Mechanized Brigade "Sassari"

The Mechanized Brigade "Sassari" is a mechanized infantry brigade of the Italian Army, based on the island of Sardinia. Its core are three infantry regiments which distinguished themselves in combat during World War I. Carrying the name of the Sardinian city of Sassari the brigade's coat of arms is modeled after the city's coat of arms. The brigade is part of the Division "Acqui".

Mechanized Brigade "Sassari"
Brigata Meccanizzata "Sassari"
Mechanized Brigade "Sassari" coat of arms
ActiveMarch 1, 1915 – March 11, 1926
"Sassari" Brigade
March 11, 1926 - 1934
12th Infantry Brigade
1934 - 1939
Infantry Brigade "Timavo"
1939 - September 10, 1943
Infantry Division "Sassari"
December 1, 1988 - January 1, 1991
Motorized Brigade "Sassari"
January 1, 1991 – today
Mechanized Brigade "Sassari"
Country Italy
AllegianceItalian Army
TypeInfantry
Rolemechanized infantry
SizeBrigade
Part ofDivision "Acqui"
Garrison/HQSassari
Motto(s)"Sa vida pro sa Patria" (Sardinian)
(English: "One's life spent for the [Italian] homeland")
Colorsred and white
March"Dimonios" (Sardinian)
(English: "[Sardinian] Demons")
Anniversaries28 January 1918
EngagementsWorld War I
World War II
Bosnia SFOR
Kosovo KFOR
Afghanistan ISAF
Iraq Multinational force in Iraq
Commanders
Current
commander		Brigadier Andrea Di Stasio

History

World War I

During the general mobilization in preparation for entering World War I the Italian Army raised the Infantry Brigade "Sassari" on 1 March 1915 on Sardinia: the 151st Infantry Regiment in Sinnai[1] and the 152nd Infantry Regiment in Tempio Pausania[2][3]. Unlike other Italian infantry brigades, the Sassari recruited only Sardinians;[1][2] however, the highest-ranking officers were from the Italian Mainland.

The brigade saw combat for the first time in the summer of 1915 during the First Battle of the Isonzo and distinguished itself in the Second Battle of the Isonzo. In May 1916 the brigade was sent to the Asiago Plateau to help in the Italian effort to stop the Austrian spring offensive. In the month of June 1916 the brigade conquered Monte Fior, Monte Castelgomberto, Monte Spil, Monte Miela and Monte Zebio.[1] For these actions both regiments of the brigade were awarded a Gold Medal of Military Valor.[2][3]

After the Italian defeat in the Battle of Caporetto and the following retreat of the remnants of the Italian Army towards the Piave the Sassari fought with extraordinary discipline and toughness. In fact the last battalion to retreat over the Piave and to safety was a battalion of the Sassari.

Between 28 and 31 January 1918 the "Sassari" was again in the first line during the first Italian offensive operations after the Army had spent the second half of 1917 in a defensive posture. To the north of Vicenza the brigade managed to capture the Col del Rosso, Col d’Ecchele and Monte Valbella and for this feat was awarded a second Gold Medal of Military Valor for both its regiments.[3] A feat not achieved by any other brigade in the course of the war. At the end of the war the Sassari was the highest decorated Italian unit of World War I, and individual soldiers of the Brigade earned:

The brigade had suffered the highest loss rate of all Italian infantry brigades in the war: 2,164 dead, and 12,858 wounded and missing in action; a death rate of 13.8% of all men that had served in the brigade during the war. The Italian writer Emilio Lussu had served in the brigade during World War I and would later write an anti-war book about his experiences: A Year on the High Plateau ("Un anno sull'altipiano").

World War II

After the end of World War I the Italian Army disbanded all brigades raised during the war with the exception of the "Sassari" brigade and three further brigades, which also had distinguished themselves during the war: "Liguria", "Arezzo" and "Avellino". The brigade moved to Trieste as part of the 12th Infantry Division "Timavo"'. In 1926 the brigade gained the 12th Infantry Regiment "Casale" and changed its name to XII Infantry Brigade.[1][2][3] Along with the 34th Artillery Regiment the brigade were the only units of the 12th Division[3]. In 1939 the brigade lost the 12th Infantry Regiment and was renamed 12th Infantry Division "Sassari".[1][2] This binary division consisted of only two infantry regiments (151st and 152nd) and the 34th Field Artillery Regiment[3]. To increase the weak strength of the division it received in 1941 the 73rd Blackshirt Assault Legion "Boiardo", a battalion sized militia unit of the Italian Fascist Party.[3]

