Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo" (12th)

Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo" (12th)
Reggimento "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo" (12°)
Regimental coat of arms
Active	29 March 1848 — 8 Sept. 1943 16 Sept. 1964 — 31 Jan. 1991
Country	Italy
Branch	Italian Army
Part of	Mechanized Brigade "Vittorio Veneto"
Garrison/HQ	Gorizia
Motto(s)	"Quo fata vocant"
Anniversaries	2 November 1918 - Battle of Istrago
Decorations	1× Silver Medal of Military Valor
Insignia
Regimental gorget patches

The Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo" (12th) (Italian: Reggimento "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo" (12°) - "Chevau-légers of Saluzzo") is an inactive cavalry unit of the Italian Army named for the Marquisate of Saluzzo. The regiment was formed during the First Italian War of Independence and participated in the Second Italian War of Independence, Crimean War, and Third Italian War of Independence. In World War I the regiment fought dismounted on the Italian Front. During World War II the regiment was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division "Eugenio di Savoia", which was deployed to occupied Yugoslavia on anti-partisan duty. The division and its units were disbanded after the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile by invading German forces. During the Cold War the unit served as the reconnaissance group of the Mechanized Division "Folgore" and after 1986 as a mechanized group of the Mechanized Brigade "Vittorio Veneto". At the end of the Cold War the regiment was disbanded.

History

First Italian War of Independence

On 29 March 1848, one week after the people of Milan had driven the Imperial Austrian Army out of the city during the Five Days of Milan, the Provisional Government of Milan ordered to form two cavalry depots in Milan: one for a Dragoons regiment and the other for a Chevau-légers regiment. Once the 1st Dragoons Squadron and the 1st Chevau-légers Squadron had been formed, they were sent to join the Lombard Division for the ongoing first campaign of the First Italian War of Independence. Afterwards the two depots continued to form the remainder of the two regiments, which were named Lombard Dragoons Regiment (Italian: Reggimento Dragoni Lombardi) respectively Lombard Chevau-légers Regiment (Italian: Reggimento Cavalleggeri Lombardi). The two regiments assembled at Vigevano in Lombardy. However, on 22-27 July 1848, the Royal Sardinian Army lost the Battle of Custoza and the Battle of Volta Mantovana. On the evening of 27 July, King Charles Albert ordered a retreat towards Milan. In the morning of 4 August 1848, the Sardinian forces, which included the 1st Dragoons Squadron and the 1st Chevau-légers Squadron, clashed with the Austrian vanguards outside of Milan. By 19h in the evening of 4 August, the Sardinian troops retreated within the walls of Milan, where one hour later King Charles Albert held a war council, which decided to abandon the city due to a lack of munitions and food. The next morning the Sardinians were informed that the Austrian commander Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky von Radetz had agreed to allow the Sardinians to retreat and by 6 August the Sardinians had left Milan and retreated over the Ticino river into Piedmont. With the Sardinian troops also thousands of Milanese civilians and the military units of the Provisional Government of Milan, crossed the Ticino. Three days later, on 9 August, the Austrian General Heinrich von Heß and the Sardinian General Carlo Canera di Salasco signed an armistice, which stated that Charles Albert's troops would withdraw from the whole of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, and the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza and Duchy of Modena and Reggio. Thus ended the First Campaign of the war.

The armistice forced the Lombard Dragoons Regiment and Lombard Chevau-légers Regiment to move to Venaria Reale near Turin, where both regiments were formally incorporated into the Royal Sardinian Army on 5 September 1848. On 1 March 1849, the Sardinian Chamber of Deputies voted for the resumption of the war, with 94 votes in favour and 24 against. King Charles Albert decided that hostilities would resume on 20 March and, as stipulated in the 1848 armistice, the Austrians were informed about the continuation of the war eight days before the hostilities resumed. Charles Albert massed his army near Novara, while the Lombard Division under General Girolamo Ramorino and the Lombard Chevau-légers Regiment were sent to guard the Ticino river crossings at Pavia. On 20 March, the Lombard division was at La Cava, from where it was possible to observe the Ticino river from Pavia to its confluence with the Po river. In the event the Lombard Division was attacked it was to retreat North through Sannazzaro towards Mortara. However, early on 20 March General Ramorino abandoned La Cava and moved his forces South across the Po river, leaving only the 21st Infantry Regiment at La Cava with orders to retreat across the Po river if the regiment was attacked. At noon on the same day the whole Austrian Army crossed the Ticino river at Pavia and, even though the 21st Infantry Regiment led Major Luciano Manara resisted for six hours, the Austrians fixed the 21st Infantry Regiment in place with a screening forces, while the main body of the army marched North towards Mortara and Vigevano.

