9th Paratroopers Assault Regiment "Col Moschin"

9th Paratroopers Assault Regiment "Col Moschin"
9° Reggimento d'Assalto Paracadutisti "Col Moschin"
Regimental coat of arms
Active	20 July 1942 — 9 Sept. 1943 1 Oct. 1975 — today
Country	Italy
Branch	Italian Army
Type	Special Forces
Part of	Army Special Forces Command
Garrison/HQ	Livorno
Motto(s)	"Della folgore l'impeto"
Anniversaries	16 June 1918 - Battle of Col Moschin
Decorations	3x Military Order of Italy 3x Silver Medals of Military Valor 1x Gold Medal of Army Valor 1x Silver Medal of Army Valor[1][2][3][4][5]
Insignia
Regimental gorget patches

The 9th Paratroopers Assault Regiment "Col Moschin" (Italian: 9° Reggimento d'Assalto Paracadutisti "Col Moschin") is a Special Forces unit of the Italian Army based in Livorno in Tuscany. The regiment is part of the Italian Army's infantry arm's Paracadutisti speciality and assigned to the Army Special Forces Command for training, preparation, doctrinal and procedural development, and the materiel acquisition. Operationally the regiment falls under the Italian Armed Forces' Joint Special Forces Operations Command. The regiment is the only military unit which has participated in all out-of-area missions of the Italian Army since World War II. The regiment is also the only Italian Army unit to have been awarded the Military Order of Italy thrice.^[6][7][8]

During World War I the Royal Italian Army formed assault units manned by Arditi troops to storm enemy trenches in close combat. One of these units was the IX Assault Unit, which distinguished itself during the Second Battle of the Piave River by retaking the summit of Col Moschin, and during the preparations for the Battle of Vittorio Veneto by taking the summit of Col della Beretta. For these actions the IX Assault Unit was awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valor and, together with all other Royal Italian Army infantry units, a Military Order of Italy. After the war the IX Assault Unit was disbanded. In 1942, during World War II, the Royal Italian Army formed the 10th Arditi Regiment, whose personnel operated behind allies lines in North Africa. In September 1943, after the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile the regiment's I Arditi Battalion, which was based in Sardinia and undertook reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, and sabotage missions in allied held Algeria and Tunisia, joined the Italian Co-belligerent Army. In March 1944, the I Arditi Battalion was renamed IX Assault Unit and one month later, in April 1944, the unit entered the front on the allied side. The IX Assault Unit fought in Italian campaign and was awarded two Silver Medals of Military Valor for its conduct during the campaign. After the war the IX Assault Unit was disbanded.^[6][8]

In 1953, the Italian Army formed a Paratroopers Saboteurs Company, which in 1954 was expanded to Paratroopers Saboteurs Unit. In 1961, the unit was renamed Paratroopers Saboteurs Battalion. In 1963, the battalion was assigned to the Paratroopers Brigade, which in 1967 was renamed Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore". In 1975, the battalion was renamed 9th Paratroopers Assault Battalion "Col Moschin" and assigned the flag and traditions of the 10th Arditi Regiment and the traditions of the IX Assault Unit. In 1995, the battalion lost its autonomy and entered the newly formed 9th Paratroopers Assault Regiment "Col Moschin". In 2014, the regiment was transferred from the Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore" to the newly formed Army Special Forces Command.^[6][8] The regiment's anniversary falls on 16 June 1918, the day the IX Assault Unit retook the Italian positions on the summit of the Col Moschin, which had been lost the day before.^[6][7]