " Sassari " the following units were based on Sardinia : When the Italian Army disbanded a large number of its mechanized brigades in Northern Italy after the end of the Cold War , the " Sassaris " infantry battalions were mechanized and received VCC - 2 armored personnel carriers . Accordingly the brigade changed its name on 1 January 1991 to " Sassari " Mechanized Brigade . Over the next years " Sassari " became a fully professionalized brigade , one of the first Italian brigades to do so . In the early 1990s the Italian Army for traditional reasons began to rename battalions as regiment ; thus the " Sassari " consisted by the end of 1993 of the following units : The brigade saw two changes to its structure in the following years : on 1 January 2003 the 45th Regiment " Reggio " was disbanded and replaced by the 5th Engineer Regiment and on 25 November 2009 the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment arrived from Milan and merged with the I Battalion of the 1 Armored Infantry Regiment in Teulada . The Brigade employed often in out of area operations and has served in Kosovo , Afghanistan and in Iraq , where it lost seven soldiers in various engagements with Iraqi insurgents . Structure . Each constituent regiment is battalion - sized . In 2013 the Army began to form the new " Sassari " Logistic Regiment in Teulada . Equipment . The two infantry regiments of the brigade are equipped with VCC - 2 tracked armored personnel carriers , which will be replaced with Freccia wheeled infantry fighting vehicle s as soon as funds become available . The Bersaglieri regiment is equipped with Dardo tracked infantry fighting vehicles .