Goito Mechanized Brigade

Brigata Meccanizzata Goito
Coat of Arms of the Mechanized Brigade Goito after 1986
Active	21 October 1975 – 1 June 1991
Country	Italy
Allegiance	Italian Army
Branch	Infantry
Role	Armored warfare
Size	Brigade
Part of	1975–1986 Centauro Armored Division 1986–1991 3rd Army Corps
Garrison/HQ	Milan

The Goito Mechanized Brigade 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.

History

The brigade was activated during a major reorganization of the Italian Army: in 1975 the regimental level was abolished and battalions came under direct command of newly formed multi-arms brigades. On 21 October 1975 the 3rd Mechanized Brigade Goito and 31st Armored Brigade Curtatone were activated by transforming two disbanding regiments of the Centauro Armored Division. The Goito took command of the units of the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment, while the Curtatone took command of the units of the 31st Tank Regiment. To bring the Goito to full strength it received the 6th Bersaglieri Battalion Palestro from the Cremona Motorized Infantry Division's 22nd Armoured Infantry Regiment, the 3rd Field Artillery Group Pastrengo from the Legnano Motorized Infantry Division's 11th Field Artillery Regiment, and the Goito Logistic Battalion from the Centauro Armored Division's Logistic Services Groupement.

The Centauro Armored Division was part of the 3rd Army Corps based in North-Western Italy. The 3rd Army Corps was tasked with defending Lombardy and Piedmont in case the 4th Alpine Army Corps and 5th Army Corps would have failed to stop an invasion by Warsaw Pact forces east of the Adige river. The brigade’s authorized strength was 4,733 men (272 Officers, 637 non-commissioned officers and 3,824 soldiers) and it was initially composed by the following units:

• 3rd Mechanized Brigade Goito, in Milan
  • Goito Command and Signal Battalion, in Milan
  • 4th Tank Battalion M.O. Passalacqua, in Solbiate Olona, with Leopard 1A2 main battle tanks
  • 6th Bersaglieri Battalion Palestro, in Torino, with VCC-2 armoured personnel carriers
  • 10th Bersaglieri Battalion Bezzecca, in Solbiate Olona, with VCC-2 armoured personnel carriers
  • 18th Bersaglieri Battalion Poggio Scanno, in Milan, with VCC-2 armoured personnel carriers
  • 3rd Field Artillery Group Pastrengo, in Vercelli, with M101 105mm towed howitzers (replaced with M109 155mm self-propelled howitzers in the early 1980s)
  • Goito Logistic Battalion, in Monza
  • Goito Anti-tank Company, in Torino
  • Goito Engineer Company, in Novara

On 1 November 1986 the Italian Army abolished the divisional level and brigades, that until then had been under one of the Army's four divisions, came forthwith under direct command of the Army's 3rd or 5th Army Corps. The Goito along with the Centauro and Legnano brigades came under the 3rd Army Corps. On the occasion the brigades dropped the numbers from their names and received new coat of arms.

After the end of the Cold War the Italian Army began to draw down its forces. The first unit to be disbanded was the 6th Bersaglieri Battalion, whose battle flag was returned to the Vittoriano in Rome on 5 December 1989. The Goito itself was disbanded on 1 June 1991 along with most of its subordinate units. The remaining units were distributed among other brigades: the 4th Tank Battalion and 18th Bersaglieri Battalion joined the Legnano Mechanized Brigade, while the 10th Bersaglieri Battalion had already moved to Bologna and joined the Trieste Mechanized Brigade on 1 March 1991.

References