2nd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna"

Grenadiers in historical uniform during the mass in memory of Don Alberto Genovese on 18 February 2016

On 10 July 1744 King Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia, while on a visit to the island of Sardinia, granted his consent to the request of the Sardinian nobleman Don Bernardino Antonio Genovese, Duke of San Pietro to levy on his expense an infantry regiment in Sardinia for service in the War of the Austrian Succession. On 13 July the formation of the Regiment of Sardinia (Italian: Reggimento di Sardegna) commenced. The regiment consisted of 700 men in ten companies and was led by Don Bernardino Antonio Genovese as its first Colonel.[3][1][4]

In 1745 the regiment participated in the siege of Asti and in 1746 the regiment fought at Ventimiglia. After the war concluded in 1748 the regiment returned to Sardinia, where it was reduced to the size of a battalion. In 1759 Don Bernardino Antonio Genovese resigned from his position as Colonel of the regiment. In 1775 the regiment returned to full strength.[4] In 1776 Don Alberto Genovese, the son of Don Bernardino Antonio Genovese, donated 120,000 Piedmontese scudo to the regiment for the establishment and subsequent maintenance of the regimental band, as well as to help the widows of fallen soldiers. He also requested that the regiment celebrate in perpetuity a holy mass in his memory on the anniversary of his death, a request the regiment has fulfilled on every 18 February since 1776.[6][7]

In 1792 King Victor Amadeus III joined the War of the First Coalition against the French Republic. From 1792 to 1796 the regiment fought against the French Army of Italy. In March 1796 Napoleon Bonaparte arrived in Italy and took command of the French forces, with which he defeated the Royal Sardinian Army in the Montenotte campaign within a month.[1][8]

After the Sardinian defeat the regiment was sent to Sardinia to garrison the island, which the French had already tried and failed to occupy in 1792-93. In fall 1798 France invaded Piedmont and on 6 December 1798 French forces occupied Turin. On 8 December 1798 King Charles Emmanuel IV was forced to sign a document of abdication, which also ordered his former subjects to recognise French laws and his troops to obey the orders of the French Army. Charles Emmanuel IV went into exile on Sardinia, while his former territories became the Piedmontese Republic. On 9 December 1798 all Sardinian troops were released from their oath of allegiance to the King and sworn to the Piedmontese Republic, with the exception of the Regiment of Sardinia, which escaped that fate as it was out of reach of the French Army.[1][4]

On 11 April 1814 Napoleon abdicated and on 20 May 1814 King Victor Emmanuel I returned from exile in Sardinia to Turin. In April 1816 the regiment was renamed Hunter Guards Regiment (Italian: Reggimento Cacciatori Guardie) and consisted of two battalions of Sardinian volunteers.[1][4]

Italian grenadier with the bearskin cap introduced in 1834

On 25 October 1831 King Charles Albert reformed his army and all infantry brigades divided their battalions into two regiments. However, as the Grenadier Guards Brigade was too small to split into two regiments the brigade was reorganized, with the battalions of the brigade forming the 1st Grenadiers Regiment (Guards Brigade), which was joined in the brigade by the Hunter Guards Regiment, which was renamed 2nd Hunters Regiment (Guards Brigade).[1][4][8] The 1st Grenadiers Regiment consisted of a depot and two battalions, with five grenadier companies and one guard company per battalion, while the 2nd Hunters Regiment consisted of a depot in Sardinia and two battalions, with five hunter companies and one Carabinieri company per battalion.[4] By 1839 the 1st Grenadiers Regiment had grown to four battalions and a depot battalion, while the 2nd Hunters Regiment had grown to three battalions and a depot battalion. As the 2nd Hunters Regiment had its roots in Sardinia, the depot battalion and one of its regular battalions were based on the island, while the other two battalions were based in Piedmont.[1][4][8]

On 23 March 1848 the First Italian War of Independence began and the Guards Brigade formed two regiments for the war: the 1st Grenadiers Regiment, which consisted of the I and III grenadier battalions and the I Hunters Battalion; and the 2nd Grenadiers Regiment, which consisted of the II and IV grenadier battalions and the II Hunters Battalion. In this form the brigade fought in 1848 in the battles of Pastrengo, Santa Lucia, Goito, Sommacampagna, Staffalo, Custoza, and Milan. On 14 October 1848 the brigade was reorganized and now consisted of the following units:[1][4][8]

