Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli"

The Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" is a brigade of the Italian Army, based in the Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto regions. The Brigade consists of a command unit, a cavalry regiment, an amphibious infantry regiment, an artillery regiment, an engineer regiment and a logistic regiment.[1]

Brigata di Cavalleria "Pozzuolo del Friuli"
Coat of Arms of the Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli"
Active1835 - present
Country Italy
AllegianceItalian Armed Forces
Branch Italian Army
TypeBrigade
RoleCavalry
Part ofDivision "Vittorio Veneto"
Garrison/HQGorizia
Colorsorange
EngagementsWorld War I
World War II
Bosnia SFOR
Kosovo KFOR
Afghanistan ISAF
Iraq Multinational force in Iraq
Commanders
Current
commander		Brigadier Ugo Cillo, 79th commanding officer
Notable
commanders		General Emo Capodilista

History

Constitution

The origins of the Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" date back to the Kingdom of Sardinia, where on 7 March 1835 the Cuirassier regiments "Piemonte Reale" and "Genova Cavalleria", and the lancers regiment "Lancieri di Aosta" were combined to form the II Cavalry Brigade.[2] On 4 October 1836 the "Genova" and "Aosta" were replaced by the lancer regiment "Lancieri di Novara".[2]

First Italian War of Independence

During the First Italian War of Independence the brigade's two regiment were attached to infantry divisions and fought at the battles of Pastrengo, Santa Lucia, Volta Mantovana, Mortara, Sforzesca, and Novara. After the conclusion of te war with the Armistice of Vignale on 24 March 1849 the brigade received the returning Cuirassier regiments "Savoia Cavalleria" and "Genova Cavalleria" on 2 April 1849. With the war over the brigade was disbanded on 10 November 1849.[2]

Second Italian War of Independence

The brigade was quickly raised again on the eve of the Second Italian War of Independence in 1859 as II Cuirassier Brigade and consisted of the cuirassier regiments "Savoia Cavalleria" and "Genova Cavalleria". Together with the I Cuirassier Brigade with the regiments "Nizza Cavalleria" and "Piemonte Reale Cavalleria" the brigade formed the army's cavalry division. The brigade fought in the battles of Palestro and Vinzaglio. After the war the brigade was garrisoned in Milan with its regiments in Turin and Vigevano. In 1863 the brigade was once more disbanded.[2]

Third Italian War of Independence

However, again on the eve of war, this time the Third Italian War of Independence in 1866, the brigade was once more activated with the cuirassier regiments "Savoia Cavalleria" and "Genova Cavalleria" and formed once again with the I Cuirassier Brigade, with the regiments "Nizza Cavalleria" and "Piemonte Reale Cavalleria" the army's sole cavalry division. After the war the fate of the brigade was in balance once more until the government issued a decree on 4 December 1870 to establish permanent cavalry brigades.

World War I
Italian lancers during World War 1

At the outbreak of World War I the II Cavalry Brigade consisted of the Regiment "Genova Cavalleria" (4th) and the Regiment "Lancieri di Novara" (5th). The brigade was part of the 1st Cavalry Division "Friuli" and based in the region of Friuli.[2] The brigade was the first Italian unit to cross the border with Austria-Hungary on 24 May 1915, when its regiments advanced to the take the bridges over the Isonzo river at Pieris.[2] From May 1916 onward the brigade served as line infantry on the Italian Front. During the Seventh Battle of the Isonzo the brigade conquered Height 144 overlooking Doberdò and held it against repeated Austrian counterattacks. In December 1916 the brigade was taken out of the front and mounted again on horses.[2]

Battle of Pozzuolo del Friuli

In 1917 the brigade covered the flight of the remnants of the Italian 3rd Army after the disastrous Battle of Caporetto. With Central Power troops advancing rapidly towards the Venetian Plain the 3rd Army was in danger of being encircled. Therefore, the II Cavalry Brigade under Brigadier General Emo Capodilista, and the II/25th Battalion and III/26th Battalion of the Infantry Brigade "Bergamo" under colonel Piero Balbi were sent to Pozzuolo del Friuli and ordered to delay the enemy long enough for the 3rd Army to escape over the bridges at Codroipo and at Latisana across the Tagliamento river.[3][4]