Ultimately the 21st Infantry Regiment was forced to retreat across the Po river, where it joined with the rest of the Lombard units, which played no role in the remaining events of the war. On 22-23 March 1849, Field Marshal Radetzky decisively defeated the Sardinians in the Battle of Novara, in which two squadrons of the Lombard Dragoons Regiment fought. In the evening of 23 March, King Charles Albert abdicated in favour of his son Victor Emmanuel. On 24 March, the new king met with Radetzky at Vignale and agreed to an armistice, which ended the short Second Campaign of the First Italian War of Independence. As a consequence of the Sardinian defeat the Lombard Division and its four regiments were disbanded in May 1849, while the two Lombard cavalry regiments were merged on 15 May 1849 as 7th Regiment of Cavalry. On 3 January 1850, the regiment was renamed Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo" and ceded some of its horses to help form the 4th Squadron of the newly formed Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Monferrato".

On 9 March 1855, the regiment's 1st Squadron was assigned to Provisional Cavalry Regiment for the Sardinian expeditionary corps, which deployed to Crimea for the Crimean War. On 16 August 1855, the Provisional Cavalry Regiment fought in the Battle of the Chernaya. After the Crimean War the regiment was repatriated and, on 18 June 1856, disbanded and its squadrons returned to their original regiments.

Second Italian War of Independence

On 26 April 1859, the Second Italian War of Independence began and three days later, on 29 April, a platoon of the Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo" drew first blood in a clash with the Austrian 12th Hussars Regiment "Graf Haller" at Zinasco. On 1 May, the Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo" clashed with Austrian vanguards at Torre Beretti. On 29 and 30 May, the bulk of the Piedmontese forces, which included the Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo", crossed the Sesia river at Vercelli to cover the French Army's right flank, while the French crossed the Sesia further North. On 30 May, the Piedmontese 2nd Division advanced from Borgo Vercelli to Casalino, where the division was divided into two columns: one headed to Vinzaglio, while the other marched to Confienza. By nightfall of the 30 May, Confienza was in Italian hands and the next morning the 4th Squadron of Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo" and a company of Bersaglieri attacked Austrian forces assembling to the South at Robbio to allow the Piedmontese Brigade "Piemonte" and Brigade "Aosta" at Confienza to prepare for upcoming Battle of Confienza.

On 24 June 1859, the Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo" fought in the Battle of San Martino, during which the regiment's 1st Squadron dispersed a Austrian Jäger Battalion near San Martino. Afterwards the regiment participated in the Siege of Peschiera. On 16 September 1859, the regiment ceded one of its squadrons to help form the Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Lodi". In 1862 and 1863, the regiment operated in southern Italy to suppress the anti-Sardinian revolt, which had erupted after the Kingdom of Sardinia had annexed the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. During this time the regiment was based in Campania and clashed wit rebels at Rapolla and Venosa in the Vulture region, and then at Gioia del Colle at the southern end of the Murge plateau. On 16 February 1864, the regiment ceded its 5th Squadron to help form the Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Caserta".

Third Italian War of Independence

On 20 June 1866, the Third Italian War of Independence between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire began. During the war the Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo" formed, together with the Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Alessandria" and Regiment "Lancieri di Foggia", the Cavalry Brigade of the III Corps of the Army of the Mincio, which operated along the Mincio river. On 24 June, the Army of the Mincio clashed with the Austrian South Army in the Battle of Custoza.

On 10 September 1871, the regiment was renamed 12th Cavalry Regiment (Saluzzo). On 1 January 1872, the regiment ceded one of its squadrons to help form the 20th Cavalry Regiment (Roma). On 5 November 1876, the regiment was renamed Cavalry Regiment "Saluzzo" (12th). On 1 October 1883, the regiment ceded its 6th Squadron to help form the Cavalry Regiment "Catania" (22nd). In 1887, the regiment provided personnel and horses for the formation of the Mounted Hunters Squadron, which fought in the Italo-Ethiopian War of 1887–1889. On 1 November of the same year, the regiment ceded one of its squadrons to help form the Cavalry Regiment "Umberto I" (23rd). In 1895-96, the regiment provided 67 enlisted for units deployed to Italian Eritrea for the First Italo-Ethiopian War. On 16 December 1897, the regiment was renamed Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo" (12th). On 1 October 1909, the regiment ceded its 3rd Squadron to help form the Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Treviso" (28th). In 1911–12, the regiment provided five officer and 81 enlisted to units deployed for the Italo-Turkish War.

