the Austrian defenses and hold the newly conquered positions. Until May 1917 the brigade saw little combat, alternating between front line duties and rest in the village of Hudi Log. In the Tenth Battle of the Isonzo the brigade was tasked to the take hills of Stari Lokva and Versic near Sela na Krasu. Although the first Austrian trench was taken, artillery fire forced the Italians back to their own positions. Again employed in the Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo the brigade suffered devastating casualties attacking heights 244 and 251 near the Kostanjevica Monastery. After the Italian front was broken in the Battle of Caporetto the brigade fought rearguard actions during the Italian retreat towards the Piave river. On 30 October 1917 the command of the 14th Regiment and one of its battalions had to surrender to German troops as the rapidly advancing German and Austrian forces had already blocked all crossings over the Livenza river. The remnants of the brigade were employed in defensive battles on the lower Piave until December 1917. On 7 April 1918 the brigade entered the front on the Asiago Plateau, where it was surprised by the Austrian attack towards Vicenza during the Battle of the Piave River. In face of the massive Austrian offensive the brigade had to abandon all its forward positions and managed to hold only its last defensive line. When the Austrian offensive became bogged down the brigade managed to recapture part of the lost territory. When the Battle of Vittorio Veneto finally broke the Austrian Army the brigade managed to advance towards the Vezzena Pass, which it reached on 3 November 1918, just before the Armistice of Villa Giusti came into effect. World War II After the end of World War I the brigade moved to the Abruzzo region and was garrisoned in the city of Chieti. In 1926 the brigade gained the 225th Infantry Regiment "Arezzo" and changed its name to XXIV Infantry Brigade. Along with the 18th Artillery Regiment the brigade formed the 24th Territorial Division in Chieti. In 1934 the division and brigade gained the name "Gran Sasso" and were forthwith known as 24th Infantry Division "Gran Sasso" and XXIV Infantry Brigade "Gran Sasso". In 1935 the division was sent to Eritrea and participated in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. The division operated in the Tigray Region and fought in the Battle of Shire. In 1939 the brigade