| 132^ Divisione (later Brigata) Corazzata "Ariete" 132 Armoured Division "Ariete" |
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Italian 132^Armored Division/Brigade "Ariete" Shoulder Insignia |
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| Active | February 1, 1939 – December 8, 1942 April 1, 1943 – October 1, 1986 (132^Armored Division) October 1, 1986 – present (132^Armored Brigade) |
| Country | Kingdom of Italy (1939 - 1946) Italy (1946 - present) |
| Branch | Italian Army |
| Type | Armoured |
| Size | Division, later Brigade |
| Garrison/HQ | Pordenone, Pietro Mittica Barraks |
| Nickname | Ariete (Ram) |
| Motto | "ferrea mole, ferreo cuore" |
| Colors | blue and red |
| Mascot | Ram Head |
| Engagements | World War II IBIS in Somalia Constant Forge in Bosnia (SFOR) Joint Guardian and Consistent Effort in Kosovo (KFOR) ISAF in Afghanistan Antica Babilonia in Iraq |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Brig.Gen. Salvatore CAMPOREALE |
| Notable commanders |
Pietro Giannattasio Gian Marco Chiarini Roberto Ranucci Paolo Ruggiero Carmelo DE CICCO |
The Ariete Armoured Division was an armoured division of the Italian Army during World War II. It was formed in 1939 as the second armoured division in the Italian Army after the 131 Armoured Division Centauro. The division fought in the North African Campaign until being destroyed during the Second Battle of El Alamein. (The Ariete Armoured Division hero Second Lieutenant Luigi Arbib Pascucci led the remaining tanks in a counterattack against the advancing British armour at Fuka, allowing the German Afrika Korps to escape.[1] Luigi was found dead in his burned-out tank after the counterattack, with the rest of the Ariete Division tanks destroyed. His sacrifice earned him the Gold Medal of Military Valor, Italy's highest military award.)
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The 132 Armoured Division Ariete was formed in Milan in February 1939, it was initially made up of the 8th Bersaglieri motorised infantry regiment, the 32nd tank regiment, equipped with L3/35 light tanks and a few M11/39 medium tanks, the 132nd artillery regiment, and additional divisional support units. The division was moved to the French border at the outbreak of World War II, but was kept in reserve during the short campaign on that front.
Later, some battalions of the 32nd Tank Regiment were sent to Libya on a stop gap basis. The I and II M11/39 medium tank battalions were sent as part of the Maletti Group. The III and V M13/40 medium tank battalions become part of the Special Armored Brigade (Brigata Corazzata Speciale, or BCS). Both the Maletti Group and the BCS were part of the ill-fated 10th Army.
From December 1940 to February 1941, during Operation Compass, the British Western Desert Force overran the 10th Army and occupied the whole of Cyrenaica. The tanks of the Maletti Group were lost in Egypt, while the tanks of the BCS were sacrificed during the break out attempt at Beda Fomm.
After this setback it was decided to employ the whole Ariete Division in North Africa. On 24 January 1941, the first echelons of the division disembarked at Tripoli. From February 1941 to November 1942, the Ariete Division fought alongside the German Africa Corps (Deutsches Afrikakorps, or DAK) in the North Africa campaign. Ariete was attached to the Italian Mobile Corps (Corpo d'Armata di Manovra Italia). This unit was later to become Italian XX Motorised Corps.
In particular, reinforced in 1941 with the 132nd Tank Regiment, which would replace the 32nd Tank Regiment, (disbanded in mid-1942), it took part in the first German – Italian counteroffensive to retake Cyrenaica, and the siege of Tobruk which resulted from this. With this regiment, its battalions equipped with M13/40 and/or M14/41 medium tanks the division fought in the desert of Libya and Egypt during 1941.
