BERSAGLIERI, the name given to the rifle battalions of the Italian army (from Italian bersaglio, a mark). The first Ber sagliere units were raised in 1836, and by the time of the Crimean War they numbered ten battalions. Their resplendent uniform combined with their excellent record in the various Italian cam paigns from the Crimea down to the World War to render them perhaps the most famous and certainly the most popular corps in the army. After the war they were converted into cyclist units, and the number of battalions was fixed at twelve.