The 4th Bersaglieri Regiment (Italian: 4° Reggimento Bersaglieri) is an active unit of the Italian Army. The regiment is part of the army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality. The regiment was formed in 1861 by the Royal Italian Army with preexisting battalions. During World War I the regiment served on the Italian front.[3][4]
| 4th Bersaglieri Regiment | |
|---|---|
| 4° Reggimento bersaglieri | |
 Regimental coat of arms | |
| Active | 16 April 1861 — 18 Dec. 1864 30 Dec. 1865 — 8 Sep. 1943 1 Nov. 1975 — 29 May 1998 4 Oct. 2022 — today |
| Country |  Italy |
| Branch | Italian Army |
| Part of | 8th Mechanized Brigade "Garibaldi" |
| Garrison/HQ | Maniago |
| Motto(s) | "Vis, animus, impetus" |
| Anniversaries | 18 June 1836 |
| Decorations |      1 × Military Order of Italy 1 × Gold Medal of Military Valor[1] 1 × Silver Medal of Military Valor 3 × Bronze Medals of Military Valor 1 × Silver Medal of Army Valor[2] |
| Insignia | |
| Bersaglieri gorget patches |  |
During World War II the regiment fought in the Greco–Italian War and then served on occupation duty in Yugoslavia. In 1976 the regiment's flag and traditions were assigned to the 26th Bersaglieri Battalion "Castelfidardo". On 29 May 1998 the battalion was disbanded and its flag transferred to the Shrine of the Flags in the Vittoriano in Rome. Since 2022 the unit is active as 4th Bersaglieri Command and Tactical Supports Unit. On 15 April 1977 and received the war flag and traditions of the 4th Bersaglieri Regiment. The regiment's anniversary falls, as for all Bersaglieri units, on 18 June 1836, the day the Bersaglieri speciality was founded.[3][4]
History
editOn 16 April 1861 the 4th Army Corps Bersaglieri Command was formed in Ravenna. The command had purely administrative functions and consisted of the preexisting VI, VII, XI, XII, XXII, and XXVI battalions, and a depot battalion. On 31 December 1861 the command was renamed 4th Bersaglieri Regiment, but continued to exert only administrative functions. On 18 December 1864 the Bersaglieri regiments were reduced from six to five and consequently the 4th Bersaglieri Regiment was disbanded. Its six battalions were transferred to the remaining regiments as follows:[4]
- VI Battalion and VII Battalion to the 1st Bersaglieri Regiment
- XI Battalion to the 2nd Bersaglieri Regiment
- XII Battalion to the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment
- XXII Battalion to the 5th Bersaglieri Regiment
- XXVI Battalion to the 6th Bersaglieri Regiment
On 30 December 1865 the 6th Bersaglieri Regiment in Capua was renamed 4th Bersaglieri Regiment. The reformed regiment retained the battalions of the 6th Bersaglieri Regiment and now consisted of the XXVI, XXVIII, XXIX, XXX, XXXI, XXXII, XXXIII, and XL battalions. On 1 January 1871 the 4th Bersaglieri Regiment was reorganized as an operational regiment with the XXVI Battalion, XXIX Battalion, XXXI Battalion, and XXXIII Battalion, while the XXVIII Battalion, XXX Battalion, XXXII Battalion, and XL Battalion were transferred to the newly formed 9th Bersaglieri Regiment. The four remaining battalions were renumbered as I, II, III, and IV battalion. On 16 September 1883 the IV Battalion was transferred to the newly formed 11th Bersaglieri Regiment. On 18 June 1886, all Bersaglieri battalions resumed their original numbering and afterwards the 4th Bersaglieri Regiment consisted of the XXVI Battalion, XXIX Battalion, and XXXI Battalion.[4]
The XXVI Battalion had been formed by the Royal Sardinian Army in August 1859 as Bersaglieri Battalion of the Romagna, with volunteers from the recently conquered Romagna. The battalion participated in the Sardinian campaign in central and southern Italy, during which the battalion distinguished itself in the Battle of Castelfidardo, for which it was awarded a Bronze Medal of Military Valor, which was affixed to the flag of the 4th Bersaglieri Regiment and added to the regiment's coat of arms, when the battalion joined the regiment. The XXIX Battalion and XXXI Battalion were both formed by the Royal Italian Army in 1861. In 1866 the battalions participated in the Third Italian War of Independence. In September 1870 the XXVI and XXIX battalions participated in the capture of Rome.[4]
In 1887-88 the regiment's 10th Company was deployed to Eritrea for the Italo-Ethiopian War of 1887–1889. In 1895-96 the regiment provided 13 officers and 509 troops to help form the I, II, IV, and V provisional battalions, which were deployed to Eritrea for the First Italo-Ethiopian War. In 1900-01 the regiment's 8th Company, along with companies of the 2nd Bersaglieri Regiment, 5th Bersaglieri Regiment, and 8th Bersaglieri Regiment, was assigned to a provisional Bersaglieri battalion, which served with the Eight-Nation Alliance in China during the Boxer Rebellion. On 1 October 1910 the regiment's depot in Turin formed the IV Cyclists Battalion.[4]
Italo-Turkish War
edit
