The Bersaglieri, singular Bersagliere, are a troop of marksmen in the Italian Army's infantry corps. They were originally created by General Alessandro Ferrero La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Royal Sardinian Army, which later became the Royal Italian Army. They can be recognized by their distinctive wide-brimmed hats decorated with black western capercaillie feathers, which is worn with the dress uniform. The feathers are also applied to their combat helmets.
On March 1, 1984 the Italian Institute for Disarmament, Development and Peace (Istituto di ricerche per il disarmo, lo sviluppo e la pace in Rome published the entire Italian Army order of battle down to company level – this was justified by the radical party as one of its core demands was total disarmament of Europe, even though the data which was published was top secret. The Radical Party dissolved in 1989 and the IRDISP followed suit in 1990. But Radio Radicale has survived, and the OrBat can still be found today on the homepage of the radio.
The Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" is a brigade of the Italian Army, based in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto regions. The Brigade consists of a command unit, a cavalry regiment, an amphibious infantry regiment, an artillery regiment, an engineer regiment and a logistic regiment.
The Mechanized Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna" is a mechanized infantry brigade of the Italian Army, based in Rome and central Italy. The brigade fields one of the oldest regiments of the Army and is one of the guard regiments of the President of Italy. The name of the unit dates back to the Kingdom of Sardinia and not the eponymous Mediterranean island of Sardinia. The brigade is part of the Division "Acqui".
The Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi" is a mechanized infantry brigade of the Italian Army, based in the south of the country. Its core units are Bersaglieri, an elite infantry corps of the Italian Army. The brigade is named after Giuseppe Garibaldi, a hero of the Italian wars of unification. The brigade is part of the Division "Acqui".
After World War II the Italian Army had two units named "Centauro": from 1952 to 1986 the Armored Division "Centauro" and from 1986 to 2002 the Armored Brigade "Centauro". Both units were successor to the World War II era 131st Armored Division "Centauro". The units' name came from the mythological race of half human-half horse creatures named Centaurs.
The 132nd Armored Brigade "Manin" was a short-lived armored brigade of the Italian Army based in the country's North-East. Its core units were tank and Bersaglieri battalions from the disbanded 132nd Tank Regiment of the 132nd Armored Division "Ariete". The brigade's headquarters was in the city of Aviano and the brigade's name honored the Italian unification hero Daniele Manin.
The 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete" is currently the only active armored brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units are tank and Bersaglieri regiments. The brigade's headquarters is in Pordenone, and most of its units are based in the North-East of Italy. The brigade's name comes from the battering ram. The brigade draws much of its historical traditions from the 132nd Armored Division "Ariete," which fought in the Western Desert Campaign of World War II. In 1948, the Ariete was reconstituted as a division and remained active until 1986. Today the brigade is part of the Division "Vittorio Veneto".
The Mechanized Brigade "Brescia" was a mechanized brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units were mechanized infantry battalions. The brigade was founded in, named after, and headquartered in the city of Brescia and accordingly the brigade's coat of arms was modeled after the city's coat of arms.
The Mechanized Brigade "Trieste" was a mechanized brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units were mechanized infantry battalions. The brigade's headquarter was in the city of Bologna. Named after the North-Eastern city of Trieste the brigade's coat of arms was modeled after the city's coat of arms.
The Mechanized Division "Folgore" was a mechanized division of the Italian Army. Its core units were three mechanized brigades. The brigades headquarters was in the city of Treviso.
The following is a hierarchical outline for the Italian Army at the end of the Cold War. It is intended to convey the connections and relationships between units and formations.
The 11th Bersaglieri Regiment is an active unit of the Italian Army based in Orcenico Superiore in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. The regiment is part of the army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality and operationally assigned to the 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete". The regiment was formed in 1883 by the Royal Italian Army with preexisting battalions. The regiment served in Libya during the Italo-Turkish War, where it earned a Gold Medal of Military Valor. During World War I the regiment served on the Italian front.
