On 1 June 1936 the I Motor-mechanized Brigade was formed in Siena, which consisted of the 5th Bersaglieri Regiment and other minor units. On 15 July 1937 the 31st Tank Infantry Regiment was formed in Siena and assigned to the brigade.[2] On the same date the brigade was renamed I Armored Brigade. On 20 April 1939 the 131st Armored Artillery Regiment was formed in Cremona and assigned to the brigade, which on that date was renamed 131st Armored Division "Centauro".[1][3]
In April 1939 Italy invaded Albania and formed the Italian protectorate of Albania. In summer 1939 the division moved to Tirana. On 28 October 1940 the division participated in the Italian attack on Greece, which started the Greco-Italian War. The main body of the division advanced towards KalpakiinEpirus but Greek resistance stopped the division before reaching its goals. On 23 November 1940 the Greek launched an offensive, which drove the Italian units back into Albania. The Centauro unsuccessfully tried to stop the Greek advance at the Battle of Klisura Pass and then in Tepelenë. Due to the heavy losses the division was taken out of the line on 4 February 1941 to be rebuilt.[1] The 31st Tank Infantry Regiment was reinforced with the IV Tank Battalion "M" from the 32nd Tank Infantry Regiment, while the 5th Bersaglieri Regiment was replaced temporarily by the 1st Bersaglieri Regiment.[2][4][5]
In late March 1941 the division moved in preparation for the Invasion of YugoslaviatoShkodër in northern Albania. After the war's start on 6 April 1941 the Centauro together with the 18th Infantry Division "Messina" and 32nd Infantry Division "Marche" defeated a Yugoslav attack towards Shkodër. On 16 April 1941 the division crossed into Yugoslavia north of Koplik and advanced to Kotor, Cetinje and Podgorica. On 17 April the Centauro reached Trebinje, where it met up with units of the 133rd Armored Division "Littorio", which had advanced southward from Istria. On 11 May 1941 the division began the return transfer to its bases in Tuscany.[1] On 31 July 1941 the 5th Bersaglieri Regiment returned to the division and relieved the 1st Bersaglieri Regiment.[5]
Due to the experience of fighting in the Western Desert Italian armored Divisions were re-organized in 1942 and consisted on paper of three tank and three infantry battalions, a large artillery regiment, two battalions of self-propelled guns, one anti-aircraft battalion, one reconnaissance grouping, and a mixed engineer battalions. In October 1942 the Centauro was transferred to Libya. The division did not participate in the Second Battle of El Alamein and the first units of the division arrived at the front during the retreat from Egypt in late 1942.[1]
On 13 December 1942 the units of the division already in Libya and the Tactical Group "Ariete" forced the British 7th Armoured Division to retreat during the Battle of El Agheila. The division retreated with Axis forces from Libya to Tunisia, where the division ceded part of its units to the L Special Brigade and part of its materiel to other divisions. During the Battle of the Kasserine Pass troops of the Centauro overran the part of the US forces defending Highway 13.[6]
The division participated in the Battle of El Guettar, where it was severely decimated. From 7 April 1943 the division's remaining personnel and equipment were assigned to the 16th Infantry Division "Pistoia". On 18 April 1943 the Centauro was declared lost due to wartime events.[1]
On 15 August 1943 the Royal Italian Army activated the 136th Armored Legionary Division "Centauro", which continued the tradition of the 131st Armored Division "Centauro". After the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943 the 136th Armored Legionary Division "Centauro" was disbanded by the invading Germans on 12 September 1943.[7]
XII Tank Battalion M (M14/41 tanks; arrived from the 32nd Tank Infantry Regiment in October 1941; transferred to the 133rd Tank Infantry Regiment in November 1941)
V Self-propelled Group (75/18 self-propelled guns; renamed DLIII Self-propelled Group)
VI Self-propelled Group (75/18 self-propelled guns; renamed DLIV Self-propelled Group; transferred in August 1942 to the 133rd Artillery Regiment "Littorio")
DLIX Self-propelled Group (75/18 self-propelled guns; joined the regiment in North Africa)
132nd Anti-tank Regiment (joined the division on 1 January 1943)
II Anti-tank Battalion "Littorio" (3× companies with 8× 47/3 anti-tank guns per company; formed with the survivors of the 133rd Tank Infantry Regiment)
Kingdom of Italy
Royal Italian Army