On 1 May 1941 the Germans and Italians attacked Tobruk in considerable strength. Their attack pierces the defences, and the Ariete and 8th Bersaglieri capture the R3, R4, R5, R6 and R7 strongpoints,[2][3] On 3 May the Australians launched a counterattack with their 18th Brigade. The counterattack only recaptures one strongpoint from what Australian historian Mark Johnston reported to be Italian defenders.[4] This action is later known as the Battle of the Salient.
During Operation Crusader, the division very successfully defended Bir el Gobi against the British 22nd Armoured Brigade, inflicting heavy losses on the inexperienced British forces. On 23 November, the 15th Panzer Division moved on to attack the 5th South African Brigade defending Sidi Rezegh and that evening, the Ariete with the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment came up in support and the ridge was taken. Nearly 3,400 prisoners were taken in this attack.[5] During 29–30 November, the Ariete and supporting Italian infantry and motorcycle units were responsible for capturing a considerable number of New Zealand, Indian and British troops during the Italo-German counterattacks. Recalling the loss of the 21st New Zealand Infantry Battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Howard Kippenberger, who later rose to command the 2nd New Zealand Division, wrote that, "About 5.30 p.m. damned Italian Motorized Division (Ariete) turned up. They passed with five tanks leading, twenty following, and a huge column of transport and guns, and rolled straight over our infantry on Point 175."[6] When the battle led to the retreat of the Axis forces to the Gazala Line, the Ariete went on the attack. The Italian armoured division, augmented by 23 tanks of the 15th Panzer Division and supported by Bersaglieri motorcycle troops,[7] lost no time in assaulting the pursuing Commonwealth forces. Between them, they overran the 1st Battalion, The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) and part of the 5th Indian Brigade, taking according to one estimate[8] 1,000 prisoners in the counterattack. Nevertheless, the British were able to recover from this setback and the Ariete retreated through the Djebel Mountain towards el Agheila. By this time the division had lost almost all its tanks.
Reinforced again with replacement tanks and M40 75/18mm semoventi assault guns in the V and VI battalions of the 132nd Artillery Regiment, it took part in the second counteroffensive of January 1942, the Gazala battles of May 1942, and the invasion of Egypt that followed.
The Ariete met early success during the Battle of Gazala, when it overran the British-officered 3rd Indian Motor Brigade at Rugbet Al Atasc on 27 May 1942,[9] capturing 1,000 troops.[10] The Ariete then repelled strong British armoured counterattacks on 29 May and went on to repeat the same feat on 5 June 1942.[11]
During the initial phase of the First Battle of El Alamein the Ariete, which had just six or eight tanks and 1,000 men, having just arrived in the positions assigned to it at dawn on the 3rd July 1942 and due to the disorganization caused by enemy air attacks, had been compelled to withdraw after losing 531 men, several artillery batteries and a number of tanks. Rommel's report of the division having been decimated with the loss of 100 tanks was greatly exaggerated.[12][13]
During the Second Battle of El Alamein the Ariete sacrificed its obsolete tanks in the attempt to counter the Allied offensive and cover the withdrawal of the army. On 4 November at about 15:30, the few surviving tanks, surrounded by an overwhelmingly superior enemy, broadcast their last message,[14] quoting:
Then they were destroyed to the last tank. On 6 November 1942, the Germans acknowledged that in the sector allotted to the Ariete " the British were made to pay for their penetration with enormous losses in men and material. The Italians fought to the last man." [15]
On 21 November 1942, the division was disbanded, and its name kept by a task force gathering up its remnants, which kept fighting throughout the retreat and subsequent battle of Tunisia. It was forced to surrender along with the rest of the Axis army in North Africa.
On 1 April 1943, as a tribute it was reconstituted as 135 Ariete II Armoured Cavalry Division, made up of cavalry regiments. The division was located in north eastern Italy, with the following order of battle;
It comprised the following armoured fighting vehicles:
for a total of 247 tank and semoventi plus 50 armoured car.