On 29 September 1911 the Kingdom of Italy declared war against the Ottoman Empire. Initially the Italo-Turkish War was fought in Libya, but on 4 May 1912 Italian forces landed in Kalithea Bay on Rhodes in the Aegean Sea. Among the first troops ashore were two battalions of the 4th Bersaglieri Regiment. By 15 May the Italians attacked the remaining Turkish forces, which had retreated to Psithos. The next day, on 16 May, the attack was renewed and in the afternoon the remaining Turkish troops surrendered. For its conduct on 16 May the XXIX Battalion was awarded a Bronze Medal of Military Valor, which was affixed to the flag of the 4th Bersaglieri Regiment and added to the regiment's coat of arms. After the conclusion of the war the XXVI and XXXI battalions remained in Rhodes on occupation duty, while the rest of the regiment returned to Turin. As replacement for the two battalions in Rhodes the regiment's depot in Turin formed the XXXVII Battalion in June 1912.[4]
World War I
editDuring World War I the regiment fought on the Italian front, while the XXVI Battalion remained on garrison duty in Italian-occupied Rhodes since 1912.[4]
World War II
editDuring World War II regiment and battalion were sent to Albania on 7 November 1940 to fight in the Greco-Italian War. Decimated by the strong Greek resistance and counteroffensive the regiment was reduced to the battalion-sized "Fast Reconnaissance Unit" on 12 April 1941. In this format the remnants of the regiment pursued the Greek armies, which had been forced to retreat after the German Wehrmacht had invaded Greece from Bulgaria on 6 April 1941. On 19 April the regiment's commanding officer Colonel Guglielmo Scognamiglio fell in a skirmish with the Greek rearguards at Borovë. For its conduct in Albania the regiment was awarded a Gold Medal of Military Valor. The death of the regiment's colonel is commemorated in the canton of its coat of arms by the azure band with three stars.[1]
After the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943 the 4th Bersaglieri Regiment and the XXVI Battalion were cut off in Dalmatia and forced to surrender to German forces. The regiment was raised again on 1 February 1944 with the XXI and XXXIII battalions, the latter of which had fought German forces on Corsica after the armistice. As part of the Italian Liberation Corps, the regiment fought on the allied side in the Italian campaign. After having sustained heavy losses fighting on the Winter Line and in the Battle of Ancona the regiment was reduced to Bersaglieri Battalion "Goito" on 24 September 1944 and transferred to the Combat Group "Legnano". After the war, the "Goito" battalion entered the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment on 1 July 1946.[5][4]
Cold War
editDuring the 1975 army reform the XII Bersaglieri Battalion of the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment was renamed 26th Bersaglieri Battalion "Castelfidardo" on 1 November 1975 and received the flag and traditions of the 4th Bersaglieri Regiment. The battalion was based in Pordenone and part of the 8th Mechanized Brigade "Garibaldi".[4]
For its conduct and work after the 1976 Friuli earthquake the battalion was awarded a Silver Medal of Army Valor, which was affixed to the battalion's war flag and added to the battalion's coat of arms.[2]
In the early 1980s the battalion moved to Maniago, where it remained until the Garibaldi was transferred to Caserta in Southern Italy in 1991. The Castelfidardo then joined the 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete" for a short time, before its name was transferred to the 2nd (Recruits Training) Battalion "Pordenone" in Pordenone. For the next years, the Castelfidardo trained the recruits destined for the "Ariete" brigade, until the battalion was disbanded on 29 May 1998 and the flag of the 4th Bersaglieri Regiment transferred to the Shrine of the Flags in the Vittoriano in Rome.[4]
Reactivation
editOn 4 October 2022 the flag and traditions of the 4th Bersaglieri Regiment were given to the Command and Tactical Supports Unit "Garibaldi" of the Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi".[6]
Organization
editAs of 2023, the unit is organized as follows:
4th Bersaglieri Command and Tactical Supports Unit, in Caserta
- Command Company
- Signal Company
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "4° Reggimento Bersaglieri". Quirinale - Presidenza della Repubblica. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
- ^ a b "26° Battaglione Bersaglieri "Castelfidardo"". Quirinale - Presidenza della Repubblica. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
- ^ a b "4° Reparto Comando e Supporti Tattici Bersaglieri". Italian Army. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k F. dell'Uomo, R. Puletti (1998). L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000 - Vol. Primo - Tomo I. Rome: SME - Ufficio Storico. p. 414.
- ^ "4° Reggimento Bersaglieri". Regio Esercito. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
- ^ "4° Reparto Comando e Supporti Tattici Bersaglieri". Italian Army. Retrieved 6 October 2022.