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".
The Mechanized Brigade "Pinerolo" is a mechanized infantry brigade of the Italian Army, based in the southern region of Apulia. Carrying the name of the Piedmontese city of Pinerolo the brigade's coat of arms was modeled after the city's coat of arms. The brigade is part of the Division "Acqui".
The Mechanized Brigade "Aosta" is a mechanized infantry brigade of the Italian Army based on the island of Sicily. The Brigade is one of the oldest of the Italian Army and the name connects the brigade to its original area of recruitment the Aosta Valley and therefore the brigade's coat of arms is modeled after the coat of arms of Aosta. The brigade is part of the Division "Acqui".
The 131st Armored Division "Centauro" was an armored division of the Italian Army during World War II. The division was formed in April 1939 by expanding the I Armored Brigade. The division's name came from the mythological race of half human-half horse creatures named Centaurs. The division participated in the invasion of Albania, Greco-Italian War, and invasion of Yugoslavia. In August 1942 the division was sent to Libya to participate in the Western Desert Campaign. After the Axis defeat at the Second Battle of El Alamein the division retreated with the German-Italian Panzer Army to Tunisia, where the division participated in the Tunisian Campaign. On 18 April 1943 the division was disbanded due to the losses suffered in the Battle of El Guettar.
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 "Goito" was a mechanized brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units were mechanized Bersaglieri battalions. The brigade's headquarters was in the city of Milan. The brigade's name was chosen in memory of the First Italian War of Independence Battle of Goito, where the Bersaglieri corps had its baptism of fire.
The Mechanized Brigade "Legnano" was a mechanized brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units were mechanized infantry battalions. The brigade's headquarters was in the city of Bergamo in Lombardy. The name of the brigade commemorates the Lombard League victory in the Battle of Legnano in 1176 and its coat of arms depicts the Monument to the Warrior of Legnano in the centre of Legnano.
The Motorized Brigade "Cremona" was an infantry brigade of the Italian Army. The brigade's headquarters was in the city of Turin. The brigade carried on the name and traditions of the 44th Infantry Division "Cremona".
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.
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 28th Bersaglieri Battalion "Oslavia" is an inactive battalion of the Italian Army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality. Raised as XXVIII Bersaglieri Battalion in 1861 the battalion became autonomous on 20 October 1975 and received the war flag and traditions of the 9th Bersaglieri Regiment.
The Transit Areas Management Regiment is a military logistics regiment of the Italian Army based in Bellinzago Novarese and Bari. The regiment is operationally assigned to the Logistic Support Command and manages the reception, staging and onward movement of equipment, personnel, and materiel from Italy to Italian military operations abroad. The unit was formed on 1 January 2015 by reorganizing and expanding the 1st Transport Regiment and together with the 6th General Support Logistic Regiment provides third line logistic support for the army's brigades and Rapid Deployable Corps – Italy. 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 "Piemonte" is an inactive logistics unit of the Italian Army. The battalion was formed in 1976 as Logistic Battalion "Centauro" and assigned to the Armored Division "Centauro". After the division was disbanded in 1986 the battalion was reorganized as a brigade logistic battalion and renamed Logistic Battalion "Piemonte". From 1986 to 1991 the battalion was assigned to the 3rd Army Corps and earmarked to support reserve Motorized Brigade "Piemonte". 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.
The 131st Artillery Regiment "Centauro" is an inactive field artillery regiment of the Italian Army, which was based in Vercelli in Piedmont. Originally an armored artillery regiment of the Royal Italian Army, the regiment was assigned during World War II to the 131st Armored Division "Centauro", with which the regiment fought in the Tunisian campaign. During the Cold War the regiment was assigned to the Armored Division "Centauro" and from 1986 the Armored Brigade "Centauro". The regiment was disbanded in 2001. The regimental anniversary falls, as for all Italian Army artillery regiments, on June 15, the beginning of the Second Battle of the Piave River in 1918.
The 9th Artillery Regiment "Pistoia" is an inactive field artillery regiment of the Italian Army, which was based in Vercelli in Piedmont. The regiment was formed in 1861 by the Royal Italian Army and fought in 1866 in the Third Italian War of Independence. During World War I the regiment served on the Italian front. In 1935 the regiment was assigned to the 11th Infantry Division "Brennero". In December 1940 the division was transferred to Albania for the Greco-Italian War. After the German invasion of Greece in April 1941 the division remained in Greece on occupation duty until February 1943, when it moved to Albania to be reorganized as a motorized division. The division and its regiments dissolved after the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943.
