10th Engineer Regiment (Italy)

Regiment of the Italian Army

10th Engineer Regiment

10° Reggimento Genio Guastatori

Regimental coat of arms

Active| 5 Nov. 1926 — 8 Sept. 1943
10 Oct. 1975 — today[1]
Country|  Italy
Branch| Italian Army
Role| Combat engineers
Part of| 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete"
Garrison/HQ| Cremona
Motto(s)| "Al mio valor l'aspro cimento è sprone"
Anniversaries| 24 June 1918 - Second Battle of the Piave River
Decorations|
1× War Cross of Military Valor
1× Silver Cross of Army Merit
1× Bronze Cross of Army Merit
1× Bronze Medal of Red Cross Merit[2]
Insignia
Sappers gorget patches|

Military unit

The 10th Engineer Regiment (Italian: 10° Reggimento Genio Guastatori) is a military engineer regiment of the Italian Army based in Cremona in Lombardy. Today the regiment is the engineer unit of the 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete".[3][4]

The 10th Engineer Regiment was formed in 1926. During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and during World War II the regiment formed engineer battalions and smaller units for deploying divisions. The regiment was disbanded by invading German forces after the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943. In 1953 the III Army Corps Engineer Battalion was formed and assigned to the III Army Corps. In 1975 the battalion was named for the Lario river and assigned the flag and traditions of the 10th Engineer Regiment. In 1993, the battalion was disbanded and the regiment's flag was transferred to the newly formed 10th Pioneer Regiment. Since 2000, the regiment is assigned to the 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete".[4][1] The regimental anniversary falls, as for all engineer units, on June 24, the end of the Second Battle of the Piave River in 1918.[3]

## History[edit]

On 13 October 1922, the 8th Army Corps Engineer Grouping was formed in Santa Maria Capua Vetere, which received the Sappers Battalion and the Telegraphers Battalion of the X Army Corps, and a miners company from the disbanded Miners Engineer Regiment. The grouping consisted of a command, a sappers-miners battalion, a telegraphers battalion, a photo-electricians company, two dovecotes (in Gaeta and Catanzaro), and a depot. On 5 November 1926, the grouping was renamed 10th Engineer Regiment.[4] In February 1928, the regiment provided troops for the formation of the 11th Engineer Regiment. On 28 October 1932, the regiment received the IV Battalion of the disbanded 1st Radio-Telegraphers Regiment.[4][5][1]

For the Second Italo-Ethiopian War the regiment mobilized on 23 September 1935 the X Replacements Engineer Battalion, which supplied 1,300 men to the 8th Engineer Regiment fighting in Ethiopia. The X Replacements Engineer Battalion was disbanded on 15 January 1936. The regiment also formed the XXXI, XXXII, XXXIII, and XXXIV sappers-engineer battalions in 1935 for the war, and the XXXIII and XXXVIII engineer battalions in 1936. The regiment also formed in 1936 the XX and XXXI marching engineer battalions for deployment to Ethiopia, which provided additional replacement troops to the already deployed battalions.[4][1]

At the end of 1936, the regiment consisted of a command, an engineer battalion, a telegraphers battalion, the dovecote in Gaeta, and a depot. In January 1937, the telegraphers and radio-telegraphers battalions were renamed connections battalions. On 1 January 1937, the regiment's depot helped form the 20th Engineer Regiment, which was raised for service in Libya.[4][6][1]

### World War II[edit]

With the outbreak of World War II the regiment's depot began to mobilize new units:[4]

* Command of the 4th Engineer Grouping (for service in Albania)
* Command of the 130th Marching Regiment (to provide replacements for units fighting in the Western Desert Campaign)
* XXV Mixed Engineer Battalion (for the 25th Infantry Division "Bologna")
* XXVII Mixed Engineer Battalion (for the 27th Infantry Division "Brescia")
* LV Mixed Engineer Battalion (for the 55th Infantry Division "Savona")
* XIX Engineer Battalion
* XXIII Engineer Battalion
* XXIV Engineer Battalion
* IV Telegraphers Battalion
* X Army Corps Engineer Battalion
* X Army Corps Connections Battalion (for the X Army Corps)
* XL Workers Group
* and many smaller units

The regiment was disbanded by invading German forces after the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943.[4][1]

### Cold War[edit]

On 1 April 1953, III Army Corps Engineer Battalion was formed in Pavia by expanding the existing 3rd Territorial Engineer Company. On 1 June 1953, the Command Platoon and the 2nd Engineer Company were added. In November 1953 Field Park Company was activated. The battalion was assigned to the III Army Corps.[4][1]

