Brigata di cavalleria “Pozzuolo del Friuli”

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Coat of arms of the brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli"

The Brigata di cavalleria “Pozzuolo del Friuli” ( German  Cavalry Brigade “Pozzuolo del Friuli” ) is a brigade of the Italian army equipped with armored wheeled vehicles . The staff of the brigade is in Gorizia , the subordinate units are mainly stationed in northeast Italy .

assignment

The brigade is subordinate to the divisional command "Vittorio Veneto" in Florence . It mainly takes on reconnaissance and security tasks in multinational peace missions abroad or prepares for them. If necessary, the brigade and its units carry out missions for area security or national defense in southern Italy or on behalf of NATO on their territory. Parts of the “Pozzuolo del Friuli” brigade and the “San Marco” marine infantry brigade form the amphibious force, Forza di Proiezione dal Mare, maintained by the navy and the army .

structure

All regiments of the brigade have battalion strength . The brigade lost two cavalry regiments in 2014 and should then be disbanded.

equipment

The cavalry regiment Genova Cavalleria has Radpanzer type Centauro , about Spähpanzer type Puma (4x4) and next to u. a. about Cagiva motorcycles . The Lagunari also have armored vehicles (AFV) of the Puma type , but in the transport variant 6x6, and also amphibious tanks of the AAV7 type . The new VTLM Lince serves as a multi-purpose vehicle . The artillery regiment is equipped with the field howitzer FH-70 (155 mm).

history

Coat of arms 4th Cavalry Regiment Genova Cavalleria
Coat of arms of the 5th Cavalry Regiment Lancieri di Novara

Until World War II

The brigade was set up on March 7, 1835 as the 2nd Cavalry Brigade in the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont . Until 1870, almost all cavalry regiments of the Piedmontese and Italian armies were under her control at various times . During the First World War , their units fought as part of the 1st Cavalry Division, mostly dismounted. After the German-Austro-Hungarian breakthrough in the Twelfth Isonzo Battle , the brigade (consisting of the Genova Cavalleria and Lancieri di Novara regiments ) was sacrificed on October 29 and 30, 1917 near Pozzuolo del Friuli in Friuli in a very loss-making cavalry attack, which led to the contributed to the orderly retreat of the 3rd Italian Army from the Isonzo to the Piave . After its reorganization, the brigade was deployed in the Second Battle of the Piave in June 1918 and finally in pursuit battles after the Battle of Vittorio Veneto in early November 1918 .

From 1930 the 2nd Cavalry Brigade with its three regiments formed the core of the partially motorized 2nd Rapid Division ( 2ª Divisione celere ) , a former cavalry division of the First World War. In 1934 the division and with it the 2nd Brigade were given the nickname Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro . In 1938 the brigade level was dropped, with the division taking over its traditions and regiments. In 1940 it consisted of two cavalry regiments, a Bersaglieri - and an artillery regiment and smaller formations and units. During the Second World War , the division took part in the Yugoslavia campaign led by the German Wehrmacht and then served as an occupation force in Yugoslavia and southern France. In 1941 and 1942 the division had to repeatedly surrender troops to other units in North Africa and the Soviet Union . In September 1943, the division made its way back to Italy. After the armistice of Cassibile , it was dissolved on September 12, 1943 near Cuneo .

In the cold war

On January 1, 1953, the Pozzuolo del Friuli Panzer Division was set up in Rome . After the Ariete and the Centauro , it was the third and last reorganization of a division of this type. The division was dissolved again in 1957 and a new armored cavalry brigade of the V Corps was set up in Gradisca d'Isonzo on April 1, 1957 received the name Pozzuolo del Friuli and in 1964 moved her staff to Gorizia , then in 1975 to Palmanova . After the army reform of 1975, with which the regimental level was abolished, the Pozzuolo del Friuli tank brigade consisted of the mechanized 4th Cavalry Division (battalion) Genova Cavalleria in Palmanova, the armored divisions 5th Lancieri di Novara in Codroipo and 28th Cavalleggeri di Treviso in Palmanova, from the 120th armored artillery division (battalion) Po in Palmanova and from some support and supply units. These units were equipped with Leopard 1 battle tanks , a modified version of the M113 transport tank and M109 self-propelled howitzers . During the Cold War , the task of the tank brigade was to intercept and slow down a possible attack by the Warsaw Pact forces after a breakthrough near Gorizia or Udine and to force them into areas that were advantageous for the defense, where they were counterattacked by the Ariete armored division should be destroyed or at least weakened to such an extent that they could definitely be brought to a standstill on the Piave together with reserve forces.

Centauro armored car

After 1990

In the early 1990s, the brigade replaced its tracked vehicles with Centauro and Puma wheeled armored vehicles, and on this occasion changed its name from tank brigade to cavalry brigade. For reasons of tradition, the departments or battalions took on the name regiment again. The brigade lost the regiment Cavalleggeri di Treviso and said artillery regiment, but received it from the in Villa Opicina resolved Armored Cavalry Brigade Vittorio Veneto , the traditional cavalry regiment Piemonte Cavalleria in Villa Opicina and the 8th Artillery Regiment Pasubio in spells at Trieste . In 2000 the brigade received the Lagunari regiment in Venice as an amphibious component, and in 2005 the artillery regiment on horseback in Milan. In the meantime the brigade staff had moved back to Gorizia.

From 1992 to 1994 parts of the brigade were used in Sicily to maintain public safety . In 1994 a squadron from Lancieri di Novara took part in a military operation in Somalia as part of the Unified Task Force . In the following years the brigade or individual subordinate units and units operated in Bosnia and Herzegovina ( SFOR ), in Albania and in Kosovo ( KFOR ). From the mid-1990s, the brigade was also planned as a tank reconnaissance component of the Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC). In 2004, the Pozzuolo del Friuli operated as the lead organization for multinational associations in Iraq . From 2006 it was used several times in Lebanon as part of UNIFIL .

The brigade lost two regiments in 2014: the 2nd Cavalry Regiment Piemonte Cavalleria in Villa Opicina near Trieste was taken over by the Alpini Brigade Julia , the 5th Cavalry Regiment Lancieri di Novara in Codroipo near Udine by the Armored Brigade Ariete . Plans, the brigade staff Pozzuolo del Friuli dissolve and the Airmobile Brigade Friuli in Bologna in "Air Cavalry Brigade Pozzuolo del Friuli rename" and also to distribute the remaining regiments to other brigades failed to date on political opposition in the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia .

See also

literature

  • Paolo Gaspari: La battaglia dei gentiluomini. Pozzuolo e Mortegliano il 30 ottobre 1917. Gaspari Editore, Udine 2013.

Web links