[1] The division's lineage begins with the Brigade "Salerno" established in Bologna on 1 November 1884 with the 89th and 90th Infantry Regiments.

In March, it started to advance to Addi Onfito, reaching Axum in April 1936 and then continuing to the Adwa area.

The Cosseria remained in the occupied France until the middle of August 1940, when it was transferred for coastal defence duties in western Liguria.

The Cosseria arrived in Horlivka in Southern Ukraine in the beginning of July 1942 and initially was used as reserve of the Italian XXXV Army Corps.

In the first half of August the Cosseria was transferred to the front-line on the Don river, to the north of the 3rd Infantry Division "Ravenna", taking positions between Novaya Kalitva and Verhny Mamon.

The rapidly deteriorating situation forced the Cosseria's remnants to retreat to the south-west, first maintaining a front-line, and then in several separate columns.

During the Soviet Voronezh Front's operations in the Upper Don area under Golikov, Soviet cavalry struck out very successfully for Valuiki and under the pale winter sun on 19 January the horsemen in black capes and flying hoods charged down the hapless Italians, killing and wounding more than a thousand before the brief resistance by the fleeing, hungry and frostbitten men of the 5th Infantry Division ended.

The further retreat route was through Kharkiv, Okhtyrka, Romny, Pryluky, Nizhyn, finally reaching Novobelitsa at the Southern outskirts of Gomel on 7 March 1943.

[7] Notes: When the division was deployed to the Soviet Union it consisted of the following units:[12] Attached during the invasion of France in 1940:[1] Attached from 1941 until early 1942:[1] For their conduct during the campaign in the Soviet Union the President of Italy awarded on 31 December 1947 to the two infantry regiments of the 5th Infantry Division "Cosseria" Italy's highest military honor, the Gold Medal of Military Valor.