31st Tank Regiment (Italy)

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31st Tank Regiment
31° Reggimento Carri
Regimental coat of arms
Active15 July 1937 - 8 Sept. 1943
15 Sept. 1951 - 10 Jan. 2020[1]
Country Italy
BranchItalian Army
Part ofMechanized Brigade "Pinerolo"
Garrison/HQLecce
Motto(s)"Ferro et corde frangit hostes"
Anniversaries15 April 1941 - Battle of Koplik
Decorations
1x Silver Medal of Military Valor
1x Bronze Medal of Civil Merit[2]
Insignia
Tank units gorget patches

The 31st Tank Regiment (Italian: 31° Reggimento Carri) is an inactive tank regiment of the Italian Army based in Lecce in Apulia. Originally the regiment, like all Italian tank units, was part of the infantry, but since 1 June 1999 it is part of the cavalry. Operationally the regiment was lastassigned to the Mechanized Brigade "Pinerolo".[3][4] On 10 January 2020 the regiment was reformed as a reconnaissance unit and received the name, flag and traditions of the Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Lodi" (15th).[5]

History

Formation

The regiment was formed on 15 July 1937 in Siena as 31st Tank Infantry Regiment with three tank battalions, which were ceded by three of the four active tank infantry regiments:[4]

On the same day the 31st regiment and the

131st Armored Division "Centauro", which was activated in Siena in Italy. On the same day the 31st regiment transferred its two breach tanks battalions to the 4th Tank Infantry Regiment respectively the 32nd Tank Infantry Regiment. On 30 May 1939 the VIII Assault Tanks Battalion "Bettoia" and the X Assault Tanks Battalion "Menzinger" arrived from to the 4th Tank Infantry Regiment. During summer of 1939 the division command, the newly raised 131st Armored Artillery Regiment,[6] and the two assault tanks battalions moved to Tirana in Albania, where the Centauro underwent a period of intense training. In Albania the III Assault Tanks Battalion "Paselli" was renamed XXXI Tank Battalion "L" (Italian: Leggero "Light"), as were the other units of the regiment in April 1940. The regiment entered World War II with the following structure:[4]

  • 31st Tank Infantry Regiment
    • I Tank Battalion "L"
      (L3/35 tankettes, former VII Assault Tanks Battalion "Vezzani")
    • II Tank Battalion "L" (L3/35 tankettes, former VIII Assault Tanks Battalion "Bettoia")
    • III Tank Battalion "L" (L3/35 tankettes, former X Assault Tanks Battalion "Menzinger")
    • IV Tank Battalion "L" (L3/35 tankettes, former XXXI Tank Battalion "L")

World War II

Main article: 131st Armored Division "Centauro"

Early in the war the regiment received the

Greco-Italian War and in 1941 it participated in the Axis Invasion of Yugoslavia. For its service in Greece and Albania the regiment was awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valor.[4]

In September 1941 the regiment arrived in

M14/41 tanks. However, due to a shortage of tanks the regiment was only able to muster the LI Tank Battalion "M" with the personnel of the disbanded III and IV tanks battalions "L". At the end of October the regiment moved its headquarter to Pordenone and it was decided to disband the two last "L" battalions. The regiment fielded the following units at the end of October 1941:[4]

Already in November the XII Tank Battalion "M14/41" was transferred to the newly formed

132nd Armored Division "Ariete" to replace the losses these two divisions had suffered during the Panzer Army Africa's advance to Gazala in the preceding weeks. To bring the 133rd regiment back up to strength the IV and LI tank battalions were sent to North Africa.[4] Back in Italy the 31st regiment received the XIII Tank Battalion "M" M13/40 tanks from the 32nd Tank Infantry Regiment. However the XIII battalion had to be sent to Libya during summer 1942 to replace the losses suffered by the 132nd Tank Infantry Regiment in the battles of Gazala, Bir Hakeim, Mersa Matruh, and First El Alamein
.

