The 12th Bersaglieri Regiment ( it, 12° Reggimento Bersaglieri) is an inactive unit of the

Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

last based in

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an impor ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. The regiment is part of the army's infantry corps'

Bersaglieri The Bersaglieri, singular Bersagliere, (, "sharpshooter") are a troop of marksmen in the Italian Army's infantry corps. They were originally created by General Alessandro La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Royal Sardinian Army, which ...

speciality and was last operationally assigned to the

Mechanized Brigade "Aosta" The Mechanized Brigade "Aosta" ( it, Brigata Meccanizzata "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 o ...

History

The Regiment was raised on 16 September 1884 in

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

with the existing XXI, XXIII and XXXVI battalions. The XXIII Battalion had distinguished itself during the

Third Italian War of Independence The Third Italian War of Independence ( it, Terza Guerra d'Indipendenza Italiana) was a war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire fought between June and August 1866. The conflict paralleled the Austro-Prussian War and resulted in ...

at Castel di Borgo in

Borgo Valsugana Borgo Valsugana (''El Bórgo'' in local dialect) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about east of Trento. Borgo Valsugana borders the following municipalities: Telve, ...

earning a

Silver Medal of Military Valour The Silver Medal of Military Valor ( it, Medaglia d'argento al valor militare) is an Italian medal for gallantry. Italian medals for valor were first instituted by Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia on 21 May 1793, with a gold medal, and, below it, ...

, which the battalion transferred to the newly raised regiment. The regiment participated in the

First Italo-Ethiopian War The First Italo-Ethiopian War, lit. ''Abyssinian War'' was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from 1895 to 1896. It originated from the disputed Treaty of Wuchale, which the Italians claimed turned Ethiopia into an Italian protectorate. Full-sc ...

and the

Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( tr, Trablusgarp Savaşı, "Tripolitanian War", it, Guerra di Libia, "War of Libya") was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911, to 18 October 1912. As a result o ...

World War I

At the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the regiment was garrisoned in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and sent to the front along the Isonzo, where the regiment earned its second Silver Medal of Military Valour and a Bronze Medal of Military Valour. On 31 January 1917 the regiment's depot in Milan raised the

18th Bersaglieri Regiment The 18th Bersaglieri Regiment ( it, 18° Reggimento Bersaglieri) is an inactive unit of the Italian Army last based in Cosenza in Calabria. The regiment is part of the army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality and was last operationally assign ...

. After the war the 12th Bersaglieri Regiment was disbanded, but it was raised again in 1923 with two cyclist battalions, which were exchanged on 11 March 1926 with the XXI and XXIII Bersaglieri battalions. At the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the regiment consisted of the XXI Motorcyclists Battalion, the XXIII Auto-transported Battalion, the XXXVI Auto-transported Battalion.

World War II

In spring 1941 the regiment participated in the

Invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, or ''Projekt 25'' was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was p ...

. In early 1942 the regiment was sent to

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

to join the

133rd Armored Division "Littorio" 133rd Armored Division "Littorio" ( it, 133ª Divisione corazzata "Littorio") was an armored division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The division's name derives from the fasces ( it, Fascio littorio) carried by the lictors of ancie ...

for the Western Desert campaign. The regiment entered the line on 20 June 1942 at the end of the

Battle of Gazala The Battle of Gazala (near the village of ) was fought during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, from 26 May to 21 June 1942. Axis troops of the ( Erwin Rommel) consisting of German and I ...

and was heavily engaged six days later at the

Battle of Mersa Matruh The Battle of Mersa Matruh was fought from 26 to 29 June 1942, following the defeat of the Eighth Army (General Sir Claude Auchinleck) at the Battle of Gazala and was part of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The combatant ...

. Reduced to a strength of 1,000 men the regiment fought in the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...

. Forced to retreat the remnants of the regiment reached

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

on 12 November 1942, where on 8 December 1942 the 12th Bersaglieri Regiment was disbanded and the survivors integrated in the

7th Bersaglieri Regiment The 7th Bersaglieri Regiment ( it, 7° Reggimento Bersaglieri) is an active unit of the Italian Army based in Altamura in Apulia. The regiment is part of the army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality and operationally assigned to the Mechan ...

Cold War

On 24 May 1961 the XXIII Bersaglieri Battalion was raised again as mechanized infantry unit of the 182nd Armored Infantry Regiment "Garibaldi". On 1 March 1964 the 32nd Tank Regiment was raised again and the XXIII Bersaglieri Battalion became its mechanized infantry battalion.

23rd Bersaglieri Battalion "Castel di Borgo"

During the 1975 Italian Army reform the 32nd Tank Regiment was disbanded on 1 October 1975 and the XXIII Bersaglieri Battalion was renamed 23rd Bersaglieri Battalion "Castel di Borgo" and received the flag and traditions of the 12th Bersaglieri Regiment. The battalion was based in

Tauriano Tauriana or Taureana (Taurianum in Latin, ''Ταυρανία'' in Greek) is an ancient city of the Bruttii which was located in the southern part of Calabria, in present Taurianova, Reggio Calabria province. History Its ruins were located in th ...

and part of the 32nd Armored Brigade "Mameli". Bersaglieri battalions created during the reform were named, with two exceptions, for battles in which Bersaglieri units had distinguished themselves: the 23rd Bersaglieri Battalion was named for its conduct at Castel di Borgo during the

. For its conduct and work after the

1976 Friuli earthquake Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

the battalion was awarded a Silver Medal of Army Valour, which was affixed to the battalion's flag and added to the battalion's coat of arms.

Recent times

After the end of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

the Italian Army began to draw down its forces and the Mameli was the first brigade to be disbanded. On 1 April 1991 the brigade was officially deactivated and the 23rd Bersaglieri Battalion was transferred to the

132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete" The 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete" ( it, 132a Brigata Corazzata "Ariete") is currently the only active Armoured warfare, armored brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units are tank and Bersaglieri regiments. The brigade's headquarters is in the ...

. On 31 March 1992 the Castel di Borgo was transferred to

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, where the battalion joined the

. On 2 September 1992 the battalion was renamed 12th Bersaglieri Regiment without changing size or composition. On 15 April 2005 the regiment was renamed

6th Bersaglieri Regiment The 6th Bersaglieri Regiment ( it, 6° Reggimento Bersaglieri) is an active unit of the Italian Army based in Trapani in Sicily. The regiment is part of the army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality and operationally assigned to the Mechanize ...

and its battalion renamed 6th Bersaglieri Battalion "Palestro". Afterwards the flag of the 12th Bersaglieri Regiment was transferred to the Shrine of the Flags in the

Vittoriano The Victor Emmanuel II National Monument ( it, Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II), also known as Vittoriano or Altare della Patria ("Altar of the Fatherland"), is a large national monument built between 1885 and 1935 to honour Victor Em ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

External links

Italian Army Website: 12th Bersaglieri Regiment

References

{{Italian Army Bersaglieri Regiments Bersaglieri Regiments of Italy