Cremona Motorized Brigade

This article is about the historic Italian Army Cremona Motorized Brigade. For the World War II Italian Division, see 44th Infantry Division Cremona.

Brigata Motorizzata Cremona
160px Coat of Arms of the Cremona Motorized Brigade
Active	29 August 1859 - 1926 30 October 1975 - 15 November 1996
Country	Italy
Branch	Italian Army
Type	Infantry
Part of	3rd Army Corps
Garrison/HQ	Turin

The Cremona Motorized Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Italian Army. The brigade's headquarters was in the city of Turin. The brigade carried on the name and traditions of the 44th Infantry Division Cremona.

History

Constitution

The Cremona Brigade was formed with the 21st and 22nd infantry regiments on 29 August 1859 in Genoa. Along with the Brescia Brigade in Bergamo and the 6th Field Artillery Regiment it formed the 6th Division of the Line. The brigade was quickly sent to Southern Italy to suppress the popular revolt of the peasant population against the annexation of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies into the new Kingdom of Italy.

During the Third Italian War of Independence the brigade participated in General Enrico Cialdinis march from the lower Po river to Isonzo river in July 1866.

World War I

At the outbreak of hostilities between Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire in 1915 the Cremona along with the Friuli Brigade formed the 16th Division of the Line. For next years the brigade was on the Isonzo front and participated in the twelve Battles of the Isonzo. After the Italian Armys collapse after the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo the brigade managed to retreat to the Piave front, but had to absorb the remnants of the Tortona Brigade to compensate for the heavy amount of casualties it had suffered. In 1918 the brigade fought in the second and third Battles of Monte Grappa.

World War II

Main article: 44th Infantry Division Cremona

In 1926 the brigade received the 88th Infantry Regiment Friuli and became the infantry component of the 20th Infantry Division Curtatone and Montanara. The same year the brigade was renamed as XX Infantry Brigade. On 24 August 1939 the 20th Infantry Division Curtatone and Montanara was split into the 20th Infantry Division Friuli and the 44th Infantry Division Cremona. The Cremona consisted of the 21st and 22nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Artillery Regiment and the XC CCNN Battalion Pisa.

In June 1940, the division was mobilized and took part in the Italian invasion of France as a part of the Italian XV Army Corps, but due to the quick German victory in the Battle of France the division was not involved in any operations before the French surrender. Afterwards the division was based as garrison unit on Sardinia. When Italy and Germany occupied Vichy France in Operation "Anton" after the Allied landings in French North Africa the division was ferried to Southern Corsica on 8 November 1942 to occupy the island, while the 20th Infantry Division Friuli occupied Northern Corsica.

After the armistice between Italy and the Allies on 3 September 1943 the division in conjunction with the 20th Infantry Division Friuli and French Partisans engaged in heavy combat with the German Sturmbrigade Reichsführer SS and 90th Panzergrenadier Division and the Italian 12 Parachute Battalion of the 184 Parachute Regiment, which came from Sardinia and retreated through Corsica towards the harbor of Bastia in the islands north. On 13 September elements of the Free French 4th Moroccan Mountain Division were landed in Ajaccio to support the Italian efforts to stop the 30,000 retreating German troops. But during the night of 3 to 4 October the last German units were evacuated from Bastia leaving behind 700 dead and 350 POW's.

After the end of operations on Corsica the division was sent as to Sardinia where the 90th CCNN Legion was renamed as 321st Infantry Regiment Cremona. In September 1944 the division was reduced to two infantry (21st, 22nd) and one artillery regiment (7th), armed with British weapons and materiel and renamed as Cremona Combat Group. The Cremona entered the front on 12 January 1945 as part of the British V Corps. When allied forces achieved a major breakthrough during the Spring 1945 offensive the Cremona advanced towards Venice to liberate the city, which the Cremona reached on 30 April 1945.

Cold War

After the war the combat group was garrisoned in Turin as the sole major unit of the I Territorial Military Command, which was based in Turin too and had control of the Aosta and Piedmont regions. On 15 October 1945 the group returned to its old name and became again the Cremona Infantry Division with its traditional units: the 21st and 22nd Infantry Regiments and the 7th Field Artillery Regiment. The division was augmented in the following years: in 1947 with the 17th and 52nd Field Artillery Regiments, the 1st Light Anti-air Artillery Regiment and the 1st Dragoons Reconnaissance Group and ion 1 January 1951 with the 157th Infantry Regiment Liguria. On 1 April 1951 the 1st Dragoons Reconnaissance Group was expanded to the 1st Armoured Cavalry Regiment Nizza Cavalleria armed with M24 Chaffee.