The division remained in Istria on garrison duty until 6 April 1941 when Axis forces began the invasion of Yugoslavia. The first Yugoslav cities to fall were Prezid and Čabar on 12 April, followed Novi Lazi and Borovec on 14 April. On 19 April the division reached Delnice, the following day Knin. for the next two years the division's command remained in Knin, while the division's units were continuously employed in anti-partisan operations: in Šibenik, Brod na Kupi, Gračac, Petrovac and Drvar. The heaviest fighting occurred during July 1942 when the division tried to clean the Velebit mountains of partisan forces.[3]

In March 1943, after the Battle of the Neretva, the division transferred to Rome to aid in the defense of the city in case of an Allied attack.[3] During this time the division was reorganized along the lines of the Mod.43 reform of the Italian Army and was augmented with the XII Mortar Battalion and the XII Semovente Battalion which was equipped with 24 Semovente 75/18 self-propelled guns. In total the division fielded 14,500 troops, 24 Semovente and 80 artillery pieces. After the Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces of 8 September 1943 the division found itself fighting Italy's former allies the Germans and along with the 21st Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna" and 135th Armored Division "Ariete" II the Sassari defended Rome for two days. On 10 September 1943 the remnants of the Sassari joined the 21st Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna" and the cavalry Regiment "Lancieri di Montebello" (8th) and hundreds of civilian volunteers at Porta San Paolo for a last stand. Civilians at Porta San Paolo included communist leader Luigi Longo, lawyer Giuliano Vassalli, writer and WWI Sassari veteran Emilio Lussu, unionist leader Vincenzo Baldazzi, Mario Zagari, retired Air Force generals Sabato Martelli Castaldi and Roberto Lordi, and 18-year-old future partisan leader Marisa Musu. The future Italian president Sandro Pertini brought a detachment of socialist resistance fighters to Porta San Paolo and around 12:30 the Catholic Communist movement arrived with further reinforcements including famed actor Carlo Ninchi. However, by 17:00 the Germans broke the line of the Italian defenders, who had suffered 570 dead. Soon after the Italian military units surrendered to the Germans as the flight of the Italian King Victor Emmanuel III from Rome had made further resistance senseless. However the Italian soldiers handed thousands of weapons over to the civilian population, which was quick to form an organized resistance movement in the city of Rome.[1][2][3]

Recent history

The Sassari was raised again in Sardinia on 1 December 1988 as Motorized Brigade "Sassari" with two light infantry battalions:[3]

  • Motorized Brigade "Sassari", in Sassari[3]
    • Command and Signal Unit "Sassari", in Sassari (activated 30 July 1991)[4]
      • Headquarters Company, in Sassari
      • Signal Company, in Sassari
    • 151st Motorized Infantry Battalion "Sette Comuni", in Cagliari[1]
    • 152nd Infantry (Recruits Training) Battalion "Sassari", in Sassari[2]

The brigade was under command of the Sardinia Military Command (CMS) in Cagliari, which had administrative command of all units based in Sardinia and was furthermore tasked with the defense of the island in case of war. Besides the Sassari the following units were based on Sardinia:

  • CMS Command Battalion, in Cagliari
  • 1st Armored Infantry Regiment, in Teulada (Armored Training Center)
  • 45th Infantry (Recruits Training) Battalion "Arborea", in Macomer
  • 21st Light Aviation Squadrons Group "Orsa Maggiore", at 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

After the end of the Cold War the Italian Army disbanded a large number of mechanized brigades in Northern Italy, the equipment of the disbanded units was used to mechanize the Sassari brigade with VCC-2 armored personnel carriers. Accordingly, the brigade changed its name on 1 January 1991 to Mechanized Brigade "Sassari".[3] Over the next years the Sassari became a fully professionalized brigade, one of the first Italian brigades to do so. In the early 1990s the Italian Army began to rename its battalions for traditional reasons as regiment; thus the Sassari consisted by the end of 1993 of the following units:[3]

