6th Bersaglieri Regiment

6th Bersaglieri Regiment
6° Reggimento bersaglieri
Regimental coat of arms
Active16 April 1861 — 30 Dec. 1865
1 Jan. 1871 — 8 Sept. 1943
30 Oct. 1975 — 31 May 1991
16 Sept. 1992 — today
Country Italy
BranchItalian Army
Part ofMechanized Brigade "Aosta"
Garrison/HQTrapani
Motto(s)"...e vincere bisogna"
Anniversaries18 June 1836
Decorations
2x Military Order of Italy[1]
2x Gold Medals of Military Valor[2][3]
4x Bronze Medals of Military Valor
1x Silver Medal of Army Valor[4][5]
Insignia
Bersaglieri gorget patches

The 6th Bersaglieri Regiment (Italian: 6° Reggimento Bersaglieri) is an active unit of the Italian Army based in Trapani in Sicily. The regiment is part of the army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality and operationally assigned to the Mechanized Brigade "Aosta".[6] The regiment was formed in 1861 by the Royal Italian Army with preexisting battalions. During World War I the regiment formed together with the 12th Bersaglieri Regiment the I Bersaglieri Brigade, which served on the Italian front.[7][8]

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][5][7][8] In 1976 the regiment's flag and traditions were assigned to the 6th Bersaglieri Battalion "Palestro", which had become an autonomous unit on 30 October 1975. In 1989 the battalion was reduced to a reserve unit, which was disbanded in 1991. In 1992 the battalion was reformed by renaming the 10th Bersaglieri Battalion "Bezzecca". Afterwards the battalion joined the reformed regiment. In 2005 the 12th Bersaglieri Regiment in Trapani was redesignated as 6th Bersaglieri Regiment. The regiment's anniversary falls, as for all Bersaglieri units, on 18 June 1836, the day the Bersaglieri speciality was founded.[6][7][8]

  1. ^ "6° Reggimento Bersaglieri". President of Italy. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b "6° Reggimento Bersaglieri". President of Italy. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b "6° Reggimento Bersaglieri". President of Italy. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  4. ^ "6° Reggimento Bersaglieri". President of Italy. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  5. ^ a b "6° Reggimento Bersaglieri - Il Medagliere". Italian Army. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  6. ^ a b "6° Reggimento Bersaglieri". Italian Army. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  7. ^ a b c "6° Reggimento Bersaglieri — La Storia". Italian Army. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  8. ^ a b c F. dell'Uomo, R. Puletti (1998). L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000 - Vol. Primo - Tomo I. Rome: SME - Ufficio Storico. p. 419.