| Unit Name: | Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi" |
| Native Name: | Brigata Bersaglieri "Garibaldi" |
| Country: | Italy |
| Branch: | Italian Army |
| Dates: | 1 November 1975 - 1 July 1991 8th Mechanized Brigade "Garibaldi" 1 July 1991 - 1 September 1994 8th Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi" 1 September 1994 - today Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi" |
| Specialization: | Bersaglieri |
| Command Structure: | Division "Acqui" |
| Size: | Brigade |
| Current Commander: | Brigadier Luigi Scollo |
| Garrison: | Caserta |
| Colors: | dark red |
| Battles: | Bosnia SFOR Kosovo KFOR Afghanistan ISAF Iraq Multinational force in Iraq Lebanon UNIFIL |
The Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi" is a mechanized infantry brigade of the Italian Army, based in the south of the country. Its core units are Bersaglieri, an elite infantry corps of the Italian Army. The brigade is named after Giuseppe Garibaldi, a hero of the Italian wars of unification.[1] The brigade is part of the Division "Acqui".
The brigade was activated during the 1975 army reform: in 1975 the regiment level was abolished and battalions came under direct command of newly formed multi-arms brigades. On 1 November 1975 the 8th Mechanized Brigade "Garibaldi" was activated one month after its sister brigades the 32nd Armored Brigade "Mameli" and the 132nd Armored Brigade "Manin" had been activated by reforming the three regiments of the 132nd Armored Division "Ariete".[2]
The brigade's headquarters was in the city of Pordenone and most of its units came from the disbanded 8th Bersaglieri Regiment. Besides the traditions of the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment, the brigade also received the traditions and name of the 182nd Armored Infantry Regiment "Garibaldi".[1] The name "Garibaldi" honored the Italian general and Italian unification hero Giuseppe Garibaldi and commemorated various Italian partisan units of World War II.[1] The brigade's sister brigades, the "Manin" and "Mameli", were named to honor Daniele Manin and Goffredo Mameli, both also heroes of the Italian unification. The "Ariete" division was part of the 5th Army Corps based in North-Eastern Italy. The 5th Army Corps was tasked with defending the Yugoslav-Italian border against possible attacks by either the Warsaw Pact, or Yugoslavia or both. The Ariete was the corps' armored reserve. The Garibaldi's authorized strength was 4,733 men (272 officers, 637 non-commissioned officers and 3,824 soldiers) and it consisted of the following units:[1]
With the abolition of the divisional level in the Italian Army on 1 October 1986 the "Garibaldi" came under direct command of the 5th Army Corps and received a new coat of arms.
With the end of the Cold War and the following massive reorganization of the Italian Army the brigade was transferred to the South of Italy to the city of Caserta, where it became operational on 1 July 1991.[2] [1] Along with the move the brigade changed its name to 8th Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi" to reflect the changed composition of its subordinated units:[1]
Following the move the brigade became the first Italian brigade to fully professionalize. From 1992 onwards all soldiers of the brigade were professional soldiers or long term volunteers. During the later 1990s the brigades composition changed slightly as a result of the massive reduction of forces after the Cold War and the army's desire to preserve the names of the most decorated units of the Army. Therefore, units changed names, although garrison and composition of the units did not change. The brigade itself shed the number from its name 1 in September 1994.[1] The changes to the brigades units over the coming years follow below:
Today the Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi" is one of two Italian Army brigades equipped with tracked vehicles. It has been employed, in Karbala Iraq during the Iraq War and in Herat in Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force. As of 4 October 2022 the brigade is organized as follows:[2]
All regiments are battalion sized.
The tank regiment is equipped with Ariete main battle tanks, the cavalry regiment with Centauro tank destroyers and VTLM Lince vehicles. The Bersaglieri regiments field Dardo infantry fighting vehicles. The artillery regiment is equipped with PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers.
See main article: Italian Army gorget patches.
The personnel of the brigade's units wears the following gorget patches:[8]