Reggimento “Savoia Cavalleria” (3º)
Reggimento “Savoia Cavalleria” (3º) is the name of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment of the Italian Army . The tank reconnaissance regiment is stationed in Grosseto ( Tuscany ) and has been subordinate to the Folgore Paratrooper Brigade since 2013 . With its Centauro armored vehicles and lighter vehicles, it mainly takes on reconnaissance , security and support tasks . During the Cold War it was stationed in Meran ( South Tyrol ) and was the only unit equipped with tanks within the Italian mountain troops (IV. Corps) .
structure
Savoia Cavalleria is an armored reconnaissance regiment in battalion strength . As a cavalry unit, it is divided into squadrons . In addition to the staff and supply squadron, it has four reconnaissance squads.
history
Until the Napoleonic era
The Cavalry Regiment Savoia Cavalleria was set up on July 23, 1692 together with the Cavalry Regiment Piemonte Reale Cavalleria (2nd) by the Duke of Savoy for his young standing army . As part of the wars of the Augsburg Alliance (1690–1697), it fought against the French in the summer of 1693 near Pinerolo . At Orbassano (Marsaglia), together with other cavalry formations, it prevented Marshal Nicolas de Catinat from attacking the Piedmontese in the rear during the siege of Pinerolo and relieving the French. After the war, the regiment was disbanded from 1699 to 1701 for financial reasons. Some squadrons were taken over by the sister regiment Piemonte Reale .
During the War of the Spanish Succession , Savoia Cavalleria fought against the Austrians on September 1, 1701 in Chiari and on August 15, 1702 in Luzzara . Because the French suspected Viktor Amadeus II of having secret contact with Prince Eugene of Savoy , they took the opportunity to inspect the troops on September 29, 1703 in San Benedetto del Po to disarm Savoia Cavalleria and to keep his soldiers prisoner in Pavia . From there, however, most of the soldiers managed to flee to Piedmont . For this reason, the regiment still uses the slogan secta et ligata refloret on its standard .
Shortly afterwards, war was declared on France, which led to the siege and decisive battle of Turin in the summer of 1706 . When Victor Emanuel broke out during the siege to unite with Prince Eugene , Savoia Cavalleria also covered him against French attacks. During the Battle of Turin, a reporter at Madonna di Campagna brought news of the positive outcome of the battle to the king, despite a severe wound in the neck. His last words Savoy, Bonnes Nouvelles (“Savoy, good news”; a Franco-Provencal dialect was predominantly spoken in Piedmont at that time ) became the regiment's motto and can still be seen on the regimental coat of arms today. The uniform collar, stained red by blood, is the origin of the red scarf on today's uniform . At Madonna di Campagna, Savoia Cavalleria put a regiment of dragons to flight, which subsequently made it possible to force the French to retreat to Dora Riparia .
In the years that followed, the regiment fought near Toulon , in Savoy and in the Dauphiné . In 1712 it beat the French in Villanovetta near Saluzzo .
During the War of the Polish Succession , it distinguished itself on September 19, 1734 in the Battle of Guastalla , where the regimental commander Vittorio di Castellinaldo first received the battle cry Savoia! followed into battle.
During the War of the Austrian Succession , Savoia Cavalleria was involved in numerous skirmishes, including a. on February 8, 1743 in Camposanto near Modena and on August 10, 1746 on the Tidone near Piacenza .
Savoia Cavalleria contributed to the creation of the new Lancieri di Aosta (6th) cavalry regiment in 1774 .
From 1792 to 1796 Savoia Cavalleria fought mainly dismounted against French revolutionary troops in the Alps . When the future Emperor Napoleon I invaded Piedmont with his Italian army in 1796, the end of Savoia Cavalleria was near . When a French cavalry division with five regiments (one of them led by Joachim Murat ) attacked the returning Piedmontese infantry near Mondovì in April 1796 , the sister regiment Genova Cavalleria (4th) stood out at the Bricchetto, where the French cavalry division was at a favorable moment single-handedly struck.
The Piedmontese regiments were released from their duty of loyalty in 1798 and most of them were transferred to the Piedmontese Republic. In 1799, in the course of its dissolution, Savoia Cavalleria contributed to the formation of some Piedmontese and then French regiments, other parts fought in the " Italian Army " for Napoleon.
Savoia Cavalleria was rebuilt in 1814. From 1819 it belonged to the light cavalry under the name Cavalleggeri di Savoia . In 1832 it took on its old name again and also its role as a heavy cavalry regiment.
Italian unification
During the Italian Wars of Independence , it fought at Pastrengo on April 30, 1848 , in Santa Lucia (Verona) on May 6 and at the Battle of Goito on May 30 . In the battle of Custozza on July 24th in Staffalo near Sommacampagna the regiment succeeded in capturing the flag of the Wimpffen regiment. In March 1849 the regiment excelled at Mortara and at the Battle of Novara .
During the Second War of Independence , Savoia Cavalleria fought against Austrian hussars on May 12, 1859 near Vercelli . During the Third War of Independence in June 1866 at Villafranca there were nightly attacks that covered the retreat to the Mincio .
In 1892, Verona held a great festival to mark the bicentenary of the regiment's founding. A historical equestrian tournament was organized in the Arena di Verona , and Giosuè Carducci wrote a short regimental history for the celebration.
In the world wars
During the First World War , Savoia Cavalleria had to do without his horses for the most part. MG units of the regiment fought a. a. in the trenches on the Isonzo and on the Passo Buole. In August 1916 it was involved in the conquest of Gorizia . After the defeat at Karfreit it covered u. a. at Pordenone (Croce del Vinchiaruzzo) the retreat of the Italian troops to the Piave . It occupied Udine on November 3, 1918 .
During the Second World War , the regiment fought as part of the Corpo di spedizione italiano in Russia in the Soviet Union . It was there on August 24, 1942 at Jsbuschenskij on Don the most outstanding mission in the history of Savoia Cavalleria . There, 650 men of the regiment in one of the last mounted attacks in military history put 2,000 well-armed Siberian soldiers to flight with their sabers , who could no longer pounce on weakened Italian infantry units. For this mission, the standard of the regiment was awarded the highest Italian military order. August 24th is a regimental holiday to this day. In January 1943, after the Soviet winter offensive, a long and loss-making retreat began.
post war period
Savoia Cavalleria was re-established in Milan in 1946 as the 3rd Cavalry Regiment. In 1948 it was given the nickname Gorizia as a tank reconnaissance battalion . After the abolition of the monarchy , the old regimental name was initially not used, but ten years later it got its traditional name again. During the Cold War it was directly subordinate to the IV Mountain Corps in Bozen as an armored unit. At the beginning of the 1990s, Savoia Cavalleria decommissioned its tracked vehicles and received new vehicles of the Centauro and Puma type , with which it took over once again typical tasks of the cavalry . In 1995 the regiment was transferred from Merano to Grosseto in Tuscany , where it took the place of the Lancieri di Firenze cavalry regiment (9th), which had been dissolved there . As a ground-based, primarily reconnaissance component, Savoia Cavalleria was subordinate to the Friuli airmobile brigade until 2013 , when it came to the Folgore paratrooper brigade. The new subordination relationship made additional paratrooper training necessary for the soldiers of the regiment, which is why Savoia Cavalleria is the only Italian cavalry regiment today whose members wear burgundy berets . The Grosseto military airfield serves as an air transport base . The regiment has participated in a number of missions and exercises abroad in recent years.
See also
- List of Italian regiments (cavalry)
- Lancieri di Aosta
- Cavalleggeri Guide
- Artillery regiment on horseback Voloire