• Guards Brigade
  • 1st Grenadiers Regiment (I and III Grenadier battalions)
  • 2nd Grenadiers Regiment (II and IV Grenadier battalions)
  • 1st Hunters Regiment (I and II Hunter battalions)

On 6 February 1849 both grenadiers regiments added a third battalion and on 10 February the Provisional Grenadier Guards Regiment was formed, which consisted of the freshly levied I and II Provisional Grenadier Guards battalions. On 11 March 1849 this regiment was renamed 3rd Grenadier Guards Regiment.[1][4][8]

In 1849 the Guards Brigade fought in the battles of Mortara and Novara. After the Sardinian defeat in the war the 3rd Grenadiers Regiment was disbanded and on 12 October 1849 the 1st Grenadiers Regiment and 2nd Grenadiers Regiment were reduced to a staff and two battalions each, with four grenadiers and one guard company per battalion. On 20 April 1850 the 1st Hunters Regiment left the brigade and was renamed Hunters Regiment of Sardinia (Italian: Reggimento Cacciatori di Sardegna). On the same date the Guards Brigade was renamed Grenadiers Brigade.[1][4][8]

On 16 March 1852 the Hunters Regiment of Sardinia was disbanded and its battalions merged into the two regiments of the Grenadiers Brigade, which was renamed on the same date Grenadiers of Sardinia Brigade (Italian: Brigata Granatieri di Sardegna), while the traditions of the Hunters Regiment of Sardinia were assigned to the 2nd Grenadiers Regiment. Both grenadier regiments of the brigade consisted now of a staff and four battalions, with each battalion fielding four companies.[1][4][8][9]

In 1855 the regiment's 1st, 5th, 9th, and 13th company were used to form the II Battalion of the 1st Provisional Regiment of the Sardinian expeditionary corps, which fought in the Crimean War and distinguished itself on 16 August 1855 in the Battle of the Chernaya.[1][4][8]

On 26 April 1859 the Second Italian War of Independence began and the brigade fought in the Battle of Solferino and the Battle of Peschiera. On 12 July 1859 the war ended with the Armistice of Villafranca, which included the transfer of Lombardy from the Austrian Empire to the Second French Empire and then onward to the Kingdom of Sardinia. On 1 November 1859 the 1st Grenadiers Regiment (Grenadiers of Sardinia Brigade) ceded its II and IV Battalion to help form the 3rd Grenadiers Regiment (Grenadiers of Lombardy Brigade) and the 2nd Grenadiers Regiment (Grenadiers of Sardinia Brigade) ceded its II and IV Battalion to help form the 4th Grenadiers Regiment (Grenadiers of Lombardy Brigade). On 5 November of the same year the two regiments of the Grenadiers of Sardinia Brigade reformed their two ceded battalions and all four grenadier regiments consisted now of four battalions.[1][4][8]

In the 1860-1861 the brigade participated in the campaign in central and southern Italy and fought in the Battle of Perugia, the Siege of Ancona, the Battle of Mola, and the Siege of Gaeta. For its conduct in the Battle of Perugia and its conduct in the Battle of Mola the 2nd Grenadiers Regiment was awarded two Silver Medals of Military Valour.[1]

On 27 January 1861 the Kingdom of Sardinia annexed the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and on 17 March of the same year the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy was issued. On 16 April 1861 the two grenadier regiments of the Grenadiers of Sardinia Brigade ceded their IV battalions to help form the 5th Grenadiers Regiment (Grenadiers of Naples Brigade), while on the same date the two grenadier regiments of the Grenadiers of Lombardy Brigade ceded their IV battalions to help form the 6th Grenadiers Regiment (Grenadiers of Naples Brigade). All six grenadier regiments consisted of a staff and three battalions, with six grenadier companies per battalion.[1][4][8]

On 1 August 1862 the 1st, 3rd, and 5th grenadier regiments ceded their 17th and 18th companies to help form the 7th Grenadiers Regiment (Grenadiers of Tuscany Brigade), while on the same date the 2nd, 4th, and 6th grenadier regiments ceded their 17th and 18th companies to help form the 8th Grenadiers Regiment (Grenadiers of Tuscany Brigade). All eight grenadier regiments consisted of a staff and three battalions, with six grenadier companies per battalion.[1][4][8]

