The Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi" is a mechanized infantry brigade of the Italian Army, based in the south of the country. Its core units are Bersaglieri, an elite infantry corps of the Italian Army. The brigade is named after Giuseppe Garibaldi, a hero of the Italian wars of unification. The brigade is part of the Division "Acqui". History The brigade was activated during the 1975 army reform: in 1975 the regiment level was abolished and battalions came under direct command of newly formed multi-arms brigades. On 1 November 1975 the 8th Mechanized Brigade "Garibaldi" was activated one month after its sister brigades the 32nd Armored Brigade "Mameli" and the 132nd Armored Brigade "Manin" had been activated by reforming the three regiments of the 132nd Armored Division "Ariete". The brigade's headquarters was in the city of Pordenone and most of its units came from the disbanded 8th Bersaglieri Regiment. Besides the traditions of the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment, the brigade also received the traditions and name of the 182nd Armored Infantry Regiment "Garibaldi". The name "Garibaldi" honored the Italian general and Italian unification hero Giuseppe Garibaldi and commemorated various Italian partisan units of World War II. The brigade's sister brigades, the "Manin" and "Mameli", were named to honor Daniele Manin and Goffredo Mameli, both also heroes of the Italian unification. The "Ariete" division was part of the 5th Army Corps based in North-Eastern Italy. The 5th Army Corps was tasked with defending the Yugoslav-Italian border against possible attacks by either the Warsaw Pact, or Yugoslavia or both. The Ariete was the corps' armored reserve. The Garibaldi's authorized strength was 4,733 men (272 officers, 637 non-commissioned officers and 3,824 soldiers) and it consisted of the following units: 8th Mechanized Brigade "Garibaldi", in Pordenone (former 8th Bersaglieri Regiment) Command and Signal Unit "Garibaldi", in Pordenone 7th Tank Battalion "M.O. Di Dio", in Vivaro (M60A1 main battle tanks) 3rd Bersaglieri Battalion "Cernaia", in Pordenone (VCC-1 armored personnel carriers) 11th Bersaglieri Battalion "Caprera", in Orcenico Superiore (VCC-1 armored personnel carriers; battalion was transferred on 1 July 1976 from the disbanded 182nd Armored Infantry Regiment "Garibaldi", of the Mechanized Division "Folgore") 26th Bersaglieri Battalion "Castelfidardo" (VCC-1 armored personnel carriers), in Pordenone 19th Self-propelled Field Artillery Group "Rialto", in Sequals (M109G 155mm self-propelled howitzers; former II Self-propelled Field Artillery Group, 132nd Armored Artillery Regiment) Logistic Battalion "Garibaldi", in Pordenone (former I Services Battalion, Services Grouping "Ariete") Anti-tank Company "Garibaldi",