List of units of the Italian Army
This page lists brigades, regiments, battalions, and other formations and units of the Italian Army since World War II grouped by their administrative corps. Units grouped under their operational headquarters are listed at Structure of the Italian Army.
The units are listed by order of precedence. After the unit's name, the date of foundation i.e. *1624 and the location it is currently based follows. Disbanded units follow below the active units.
Infantry Corps
Granatieri
History
The Granatieri (Grenadiers) are the oldest speciality of the Italian Army and act as honor guard for the President of Italy. In 1975 the Granatieri battalions, with the exception of the 3rd Battalion, were named for battles in which the Granatieri had distinguished themselves. The 3rd Battalion was named for the oldest regiment of their line.
Active units
- "Granatieri di Sardegna" Brigade, *1831-1939
Inactive units
Inactivated units of the Granatieri specialty:
Fanteria (Line Infantry)
History
Active units
Italian Infantry units are named for regions and cities. However the 5th, 13th, 17th, 20th, 21st, 60th, 66th, 67th, 87th, 114th, 120th, and 151st infantry battalions are named for battles, while the 52nd is named for the Alps and the 1st carries the name of Saint Justus of Trieste.
Inactive units
Inactivated units of the Infantry of the Line:
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Bersaglieri
History
Originally raised as sharpshooters and skirmishers, the Bersaglieri serve since World War 2 mostly as mechanized infantry. In 1975 the Bersaglieri battalions, with the exception of the 1st and 11th battalion, were named for battles in which the Bersaglieri had distinguished themselves. The 1st Bersaglieri Battalion is named for the founder of the Bersaglieri corps General Alessandro Ferrero La Marmora, while the 11th Battalion, which had received the war flag of the 182nd Regiment "Garibaldi", was named for the island of Caprera where Italy's national hero Giuseppe Garibaldi spent the last years of his life.
Active units
Inactive units
Inactivated units of the Bersaglieri specialty:
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Alpini
History
Alpini are the Italian Army's mountain infantry units. Since their founding in 1872 the battalions of the Alpini were named for the Alpine villages and cities were the battalions had their depot. First line reserve battalions were named after the valleys (Val) surrounding the locations of the depots, and second line reserve battalions were named for mountains (Monte) located within the valleys surrounding the locations of the depots.
Active units
In 1975 all regiments were disbanded and their flags passed to the newly independent battalions. Beginning in the early 1990s the regiments were reactivated and the battalions, upon entering a regiment, returned the flags to the regiments and lost their independence.
- 2nd Alpine Brigade, *1923-1934
- 1st Alpine Brigade, *1923-1934
- 3rd Alpine Brigade, *1923-1934
Inactive units
Inactivated units of the Alpini specialty:
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- Alpini Battalion "Bolzano", *1937-1943, 1949-1975
Alpini Fortification (Alpini d'Arresto) battalions were tasked with manning the fortifications of the Vallo Alpino and received the names of 1st line reserve battalions of World War 1. The three Alpini fortification groupings were regimental-level, administrative formation.
- Alpini Battalion "Val Fella", *1915-1917, 1939-1943, 1963-1975
- Alpini Battalion "Val Natisone", *1915-1918, 1939-1943, 1963-1964
- Alpini Battalion "Val Leogra", *1915-1917, 1939-1943, 1963-1964
- Alpini Battalion "Val Cismon", *1915-1919, 1939-1943, 1963-1975
Paracadutisti
History
Paracadutisti (Paratroopers) are the Italian Army's airborne forces. In 1975 Paracadutisti battalions, with the exception of the 2nd Battalion, were named for battles in which the Paracadutisti had distinguished themselves. The 2nd Battalion was named after the location of the first Italian Paratroopers school. Paratroopers regiments carry the name of World War II airborne divisions.
Active units
- 185th Paratroopers Division "Folgore", *1941-1942
- V Paratroopers Battalion, *1963-1975
- 2nd Paratroopers Regiment, *1941-1942
- V Paratroopers Battalion, *1963-1975
- II Paratroopers Battalion, *1963-1975
- 3rd Paratroopers Regiment, *1941-1942
- II Paratroopers Battalion, *1963-1975
Lagunari
Lagunari are the Italian Army's amphibious forces. In 1975 the two Lagunari battalions were named for the honorary name of Republic of Venice and for the Sile river, which flows into the Venetian lagoon and was the location of heavy combat between Austro-Hungarian and Italian forces in 1918.