The cavalry units arrived in Pozzuolo del Friuli in the late afternoon of 29 October, while the "Bergamo" units arrived after a forced march at noon on 30 October 1917. The two commanders decided that one "Bergamo" battalion would defend Pozzuolo, while the "Lancieri di Novara" would cover the right and the "Genova Cavalleria" the left flank of the village. The remaining "Bergamo" battalion was sent to the north-west to block the road to Codroipo. A roll call on the morning of the 30 October showed that the cavalry brigade was only 968 men strong.[3]

All morning patrols of the cavalry regiments had encountered advance parties of the German 117th Infantry Division and by 14h the four Italian battalions were under full attack by three enemy divisions: the "Bergamo" battalion on the road to Codroipo was attacked by the German 5th Infantry Division, while the "Genova Cavalleria" was attacked by the German 117th Infantry, while the Austrian-Hungarian 60th Infantry Division advanced on the village of Pozzuolo del Friuli. With the "Genova Cavalleria" under heavy attack the lancers of the "Lancieri di Novara" began to harass the left flank of the enemy in repeated cavalry charges.[3]

By 17:30 the cavalry brigade had suffered almost 400 dead and the enemy had entered the village of Pozzuolo. Around 18h general Capodilista ordered his troops to disengage and retreat. Colonel Balbi and the "Bergamo" troops remained in Pozzuolo to cover the retreat. Fifteen minutes later the remnants of the cavalry brigade rode in formation south towards Santa Maria di Sclaunicco. The last unit to leave Pozzuolo was the 4th Squadron of the "Genova Cavalleria" regiment, which executed a last suicidal charge against the enemy to cover the other units escape to Santa Maria di Sclaunicco. By nightfall the brigade had lost 467 of its 968 men, while the "Bergamo" units were completely destroyed.[3]

After the battle both standards of the two cavalry regiments were awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valor, while the brigade's commander general Emo Capodilista was promoted to Major General and awarded the Military Order of Savoy. In total 176 medals and awards were given to the men of the "Bergamo" and cavalry brigade,[3] among those two Gold Medals of Military Valor in memoriam: one to the commander of the Machine Gun Squadron of the "Genova Cavalleria" Lieutenant Carlo Castelnuovo delle Lanze,[5] and the other to the commander of the 4th Squadron of the "Genova Cavalleria" Captain Ettore Laiolo, who had perished in his squadron's suicidal last charge.[6]

After the army had retreated behind the Piave river the brigade was brought back to full strength and fought in the final battles of the war on the Italian front: the Battle of the Piave River in June 1918 and the Battle of Vittorio Veneto in October 1918.

World War II
Main article: 2nd Cavalry Division "Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro"

In 1926 the brigade was renamed as II Higher Cavalry Command and commanded four Lancer regiments: "Lancieri di Novara" (5th), "Lancieri di Aosta" (6th), "Lancieri di Milano" (7th) and "Lancieri Vittorio Emanuele II" (10th). In June 1930 the three Higher Cavalry Commands changed names to Cavalry Brigades. In 1935 the II Cavalry Brigade was motorized and became the II Fast Brigade, which was later changed to II Fast Brigade "Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro". On 1 February 1938 the brigade was elevated to division and became the 2nd Fast Division "Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro".

The division participated in the Axis Invasion of Yugoslavia and remained afterwards in occupied Yugoslavia as garrison unit. In May 1942, the division was selected to convert to an armored division and started converting to the 134th Armored Division "Freccia". However, the conversion was cancelled and it returned to the Cavalry division format. In December 1942, the division moved to France as part of the Italian occupation forces and was based in Toulon. The division remained in France until the Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces of 8 September 1943, after which it returned to Italy and disbanded within the month.

Cold War
See also: Structure of the Italian Army in 1974
Coat of Arms of the Armored Division "Pozzuolo del Friuli"

On 1 January 1953 the Italian Army activated the Armored Division "Pozzuolo del Friuli" in Rome as its third armored division. The division consisted of the 4th Tank Regiment (three battalions with M26 Pershing tanks), 1st Bersaglieri Regiment (three battalions with M3 Half-tracks), the 1st Armored Artillery Regiment (four artillery groups with M7 Priests and one anti-air artillery group), and the I Engineer Battalion. In 1954 the division received the "Lancieri di Firenze" Armored Cavalry Squadron equipped with M8 Greyhound, which was expanded to full squadrons group by 1956.

