| Unit Name: | 4th Army Corps Auto Group "Claudia" |
| Native Name: | 4° Autogruppo di Corpo d'Armata "Claudia" |
| Dates: | 1 Oct. 1976 — 31 Aug. 1982 |
| Branch: | Italian Army |
| Role: | Military logistics |
| Command Structure: | 4th Alpine Army Corps |
| Garrison: | Eppan |
| Motto: | "Inter montes velocior" |
| Anniversaries: | 22 May 1916 - Battle of Asiago |
| Identification Symbol Label: | Unit gorget patches |
The 4th Army Corps Auto Group "Claudia" (Italian: 4° Autogruppo di Corpo d'Armata "Claudia") is an inactive military logistics battalion of the Italian Army, which was based in Eppan in South Tyrol. Originally a transport regiment of the Royal Italian Army, the unit was last active from 1976 to 1982.[1] The regimental anniversary falls, as for all units of the Transport and Materiel Corps, on 22 May, the anniversary of the Italian Army's first major automobile use to transport reinforcements to counter the Austro-Hungarian Offensive at Asiago in 1916.[2]
In August 1920 the III Automobilistic Center was formed in Verona and assigned to the III Army Corps. In 1923 the center was disbanded and its personnel and materiel used to form the III Auto Grouping, which consisted of a command, an auto group, a railway group, and a depot. On 30 September 1926 the grouping was disbanded and the next day its personnel and vehicles were used to from the 4th Automobilistic Center. The center consisted of a command, the IV Automobilistic Group, and a depot. The three companies of the disbanded railway group were assigned to the 8th Field Artillery Regiment, 9th Field Artillery Regiment, and 20th Field Artillery Regiment.[1]
In 1935-36 the center mobilized 3,000 troops to augment units deployed for the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.[1] On 16 July 1935 the center formed the XI Auto Group for the 1st Motorized Division "Trento". On 30 September 1936 the group was renumbered as XXIV Auto Group and assigned to the 46th Motorized Artillery Regiment.[1]
In 1939 the center moved from Verona to Bolzano. On 1 July 1942 the unit was renamed 4th Drivers Regiment. The regiment was disbanded by invading German forces after the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943.[1]
During World War II the center mobilized in its depot in Bolzano among others the following units:[1]
On 1 March 1947 the 4th Drivers Center was formed in Trento, which consisted of a command, the 4th Auto Unit, the 4th Vehicles Park, a fuel depot, and a depot. The center supported the IV Territorial Military Command of the Northeastern Military Region. The unit was tasked with the transport of fuel, ammunition, and materiel between the military region's depots and the logistic supply points of the army's divisions and brigades. On 1 June 1948 the center moved from Trento to Bolzano. On 1 March 1949 the 4th Vehicles Park was transferred to the 4th Automotive Repair Shop. On 1 May 1952 the IV Territorial Military Command was reorganized as IV Army Corps. On 1 May 1957 the center formed the 1st Mixed Auto Unit for the IV Army Corps. On 13 August of the same year the 4th Drivers Center was disbanded and the 4th Auto Unit was assigned to the Northeastern Military Region.[1]
On 1 July 1961 the 1st Mixed Auto Unit and 4th Auto Unit were merged and formed the 4th Army Corps Auto Group in Eppan. The group was assigned to the IV Army Corps and consisted of a command, the 1st Mixed Auto Unit, 2nd Mixed Auto Unit (the former 4th Auto Unit), and a light workshop.[1]
As part of the 1975 army reform the 4th Army Corps Auto Group was renamed 4th Army Corps Auto Group "Claudia" on 1 October 1976. The group consisted of a command, a command unit, and two mixed auto units. Like all Italian Army transport units the group was named for a historic road near its base, in case of the 4th Army Corps Auto Group for the Roman road Via Claudia.[1]
On 12 November 1976 the President of the Italian Republic Giovanni Leone issued decree 846, which granted the group a new flag and assigned the traditions of the 4th Drivers Regiment to the group.[3]
On 31 August 1982 the 4th Army Corps Auto Group "Claudia" was disbanded and its 1st Mixed Auto Unit and 2nd Mixed Auto Unit were transferred to the 4th Maneuver Logistic Battalion in Bolzano. The two units were reorganized into a medium transport company and a mixed transport company. On 1 September 1982 the flag of the 4th Drivers Regiment was returned to the Shrine of the Flags in the Vittoriano in Rome.[1]