Italy WWII Medal of the 33rd Mountain Infantry Division "Acqui" 1938

ITALY: WW2 Commemorative Medal of the 
33rd Mountain Infantry Division "Acqui" of 
the Italian Army.  
The medal was established in 1938 to mark 
the 235 Anniversary of the formation of the 
17th Regiment of Volunteers "Acqui"(1703-
1938) and the intention to revive the Unit as 
the 33rd Mountain Infantry Division "Acqui".
On the obverse: the portraits of 2 Italian 
soldiers marking the evolution of the Italian 
Army (from the equipment of 1703 to the 
equipment of 1938) .
On the reverse: the Coat of Arms of the 
Acqui Division with the motto:
"The Ancient Glories Pave the Way to New 
Destinations"

The "Acqui" Division was formed in Aug. 
1939 and mobilized for war in Oct. 1939. It 
participated in the operations against 
France and also in the Greco-Italian War of 
1940-41. After the German invasion of 
Greece the Acqui division became part of 
the occupation force on the islands of 
Corfu, Lefkada, Zakynthos and Cephalonia. 
Following the capitulation of Italy in 1943 the 
Division surrendered to the Germans. All the 
Italian Prisoners of War (among them their 
officers and the Commander of the Division 
General Antonio Gandin) were massively 
executed by the German 1st Gebirg Div. 
(Mountain Div.) and 104th Jager Div. 
(Hunters Div.), on the island of Cephalonia, 
in Sep. 1943, in the incident known as the 
"Cephalonia Massacre".

In total, 1315 Italians were killed in battle 
fighting the Germans, 5155 were executed 
and 3000 were drowned when the German 
ships taking them to concentration camps 
were sunk.
The massacre provided the historical 
background to the novel Captain Corelli’s 
Mandolin, which later became a Hollywood 
film.
The medal is very rare.

FULL SIZE

WW2 1939 1945

Item 100% original - ribbon original

Condition as on the photos
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