The division was moved to central Italy following the fall of Benito Mussolini's government and took part to the defence of Rome from 8 to 10 September 1943, counter attacking German Panzergrenadiers and Paratroopers. Because the Headquarters decided to avoid unnecessary sacrifices and losses, the division was ordered to surrender and was then disbanded.
In 1948, it was once again reconstituted at Forte Pietralata in Rome as a brigade, and displayed in Pordenone on 25 July 1949. On 1 October 1952, the brigade was expanded back to division level, formed with the same regiments as the African campaign:
its establishment was completed by
In 1963, Ariete adapted its organization to NATO standards, with the reconstitution of 32nd Armored Regiment later transforming its regiments into brigades (two armoured brigades, one mechanized brigade, one artillery brigade). In September 1968, Brigade HQs were disbanded.
In 1975, following the reorganization of Italian Army, Ariete was reorganized, incorporating the 32nd "Mameli" and 132nd "Manin" Armored Brigades and the 8th "Garibaldi" Mechanized Brigade. It kept this structure until 10 October 1986, when it was downsized to a brigade, its name being taken over by former 132nd "Manin" Armoured Brigade.
In peacetime, during years 1966–1976–1980–1994–1998, Ariete units assisted civilians hit by natural disasters (Vajont, Friuli, Irpinia, Piedmont, Campania), earning several awards. During the same period, some of its units took part in peacekeeping support operations in Lebanon and Somalia, and to domestic support and border control operations. On further modification to its task organization, Ariete acquired its current configuration.
132nd Ariete Armoured Brigade is one of the major formations of the Italian Army, and an active member of its Reaction Forces; it belongs to 1st Operational Command from Vittorio Veneto, and it is attached to 3rd (UK) Division as a part of ACE Rapid Reaction Corps. Its headquarters is located in Pordenone, and the present commander is Brigadier General Salvatore Camporeale.
Today, the brigade is composed of:
All regiments are battalion sized.
Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, the Brigade's HQ, HQ & Tactical Support Battalion and Combat Service Support Battalion was deployed for a tour of duty in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina – 1998), under the provision of the SFOR mandate for Operation Constant Forge, and three times in Kosovo (1999–2000, 2001, 2002) in Operation Joint Guardian, then Operation Consistent Effort, attached to NATO's Kosovo Force.
In 2001, the first enlisted women joined the ranks of some brigade units. These were later followed by female NCOs and Officers, now serving in its ranks in slowly increasing numbers.
In 2002, elements from 10th Combat Engineer Regiment, and in 2004 the 132nd Artillery Regt, took part to Operation Isaf in Afghanistan. A significant part of the brigade was twice deployed to Iraq in early 2004 and late 2005 to early 2006. The latest overseas commitments were two deployments to Lebanon from early October 2007 to Spring 2008, then again in early summer to late Fall 2009. Small contribution of personnel (notably Staff Officers and NCOs have been and are being provided to nearly all commitments overseas of Italian Army, from the Balkans, to Multinational HQs all around the world, including OMLT mentors supporting and advising the Afghan National Army in its struggle against insurgents).
A proposal was made on the Italian Army Magazine to reform the tank regiments, to be equipped with 30x Ariete main battle tanks, 14x Dardo Infantry Fighting Vehicles, 8x Dardo Anti-tank vehicles, 34x Lince Light Multirole vehicles, 6x M106A1 120mm Mortar carriers and 4x M577 Command vehicles. The Bersaglieri regiments were similarly proposed to be fielding 14x Ariete main battle tanks, 28x Dardo Infantry Fighting Vehicles, 8x Dardo Anti-tank vehicles, 41x Lince Light Multirole vehicles, 8x M106A1 120mm Mortar carriers and 4x M577 Command vehicles.[16] However, at the moment, no step have been yet undertaken to implement the aforementioned reform, but the handing over of a number of ARIETE tanks to re-equip GARIBALDI Brigade's 131st tank regiment. The artillery regiment has recently started to be equipped with 18x PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers.