24th Field Artillery Regiment "Peloritani"

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24th Field Artillery Regiment "Peloritani"
24° Reggimento Artiglieria Terrestre "Peloritani"
Regimental coat of arms
Active1 Nov. 1888 - 11 Sept. 1943
1 March 1951 — 21 Feb. 1961
1 Oct. 1975 — today[1]
Country Italy
BranchItalian Army
Part ofMechanized Brigade "Aosta"
Garrison/HQMessina
Motto(s)"Nell'antico valor la nostra guida"
Anniversaries15 June 1918 - Second Battle of the Piave River
Decorations
1x War Cross of Military Valor[2]
Insignia
Regimental gorget patches

The 24th Field Artillery Regiment "Peloritani" (

Greco-Italian War and then remained in Yugoslavia on anti-partisan duty. The division and regiment were located on the Peloponnese peninsula, when the Armistice of Cassibile was announced on 8 September 1943. The division and its units surrendered to attacking German forces on 11 September.[4]

The regiment was reformed in 1951 and assigned to the

Motorized Brigade "Aosta". In 1992 group was equipped with M109G self-propelled howitzers and reorganized as 24th Self-propelled Field Artillery Regiment "Peloritani".[4][5] The regimental anniversary falls, as for all Italian Army artillery regiments, on June 15, the beginning of the Second Battle of the Piave River in 1918.[3]

History

On 1 November 1888 the 24th Field Artillery Regiment was formed in

12th Field Artillery Regiment. In 1895-96 the regiment provided six officers and 55 troops to units deployed to Eritrea for the First Italo-Ethiopian War. During the Italo-Turkish War in 1911-12 the regiment formed the command of a Special Field Artillery Regiment, which was sent with one of the regiment's group commands and the regiment's 4th and 5th batteries to Libya. The regiment also provided eight officers and 795 troops to other deployed units. On 1 January 1915 the regiment ceded its III Group to help form the 34th Field Artillery Regiment.[1][4]

World War I

At the outbreak of World War I the regiment consisted of a command, three groups with 75/27 mod. 06 field guns, and a depot. During the war the regiment's depot formed the command of the 52nd Field Artillery Regiment, the 112th and 113th mountain batteries, and four siege batteries. In 1915 the regiment fought in the Second Battle of the Isonzo on Monte Sei Busi and then in the Third Battle of the Isonzo and Fourth Battle of the Isonzo at Castelnuovo del Carso. In 1916 the regiment was deployed in July and August on the Monte Cimone di Tonezza and then on the Monte Pečinka and Veliki Hribach. In March 1916 the regiment's I Group with three batteries was part of the Italian force that occupied Southern Albania. The group returned to Italy on 7 August 1916 and rejoined the regiment. In June 1917 the regiment was at Kostanjevica na Krasu during the Tenth Battle of the Isonzo. During the retreat to the Piave river after the Battle of Caporetto the regiment fought delaying actions along the Tagliamento river and then participated in the First Battle of the Piave River. In 1918 the regiment fought on Cima Echar and Monte Valbella during the Second Battle of the Piave River, and again on Monte Valbella and then on the Melette during the Battle of Vittorio Veneto.[1][4]

After the war the regiment transferred its base from Naples to

29th Territorial Division of Messina and consisted of a command, one group with 100/17 mod. 14 howitzers, two groups with 75/27 mod. 11 field guns, one group with mule-carried 75/13 mod. 15 mountain guns, and a depot.[4]

Second Italo-Ethiopian War

In January 1935 the division changed its name to

29th Infantry Division "Peloritana" and consequently the regiment changed its name to 24th Artillery Regiment "Peloritana". On 28 February 1935 the division and regiment were mobilized in preparation for the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. The regiment departed Italy with its command, a command battery, the I and II groups with 75/27 mod. 11 field guns, and the III Group with 75/13 mod. 15 mountain guns. The I Group had been transferred for the duration of the war from the 22nd Artillery Regiment "Vespri" of the 28th Infantry Division "Aosta".[1][4]

After arriving in

Somalia in March 1935 the division garrisoned the coastal regions until March 1936, when it entered combat by seizing Harar on the Erer river. In the final Italian advance in April 1936 the division was relegated to second-line duties. After the war's conclusion the Peloritana remained in Harar and fought remnants of Ethiopian forces and resistance fighters. The division and its regiments returned to Italy in December 1936.[4]

On 15 April 1939 the division was renamed 29th Infantry Division "Piemonte" and consequently the regiment changed its name to 24th Artillery Regiment "Piemonte".[1][4]

World War II

Main article: 29th Infantry Division "Piemonte"

