Brescia Mechanized Brigade

Brigata Meccanizzata Brescia
Coat of Arms of the Mechanized Brigade Brescia
Active	1 November 1859 – 1939 21 October 1975 – 27 July 1991
Country	Kingdom of Italy
Branch	Italian Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Armored warfare
Part of	1975–1986 Mantova Mechnaized Division 1986–1991 3rd Army Corps
Garrison/HQ	Brescia
Engagements	World War I World War II Cold War

The Brescia Mechanized Brigade was an mechanized brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units were mechanized Infantry battalions. The brigades headquarter was in the city of Brescia.

History

Constitution

The Brescia Brigade was formed with the 19th and 20th infantry regiments on 1 November 1859 in Bergamo. Along with the Cremona Brigade in Brescia and the 6th Field Artillery Regiment it formed the 6th Division of the Line. The brigade along with the Valtellina Brigade formed the 5th Division of the Line in the Third Italian War of Independence, where it fought in the Battle of Custoza. The brigade participated in the Capture of Rome and then saw service in the Italian colonial wars: the First Italo-Ethiopian War and the Italo-Turkish War.

World War I

During World War I the brigade fought on the Italian Front and was awarded the Military Order of Italy for its conduct during the Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo on the Banjšice Plateau. In 1918 the brigade was sent to Western Front in France and fought there in the last allied offensive of the war. At the end of the war the brigade had reached Rimogne.

World War II

In 1926 the brigade received the 16th Infantry Regiment Savona and became the infantry component of the 27th Infantry Division Sila. The same year the brigade was renamed as XXVII Infantry Brigade. In 1935-36 the brigade was employed in Ethiopia during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.

In 1939 the brigade lost the 16th Infantry Regiment Savona and was renamed 27th Infantry Division Brescia. This binary division consisted of only two infantry regiments (19th and 20th) and the 55th Field Artillery Regiment. The division participated in the Western Desert Campaign, distinguishing itself during the Siege of Tobruk. The division was completely destroyed during the Second Battle of El Alamein.

Cold War

The brigade was activated again during a major reorganization of the Italian Army: in 1975 the regiment level was abolished and battalions came under direct command of newly formed brigades, which combined units from different arms. On 21 October 1975 the Brescia Mechanized Brigade and the Isonzo Mechanized Brigade were activated from disbanded regiments of the Mantova Infantry Division. The division was augmented with the Pozzuolo del Friuli Armored Brigade to full mechanized division.

The Mantova Mechnaized Division was part of the 5th Army Corps based in North-Eastern Italy. The 5th Army Corps was tasked with defending the Italian-Yugoslavian border against possible attacks by either the Warsaw Pact, or Yugoslavia or both. The brigade’s authorized strength was 4,760 men (272 Officers, 630 non-commissioned officers and 3,858 soldiers) and it was initially composed by the following units:

• Brescia Command and Signal Battalion, in Brescia
• 13th Tank Battalion M.O. Pascucci, in Cordenons, (lost on 1 October 1986 to the Ariete Armored Brigade; Leopard 1A2 Main battle tanks)
• 20th Mechanized Infantry Battalion Monte San Michele, in Brescia, (VCC-1 Armoured personnel carriers)
• 30th Mechanized Infantry Battalion Pisa, in Montorio Veronese, (VCC-1 Armoured personnel carriers)
• 85th Mechanized Infantry Battalion Verona, in Montorio Veronese, (VCC-1 Armoured personnel carriers)
• 52nd Self-propelled Field Artillery Group Venaria, in Brescia, (M114 howitzers)
• Brescia Logistic Battalion, in Montorio Veronese
• Brescia Anti-tank Company, in Montorio Veronese
• Brescia Engineer Company, in Montorio Veronese

On 1 October 1986 the Italian Army abolished the divisional level and brigades, that until then had been under one of the Armys four divisions, came forthwith under direct command of the Armys 3rd and 5th Army Corps. The Brescia along with the Trieste Mechanized Brigade came under the 3rd Army Corps.

After the end of the Cold War the Italian Army began to draw down its forces and the Brescia was one of the first brigades to be disbanded. On 27 July 1991 the brigade was officially deactivated along with most of its subordinate units. The only remaining unit, the 52nd Field Artillery Group joined the Legnano Mechanized Brigade.

References

Bibliography