In 1861-65 the 2nd Grenadiers Regiment operated in southern Italy to suppress the anti-Sardinian revolt that resisted the annexation of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies.[1]

In 1866 the regiment participated in the Third Italian War of Independence and fought in the Battle of Custoza.[1][8]

On 5 March 1871 all Royal Italian Army infantry regiments were reorganized and now consisted of a staff company, a depot company, and three battalions, with four companies per battalion. On 1 April 1871 the six grenadier regiments of the Grenadiers of Lombardy, Grenadiers of Naples, and Grenadiers of Tuscany brigades were transferred to the line infantry. On 15 October of the same year the brigade level was abolished and the two grenadier regiments of the Grenadiers of Sardinia Brigade were renamed 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" respectively 2nd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna".[1][4][8]

On 2 January 1881 the brigade level was reintroduced and the two regiments were renamed again as 1st Grenadiers Regiment (Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna") and 2nd Grenadiers Regiment (Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna").[1][4][8]

In 1895-96 the regiment provided 18 officers and 446 enlisted for units deployed to Italian Eritrea for the First Italo-Ethiopian War.[1][8]

In 1911 the regiment's III Battalion was deployed to Libya for the Italo-Turkish War. On 26 November 1911 the battalion fought at Henni Mesri, on 4 December in the Battle of Ain Zara, and then at Bir Tobras. On 28 January 1912 the battalion fought another battle at Ain Zara and from 26 to 28 June it participated in the occupation of Sidi Said.[1]

At the outbreak of World War I the regiment consisted of three battalions, each of which fielded four fusiliers companies and one machine gun section. After Italy's entry into the war on 23 May 1915 the Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna" was deployed, as per tradition, on the extreme right of the Italian front at Monfalcone on the shores of the Adriatic Sea. In June and July 1915 the brigade participated in the First Battle of the Isonzo and in the Second Battle of the Isonzo in the Monfalcone sector. In October of the same year the brigade was transferred to the Monte Sabotino sector, where it fought in the Third Battle of the Isonzo. In November the brigade fought in the Fourth Battle of the Isonzo in the Oslavia area.[1][10]

In May 1916 the brigade was transferred to the Sette Comuni plateau to reinforce Italian units under heavy attack by Austro-Hungarian forces during the Battle of Asiago. From 29 May to 3 June the brigade strenuously defended Monte Cengio against a series of ferocious Austro-Hungarian attacks. On 4 June the remnants of the brigade were ordered to fall back to the Italian positions on Monte Pau. On 7 June the survivors of the brigade were relieved from the front and merged into a single battalion. The defense of Monte Cengio had cost the brigade 4,615 casualties out of approximately 6,000 men the brigade fielded when it arrived on the Sette Comuni Plateau.[1][10]

After being reformed in the rear the brigade was back at the front in August 1916 for the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo. This time the brigade fought on the Karst plateau on Monte San Michele. In September of the same year the brigade fought in the Seventh Battle of the Isonzo in the area of Fornaza, with the 2nd Regiment deployed on the slopes of the Veliki Hribach. On 28 December 1916 the two regiments of the brigade were both awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valour for their conduct during the first two years of the war.[1][10]

In May and June 1917 the brigade fought in Tenth Battle of the Isonzo on the Karst plateau and suffered 3,201 casualties in futile attempts to conquer Austro-Hungarian positions. In August of the same year the brigade fought in the Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo on the area of Opatje Selo. After the Italian defeat in the Battle of Caporetto the brigade covered the Italian retreat to the Piave river, suffering another 2,895 casualties during the retreat.[1][10]

In June 1918 the brigade was kept in reserve during the Second Battle of the Piave River, but on 2 July the brigade was ordered to cross the old Piave river and drive the Austro-Hungarian forces back over the new Piave river in the area of Musile di Piave. By 7 July the Italian forces had succeeded to push back the enemy lines, with the grenadiers suffering another 954 casualties. In November 1918, after the Austro-Hungarian forces had been routed in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, the brigade advanced to the Livenza river and from there to the bridges at Latisana. For their conduct on Monte Cengio and at Fornaza the two grenadier regiments were both awarded a Gold Medal of Military Valour after the war.[1][10][11][12]

