Regiment "Lancieri di Firenze" (9th)

The Regiment "Lancieri di Firenze" (9th) (Italian: Reggimento "Lancieri di Firenze" (9°) - "Lancers of Florence") is an inactive cavalry regiment of the Tuscan Army and the Italian Army.

Regiment "Lancieri di Firenze" (9th)
Reggimento "Lancieri di Firenze" (9°)
Regimental coat of arms
Active	12 September 1753 - 1799 1 June 1814 - 8 September 1943 21 June 1951 - 31 December 1958 1 October 1975 - 7 October 1995[1][2]
Country	Italy
Branch	Italian Army
Part of	Mechanized Brigade "Friuli"
Garrison/HQ	Grosseto
Motto(s)	"Con l'animo che vince ogni battaglia"[1]
Anniversaries	30 October 1918 - Battle of Vittorio Veneto[1]
Decorations	2x Bronze Medals of Military Valour 1x Bronze Medal of Army Valour[1]
Insignia
"Lancieri di Firenze" gorget patches

History

Lancieri di Firenze lancers at Ponte di Versa 1866

The regiment was raised on 12 September 1753 as Corps of Tuscan Dragoons (Italian: Corpo di Dragoni Toscani) by Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, who had inherited the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in 1737. The regiment was disbanded after France occupied Tuscany in 1799 and restored after the French occupation ended in 1814. When the Kingdom of Sardinia annexed United Provinces of Central Italy and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies after the Second Italian War of Independence the Tuscan Dragoon Regiment became the only regiment from all annexed states to be integrated in the Italian Army.[3]

The regiment served in the Third Italian War of Independence during which it earned a Bronze Medal of Military Valour in the Battle of Ponte di Versa on 26 July 1866.[3]

During World War I the regiment served on the Italian front, earning its second Bronze Medal of Military Valour for its conduct during the decisive Battle of Vittorio Veneto in 1918.[3][1]

During World War II the regiment was part of the 2nd Fast Division "Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro" and served in annexed Albania, occupied Greece, and occupied Yugoslavia, where it dissolved around 8 September 1943 after Italy had changed sides with the Armistice of Cassibile.[3]

On 21 June 1951 the company-sized "Lancieri di Firenze" Armored Cavalry Squadron was raised in Rome. Equipped with M8 Greyhounds it served as the reconnaissance unit of the Armored Division "Pozzuolo del Friuli". In 1956 the Lancieri di Firenze were expanded to squadrons group, but already on 31 December 1958 division and squadrons group were disbanded.[3]

During the 1975 army reform the II Squadrons Group of the Regiment "Piemonte Cavalleria" (2nd) in Sgonico was reorganized and renamed as 9th Tank Squadrons Group "Lancieri di Firenze" on 1 October 1975. Equipped with Leopard 1A2 main battle tanks the squadrons group received the war flag of the Regiment "Lancieri di Firenze" (9th) and joined the Armored Brigade "Vittorio Veneto".

For its conduct and work after the 1976 Friuli earthquake the squadrons group was awarded a Bronze Medal of Army Valour, which was affixed to the battalion's war flag and added to the battalion's coat of arms.[4]

After the end of the Cold War the Italian Army began to draw down its forces and the Vittorio Veneto was one of the first brigades to disband. On 31 July 1991 the brigade was deactivated along with most of its subordinate units and the Lancieri di Firenze moved to Grosseto in Tuscany to join the Mechanized Brigade "Friuli". In 1992 the squadrons group was elevated to regiment without changing size or composition. On 7 October 1995 the Regiment "Lancieri di Firenze" (9th) was renamed Regiment "Savoia Cavalleria" (3rd) and the Lancieri di Firenze's war flag was transferred to the Shrine of the Flags in the Vittoriano in Rome.

See also

• Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli"

References

1. "Le Feste dei Reparti - Ottobre". Italian Army. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
2. Fortunato, Luciano (1997). Cavalleria. Rome: Italian Army - Rivista Militare. p. 31. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
3. "Reggimento "Lancieri di Firenze" (9°)". Museo Storico dell'Arma di Cavalleria. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
4. "9° Gruppo Squadroni "Lancieri di Firenze"". Quirinale - Presidenza della Repubblica. Retrieved 8 December 2019.