After the Axis defeat in the

Panzer Armee Afrika for the Tunisian campaign. The regiment departed Italy with the following battalions:[4]

After arriving in Libya the regiment ceded the XIV battalion to the "Cantaluppi" Group, an ad hoc formation commanded by Colonel Gaetano Cantaluppi, which had absorbed the remnants of the 132nd Tank Infantry Regiment and 133rd Tank Infantry Regiment after the Second Battle of El Alamein. The 31st regiment distinguished itself at the battles of El Agheila and El Guettar, before being dissolved in early April 1943 after having suffered heavy losses in the Battle of El Guettar.[1][2][7][4]

The regiment was officially declared lost on 12 April 1943 and reformed on the same day in Siena with the XIX Tank Battalion, which was equipped with M15/42 tanks and Semoventi 75/34 self-propelled guns. Plans to expand the battalion and reform the regiment were thwarted by the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943, and the subsequent occupation of Italy by the Germans, who disbanded the 31st Tank Infantry Regiment.[1][7][4]

Cold War

On 15 January 1951 the regiment was raised again in

Armored Division "Centauro". Initially the 31st had only one M4 Sherman tank battalion, but in 1953 the 132nd Tankers Regiment "Ariete" ceded a M4 Sherman tank battalion to the 31st. In 1955 the regiment moved to Bellinzago Novarese and in December 1958 the regiment was renamed 31st Tank Regiment.[1][7]

1st Tank Battalion "M.O. Cracco"

Coat of arms of the 1st Tank Battalion "M.O. Cracco"
Coat of arms of the 101st Tank Battalion "M.O. Zappalà"

During the

31st Armored Brigade "Curtatone", which in 1986 was renamed Armored Brigade "Centauro".[1][7]

101st Tank Battalion "M.O. Zappalà"

Main article:
101st Tank Battalion "M.O. Zappalà"

The 101st Tank Battalion "M.O. Zappalà" was formed during the

1975 army reform by renaming the II Tank Battalion of the 31st Tank Regiment. The 101st Zappalà received the flag and traditions of the 131st Tank Regiment
.

Recent times

On 31 July 1993 the 101st Tank Battalion "M.O. Zappalà" disbanded and its personnel entered the 1st Tank Battalion "M.O. Cracco", which on 1 September 1993 entered the reraised 31st Tank Regiment. On 9 October 1995 the regiment received the flag and name of the 4th Tank Regiment and transferred its own name and flag to the 133rd Tank Regiment in Altamura, which was a unit of the Mechanized Brigade "Pinerolo". Between 1 January 2011 and 28 February 2017 the regiment was subordinated to the army's Cavalry School in Lecce as test unit for the army's "Soldato Del Futuro" networked warfighting project. In 2012 the regiment moved from Altamura to Lecce.[1]

Organization

When the 31st Tank Regiment was disbanded it consisted of the following units:

  • Regimental Command, in Lecce
    • Command and Logistic Support Company
    • 1st Tank Battalion "M.O. Cracco"
      • 1st Tank Company (13x Ariete main battle tanks)
      • 2nd Tank Company (13x Ariete main battle tanks)
      • 3rd Tank Company (13x Ariete main battle tanks)
      • 4th Tank Company (suspended for lack of tanks)

The Command and Logistic Support Company fielded the following platoons: C3 Platoon, Transport and Materiel Platoon, Medical Platoon, and Commissariat Platoon. In total the regiment fielded 41x Ariete main battle tanks: 13x per company, plus one for the battalion commander and one for the regiment commander.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "31° Reggimento Carri - La Storia". Italian Army. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  2. ^ a b "31° Reggimento Carri - Il Medagliere". Italian Army. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  3. ^ "31° Reggimento Carri". Italian Army. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Parri, Maurizio (2009). Tracce di Cingolo - Storia dei Carristi 1917-2009. Rome. pp. 63–66.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ "A Lecce arriva il Reggimento "Cavalleggeri di Lodi" (15°)". Italian Army. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  6. ^ "131° Reggimento Artiglieria "Centauro" - disciolto". Italian Army. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d F. dell'Uomo, R. Puletti (1998). L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000 - Vol. Primo - Tomo I. Rome: SME - Ufficio Storico. p. 540.
  8. ^ "Cracco Giovanni". Quirinale - Presidenza della Repubblica. Retrieved 22 November 2019.

External links

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