On 10 June 1940, the day Italy entered World War II, the regiment consisted of a command, command unit, the I Group with 100/17 mod. 14 howitzers, the II Group with 75/27 mod. 11 field guns, the III Group with 75/13 mod. 15 mountain guns, and an anti-aircraft battery with 20/65 mod. 35 anti-aircraft guns. The regiment was assigned to the 29th Infantry Division "Piemonte", which also included the 3rd Infantry Regiment "Piemonte" and 4th Infantry Regiment "Piemonte". In September 1940 the regiment transferred its II Group with 75/27 mod. 11 field guns to the 22nd Artillery Regiment "Aosta" of the 28th Infantry Division "Aosta", and received from the 22nd Artillery Regiment "Aosta" a group with 75/13 mod. 15 mountain guns.[4]

In September 1940 the division moved from

Paralia Platanos, Pyrgos. After the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943 the division was dissolved by attacking German forces on 11 September 1943.[1][4]

Cold War

On 1 March 1951 the 24th Field Artillery Regiment was reformed in

Infantry Division "Aosta" and soon formed a third group with M101 105mm howitzers. On 1 March 1953 the regiment formed the V Light Anti-aircraft Group with 40/56 autocannons and on 18 June of the same year the 22nd Heavy Field Artillery Regiment transferred its I Group with QF 25-pounder field guns to the 24th Field Artillery Regiment. The new group was renumbered as II Group, while the regiment's own II Group was renumbered as IV Group and re-equipped with M114 155mm howitzers. Afterwards the regiment consisted of the following units:[4][5]

In 1955 regiment was reduced in size and 15 June it consisted of a command, a command unit, the I Group with QF 25-pounder field guns, and the III Mixed Group, which fielded two batteries with M114 155mm howitzers and two light anti-aircraft batteries with 40/56 autocannons. On 29 April 1957 the regiment formed a Light Aircraft Section with

L-21B artillery observation planes, which the regiment transferred on 1 August of the same year to the 22nd Heavy Field Artillery Regiment. On 18 December 1958 the Light Aircraft Section returned to the regiment as the 22nd Heavy Field Artillery Regiment was disbanded on 31st December 1958.[4][5]

The regiment entered 1959 with a reduced mixed group, which now fielded one battery with M114 155mm howitzers and one light anti-aircraft battery with 40/56 autocannons. On 1 October 1960 the Light Aircraft Section was transferred to the command of the division. In 1961 the Infantry Division "Aosta" was reduced to

Vittoriano in Rome. In 1964 the group was equipped with 105/22 mod. 14/61 howitzers.[4][5]

During the

Motorized Brigade "Aosta" the group was named for the regiment's original name, the Peloritani mountains to the West of Messina. The group was assigned to the Motorized Brigade "Aosta" and consisted of a command, a command and services battery, and three batteries with towed M114 155mm howitzers.[4][5]

On 12 November 1976 the

President of the Italian Republic Giovanni Leone assigned with decree 846 the flag and traditions of the 24th Artillery Regiment "Piemonte" to the group.[4][5][6] At the time the group fielded 485 men (37 officers, 58 non-commissioned officers, and 390 soldiers).[7]

Recent times

In 1991, after the end of the

FH-70 155mm howitzers.[4][5]

Organization

As of 2023 the 24th Field Artillery Regiment "Peloritani" consists of:[3][8]

  • Regimental Command, in Messina[3]
    • Command and Logistic Support Battery
    • Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Tactical Liaison Battery
    • 1st Artillery Group
      • 1st Howitzer Battery
      • 2nd Howitzer Battery
      • 3rd Howitzer Battery
      • Fire and Technical Support Battery

The regiment is equipped with

FH-70 towed howitzers.[9]

See also

External links

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "24° Reggimento Artiglieria Terrestre "Peloritani" - La Storia". Italian Army. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  2. ^ "24° Reggimento Artiglieria Terrestre "Peloritani" - Il Medagliere". Italian Army. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d "24° Reggimento Artiglieria Terrestre "Peloritani"". Italian Army. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q F. dell'Uomo, R. Puletti (1998). L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000 - Vol. Primo - Tomo II. Rome: SME - Ufficio Storico. p. 119.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Fossati, Ivo (2022). L'Esercito Italiano 1946 - 2020 - L'Artiglieria. Milan: Athena Books. p. 39. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica 12 novembre 1976, n. 846". Quirinale - Presidenza della Repubblica. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  7. ^ Stefani, Filippo (1989). La storia della dottrina e degli ordinamenti dell'Esercito Italiano - Vol. III - Tomo 2°. Rome: Ufficio Storico - Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito. p. 1189.
  8. ^ "24° Reggimento Artiglieria Terrestre "Peloritani"". Italian Defense Ministry. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Obice da 155/39 FH-70". Esercito Italiano. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
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