5th Bersaglieri Regiment | |
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5° Reggimento bersaglieri | |
Active | 16 April 1861 - 13 May 1943 15 April 1977 - 30 Dec. 1989 |
Country | Italy |
Branch | Italian Army |
Part of | Armored Division "Ariete" |
Garrison/HQ | Albenga |
Motto(s) | "Nulla via impervia" |
Anniversaries | 18 June 1836 |
Decorations | 1x Military Order of Italy 1x Silver Medal of Military Valor 4x Bronze Medals of Military Valor |
Insignia | |
Bersaglieri gorget patches |
The 5th Bersaglieri Regiment (Italian: 5° Reggimento Bersaglieri) is an inactive unit of the Italian Army last based in Albenga in Liguria. The regiment is part of the Italian Army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality and was last operationally assigned to the Armored Division "Ariete". 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.[1]
During World War II the regiment was assigned to the 131st Armored Division "Centauro", with which it participated in the Greco-Italian War. In November 1942 the division was transferred to Libya for the Western Desert Campaign. After the Axis forces had retreated into Tunisia the division fought in thee Tunisian campaign, during which it was destroyed in May 1943. In 1977 the regiment's flag and traditions were assigned to the 14th Bersaglieri Battalion "Sernaglia", which was a recruits training unit of the Armored Division "Ariete". At the end of the Cold War the 14th Bersaglieri Battalion "Sernaglia" was disbanded on 30 December 1989 and the flag of the 5th Bersaglieri Regiment transferred to the Shrine of the Flags in the Vittoriano in Rome. The regiment's anniversary falls, as for all Bersaglieri units, on 18 June 1836, the day the Bersaglieri speciality was founded.[1]