Active units
Inactive units
Cavalry Corps
Cavalleria di Linea (Cavalry of the Line)
History
The ten oldest cavalry regiments were named for territories of the Savoyard state, while later units were named for Italian cities. The two exceptions to this rule are the 8th Regiment named for the Battle of Montebello and the 19th Regiment, which retained its title as Guides. The following lists includes the origin of the name for the oldest regiments in brackets before the date of founding. The first four regiments are Dragoons, with the rest of the regiments either being Lancers (Lancieri) or Chevau-légers (Cavalleggeri).
Italian Army cavalry regiments are the army's only units, which have the name before their number, and who do not include a description of the type of unit in their name (unlike other regiments like i.e. 5th Alpini Regiment, 2nd Engineer Regiment, 32nd Tank Regiment, etc.)
Active units
- Fast Brigade "Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro" (II), *1935-1938
- II Cavalry Brigade, *1835-1849, 1859-1863, 1866, 1870-1935
- Fast Brigade "Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro" (II), *1935-1938
Inactive units
The Regiment "Lancieri di Firenze" (9th) was originally a unit of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and became the only cavalry regiment of the conquered Italian states, which was allowed to join the Royal Sardinian Army. The inactivated units of the cavalry are:
- Corpo Dragoni Toscani, *1753-1808, 1814-1859
- 1964-1979: "Cavalleggeri di Alessandria" Reconnaissance Squadron
Carristi (Tankers)
History
Originally the tank corps was a speciality of the infantry and named "Fanteria carrista" (Tank infantry). On 1 June 1999 the tank corps left the infantry and became part of the cavalry. In 1975 tank battalions were named for officers, soldiers and partisans, who were posthumously awarded Italy's highest military honor the Gold Medal of Military Valour for heroism during World War II.
Active units
Inactive units
- XI Tank Battalion, *1941-1942, 1960-1975
- LX Tank Battalion, *1940-1941, 1960-1975
- LXIII Tank Battalion, *1939-1941, 1958-1975
- IV Tank Battalion, *1940-1942, 1959-1975
- V Tank Battalion, *1940-1941, 1964-1975
- VII Tank Battalion, *1941-1942, 1949-1975
- XIII Tank Battalion, *1941-1942, 1961-1975
- XIX Armored Battalion, *1941-1943, 1960-1975
- 31st Tank Battalion "M.O. Andreani", *1982-1993
- Armored Battalion (of the Armored Troops School), *1975-1982
- LXII Armored Battalion, *1940-1941, 1960-1975
Artillery Corps
Artiglieria Terrestre (Field Artillery)
History
Active units
Each Field Artillery regiment consists of a HQ platoon, a target acquisition battery, a logistic support battery and an artillery group with a command platoon and three firing batteries 6x artillery systems each.
Inactive units
Heavy Field Artillery
Corps level support units were designated as "Heavy Field Artillery" (previously: "Army Corps Artillery Regiment"):
Heavy Artillery
Army level support units were designated as "Heavy Artillery" (previously: "Army Artillery Regiment"):
Mountain Artillery
- Mountain Artillery Group "Susa", *???-1975
- Mountain Artillery Group "Mondovì", *???-1975
- Mountain Artillery Group "Osoppo", *1961-1975
- Mountain Artillery Group "Pieve di Cadore", *1953-1975
Target Acquisition
- 7th Artillery Specialists Group "Casarsa", *1976-31 January 1991, named Artillery Specialist Group "Ariete" 1976-1986
- 30th Artillery Specialists Group "Brianza", *1975-28 February 1991, for III Army Corps, but only the 3rd battery was active as part of the Horse Artillery Regiment in Milan
Artiglieria Controaerei (Anti-aircraft Artillery)
History
Active units
Each Air-defense Artillery regiment consists of a HQ battery, a logistic support battery and an air-defense group.