In 1957 the army decided to concentrate its forces in the North-Eastern region of Friuli near the Yugoslav border. As first step of this realignment a Cavalry Brigade was activated in Gradisca d'Isonzo on 1 April 1957.[2] The brigade consisted of the armored cavalry regiments "Piemonte Cavalleria" (2nd), "Genova Cavalleria" (4th), each with two squadrons groups, the "Lancieri di Novara" (V) Reconnaissance Squadrons Group, the 8th Self-propelled Field Artillery Regiment, an engineer company, and a signal company. The brigade was part of the V Army Corps, which was tasked with defending North-Eastern Italy against a possible attack by either Yugoslav or Warsaw Pact forces. As next steps the army transferred the 4th Tank Regiment to the "Legnano" Infantry Division on 1 May 1958, and the 1st Bersaglieri Regiment to the "Granatieri di Sardegna" Infantry Division on 1 December 1958. The 1st Armored Artillery Regiment's four groups were transferred to four different artillery regiments and on 31 December 1958 the regiment itself, along with the "Lancieri di Firenze" Armored Cavalry Squadrons Group and the Armored Division "Pozzuolo del Friuli" Command, were disbanded.

On 1 January 1959 the Cavalry Brigade in Gradisca d'Isonzo changed its name to Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" and received the colours, symbols and traditions of the dissolved armored division and the preceding cavalry formations.[2] The brigade was a mechanized brigade with one reconnaissance squadrons group, two mechanized cavalry regiments and a self-propelled artillery regiment. The brigade's structure in 1974 was as follows:

Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" in 1974

In 1975 the Italian Army undertook a major reform and the "Pozzuolo del Friuli" was split to raise a second cavalry brigade - the Armored Brigade "Vittorio Veneto" in Villa Opicina. With the reform the "Pozzuolo del Friuli" lost its independence and entered the Mechanized Division "Mantova".[2] On 1 October 1975 the brigade had concluded its conversion to armored brigade and consisted of the following units.

"Pozzuolo del Friuli" units in 1989

In 1986 the Italian Army abolished the divisional level and the "Pozzuolo del Friuli" came under direct command of the 5th Army Corps. Additionally the brigade received the 7th Reconnaissance Squadrons Group "Lancieri di Milano" from the disbanded "Mantova" division. In 1989 with the end of the Cold War the army began to draw down its forces and the 7th "Lancieri di Milano" was disbanded on 11 December 1989.

In 1991 the brigade returned to use the name Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" after it had replaced its Leopard 1A2 tanks and VCC-2 armored personnel carries with wheeled Centauro tank destroyers. During the same year the 28th Tank Squadrons Group "Cavalleggeri di Treviso" and the 120th Self-propelled Field Artillery Group "Po" were disbanded on 31 March 1991, and replaced by the 2nd Mechanized Squadrons Group "Piemonte Cavalleria" and the 8th Self-propelled Field Artillery Group "Pasubio", which arrived from the disbanded Mechanized Brigade "Vittorio Veneto" on 31 July 1991. At the same time the battalions, groups, and squadrons groups of the army were allowed to return to use their traditional regimental names and so by the end of 1991 the "Pozzuolo del Friuli" brigade consisted of the following units:

After the Cold War

In January 1997 the brigade lost the 84th Infantry (Recruits Training) Battalion "Venezia" and on 1 December 2000 the brigade received the Lagunari Regiment "Serenissima" in Venice and the 3rd Engineer Regiment in Udine from the disbanding Projection Forces Command.[2] On 30 September 2001 the brigade disbanded the 8th Self-propelled Field Artillery Regiment, whose name was given to 11th Self-propelled Field Artillery Regiment "Teramo" of the Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi" on 1 October 2001. As replacement the brigade received the 52nd Self-propelled Artillery Regiment "Torino" in Vercelli from the disbanding Armored Brigade "Centauro" on 1 January 2002.[2] On 31 December 2004 the 52nd Self-propelled Artillery Regiment with its heavy tracked M109 howitzers left the brigade and was replaced on 1 January 2005 by the Horse Artillery Regiment "Volòire" in Milan, which fielded lighter FH-70 towed howitzers.