  • Mechanized Brigade "Sassari", in Sassari
    • Command and Tactical Supports Unit "Sassari", in Sassari[4]
      • Headquarter Company
      • Signal Company
      • Engineer Company
    • 45th Infantry (Recruits Training) Regiment "Reggio", in Macomer (Regiment on 1 September 1993)
    • 151st Infantry Regiment "Sassari", in Cagliari (Regiment on 30 July 1992)[1]
    • 152nd Infantry Regiment "Sassari", in Sassari (Regiment on 25 October 1992)[2]

The brigade saw two changes to its structure in the following years: on 1 January 2003 the 45th Infantry Regiment "Reggio" was reorganized as 5th Engineer Regiment[5], which entered the brigade on 23 September 2003[3] and received the Command and Tactical Supports Unit's Engineer Company,[4] and on 25 November 2009 the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment moved from Milan to Teulada, where it merged with the I Battalion of the 1st Armored Infantry Regiment.[6][3]

The Brigade has been deployed repeatedly in out of area operations and has served in Kosovo, Bosnia, Lebanon, Afghanistan and in Iraq, where it lost seven soldiers in various engagements with Iraqi insurgents.

Current structure
Sassari locations 2019
Structure of the brigade 2019 (click to enlarge)
3rd Bersaglieri Regiment lieutenant with her radioman during an exercise in Sardinia
  • Mechanized Brigade "Sassari", in Sassari[3]
    • Command and Tactical Supports Unit "Sassari", in Sassari
      • Headquarters & Logistic Support Company
      • Signal Company
    • 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment, in Teulada
      • Regimental Headquarters
      • Headquarters & Logistic Support Company
      • 18th Bersaglieri Battalion "Poggio Scanno"
        • Battalion Headquarters
        • 3x Bersaglieri Companies
        • Maneuver Support Company
    • 151st Infantry Regiment "Sassari", in Cagliari
      • Regimental Headquarters
      • Headquarters & Logistic Support Company
      • 1st Mechanized Battalion
        • Battalion Headquarters
        • 3x Fusiliers Companies
        • Maneuver Support Company
    • 152nd Infantry Regiment "Sassari", in Sassari
      • Regimental Headquarters
      • Headquarters & Logistic Support Company
      • 1st Mechanized Battalion
        • Battalion Headquarters
        • 3x Infantry Companies
        • Maneuver Support Company
    • 5th Engineer Regiment, in Macomer
      • Regimental Headquarters
      • Headquarters & Logistic Support Company
      • Engineer Battalion "Bolsena"
        • Battalion Headquarters
        • 2x Engineer Companies
        • Mobility Support Company
        • Deployment Support Company
    • Logistic Regiment "Sassari", in Cagliari[7]
      • Regimental Headquarters
      • Headquarters & Logistic Support Company
      • Logistic Battalion
        • Battalion Headquarters
        • Maintenance Company
        • Transport Company
        • Supply Company

With the introduction of the Centauro II tank destroyer and the Freccia EVO Reconnaissance vehicle the brigade will receive a newly raised cavalry regiment.

Equipment

The two infantry regiments and the Bersaglieri regiment of the brigade are equipped with VTLM Lince vehicles, which will be joined by Freccia wheeled infantry fighting vehicles, the first shipment of which arrived at the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment on 6 December 2018.

Gorget patches
Main article: Italian Army gorget patches

The personnel of the brigade's units wears the following gorget patches:[8]

Curiosity
  • The Sassari Brigade is not the only military unit to have been raised on the island, other units are: the Roman "Cohors II Sardorum", Spanish tercios, the Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Sardegna" and the Cagliari Brigade during the Savoyard period.
  • The brigade's march "Dimonios" is sung entirely in Sardinian language.
  • Sassari soldiers on patrol with Freccia IFVs in Afghanistan
  • Sassari troops at Herat Airport in Afghanistan
  • Sassari soldiers on patrol in Afghanistan
  • Sassari soldiers in World War I uniforms on parade in Rome
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References
  1. "151° Reggimento Fanteria "Sassari" - La Storia". Italian Army. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  2. "152° Reggimento Fanteria "Sassari" - La Storia". Italian Army. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  3. "Brigata Sassari - La Storia". Italian Army. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  4. "Reparto Comando e Supporti Tattici "Sassari"". Italian Army. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  5. "5° Reggimento Genio Guastatori - La Storia". Italian Army. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  6. "3° Reggimento Bersaglieri - La Storia". Italian Army. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  7. "Reggimento Logistico "Sassari"". Italian Army. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  8. "Brigata Meccanizzata "Sassari"". Italian Army. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
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