The 102nd Motorized Division "Trento" () was a motorized infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The division was formed in 1935 and named for the city of Trento, where its infantry and artillery regiments were based. The Trento served in the Western Desert Campaign and was destroyed in the Second Battle of El Alamein in November 1942.
History
The division's lineage begins with the Brigade "Sicilia" established in Naples on 16 April 1861 with the 61st and 62nd infantry regiments.
World War I
The brigade fought on the Italian front in World War I and was disbanded after the war in October 1920. On 15 October 1926 the brigade was disbanded and its two regiments assigned to the VIII Infantry Brigade, which already included the 65th Infantry Regiment "Valtellina". The brigade was the infantry component of the 8th Territorial Division of Piacenza, which also included the 46th Artillery Regiment.
Formation
The division was raised as 1st Motorized Division "Trento" on 15 July 1935 in the city of Trento and consisted initially of the 115th Infantry Regiment "Treviso", 116th Infantry Regiment "Treviso", and the 46th Artillery Regiment, which was transferred from the 8th Infantry Division "Po". The division soon changed its number from 1st to 32nd, and in December 1935 deployed to Libya to replace units deployed for the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. In August 1936 it returned to Trento and on 1 November of the same year the 116th Infantry Regiment was disbanded and replaced by the 62nd Infantry Regiment "Sicilia" from the 8th Infantry Division "Po". On 15 May 1937 the division transferred the 115th Infantry Regiment to the 62nd Infantry Division "Marmarica" and received the 61st Infantry Regiment "Sicilia" from the 8th Infantry Division "Po". On 11 November 1938 the division added the 7th Bersaglieri Regiment based in Bolzano. On 2 January 1939 the division changed its name to 102nd Motorized Division "Trento" and on the same date the 61st and 62nd infantry regiments, and the 46th artillery regiment changed their names to "Trento".
World War II
On 10 June 1940 Italy entered World War II and invaded France. The Trento was assigned to the Army of the Po as reserve. In March 1941 the division disembarked in Libya for the Western Desert Campaign. While the division was in Libya its regimental depots raised the infantry and artillery units of the 103rd Infantry Division "Piacenza", which was activated on 15 March 1942.
Western Desert Campaign
In December 1940 the British Western Desert Force commenced the Operation Compass to expel the Italian 10th Army from Egypt. The British offensive resulted in the destruction of the Italian 10th Army and the conquest of Cyrenaica. Beginning in January 1941 Italy and Germany sent reinforcement to Italian Libya to reinforce the Italian 5th Army and stop the British offensive. The Trento was ordered to North Africa in March 1941 and gathered in Misrata.
In April 1941 the Trento participated in the Axis counterattack, which forced the British and Commonwealth forces into retreat. On 10 April the Trento reached Marsa al-Brega, on 12 April Derna and on the 13th the division arrived in Ain el Gazala. On 15 April the division defeated British forces at Acroma.
While the Australian 9th Infantry Division fell back to the fortified port of Tobruk, British and other Commonwealth forces withdrew a further east to Sollum, on the Libyan–Egyptian border. These moves initiated the 240-day-long Siege of Tobruk. On 20 April 1941 the Trento assembled at Bu Amud to the East of Tobruk for the siege. On 30 April the 62nd Infantry Regiment "Trento" was detached from the division and sent to the Bardia-Sollum sector further east, while the rest of the Trento remained at Tobruk.
Operation Brevity and Battleaxe
On 15 May 1941 the British XIII Corps launched Operation Brevity. The objective of the operation was to clear the Halfaya Pass and secure several footholds to create advantageous conditions from which to launch Operation Battleaxe. The principal Axis opposition was Kampfgruppe von Herff, which included a battalion of the 62nd Infantry Regiment "Trento". After a day of inconclusive fighting British forces took control of the pass. Total Italian casualties during the operation are unknown, though at least 347 men were taken prisoner during the operation. German forces retook the pass on 27 May 1941 during Operation Skorpion.