Waterloo 1815 AP015 Italian Bersaglieri 1859

Bersalierzy (Italian: Bersaglieri) is an Italian formation of light infantry, first formed in 1836 by General Alessandro La Marmora. The formation of this unit was largely based on French Alpine Riflemen. From the very beginning, the unit was considered to be highly autonomous, intended primarily for difficult, especially mountainous terrain. Its soldiers, apart from good training and often high morale, were also distinguished by richly decorated helmets with bird feathers. Regiments of bersaliers successfully took part in the Crimean War (1853-1856) and during the fights for the unification of Italy in 1859-1861. During World War I, the formation grew to 21 regiments and fought primarily with the Austro-Hungarian army and the German troops supporting it in the Alps and Dolomites. Bersaliers also took part in World War II, several times contradicting the thesis about the hopeless attitude of the Italian army in the course of this conflict. Bersaliers still exist in the Italian army, and this formation consists of 6 regiments.