From 24 May until 5 September 2004 the brigade was the first Italian unit deployed to Iraq as part of the Multi-National Force – Iraq. The brigade has been deployed five times to Lebanon as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.[2]

2013 reform

In 2013 the army decided to reduce its strength by two brigades. As part of this reform the "Pozzuolo del Friuli" was scheduled to merge with the Airmobile Brigade "Friuli". In preparation for the merger two of the Pozzuolo del Friuli's cavalry regiments were transferred to other brigades. However the reform was stopped and the disbandment of the brigade never implemented. The changes to the brigade's structure and changes of the structure in 2013 were as follows:

Current structure
Structure of the brigade 2019 (click to enlarge)
"Pozzuolo del Friuli" units in 2019

As of June 2019 the brigade is structured as follows:

All regiments are battalion sized.

National Sea Projection Capability

The "Pozzuolo del Friuli" forms with the Italian navy's 3rd Naval Division, and San Marco Marine Brigade the Italian military's National Sea Projection Capability (Forza di proiezione dal mare). The following units of the brigade are earmarked for the National Sea Projection Capability:

Equipment

The "Genova Cavalleria" regiment is equipped with Centauro tank destroyers and Lince light multirole vehicles. The Lagunari regiment is equipped with AAV7-A1 amphibious assault vehicles and Lince vehicles; the regiment's maneuver support company is equipped with 120mm mortars and Spike anti-tank guided missile systems. In the near future the army plans to replace the AAV7-A1 with Amphibious Combat Vehicles. The artillery regiment of the brigade fields 18x FH-70 towed howitzers.[18]

Gorget patches
Main article: Italian Army gorget patches

The personnel of the brigade's units wears the following gorget patches:[19]

References
  1. "Brigata di Cavalleria "Pozzuolo del Friuli"". Italian Army. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  2. "Brigata di Cavalleria "Pozzuolo del Friuli" - La Storia". Italian Army. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  3. "La battaglia di Pozzuolo del Friuli". Italian Army. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  4. "Brigata Bergamo" (PDF). Italian Army WWI brigade history. Italian Army. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  5. "Carlo Castelnuovo delle Lanze". Quirinale - Presidenza della Repubblica. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  6. "Ettore Laiolo". Quirinale - Presidenza della Repubblica. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  7. F. dell'Uomo, R. Puletti (1998). L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000 - Vol. Primo - Tomo I. Rome: SME - Ufficio Storico. p. 104.
  8. F. dell'Uomo, R. Puletti (1998). L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000 - Vol. Primo - Tomo II. Rome: SME - Ufficio Storico. p. 28.
  9. "La Cavalleria nel dopoguerra". Associazione Nazionale Arma di Cavalleria. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  10. F. dell'Uomo, R. Puletti (1998). L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000 - Vol. Primo - Tomo II. Rome: SME - Ufficio Storico. p. 41.
  11. F. dell'Uomo, R. Puletti (1998). L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000 - Vol. Primo - Tomo II. Rome: SME - Ufficio Storico. p. 106.
  12. Cerbo, Giovanni (1996). L'Aviazione dell'Esercito - Dalle origini ai giorni nostri. Rome: Rivista Militare. p. 76. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  13. F. dell'Uomo, R. Puletti (1998). L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000 - Vol. Primo - Tomo I. Rome: SME - Ufficio Storico. p. 104.
  14. F. dell'Uomo, R. Puletti (1998). L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000 - Vol. Primo - Tomo I. Rome: SME - Ufficio Storico. p. 211.
  15. F. dell'Uomo, R. Puletti (1998). L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000 - Vol. Primo - Tomo II. Rome: SME - Ufficio Storico. p. 41.
  16. F. dell'Uomo, R. Puletti (1998). L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000 - Vol. Primo - Tomo II. Rome: SME - Ufficio Storico. p. 46.
  17. "8° Reggimento Artiglieria Terrestre "Pasubio" - La Storia". Esercito Italiano. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  18. "Obice da 155/39 FH-70". Esercito Italiano. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  19. "Brigata di Cavalleria "Pozzuolo del Friuli"". Italian Army. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
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