Upon entry into the III Army Corps in Milan on 1 July 1957 the division ceded the 52nd Field Artillery Regiments and the 1st Light Anti-air Artillery Regiment to the corps. Soon afterwards the 17th Field Artillery Regiment was merged into the 7th Field Artillery Regiment, which received M114 155mm howitzers for its four artillery groups. At the same time the 1st Armoured Cavalry Regiment Nizza Cavalleria was reduced to I Reconnaissance Group Nizza Cavalleria. In 1969 the 22nd Infantry Regiment was re-equipped as an armoured infantry regiment consisting of the XIV Tank Battalion on M47 Patton and the VI Bersaglieri Battalion on M113.

By 1974 the division had been full motorized and consisted of:

• 21st Infantry Regiment (with two battalions)
• 22nd Armoured Infantry Regiment (with the XIV Tank Battalion and the VI Bersaglieri Battalion)
• 157th Infantry Regiment (with two battalions)
• 7th Field Artillery Regiment (with four artillery groups)
• I Reconnaissance Group Nizza Cavalleria
• Engineer Battalion Cremona
• Signal Battalion Cremona
• Service and Support Group Cremona

In 1975 the Italian Army undertook a major reorganization of it forces: the regimental level was abolished and battalions came under direct command of brigades, which combined units from different arms. Therefore on 30 October 1975 the Cremona Motorized Division was reduced to Cremona Motorized Brigade. All regiments of the division were reduced to battalions, while the two battalions of the 22nd Armoured Infantry Regiment became independent. The 7th Artillery Regiment was reduced to a single group. After the reform the brigade consisted of the following units:

• Cremona Command and Signal Battalion, in Turin
• 1st Armoured Group Nizza Cavalleria, in Pinerolo, (with a mix of Leopard 1A2 main battle tanks and VCC-2 armored personnel carriers)
• 25px 21st Motorized Infantry Battalion Alfonsine, in Alessandria
• 25px 22nd Motorized Infantry Battalion Primaro, in Fossano
• 25px 157th Motorized Infantry Battalion Liguria, in Novi Ligure
• 25px 7th Field Artillery Group Adria, in Turin, (M114 155mm towed howitzers)
• 25px Cremona Logistic Battalion, in Venaria Reale
• Cremona Anti-tank Company, in Turin
• Cremona Engineer Company, in Pinerolo

After the end of the Cold War in 1989 the Italian Army had begun a massive down-sizing and the brigade soon changed composition repeatedly. On 1 December 1989 the 22nd Motorized Infantry Battalion Primaro was disbanded. On 1 November 1990 the brigade received the 4th Infantry (Training) Battalion Guastalla, which was disbanded and replaced by the 26th Infantry (Training) Battalion Bergamo on 30 April 1991. On 12 September of the same year the 1st Armoured Group Nizza Cavalleria left the brigade to become a corps level asset of the 3rd Army Corps. With the disbandment of many mechanized brigades the Cremona received surplus materiel to become a mechanized brigade: the infantry battalions received VCC-2 armoured personnel carriers, while the 7th Adria was equipped with M109 self-propelled howitzers. Accordingly the brigade changed its name to Cremona Mechanized Brigade. At the same time the brigades battalions returned to be named regiments for traditional reasons. In 1992 the Anti-tank Company was disbanded and the Engineer Company merged into the Command and Signal Battalion, which was renamed as Cremona Command and Tactical Support Battalion. By 1993 the brigade fielded the following units:

• Cremona Command and Tactical Support Battalion
• 25px 21st Mechanized Infantry Regiment Cremona, in Alessandria
• 25px 26th Infantry (Training) Battalion Bergamo, in Diano Castello
• 25px 157th Mechanized Infantry Regiment Liguria, in Novi Ligure
• 25px 7th Field Artillery Regiment Cremona, in Turin
• 25px Cremona Logistic Battalion, in Venaria Reale

In 1996 the Army decided to disbanded another six brigades and one of them was to be the Cremona. Already on 21 September 1995 the 7th Field Artillery Regiment Cremona had moved from Turin to Civitavecchia were it came under the Granatieri di Sardegna Mechanized Brigade. On 5 November 1996 the 21st Mechanized Infantry Regiment Cremona was transferred to the Centauro Armoured Brigade and the 26th Infantry (Training) Battalion Bergamo returned to the 3rd Army Corps. On 15 November 1996 the brigade, the 157th Mechanized Infantry Regiment Liguria and the brigades support units officially disbanded and transferred their flags to the Vittoriano in Rome.

External links

• Italian Army Homepage: History of the Cremona Brigade