During the 1975 army reform, the army disbanded the regimental level and newly independent battalions were granted for the first time their own flags. During the reform engineer battalions were named for a lake if they supported a corps or named for a river if they supported a division or brigade. On 10 October 1975 the III Army Corps Engineer Battalion was renamed 3rd Engineer Battalion "Lario" and assigned the flag and traditions of the 10th Engineer Regiment.[4][7] The battalion consisted of a command, a command and park company, and three engineer companies and was assigned to the 3rd Army Corps' Engineer Command. At the time the battalion fielded 756 men (38 officers, 98 non-commissioned officers, and 620 soldiers).[1][4][6][8]

On 1 January 1987, the Command and Park Company split into the Command and Services Company and the Special Equipment Company. In 1992, the battalion moved from Pavia to Cremona.[4][1]

On 15 August 1993, the 3rd Engineer Battalion "Lario" was disbanded and the next day the 10th Pioneer Regiment was formed with the personnel and materiel of the disbanded battalion and the personnel and materiel of the 131st Engineer Battalion "Ticino", which had been disbanded on 10 June 1993. And on 16 August 1993 the flag and traditions of the 10th Engineer Regiment were transferred to the 10th Pioneer Regiment.[4][1]

On 24 September 1996, the regiment was renamed 10th Engineer Regiment. In June 1999 the regiment relocated almost completely to Kosovo for Operation Joint Guardian.[6] On 1 September 2000, the regiment was assigned to the 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete".[1][6]

### International missions[edit]

The regiment participated in the following international missions:[9]

* Operation "Joint Forge" (Bosnia), in 1999 at company level and in 2000 at platoon level
* Operation “Joint Guarantor” (North Macedonia), in 1999 at company level
* Operation Joint Guardian (Kosovo), in 1999 and 2002 at regimental level and in 2000 and 2001 at battalion level
* ISAF (Afghanistan), in 2002, initially at company level and, later with two companies and a Multinational Engineer Group
* Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), in 2003 with an EOD platoon
* Operation “Decisive Endeavor” (Kosovo), in 2003 at battalion level
* Operation Ancient Babylon (Iraq), in 2004 at regimental level

## Organization[edit]

A VTMM "Orso" Route Clearing vehicle of the Italian engineer corps

As of 2023 the 10th Engineer Regiment consists of:[10][11]

* Regimental Command, in Cremona[10]
* Command and Logistic Support Company
* Sappers Battalion "Ticino"[11]
* 1st Sappers Company
* 4th Sappers Company
* 5th Sappers Company
* 6th Deployment Support Company

## See also[edit]

* 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete"

## External links[edit]

* Italian Army Website: 10° Reggimento Genio Guastatori

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "10° Reggimento Genio Guastatori - La Storia". Italian Army. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
2. ^ "10° Reggimento Genio Guastatori - Il Medagliere". Italian Army. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
3. ^ a b "10° Reggimento Genio Guastatori". Italian Army. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m F. dell'Uomo, R. Puletti (1998). L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000 - Vol. Primo - Tomo II. Rome: SME - Ufficio Storico. p. 285.
5. ^ F. dell'Uomo, R. Puletti (1998). L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000 - Vol. Primo - Tomo II. Rome: SME - Ufficio Storico. p. 310.
6. ^ a b c d "10° Rgt Genio Guastatori". www.anget.it (in Italian). ANGET - Associazione Nazionale Genieri e Trasmettitori d'Italia. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
7. ^ "Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica 12 novembre 1976, n. 846". Quirinale - Presidenza della Repubblica. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
8. ^ Stefani, Filippo (1989). La storia della dottrina e degli ordinamenti dell'Esercito Italiano - Vol. III - Tomo 2°. Rome: Ufficio Storico - Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito. pp. 1184–1185.
9. ^ "10 Reggimento Genio Guastatori". gruppoguastatori (in Italian). Gruppo Nazionale Guastatori. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
10. ^ a b "10° Reggimento Genio Guastatori". Ministero della Difesa. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
11. ^ a b "10° Reggimento Genio Guastatori - Manuale di Gestione" (PDF). Italian Defense Ministry. Retrieved 23 December 2023.

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Italian Army

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* COMFOTER COE
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Two-star rank (OF 7)|

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* "Acqui"
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One-star rank (OF 6)|

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* "Aosta"
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Italian Army engineer units

Engineers|

| Active|

2nd Engineer Regiment, 3rd Engineer Regiment, 4th Engineer Regiment, 5th Engineer Regiment, 6th Pioneer Regiment, 7th CIMIC Regiment, 8th Paratroopers Engineer Regiment "Folgore", 10th Engineer Regiment, 11th Engineer Regiment, 21st Engineer Regiment, 32nd Engineer Regiment, 2nd Pontieri Engineer Regiment, Ferrovieri Engineer Regiment

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Inactive|

1st Engineer Regiment, 9th Engineer Regiment, 1st Pontieri Regiment
51st Engineer Battalion "Simeto", 104th Engineer Battalion "Torre", 131st Engineer Battalion "Ticino"
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