After the war the two regiments were reduced to two battalions per regiment, with three grenadier companies and one machine gunners company per battalion.[4] On 31 October 1926 the Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna" was renamed XXI Infantry Brigade. On the same date the brigade's two regiments were renamed 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna", respectively 2nd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna". The XXI Infantry Brigade was the infantry component of the 21st Territorial Division of Rome. As infantry brigades formed in 1926 consisted of three regiments on 4 November the 3rd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" was formed in Viterbo. The new regiment's I Battalion and depot were formed with personnel ceded by the 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna", while the II Battalion and the new regiment's command were formed with personnel ceded by the 2nd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna". All three grenadier regiments consisted of a command, a command company, two grenadier battalions, and a depot.[3][1][4][13][5]

On 6 February 1934 the 21st Territorial Division of Rome changed its name to Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna". In 1935-36 the regiment contributed 14 officers and 346 enlisted for units, which were deployed to East Africa for the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.[1] After the war the regimental depot of the 2nd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" in Rome formed the 11th Regiment "Granatieri di Savoia", which was mustered on 12 October 1936 and assigned to the 65th Infantry Division "Granatieri di Savoia" on 26 October 1936. The division was then transferred to Italian occupied Ethiopia.[14][15]

On 6 April 1939 a provisional regiment with elements from all three grenadier regiments was formed for the Italian invasion of Albania. In the night from 7 to 8 April a battalion of that regiment was airlifted to Tirana with the rest of the provisional regiment following by sea a few days later. As the Royal Italian Army reorganized its divisions as binary divisions the 3rd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" left the Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna" and became an autonomous unit. On 25 July 1939 the 3rd Regiment moved from Viterbo to Tirana, where it replaced the provisional regiment, which was repatriated and disbanded in Rome on 28 July.[1][5]

At the outbreak of World War II the regiment consisted of a command, a command company, three grenadier battalions, a support weapons battery equipped with 65/17 infantry support guns, and a mortar company equipped with 81mm Mod. 35 mortars. In June 1940 during the invasion of France the division was in the reserve and not involved in any operations.[1][5]

In May 1941 the division was transferred to occupied Yugoslavia, where it remained on anti-partisan duty until the second half of November 1942, when it returned to Rome to defend the city in case of an Allied attack.[1][5]

After the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943 the division, together with the 12th Infantry Division "Sassari" and the Armored Reconnaissance Grouping "Lancieri di Montebello" (8th) defended Rome against invading German forces. On 10 September the Granatieri, Lancieri di Montebello, remnants of the Sassari and hundreds of civilians fell back to Porta San Paolo for a last stand. By 17:00 the Germans broke the line of the Italian defenders, who had suffered 570 dead. Soon after the units surrendered to the Germans as the flight of the Italian King Victor Emmanuel III from Rome made further resistance senseless. The division and its regiments were declared lost due to wartime events on 10 September 1943.[1][5]

For their role in the defence of the Rome the 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" and the "Lancieri di Montebello" were each awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valour, while the 2nd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" was awarded a Bronze Medal of Military Valour.[1]

During the war the depots of the two grenadier regiments in Rome formed the following autonomous units:[1]

• IV Truck-transported Anti-tank Battalion, equipped with 47/32 anti-tank guns
• XXXII Truck-transported Anti-tank Battalion, equipped with 47/32 anti-tank guns
• 21st Anti-tank Cannons Company, equipped with 47/32 anti-tank guns
• 121st Anti-tank Cannons Company, equipped with 47/32 anti-tank guns
• 203rd, 204th, and 205th anti-aircraft companies
• II Replacements Battalion
• Special Grouping "Granatieri di Sardegna"

The IV Truck-transported Anti-tank Battalion consisted of three anti-tank cannons companies and was transferred in December 1941 to North Africa for the Western Desert Campaign. On 13 January 1942 the battalion arrived in Tripolitania and was assigned to the 132nd Armored Division "Ariete". After the Axis defeat in the Second Battle of El Alamein the survivors of the battalion retreated to Tunisia, where the battalion was assigned to the 66th Infantry Regiment "Trieste" of the 101st Motorized Division "Trieste" for the Tunisian Campaign. The 21st Anti-tank Cannons Company was also transferred to North Africa and served in the Tunisian Campaign. Both units were lost when Axis forces in North Africa surrendered on 13 May 1943.[1]

