Formed in 1862 the regiment is part of the Italian Army's infantry arm and named for the region of Apulia.

The division was in northern Albania and Kosovo, when the Armistice of Cassibile was announced on 8 September 1943 and was soon thereafter disbanded by invading German forces.

In 1895-96 the regiment provided seven officers and 180 enlisted for units deployed to Italian Eritrea for the First Italo-Ethiopian War.

At the time the 72nd Infantry Regiment consisted of three battalions, each of which fielded four fusilier companies and one machine gun section.

In November of the same year the brigade was on the Karst plateau, where it fought in the Fourth Battle of the Isonzo, with the 72nd Infantry Regiment trying to take Podgora hill.

In February 1916 the brigade was transferred to Albania, but already on 10 May 1916 it was repatriated and sent as reinforcement to the Trentino sector during the Battle of Asiago.

On 22 May the brigade entered the frontline on Monte Pasubio and held the mountain against repeated Austro-Hungarian attacks.

On 26 June the brigade was deployed in the Vallarsa vallery and participated there in the Italian counteroffensive, during which the 72nd Infantry Regiment tried unsuccessfully to take the Austro-Hungarian fort at Valmorbia.

In October 1917 the regiment fought during the Battle of Caporetto on Monte Globočak and in November retreated with the rest of the army to the Piave river.

On 13 November 1917 the 71st Infantry Regiment was disbanded and its personnel used to reinforce units, which had suffered heavy losses during the retreat.

The brigade operated in the area of the lower Vjosa river and on 3 October the 71st Infantry Regiment liberated Berat.

From 9 March 1941 the division tried to take Monastery Hill near the hamlet of Komarak, as part of the failed Italian Spring Offensive.

Already on 14 March 1977 the President of the Italian Republic Giovanni Leone had issued decree 173, which assigned the flag and traditions of the 72nd Infantry Regiment "Puglie" to the battalion.