years After the war the nine wartime regiments were disbanded and the number of Bersaglieri battalions in the remaining regiments reduced to two per regiment. A new role was seen for the light infantry as part of Italy’s commitment to Mobile Warfare. The post-war Bersaglieri were converted into bicycle troops to fight alongside cavalry in the Celeri (fast) divisions. Elite units with high morale and an aggressive spirit were seen as one way to break such tactical stalemates as the trench warfare of 1915-18. The Bersaglieri gave Italy highly trained formations suitable for service with both cavalry and tanks. When the armoured divisions were formed in 1939, the link between the Bersaglieri and mobile warfare continued. Each new armoured and motorised division was allocated one Bersaglieri regiment. Interwar Period A single Bersaglieri regiment, the 3rd Bersagleri, took part in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War in October 1935, invading from Eritrea as part of the 30th Infantry Division Sabauda under General Italo Gariboldi. There, they took part in the Christmas Offensive and the Battle of Amba Aradam, among others. The regiment was detached and sent back to Asmara in March 1936 to join a new unit, the East Africa Fast Column under Achille Starace. World War II Italy began the Second World War with twelve Bersaglieri regiments of three battalions each. Over the preceding years the Army had resisted suggestions to dilute the regiment's quality, and recruits continued to be of above-average size and stamina, endured intense physical training and had to qualify as marksmen. During the war an additional Bersaglieri regiment, the 18th, with three battalions was raised, but only one of its battalions saw combat. 1st Bersaglieri Regiment (I, VII, IX battalions) - initially III Army Corps; from March 1942: 2nd Cavalry Division "Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro" 2nd Bersaglieri Regiment (II, IV, XVII battalions) - garrison unit in Euboea (Greece) 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment (XVIII, XX, XXV battalions) - 3rd Cavalry Division "Principe Amedeo Duca d'Aosta"; served on the on the Eastern Front 4th Bersaglieri Regiment (XXVI, XXIX, XXXI battalions) - garrison unit in Split (Yugoslavia) 5th Bersaglieri Regiment (XIV, XXII, XXIV battalions) - 131st Armored Division "Centauro"; destroyed in the Tunisian campaign 6th Bersaglieri Regiment (VI, XIII, XIX battalions) - 2nd Cavalry Division "Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro"; from March 1942: 3rd Cavalry Division "Principe Amedeo Duca d'Aosta" on the Eastern Front 7th Bersaglieri Regiment (VIII, X, XI battalions)