The 4th Engineer Regiment ( it, 4° Reggimento Genio Guastatori) is a military engineer regiment 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) ...

based in

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

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

. Today the regiment is the engineer unit of 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

On 1 October 1922 the 3rd Army Corps Engineer Grouping was formed 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 ...

, which received the Sappers Battalion and the Telegraphers Battalion of the V Army Corps, and a miners company from the disbanded Miners Engineer Regiment. The grouping consisted of a command, a sappers-miners battalion, a telegraphers battalion, a photo-electricians company, three dovecotes (in

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...

, and

Bolzano Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...

), and a

depot Depot ( or ) may refer to: Places * Depot, Poland, a village * Depot Island, Kemp Land, Antarctica * Depot Island, Victoria Land, Antarctica * Depot Island Formation, Greenland Brands and enterprises * Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in ...

. On 1 November 1926 the grouping was renamed 4th Engineer Regiment. In February 1928 the regiment provided a telegraphers company and the dovecote in Treviso for the formation of the

11th Engineer Regiment 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 (number), 10 and preceding 12 (number), 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', w ...

. On 1 February 1931 the regiment formed a Miners-Cableway Battalion, which was transferred on 28 October 1932 to the newly formed 2nd Miners Regiment in

. On the same date the regiment received the 7th Company/ IV Battalion from the disbanded 2nd Radio-Telegraphers Regiment. On 1 October 1934 the regiment received a radio-telegraphers battalion from the 3rd Engineer Regiment. Afterwards the regiment consisted of a command, a sappers-miners battalion, a telegraphers battalion, a radio-telegraphers battalion, a non-commissioned officer recruits company, three dovecotes, and a depot. For the

Second Italo-Ethiopian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Itali ...

the regiment formed the V Mixed Engineer Battalion for cavalry division, the LI Mixed Engineer Battalion for the 32nd Motorized Division "Trento", and a mixed engineer company for the 5th Alpine Division "Pusteria". The Trento was deployed 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 deter British forces in Egypt from closing the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

for Italian shipping. The Pusteria was deployed to Ethiopia and involved in the Italian campaign. In 1936 the regiment moved from Verona to

. In January 1937 the telegraphers and radio-telegraphers battalions were renamed connections battalions.

World War II

With 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's depot began to mobilize new units: * Command of the 9th Engineer Grouping * II Mixed Engineer Battalion (for the

2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" The 2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" ( it, 2ª Divisione alpina "Tridentina") was a division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II, which specialized in mountain warfare. The Alpini that formed the divisions are a highly decorated and eli ...

) * V Mixed Engineer Battalion (for the 5th Alpine Division "Pusteria") * LI Mixed Engineer Battalion (for the

102nd Motorized Division "Trento" The 102nd Motorized Division "Trento" ( it, 102ª Divisione motorizzata "Trento") was a motorized infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The division was formed in 1935 and named for the city of Trento, where its infantr ...

) * CXXXII Mixed Engineer Battalion (for the

132nd Armored Division "Ariete" The 132nd Armored Division "Ariete" ( it, 132ª Divisione corazzata "Ariete") was an armored division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. It was formed in 1939 as the second armored division after the 131st Armored Division "Centauro ...

) * I Engineer Battalion * XIII Engineer Battalion * XXI Engineer Battalion * XXX Sappers Battalion * I Mixed Connections Battalion (for the Army of the Po) * and many smaller units, including the 107th Mixed Telegraphers and Radio-Telegraphers Company The 9th Engineer Grouping was assigned on 10 June 1940 to the Army of the Po and consisted of the XIII and XXI engineer battalions, I and IX Pontieri battalions, and I Mixed Connections Battalion. On 10 February 1941 the grouping left Verona and moved to

Cava dei Tirreni Cava de' Tirreni (; Cilentan: ''A Càva'') is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Campania, Italy, in the province of Salerno, northwest of the town of Salerno. It lies in a richly cultivated valley surrounded by wooded hills, and is a popu ...