With the 1975 reforms the Italian Army abolished the regimental level and replaced it with brigades made up of multiple arms. During the reform the army disbanded 48 regimental commands and reduced its force by 87 battalions. A further ten regimental commands were used to raise ten new brigade commands. Ten training centers, which for traditional reasons had carried the names of regiments, were also disbanded. The reduction in units also allowed to mechanize most of the remaining units in Northern Italy and Italy's defense strategy changed from a hold-at-all-costs territorial defense to one of mobile warfare.
The 5th Tank Battalion "M.O. Chiamenti" is an inactive tank battalion of the Italian Army, which was based in Tauriano in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and last operationally assigned to the 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete". The unit's lineage traces back to the World War II V Tank Battalion M13/40, which was formed on 11 November 1940 by the depot of the 32nd Tank Infantry Regiment. In January 1941, the battalion arrived in Libya to shore up the crumbling Italian 10th Army, which was disintegrating quickly due to the British Operation Compass. On 10 January 1941, the battalion was assigned to the Special Armored Brigade and in the following 25 days the battalion fought British forces until the battalion was annihilated in the Battle of Beda Fomm. In 1964 the battalion was reformed and assigned to the 32nd Tank Regiment. In 1975 the battalion was renamed 5th Tank Battalion "M.O. Chiamenti" and assigned to the 32nd Armored Brigade "Mameli". In 1991, the battalion was transferred to the 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete". On 25 August 1992, the battalion was disbanded and its personnel merged into the 3rd Tank Battalion "M.O. Galas", which the next day entered the reformed 32nd Tank Regiment.
The 13th Tank Battalion "M.O. Pascucci" is an inactive tank battalion of the Italian Army, which was based in Cordenons in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and last operationally assigned to the 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete". The unit's lineage traces back to the World War II XIII Tank Battalion M13/40, which was formed in 1941 by the deopt of the 32nd Tank Infantry Regiment. In August 1942, the battalion was assigned to the 132nd Tank Infantry Regiment with which it participated in the Western Desert campaign. The battalion fought in the Battle of Alam el Halfa and the Second Battle of El Alamein, during which the battalion was destroyed on 4 November by the 7th British Armoured Division. In 1960 the battalion was reformed and assigned to the 182nd Armored Infantry Regiment "Garibaldi". In 1976 the battalion was renamed 13th Tank Battalion "M.O. Pascucci". In September 1989 the battalion was reduced to reserve unit and in 1991 the battalion was disbanded and its flag transferred to the Shrine of the Flags in the Vittoriano in Rome.
The Logistic Regiment "Garibaldi" is a military logistics regiment of the Italian Army based in Persano in Campania. The regiment is most decorated logistic unit of the army and operationally assigned to the Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi". The regimental anniversary falls, as for all units of the Transport and Materiel Corps, on 22 May, the anniversary of the Italian Army's first major automobile use to transport reinforcements to counter the Austro-Hungarian Offensive at Asiago in 1916.
The Logistic Regiment "Ariete" is a military logistics regiment of the Italian Army based in Maniago in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Today the regiment is the logistic unit of the 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete". The regimental anniversary falls, as for all units of the Transport and Materiel Corps, on 22 May, the anniversary of the Italian Army's first major automobile use to transport reinforcements to counter the Austro-Hungarian Offensive at Asiago in 1916.
The Logistic Battalion "Mameli" is an inactive logistics unit of the Italian Army, which was assigned to the Armored Brigade "Mameli". The regimental anniversary falls, as for all units of the Transport and Materiel Corps, on 22 May, the anniversary of the Italian Army's first major automobile use to transport reinforcements to counter the Austro-Hungarian Offensive at Asiago in 1916.
The 50th Maneuver Logistic Battalion "Carnia" is an inactive logistics unit of the Italian Army. The battalion was formed in 1975 as Logistic Battalion "Ariete" and assigned to the Armored Division "Ariete". After the division was disbanded in 1986 the battalion was reorganized as a corps logistic battalion, renamed 50th Maneuver Logistic Battalion "Carnia" and assigned to the 5th Army Corps. The battalion was disbanded in 1991. The regimental anniversary falls, as for all units of the Transport and Materiel Corps, on 22 May, the anniversary of the Italian Army's first major automobile use to transport reinforcements to counter the Austro-Hungarian Offensive at Asiago in 1916.