World War I

At the outbreak of World War I the regiment consisted of a command, a depot, and two cavalry groups, with the I Group consisting of three squadrons and the II Group consisting of two squadrons and a machine gun section. Together with the Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Vicenza" (24th) the regiment formed the V Cavalry Brigade, which was assigned to the 3rd Cavalry Division "Lombardy". The division fought in the trenches of the Italian Front, where the regiment distinguished itself at the Battle of Istrago, for which it was awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valor. In 1917 the regimental depot in Milan formed the 852nd Dismounted Machine Gunners Company as reinforcement for infantry units on the front.

Interwar years

After the war the Italian Army disbanded 14 of its 30 cavalry regiments and so on 21 November 1919 the II Group of the Saluzzo was renamed "Cavalleggeri di Vicenza" as it consisted of personnel and horses from the disbanded Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Vicenza" (24th). In 1920 the Saluzzo moved from Milan to Bologna, where it took over the barracks of the disbanded Regiment "Lancieri di Mantova" (25th). On 20 May 1920 the Saluzzo received and integrated a squadron from the Regiment "Cavalleggeri Guide" (19th), which before had been one of the squadrons of the Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Foggia" (11th). On the same date the Saluzzo also received the traditions of the disbanded Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Foggia" (11th).

In 1927 the regiment moved from Bologna to Pordenone. In 1935-36 the Saluzzo contributed seven officers and 450 enlisted for units, which were deployed to East Africa for the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.

World War II

See also: 1st Cavalry Division "Eugenio di Savoia"

At the outbreak of World War II the regiment consisted of a command, a command squadron, the I and II squadrons groups, each with two mounted squadrons, and the 5th Machine Gunners Squadron. The regiment was part of the 1st Cavalry Division "Eugenio di Savoia" and served in occupied Yugoslavia on anti-partisan duty.

During the war the regiment's depot in Pordenone formed the:

• XVII Dismounted Group "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo"
• LVIII Dismounted Group "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo"

After the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943 the regiment was disbanded by invading German forces near Florence.

Cold War

See also: Mechanized Division "Folgore"

On 15 September 1964 the Italian Army disbanded the Regiment "Lancieri di Aosta" (6th) in Reggio Emilia and the next day the regiment's II Squadrons Group in Reggio Emilia received the name Squadrons Group "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo". In 1965 the group moved from Reggio Emilia to Gradisca d'Isonzo in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, where it joined the Infantry Division "Folgore" as divisional reconnaissance unit. In 1975 the squadrons group moved from Gradisca d'Isonzo to Gorizia.

During the 1975 army reform the army disbanded the regimental level and newly independent battalions were granted for the first time their own flags. On 1 January 1976 the squadrons group was renamed 12th Reconnaissance Squadrons Group "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo" and assigned the flag and traditions of the Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo" (12th). The squadrons group consisted of a command, a command and services squadron, and three reconnaissance squadrons equipped with Fiat Campagnola reconnaissance vehicles, M113 armored personnel carriers, and M47 Patton tanks. At the time the squadrons group fielded 667 men (36 officers, 105 non-commissioned officers, and 526 soldiers). The Saluzzo continued to be the Mechanized Division "Folgore"'s reconnaissance unit. In 1980 the Saluzzo began to replace its M47 Patton tanks with Leopard 1A2 main battle tanks.

In 1986 the Italian Army disbanded the divisional level and placed brigades under direct command of its Army Corps. With the Folgore scheduled to disband the 12th Reconnaissance Squadrons Group "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo" was reorganized and renamed on 31 July 1986 as 12th Mechanized Squadrons Group "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo". The squadrons group joined the Mechanized Brigade "Vittorio Veneto" and consisted now of a command, a command and services squadron, three mechanized squadrons with M113 armored personnel carriers, and a heavy mortar squadron with M106 mortar carriers with 120mm mod. 63 mortars.

After the end of the Cold War the Italian Army began to draw down its forces and the Vittorio Veneto was one of the first brigades to disband. On 31 January 1991 the "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo" was disbanded and its flag transferred on 20 February 1991 to the Shrine of the Flags in the Vittoriano in Rome.

See also

• Mechanized Brigade "Vittorio Veneto"