The 5th Infantry Division "Cosseria" () was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Cosseria was named for the Battle of Cosseria fought in 1796 during the War of the First Coalition. The division recruited primarily in Liguria and its infantry regiments were based in Ventimiglia (89th) and Sanremo (90th), while the artillery regiment was based in Albenga.
History
The division's lineage begins with the Brigade "Salerno" established in Bologna on 1 November 1884 with the 89th and 90th infantry regiments.
World War I
During World War I the brigade fought initially on the Italian front, but in April 1918 it was transferred together with the Brigade "Alpi", Brigade "Brescia", and Brigade "Napoli" to the Western Front in France. There the brigades fought in the Third Battle of the Aisne, Second Battle of the Marne, Battle of Saint-Thierry, and the Hundred Days Offensive.
On 1 November 1926 the brigade was disbanded and its two regiments were transferred to the other brigades: the 89th Infantry Regiment "Salerno" to the V Infantry Brigade and the 90th Infantry Regiment "Salerno" to the I Infantry Brigade. The V Infantry Brigade, which also included the 41st Infantry Regiment "Modena" and the 42nd Infantry Regiment "Modena", was the infantry component of the 5th Territorial Division of Genoa, which also included the 29th Artillery Regiment. On 20 October 1929 the division moved to Imperia and consequently changed its name to 5th Territorial Division of Imperia. On 1 January 1935 the division changed its name to 5th Infantry Division "Cosseria".
Second Italo-Ethiopian War
In preparation for the Second Italo-Ethiopian War the division was mobilized on 19 August 1935 with the 41st and 42nd infantry regiments and the 29th Artillery Regiment and shipped in September to Benghazi in Libya. In early January 1936 the division was shipped to Eritrea and moved to Adi Quala, where it guarded the supply lines of the Italian divisions fighting in Ethiopia. In March, it started to advance to Addi Onfito, reaching Axum in April 1936 and then continuing to the Adwa area. In September 1936 the division was repatriated.
World War II
On 25 March 1939 the division ceded all its regiments, except the 89th Infantry Regiment "Salerno", to the newly activated 37th Infantry Division "Modena". On the same date the V Infantry Brigade was dissolved and the 90th Infantry Regiment "Salerno" was transferred from the 1st Infantry Division "Superga" to the Cosseria. Furthermore the Cosseria raised the 37th Artillery Regiment and the division's three regiments - 89th and 90th infantry, 37th artillery - changed their names to "Cosseria".
Invasion of France
On 10 June 1940, it was deployed on the French border, in the area between Cima Longoira and the sea. On 20 June 1940 the Cosseria assaulted French positions at the bridges of Via Aurelia (Corso Francia) and Ponte San Luigi over the Ro San Luigi river near the coast, and on the San Paolo mountain pass near I Colletti, in the Ventimiglia commune. Although the attack through over the bridges was repulsed, the Cosseria succeeded in taking the pass of San Paolo on 22 June 1940. As a result the French forces defending the bridges over the Ro San Luigi and in the Menton area were outflanked, with Italian units capturing rural areas between Castellar and Roquebrune. The Cosseria remained in the occupied France until the middle of August 1940, when it was transferred for coastal defence duties in western Liguria.