The 10th Mountain Division was the first and only division of mountaineers formed by the United States Army.
The first unit of the division, the 87th Regiment, was formed on November 15, 1941, following the example of the Finnish Army ski soldiers who caused so many problems to the Soviet Army in its attempted invasion of the country from late November 1939 until the surrender in mid-March 1940.
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour and America's entry into the war, the training and completion of the units of the 10th Light Division was greatly accelerated.
Specific equipment and clothing suitable for mountain troops were studied and tested in the field in relation to the low temperatures at which they might operate. 
The training of the men, most of whom were experienced skiers or rock climbers, took place in the high mountains surrounding Camp Hale, in Colorado, at over 6,500 fasl in the cold and snow.
On the November 6, 1944 close the date of departure date for the European front, destined for Italy, the division took the name of 10th Mountain Division.
The division was made up of three mountain infantry regiments (85th, 86th and 87th) each mede up of three battalions in turn made up of A to M companies.
In addition to the infantry, there were: three light field artillery battalions (604th - 605th and 616th) on mules, the 10th Mountain Anti-Tank Infantry Battalion comprising the 727th Machine Gun Battalion and the 576th Anti-Tank Battery.
The combat troops were supported by a medical battalion comprising of four medical and one veterinary companie, the horse-mounted 10th Reconnaissance Battalion, the 110th Transmission Company and the 126th Mountain Engineer Battalion.
In Italy the following unit, for more or less long periods, the 1125th Armoured Field Artillery Battalion and a regiment of the 178th Lowland Medium Artillery of the British Artillery, the 701st Tank Destroyer Battalion and the 751st Tank Battalion were included.
After nearly two years of training, on December 11, 1944 the 86th Regiment embarked from Hampton Roads, Virginia, on the USS Argentina bound for Naples, arriving on December 22.
On January 4, 1945 the 85th and 87th Regiments embarked from Hampton Roads, on the USS West Point for Naples, arriving on January 13, 1945.
On January 6 the three artillery battalions embarked on the USAT General Meigs and arrived in Naples on 18 January.
The transport of the troops on Italian territory, up to the foot of the Gothic Line, took place by train from Naples to Livorno and by military trucks to the staging areas near Pisa.
The 86th Regiment entered the front line north of Bagni di Lucca from the Quercianella reserve near Livorno and, between 8 and 9 January 1945 took over the elements of Task Force 45 in the Monte Belvedere area protected, on the right flank, by the 1st Brazilian Infantry Division belonging of the Força Expedicionária Brasileira (F.E.B.).
On January 15 ,1945 the 85th and 87th Regiments were camped to west of Pisa and on January, 20 entered the front line in the Monte Belvedere area.
Between 28 and 29 January, troops of the 85th and 87th Regiments took over from the 86th Regiment, which then led the attack to the German lines on the Riva Ridge (Pizzo di Campiano, Monte Cappel Buso, Monte Serrasiccia, Monte Mancinello and Le Piagge*) during the night between 18 and 19 February 1945.
At 11pm, February 19, 1945, General George P. Hays, commander of the 10th Mountain Division, ordered to the three regiments to begin the attack on the Gothic Line. To add the element of surprise there was none of the usual preparatory artillery fire.
The forces in the field were supported by aerial reconnaissance led by "Rover ]oe" and coordinated from the ground by the "Rover Pete" team.
The attack of the 87th Regiment developed from the starting line, near the town of Querciola, towards the town of Corona.
The 2nd Battalion moved west, towards the towns of Polla and Rocca Corneta.
The 1st Battalion climbed the left ridge of Monte Belvedere at the same time of the 3rd Battalion, 85th Regiment, which was immediately to their right.
The 1st Battalion, 85th Regiment stormed Monte Gorgolesco and the 3rd Battalion, 86th Regiment moved towards Mazzancana.
The action continued towards Ronchidoso and Monte della Torraccia which was conquered on February 24, 1945.
Monte Terminale and Jola di Montese were conquered on March, 3 Pietracolora on March, 4 and Castel D'aiano on March 5, 1945.
The three regiments of the 10th Mountain Division finally stationed themselves between Monte Castellaro, Monte Grande D'Aiano, Monte della Spe, Monte Sinistro and Monte della Castellana for the following four weeks during which the troops were sent in rotation for rest to the rear between Prunetta and Campo Tizzoro, in the province of Pistoia, and Montecatini.
On April 14, 1945 the final assault was launched on the remained defences of the Gothic Line, the last German bastion before the Po Valley. The Spring Offensive led to the liberation of the towns of Rocca di Roffeno, Tolè on April, 16 Monte Pastore and Savigno.
The Via Emilia was crossed at the foot of the Appennines towards the Po Valley, between the city of Modena and Bologna, near Ponte Samoggia to continue through the territories west of the city of San Giovanni in Persiceto and Crevalcore, towards Nonantola, Bomporto up to Bastiglia which was reached April 21. 
Between 23 and 24 April the three regiments of the 10th Mountain Division crossed the Po river near Governolo arriving to occupy the airport of Villafranca di Verona and Verona itself on April 25.
April 26 the troops reached the southern shore of Lake Garda and went on to Torbole where they entered on April 30.
April 28, 1945 the German troops in Italy surrendered and on May 2 they laid down their arms.
May 6, the troops of the 3rd Battalion, 86th Regiment meet the troops of the 44th US Infantry Division coming from central Europe near the Resia Pass in the Alps between Italy and Austria,
At dawn on July 14, the 10th Mountain Division deployed from since May 20 arrived at Tarcento near the city of Udine. Together with British troops, it had to prevent any westward movement of Tito's partisans who had occupied the cities of Trieste, Gorizia and Klagenfurt.
At the time the division was ordered to return to America, in preparation for the invasion of Japan planned for November 2, 1945 in Kyushu.
On August 6, 1945, the city of Hiroshima was destroyed by the first atomic bomb in the history. Between July 26 and August 2, 1945 the three regiments of the 10th Mountain Division left the ports of Livorno (86th Regiment) and Naples (85th and 87th Regiment) for America where they arrived between August 7 and August 11, 1945.
The division was deactivated at Camp Carson, Colorado, on 30 November 1945 .
During the fighting on Italian territory, the 10th Mountain Division, with 19,780 men, suffered 975 KIA and 3,871 WIA.
The highest losses suffered by an American division on the Italian territory, in relation to the time spent there.
Reactivated February 13, 1985, the division's motto was, and still is, Climb to Glory derived from the expert climber soldiers who, in the middle of the night of February 18, 1945 climbed the five steep path leading to Riva Ridge in order to overwhelm the German troops who thought they were safe.
More: Memorie d'Italia museum