History Sassari Mechanized Brigade

1 history

1.1 world war i
1.2 world war ii
1.3 recent history

history
world war i

during general mobilization in preparation entering world war italian army raised sassari infantry brigade on 1 march 1915, @ tempio pausania , sinnai on sardinia. brigade consisted of 151st infantry regiment , 152nd infantry regiment. unlike other italian infantry brigades sassari recruited locally on sardinia; officers came island.

the brigade saw first combat in summer of 1915 in first battle of isonzo , distinguished in second battle of isonzo. in may 1916 brigade sent asiago plateau in italian effort stop austrian spring offensive. in month of june 1916 brigade conquered monte fior, monte castelgomberto, monte spil, monte miela , monte zebio. these actions both regiments of brigade awarded gold medal of military valor.

after italian defeat in battle of caporetto , following flight of remnants of italian army towards piave sassari fought extraordinary discipline , toughness. in fact last battalion retreat on piave , safety battalion of sassari brigade.

between 28 , 31 january 1918 sassari again in first line during first italian offensive operations after army had spent second half of 1917 in defensive posture. north of vicenza brigade managed capture col del rosso, col d’ecchele , monte valbella , feat awarded second gold medal of military valor both regiments. feat not achieved other brigade in course of war. @ end of war sassari highest decorated italian unit of world war i, , individual soldiers of brigade earned:

6 military orders of savoia
13 gold medals of military valor
405 silver medals of military valor
551 bronze medals of military valor

the brigade had suffered highest loss rate of italian infantry brigades in war: 2,164 dead, , 12,858 wounded , missing in action; death rate of 13.8% of men had served in brigade during war. italian writer emilio lussu had served in brigade during world war , later write anti-war book experiences: year on high plateau (un anno sull altipiano).

world war ii

after end of world war italian army disbanded brigades raised during war exception of sassari brigade , 3 further brigades, had distinguished during war: liguria, arezzo , avellino. brigade moved trieste part of 12th infantry division timavo . in 1926 brigade gained 12th infantry regiment casale , changed name xii infantry brigade. along 34th artillery regiment brigade units of 12th division. in 1939 brigade lost 12th infantry regiment , renamed 12th infantry division sassari. binary division consisted of 2 infantry regiments (151st , 152nd) , 34th field artillery regiment. increase weak strength of division in 1941 division joined 73rd blackshirt assault legion boiardo, battalion sized militia unit of italian fascist party.

the division remained in istria on garrison duty until 6 april 1941 when axis forces began invasion of yugoslavia. first yugoslav cities fall prezid , Čabar on 12 april, followed novi lazi , borovec on 14 april. on 19 april division reached delnice, following day knin. next 2 years division s command remained in knin, while division s units continuously employed in anti-partisan operations: in Šibenik, brod na kupi, gračac, petrovac , drvar. heaviest fighting occurred during july 1942 when division tried clean velebit mountains of partisan forces.

in march 1943, after battle of neretva, division transferred rome aid in defense of city in case of allied attack. during time division reorganized along lines of mod.43 reform of italian army , augmented xii mortar battalion , xii semovente battalion equipped 24 semovente 75/18 self-propelled guns. in total division fielded 14,500 troops, 24 semovente , 80 artillery pieces. after armistice between italy , allied armed forces of 8 september 1943 division found fighting italy s former allies germans , along 21st infantry division granatieri di sardegna , 135th armored division ariete ii sassari defended rome 2 days. on 10 september 1943 remnants of sassari joined 21st infantry division granatieri di sardegna , 8th cavalry regiment lancieri di montebello , hundreds of civilian volunteers @ porta san paolo last stand. civilians @ porta san paolo included communist leader luigi longo, lawyer giuliano vassalli, writer emilio lussu, unionist leader vincenzo baldazzi, mario zagari, retired air force generals sabato martelli castaldi , roberto lordi, , 18-year-old future partisan leader marisa musu. future italian president sandro pertini brought detachment of socialist resistance fighters porta san paolo , around 12:30 catholic communist movement arrived further reinforcements including famed actor carlo ninchi. however, 17:00 germans broke line of italian defenders, had suffered 570 dead. after italian military units surrendered germans flight of italian king victor emmanuel iii rome had made further resistance senseless. italian soldiers handed thousands of weapons on civilian population, quick form organized resistance movement in city of rome.

recent history

the sassari recreated in sardinia on 1 december 1988 sassari motorized brigade 2 light infantry battalions:

sassari command , signal battalion, in sassari

sassari headquarter company
sassari signal company


151st motorized infantry battalion sette comuni, in cagliari
152nd infantry battalion sassari, in sassari

the brigade under command of sardinia autonomous military command/sardinia military region in cagliari, had administrative command of units based in sardinia , furthermore tasked defense of island in case of war. besides sassari following units based on sardinia:

command battalion, in cagliari
1st armored infantry regiment, in teulada (armored training center)

command company
i armored infantry battalion (with mix of leopard 1a2 main battle tanks , vcc-2 armored personnel carriers)
ii armored infantry (reserve) battalion
170th self-propelled field artillery group
logistic battalion


45th infantry (training) battalion arborea, in macomer
21st light aviation squadrons group orsa maggiore, @ cagliari-elmas air base
47th signal battalion gennargentu, in cagliari
12th mixed transport battalion, in cagliari
12th medical company, in cagliari
12th supply company, in nuoro
12th maintenance company, in cagliari

when italian army disbanded large number of mechanized brigades in northern italy after end of cold war, sassaris infantry battalions mechanized , received vcc-2 armored personnel carriers. accordingly, brigade changed name on 1 january 1991 sassari mechanized brigade. on next years sassari became professionalized brigade, 1 of first italian brigades so. in 1990s italian army traditional reasons began rename battalions regiment; sassari consisted end of 1993 of following units:

sassari command , tactical support battalion, in sassari

sassari headquarter company
sassari signal company
sassari engineer company


45th infantry (training) regiment reggio, in macomer (regiment on 1 september 1993)
151st infantry regiment sassari, in cagliari (regiment on 30 july 1992)
152nd infantry regiment sassari, in sassari (regiment on 25 october 1992)

the brigade saw 2 changes structure in following years: on 1 january 2003 45th regiment reggio disbanded , replaced 5th engineer regiment , on 25 november 2009 3rd bersaglieri regiment arrived milan , merged battalion of 1 armored infantry regiment in teulada.

the brigade employed in out of area operations , has served in kosovo, bosnia, lebanon, afghanistan , in iraq, lost 7 soldiers in various engagements iraqi insurgents.