3rd Bersaglieri Regiment | |
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3° Reggimento bersaglieri | |
Active | 16 April 1861 — 12 Sept. 1943 1 July 1946 — today |
Country | Italy |
Branch | Italian Army |
Part of | Mechanized Brigade "Sassari" |
Garrison/HQ | Teulada |
Motto(s) | "Maiora viribus audere" |
Anniversaries | 18 June 1836 |
Decorations | 2x Military Order of Italy 3x Gold Medals of Military Valor[1][2][3] 3x Silver Medals of Military Valor 3x Bronze Medals of Military Valor 1x Silver Medal of Army Valor[4] 1x Bronze Medal of Civil Merit 1x Silver Cross of Army Merit[5][6] |
Insignia | |
Bersaglieri gorget patches |
The 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment (Italian: 3° Reggimento Bersaglieri) is an active unit of the Italian Army based in Teulada in Sardinia. The regiment is part of the army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality and operationally assigned to the Mechanized Brigade "Sassari". The regiment is the highest decorated unit of the Italian Army with three Gold Medals of Military Valor.[7] The regiment was formed in 1861 by the Royal Italian Army with preexisting battalions. During World War I the regiment served on the Italian front.[8][9]
During World War II the regiment was assigned to the 3rd Cavalry Division "Principe Amedeo Duca d'Aosta", with which it served in the Italian campaign in Ukraine and Russia. In winter 1942-43 the regiment suffered heavy casualties during the Soviet Little Saturn and Voronezh–Kharkov offensives. For its valor and sacrifice in the Soviet Union the regiment was awarded two Gold Medals of Military Valor.[2][3][6][8][9] In 1946 the regiment was reformed and in 1951 it was assigned to the Armored Brigade "Centauro". In 1975 the regiment was disbanded and its flag and traditions assigned to the 18th Bersaglieri Battalion "Poggio Scanno". The regiment was reformed in 1992. In 2009 the regiment moved to Sardinia, where it was assigned to the Mechanized Brigade "Sassari". The regiment's anniversary falls, as for all Bersaglieri units, on 18 June 1836, the day the Bersaglieri speciality was founded.[7][8][9]