The XXXII Truck-transported Anti-tank Battalion consisted of three anti-tank cannons companies and was, together with the 121st Anti-tank Cannons Company, assigned to the Italian Army in Russia/8th Army and sent in 1942 to the Eastern Front. The XXXII Truck-transported Anti-tank Battalion was initially assigned to the 5th Infantry Division "Cosseria" and then the 3rd Infantry Division "Ravenna", while the 121st Anti-tank Cannons Company was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division "Sforzesca". Both units were destroyed during on the Don river during the Soviet Operation Little Saturn in December 1942 and the Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh offensive, which began on 13 Januar 1943.[1]

The three anti-aircraft companies were deployed in Sicily to guard rail installations: the 203rd in Palermo, the 204th in Syracuse, and the 205th in Agrigento. All three companies were destroyed during the Allied invasion of Sicily. The II Replacements Battalion remained in Yugoslavia when the 21st Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna" returned to Rome. The battalion was disbanded by German forces after the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile.[1]

The Special Grouping "Granatieri di Sardegna" consisted of three grenadier battalions, which were deployed to Sardinia (I and II battalions) and occupied Corsica (III Battalion).[1]

After the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile the Special Grouping "Granatieri di Sardegna" remained loyal to King Victor Emmanuel III and joined the Italian Co-belligerent Army. On 15 May 1944 the Special Grouping "Granatieri di Sardegna" was reorganized as Grenadiers Division and the battalions of the grouping were used form the 1st Grenadiers Regiment and the 2nd Grenadiers Regiment. The division also included the 32nd Tank Infantry Regiment, 132nd Tank Infantry Regiment, 553rd Artillery Regiment, and 548th Artillery Regiment.[1]

On 11 August 1944 the 2nd Grenadiers Regiment moved from Sardinia to Afragola in southern Italy and was assigned to the Division "Friuli". On 31 August the regiment was disbanded and its personnel formed a grenadiers battalion, which was inserted into the 88th Infantry Regiment "Friuli" as the regiment's III Battalion.[1] On 20 September 1944 the division was as reorganized as Combat Group "Friuli" and received British weapons, uniforms and materiel. On 5 February 1945 the Friuli entered combat and served for the remainder of the war in the Italian campaign.[16]

On 1 July 1946 the 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" was reformed in Rome and on 1 April 1948 assigned to the Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna". During the 1975 army reform the Italian Army disbanded the regimental level and newly independent battalions were granted for the first time their own flags. On 31 August 1975 the I Battalion of the 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" was renamed 1st Grenadiers Battalion "Assietta", while the regiment's II Battalion was renamed 2nd Grenadiers Battalion "Cengio". On 30 September 1975 the 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" and the regiment's III and IV battalions were disbanded. The next day the 1st Grenadiers Battalion "Assietta" was renamed 1st Mechanized Grenadiers Battalion "Assietta" and assigned the flag and traditions of the 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna", while the 2nd Grenadiers Battalion "Cengio" was renamed 2nd Mechanized Grenadiers Battalion "Cengio" and assigned the flag and traditions of the 2nd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna". The two battalions consisted of a command, a command and services company, three mechanized companies with M113 armored personnel carriers, and a heavy mortar company with M106 mortar carriers with 120mm Mod. 63 mortars.[3][1][17] On 1 November 1976 the Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna" was reorganized as Mechanized Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna" and both battalions were assigned to the brigade.[1]

For its conduct and work after the 1980 Irpinia earthquake the battalion was awarded a Bronze Medal of Army Valour, which was affixed to the battalion's flag.[1][18]

The regiment's flag arrives at the reactivation ceremony

On 18 October 1992 the 2nd Mechanized Grenadiers Battalion "Cengio" lost its autonomy and the next day the battalion entered the reformed 2nd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" as Grenadiers Battalion "Cengio". From 9 October 1993 to 30 January 1994 one company of the regiment participated in the United Nations Operation in Somalia II.[1]

On 29 October 2002 the 2nd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" was disbanded and its remaining companies assigned to the 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" as detachment in Spoleto. On 21 November 2017 these companies were used to reform the 2nd Grenadiers Battalion "Cengio" in Spoleto, which remained assigned to the 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna". On the same date the Grenadiers Battalion "Assietta" was renamed 1st Grenadiers Battalion "Assietta". On 31 August 2022 the 2nd Grenadiers Battalion "Cengio" left the regiment and the next day the 2nd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" was reformed.[2][3]