151st Infantry Division "Perugia" | |
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Active | 25 August 1941 – 7 October 1943 |
Country | Kingdom of Italy |
Branch | Royal Italian Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Division |
Engagements | World War II Battle of Sutjeska |
Insignia | |
Identification symbol | Perugia Division gorget patches |
The 151st Infantry Division "Perugia" (Italian: 151ª Divisione di fanteria "Perugia") was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Perugia was formed on 25 August 1941 and named for the city of Perugia. The Perugia was classified as an occupation infantry division, which meant that the division's artillery regiment consisted of two artillery groups instead of the three artillery groups of line infantry divisions and that the divisional mortar battalion was replaced by a divisional machine gun battalion.
The Perugia was sent to Dalmatia, then Montenegro and finally Albania. Following the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943 the division marched from its bases to the Albanian coast, where some thousand men could be evacuated by ship to Italy, but the majority of the division was left behind and captured by the Germans after fierce fighting by the Germans. Immediately after their capture the Germans executed all officers and non-commissioned officers of the division, including the division's commander General Ernesto Chiminello.[1][2][3]