2nd Bridge Engineer Regiment (Italy)

The 2nd Bridge Engineer Regiment (Italian: 2° Reggimento Genio Pontieri) is a military engineer regiment of the Italian Army based in Piacenza in the Emilia Romagna. Today the regiment is administratively assigned to the army's Engineer Command and the army's sole unit focusing on operational level river crossings.[3]

2nd Bridge Engineer Regiment
2° Reggimento Genio Pontieri
Regimental coat of arms
Active1 January 1883 - 8 September 1943
15 December 1949 - today[1]
Country Italy
BranchItalian Army
RoleCombat engineers
Part ofEngineer Command
Garrison/HQPiacenza
Motto(s)"Per ogni ponte una superba sfida"
Anniversaries24 June 1918 - Second Battle of the Piave River
Decorations
2x Bronze Medals of Military Valour
1x Silver Medal of Civil Valour
1x Gold Cross of Army Merit[2]
Insignia
Bridge engineers gorget patches

History

On 1 January 1883 the Royal Italian Army raised the 4th Engineer Regiment (Bridges) in Piacenza with the functions of a depot; i.e. the regiment only raised units for other formations. Initially the regiment controlled two railway engineer and four bridge engineer companies, and the 14th Lagunari Company in Venice. One of the four bridge engineer companies, the 1st Bridge Engineer Company, had distinguished itself at the Siege of Peschiera in May 1848 during the First Italian War of Independence and arrived with a Bronze Medal of Military Valour, which was affixed to the flag of the newly raised regiment.[2][4]

World War I

During World War I the regiment raised an additional twelve bridge engineer and three lagunari companies. The regiment's companies were employed repeatedly during the first eleven battles on the Isonzo river. After the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo the regiment's companies built emergency bridges over the Torre and Tagliamento rivers to allow the Third Army to escape. During the battles along the Piave river the engineers helped the Italian Army cross the river during the decisive Battle of Vittorio Veneto.[4][1]

After the war the 4th Engineer Regiment (Bridges) was renamed Bridge Engineer and Lagunari Regiment, to honor the conduct of the Lagunari units during the war. On 15 May 1933 the regiment was split into the 1st Bridge Engineer Regiment in Verona and the 2nd Bridge Engineer Regiment in Piacenza.[4][1]

World War II

During World War II the regiment acted once again as depot, raising bridge engineer battalions for other formations. The I and IX bridge battalions distinguished themselves in September 1941 as part of the Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia, when they repaired a 1,422 yd (1,300 m) long enemy pontoon bridge over the Dnieper river at Dnipro in Southern Ukraine under enemy fire. When Italy changed sides with the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943 and the regiment was disbanded.[4][1]

For its service of its battalions on the Eastern Front the regiment was awarded a Bronze Medal of Military Valour.[2]

Cold War

On 15 December 1949 the regiment was reformed in Piacenza with the following structure:

  • 2nd Bridge Engineer Regiment, in Piacenza
    • Command Platoon
    • I Bridge Engineer Battalion
      • 1st Bridge Engineer Company
      • 2nd Bridge Engineer Company
    • I Railway Engineer Battalion
      • 1st Dismountable Metal Bridges Company
      • 2nd Dismountable Metal Bridges Company
    • Railway Operations Company
    • Field Park Company

In 1950 the regiment also raised an Bridge Engineer Recruits Training Company. The same year the regiment began to build the bridge for the yearly Festa del Redentore in Venice - a tradition that continued until the end of obligatory military service in 2000.[4] For its quick and tireless intervention after the Polesine floods in November 1951 the regiment was awarded a Silver Medal of Civil Valour.[2]

On 1 March 1953 the regiment raised a second and third bridge engineer battalion, with the former being based in Legnano. On 1 January 1954 the I Railway Battalion left the regiment to form the Railway Engineer Regiment, followed on 1 October 1957 by the II Engineer Battalion. On 1 February 1964 the II Bridge Engineer Battalion returned to the 2nd Bridge Engineer Regiment. On 6 September 1974 the I Bridge Engineer Battalion was put into reserve status and switched then numbers with the II Bridge Engineer Battalion.[1][4]

  • 2nd Bridge Engineer Regiment, in Piacenza
    • Command and Services Platoon, in Piacenza
    • 1st Bridge Engineer Battalion, in Legnago
    • 2nd Bridge Engineer Battalion (Reserve), in Piacenza
    • 3rd Bridge Engineer Battalion, in Piacenza

Recent times

On 22 September 1992 the 1st Bridge Engineer Battalion became an autonomous battalion under the Northeastern Military Region. The battalion was elevated to 1st Bridge Engineer Regiment and assigned the war flag of the 1st Engineer Regiment in 1993, but was disbanded in 1997. On 1 December 1997 the regiment passed from the Tuscan-Emilian Military Region to the army's Engineer Grouping, which on 10 September 2010 became the Engineer Command.[1][4]

After the August 2016 earthquake in Central Italy the regiment was deployed to the disaster area and remained there until April 2017, rebuilding roads and bridges, and providing engineering services to the affected communities. For its service the regiment was awarded Gold Cross of Army Merit.[5]

Current structure
2nd Bridge Engineer Regiment troops using a Motorized Floating Bridge to ferry a Centauro tank destroyer of the Regiment "Savoia Cavalleria" (3rd) across the Po river

As of 2019 the 2nd Bridge Engineer Regiment consists of:[6]

  • Regimental Command, in Piacenza
    • Command and Logistic Support Company
    • I Battalion
      • 1st Bridge Engineer Company
      • 2nd Bridge Engineer Company
      • Special Equipment and Construction Company
      • Road- and Earthworks Company

The Command and Logistic Support Company fields the following platoons: C3 Platoon, Transport and Materiel Platoon, Medical Platoon, Commissariat Platoon, and EOD Platoon. The two bridge engineer companies are equipped with French Motorized Floating Bridges, while the other two companies are equipped with a variety of cranes, excavators, etc.

References
  1. "2° Reggimento Genio Pontieri - La Storia". Italian Army. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  2. "2° Reggimento Genio Pontieri - Il Medagliere". Italian Army. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  3. "2° Reggimento Genio Pontieri". Italian Army. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  4. "La Storia del 2° Reggimento Genio Pontieri". Associazione Nazionale Genieri e Trasmettitori d'Italia. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  5. "2° Reggimento Genio Pontieri". Quirinale - Presidenza della Repubblica. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  6. "2° Reggimento Genio Pontieri". Ministero della Difesa. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
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