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

. In 1943 the grouping moved to Villa Pergusa near Enna in Sicily and was assigned to the Engineer Command of the 6th Army, which was tasked with the defense of the islands. The grouping now consisted of the II Telegraphers Battalion, XI Marconists Battalion, and the CIV and CV miners battalions. The grouping was destroyed during the allied landings on Sicily. The II Mixed Engineer Battalion was assigned to the

, which was sent to the Eastern Front. Division and battalion were nearly wiped out there during Operation Little Saturn. For its conduct during the campaign the II Mixed Engineer Battalion was awarded 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 today is affixed to the flag of the 4th Engineer Regiment. The regiment and the remaining battalions it had raised were disbanded by invading German forces after the announcement of the

Armistice of Cassibile The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brig ...

on 8 September 1943.

Cold War

During the 1975 army reform the army disbanded the regimental level and newly independent battalions were granted for the first time their own flags. During the reform engineer battalions were named for a lake if they supported a corps or named for a river if they supported a division or brigade. On 7 November 1975 the 2nd Engineer Regiment was disbanded and its XIV Army Corps Engineer Battalion in

was renamed 4th Engineer Battalion "

Orta Orta may refer to: Places *Orta, Møre og Romsdal, an island in Aukra, Norway *Orta, Çankırı, a district of Çankırı Province, Turkey *Orta, a town near Rome which, in medieval contexts, may also be called Orte *Lake Orta, in north Italy *Orta ...

" and assigned the flag and traditions of the 4th Engineer Regiment. The battalion was assigned to the

4th Alpine Army Corps The Comando Truppe Alpine (Alpine Troops Command) or COMTA (formerly also COMALP) commands the Mountain Troops of the Italian Army, called ''Alpini'' (singular: ''Alpino'') and various support and training units. It is the successor to the ''4º ...

' Engineer Command and consisted of a command, a command and park company, and three engineer companies. 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 Bronze Medal of Army Valour, which was affixed to the battalion's flag. The battalion was once again deployed after the

1980 Irpinia earthquake The 1980 Irpinia earthquake ( it, Terremoto dell'Irpinia) took place in Italy on 23 November 1980, with a moment magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). It left at least 2,483 people dead, at least 7,700 injured, an ...

and was awarded a second Bronze Medal of Army Valour. In 1986 the command and park company split into a command and services company, and a special equipment company. After 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 army undertook a major reorganization of its forces: on 19 September 1992 the 51st Engineer Battalion "Simeto" in

was disbanded and the next day the 4th Pioneer Regiment was reformed with the personnel and materiel of the disbanded battalion. The regiment retained the flag of the Simeto as the flag of the 4th Engineer Regiment was still assigned to the 4th Engineer Battalion "Orta", which on 3 October 1993 was disbanded and the next day the

1st Engineer Regiment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

was reformed with the personnel and materiel of the disbanded battalion. On 13 October 1995 the 1st Engineer Regiment was renamed 2nd Engineer Regiment and on 24 October 1995 the flag of the 4th Engineer Regiment arrived in Palermo. Afterwards the flag of the 51st Engineer Battalion "Simeto" was transferred to the Shrine of the Flags in the Vittoriano in Rome. In 2000 the regiment was renamed 4th Engineer Regiment.

Current structure

As of 2022 the 4th Engineer Regiment consists of: * CoA mil ITA rgt genio 04

Regimental Command, in

** Command and Logistic Support Company ** Sappers Battalion " Simeto" *** Sappers Company *** Sappers Company *** Sappers Company *** Deployment Support Company The Command and Logistic Support Company fields the following platoons: C3 Platoon, Transport and Materiel Platoon, Medical Platoon, Commissariat Platoon, and EOD Platoon. Each of the two sapper companies fields a Command Platoon, an Advanced Combat Reconnaissance Teams Platoon, and two sapper platoons. The Deployment Support Company and Mobility Support Company field the battalion's heavy military engineering vehicles: Biber

bridgelayer An armoured vehicle-launched bridge (AVLB) is a combat support vehicle, sometimes regarded as a subtype of military engineering vehicle, designed to assist militaries in rapidly deploying tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles across gap-t ...

s, Dachs armored engineer vehicles, cranes, excavators,

Medium Girder Bridge The Medium Girder Bridge (MGB) is a lightweight, man portable bridge and can be assembled without help from heavy equipment. In addition, it is also a deck type, two-girder bridging system capable of carrying loads up to and including Main battl ...

s etc. The sapper companies and Command and Logistic Support Company are equipped with VTLM "Lince" and VTMM "Orso" vehicles.

External links

Italian Army Website: 4° Reggimento Genio Guastatori

References