26th Mountain Infantry Division Assietta

26th Infantry Division Assietta
26th Infantry Division Assietta Insignia
Active	1935 - 1943
Country	Regno d'Italia Kingdom of Italy
Branch	Regio Esercito Royal Italian Army
Role	Infantry
Size	Division
Garrison/HQ	Asti
Nickname(s)	Assietta
Engagements	Second Italo-Abyssinian War World War II
Insignia
Identification symbol
Identification symbol	Assietta Division collar insignia

The 26th Infantry Division Assietta was a mountain infantry Division (formed 6 August 1935) of the Italian Army during World War II. The Assietta Division was reorganized 5 April 1939 as a binary Mountain division. The only difference between line infantry divisions and mountain infantry divisions was that the latter's artillery was carried by pack mules instead of the standard horse-drawn carriages. Italy's real mountain warfare divisions were the six alpine divisions manned by the "Alpini" mountain troops. Most men drafted in the Assietta Division came from Asti and surroundings.

As the war become imminent, the 25th divisional artillery regiment was sent in September, 1935 to Libya, and transferred to Eritrea in March 1936, to fight within the newly formed Assietta Infantry Division II (126a) which was dissolved later in 1937.

The Assietta division itself, receiving a 49th divisional artillery regiment instead of the missing 25th, landed in Massawa in January 1936. Soon it reached the Endaga Robo-Enticho-Dek’emhāre region. Then it moved its headquarters to Mek'ele, guarding a front from Doghea to Kwīhā. The Assietta division participated in the Battle of Amba Aradam in February 1936, fighting mostly in defence. Some detachments of Assietta division were used to reinforce the left flank of the 27th Infantry Division Sila. On 2 March 1939, it blocked a retreat route of the Ethiopian army on the front from Yereserē to Edai. But the retreating Ethiopian army bypassed the Asietta division, breaking through Italian lines further to the east in their push to Amba Alagi. The Assietta division, now used as a rear areas guard force, followed in March–April 1936 first to Aderat and Amba Alagi and then to Atzalo and Aiba. After the conclusion of war, it was used in June 1936 for mopping-up south of Lake Ashenge. In July 1936 it was transferred to an unidentified location, "Seggiù". The last duty assignment was in September 1936 to the city of Dessie. The orders to return to Italy were received 2 February 1937.