Inactive units
- 1st Heavy Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment, *1992-1996
Light anti-aircraft artillery groups were activated in 1975 as reserve units with older equipment, but never filled with troops. They were named for birds of prey and disbanded in the early 1990s:
- 11th Light Anti-aircraft Artillery Group "Falco", *1975-??
- 12th Light Anti-aircraft Artillery Group "Nibbio", *1975-??
- 13th Light Anti-aircraft Artillery Group "Condor", *1975-??
- 14th Light Anti-aircraft Artillery Group "Astore", *1975-??
- 21st Light Anti-aircraft Artillery Group "Sparviero", *1975-??
- 22nd Light Anti-aircraft Artillery Group "Alcione", *1975-??
Special Artillery Units
Engineer Corps
History
The Engineer Corps was founded on 11 June 1775 as the "Royal Corps of Engineers" ("Corpo Reale degli Ingegneri") of the army of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. With the integration of the engineer units of the Italian states conquered during the Second Italian War of Independence the Corps was elevated on 11 January 1861 to a service branch of the Army and became the "Arma del Genio". In 1915 when Italy entered World War I the Royal Italian Army fielded six regiments and two battalions:
- 1st Sapper Regiment in Pavia
- 2nd Sapper Regiment in Casale Monferrato
- 3rd Telegraph Engineer Regiment in Florence
- 4th Bridging Engineer Regiment in Piacenza
- 5th Mining Engineer Regiment in Turin
- 6th Railroad Engineer Regiment in Turin
- Specialist Engineer Battalion
- Aviation Engineer Battalion (transferred to the Corpo Aeronautico Militare at the outbreak of hostilities)
During the war the Engineer Branch expanded and created new types of units:
- Sapper Companies were mostly employed to build the trenches along the Isonzo front - expanded from 43x to 236x companies
- Flamethrower Companies - 9x were raised
- Telegraph Companies tasked with managing the military's communications - expanded from 24x to 139x companies
- Telephone Companies tasked with laying and maintaining phone cables along the front - 57x companies were raised
- Bridging Companies - expanded from 12x to 26x companies
- Mining Companies tasked with building defensive positions in the Alps - expanded from 20x to 53x companies
- Lagunari Companies tasked with providing transportation in the Marano lagoon and on Lake Garda and Lake Idro.
Besides these also transport, ropeway, photography and poison gas companies were raised during the war.
In May 1940 when Italy entered World War II the branch fielded 18x engineer regiments, which contained a mix of sappers and signalers, and two mining, two bridging and one railroad engineer regiment. During the war each division received a mixed engineer battalion providing sappers and signalers. After the war the branch was rebuilt as part of the Italian Army, fielding three pioneer, one bridging, one railroad and one fortification engineer battalion, along with mixed engineer battalions for the army's divisions. In 1953 the signal units were split from the engineer branch to form their own service branch.
In 1975 all independent battalions of the engineer branch were named for a lake if they supported a corps or named for a river if they supported a division or brigade. In the same year every brigade of the army received a pioneer company, which carried the name of the brigade they it was subordinated to. The battalions of the 2nd Bridge Engineer Regiment and the Railroad Engineer Regiment received no names. In 1975 the army fielded two miners, one sapper and nine pioneer battalions, and 24x brigade engineer companies.
After the end of the Cold War the army renamed all battalions as regiments, although the composition of the units didn't change. In 1993 the brigade's engineer companies were merged with the brigade's signal battalions to create Command and Tactical Support Battalions. In 2001 the engineer companies of the Command and Tactical Support Battalions were merged with the existing engineer battalions and each brigade received an engineer regiment.
Active units
Today the service branch is divided into four specialties: Sappers ("Guastatori"), Pioneers ("Pionieri"), Bridge Engineers ("Pontieri") and Railroad Engineers ("Ferrovieri"). Units marked with a * are named after rivers.
- XXXI Sapper Battalion
- VIII Paratroopers Engineer Battalion, *1941-1942
- III Army Corps Engineer Battalion, *1953-1975
- XXI Pioneer Battalion, *1953-1975
- XXX Sapper Battalion
- XXXII Sapper Battalion
Inactive units
Inactivated units of the Engineer branch follow below. Units marked with a * are named after rivers.
- Pioneer Battalion "Mantova", *1949-1975
- Pioneer Battalion "Centauro", *1958-1975
- CXXXI Mixed Engineer Battalion, *1939-1943
- Pioneer Battalion "Centauro", *1958-1975
- Pioneer Battalion "Folgore", *1944-1975
Signal Corps
History
The Signal branch of the army began as a speciality of the army's engineer branch, when in 1883 two telegraph battalions were raised and joined the 3rd Engineer Regiment. During World War I the speciality expanded rapidly and the war's end fielded 139x Telegraph Companies and 57x Telephone Companies. After the war a second Telegraph Regiment was raised and 26 Telegraph battalions were assigned to various commands of the army. During World War II the Signal Speciality raised a hundreds of units to join the various divisions of the Regio Esercito.
After the war the specialty was finally split from the Engineer Branch and on 16 May 1953 became an autonomous specialty of the army. Over the years the specialty grew and on 30 December 1997 it was finally elevated to a service branch of the army, with two specialities: Signal specialists and Electronic Warfare Specialists.
Active units
If not specified otherwise all Signal battalions below were activated in 1975. All signal battalions, with the exception of the 45th, 46th, 47th, 51st and 184th, were named after Italian mountain passes. The 45th and 46th were named after volcanoes, while the 47th and 184th were named after mountain massifs and the 51st kept the name of the Cold War "Legnano" division it once belonged to.
- 51st Signal Battalion "Legnano", raised in 2004
Transport and Material Corps
History
Active units
Inactive units
- 12th Mixed Transport Battalion, in Cagliari
- 16th Mixed Transport Battalion, in Padua
Army Aviation Corps
History
In May 1951 the first aviation unit was created at the army's Artillery School in Bracciano. The first aircraft in service were L-18C Super Cubs. In 1952 the army created four Light Plane Sections to support its four army corps. In 1956 the first AB 47G helicopters arrived. On 1 June 1957 the training unit was moved to Viterbo and became the Army Light Aviation Training Center. By 1964 four units of helicopters and 19 sections of light airplanes existed. By 1974 four helicopter units and 27 Light Aviation units fielded a mix of L-18C Super Cub, L-19E Bird Dog, and L-21B Super Cub planes and AB 47G planes, and AB 47G, AB 47J, AB 204B, AB 205, AB 206 helicopters.
With the army reform in 1975 the light planes and helicopter units were merged into squadron groups, equally in size to a battalion. Additionally three Army Light Aviation Groupings were created: one for the IV Alpine Army Corps, one for the V Army Corps, and one for the general staff. The new units were named for celestial objects:[1] Groupings were named for stars, while squadron groups were named for constellations and planets of the Solar System.
After the Cold War the army reduced the number of squadrons groups, renamed the groupings to regiments and dropped the "Light" from the specialties name.
Active units
- 21st Squadrons Group "Orsa Maggiore"
- 30th Squadrons Group "Pegaso"
- 26th Squadrons Group "Giove"
- 27th Squadrons Group "Mercurio"
- 49th Squadrons Group "Capricorno"
Inactive units
Inactivated units of the Aviation speciality:
- 12th Squadrons Group "Gru" - inactivated on 1 September 1981
- 20th Squadrons Group "Andromeda" - inactivated during fall 2002
- 23rd Squadrons Group "Eridano" - inactivated on 1 September 1998
- 24th Squadrons Group "Orione" - inactivated on 31 December 1993
- 39th Squadrons Group "Drago" - inactivated on 4 November 2002
- 44th Squadrons Group "Fenice" - inactivated on 4 July 1996
- 46th Squadrons Group "Sagittario"
- 47th Squadrons Group "Levrieri"
- 51st Squadrons Group "Leone" - inactivated on 4 November 2002
- 53rd Squadrons Group "Cassiopea" - inactivated 31 December 2015
- 55th Squadrons Group "Dragone" - inactivated 1 March 2006
See also
References
- Cerbo, Giovanni (1996). L'Aviazione dell'Esercito - Dalle origini ai giorni nostri. Rome: Rivista Militare. p. 128. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
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