View source for 152nd Infantry Regiment "Sassari"

{{short description|Active Italian Army infantry unit}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name =152nd Infantry Regiment "Sassari"
| native_name =152° Reggimento Fanteria "Sassari"
| image =CoA mil ITA rgt fanteria 152.png
| image_size =160px
| caption =Regimental coat of arms
| dates = 1 March 1915 — 10 Sept. 1943<br>1 March 1958 — today<ref name="La Storia">{{cite web |title=152° Reggimento Fanteria "Sassari" - La Storia |url=https://www.esercito.difesa.it/organizzazione/capo-di-sme/COMFOTER/Comando-Forze-Operative-Sud/Brigata-meccanizzata-Sassari/152-Reggimento-Fanteria-Sassari/Pagine/La-Storia.aspx |publisher=Italian Army |access-date=22 December 2022}}</ref><ref name="152° Fanteria"/>
| disbanded =
| country ={{ITA}}
| countries =
| allegiance =
| branch =[[Italian Army]]
| type =
| role =
| size =
| command_structure = [[Mechanized Brigade "Sassari"]]
| garrison =[[Sassari]]
| garrison_label =
| nickname = Dimonios<br>Diavoli Rossi (Red Devils)
| patron =
| motto = "Sa vida pro sa Patria"
| colours =
| colours_label =
| march =
| mascot =
| anniversaries =28 January 1918 - Reconquest of [[Col del Rosso]] and [[Col d'Echele]]
| equipment =
| equipment_label =
| battles =
| decorations = [[File:Cavaliere BAR.svg|50px]] [[File:Valor militare gold medal BAR.svg|50px]] [[File:Valor militare gold medal BAR.svg|50px]] [[File:Valor dell'esercito gold medal BAR.svg|50px]]<br>1x [[Military Order of Italy]]<br>2x [[Gold Medal of Military Valor|Gold Medals of Military Valor]]<br>1x Gold Medal of Army Valor<ref name="Il Medagliere">{{cite web |title=152° Reggimento Fanteria "Sassari" - Il Medagliere |url=https://www.esercito.difesa.it/organizzazione/capo-di-sme/COMFOTER/Comando-Forze-Operative-Sud/Brigata-meccanizzata-Sassari/152-Reggimento-Fanteria-Sassari/Pagine/Il-Medagliere.aspx |publisher=Italian Army |access-date=22 December 2022}}</ref>
| battle_honours =
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| flying_hours =
| website =
| identification_symbol = {{Inline block|[[File:Mostrina - 151°, 152° "Sassari".png|border|32px]]|div}} {{Inline block|style=transform: scaleX(-1);|[[File:Mostrina - 151°, 152° "Sassari".png|border|32px]]|div}}
| identification_symbol_label = Regimental [[Italian Army gorget patches|gorget patches]]
}}
The '''152nd Infantry Regiment "Sassari"''' ({{langx|it|152° Reggimento Fanteria "Sassari"}}) is an active unit of the [[Italian Army]] based in [[Sassari]] in [[Sardinia]]. The regiment is named for the city of Sassari and part of the Italian Army's [[infantry]] arm. As of 2023 the regiment is assigned to the [[Mechanized Brigade "Sassari"]].<ref>{{cite web|title=152° Reggimento Fanteria "Sassari" |url=https://www.esercito.difesa.it/organizzazione/capo-di-sme/COMFOTER/Comando-Forze-Operative-Sud/Brigata-meccanizzata-Sassari/152-Reggimento-Fanteria-Sassari/Pagine/default.aspx |publisher=Italian Army |access-date=22 December 2022}}</ref><ref name="152° Fanteria">{{cite book |last1=F. dell'Uomo, R. Puletti |title=L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000 - Vol. Primo - Tomo I |date=1998 |publisher=SME - Ufficio Storico |location=Rome |page=379}}</ref><ref name="Regio Esercito">{{cite web |title=12ª Divisione di fanteria "Sassari" |url=http://www.regioesercito.it/reparti/fanteria/rediv12.htm |publisher=Regio Esercito |access-date=22 December 2022}}</ref><ref name="Ufficio Storico">{{cite book |title=Bollettino dell'Archivio dell'Ufficio Storico N.II-3 e 4 2002 |date=2002 |publisher=Ministero della Difesa - Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito - Ufficio Storico |location=Rome |page=229 |url=https://issuu.com/rivista.militare1/docs/bollettino-ii-n.3-4-2002-testo |access-date=13 January 2023}}</ref>
The regiment was formed in preparation for [[Italian entry into World War I|Italy's entry]] into [[World War I]]. During the war the regiment fought on the [[Italian front (World War I)|Italian front]] and was awarded, together with its sister-regiment the [[151st Infantry Regiment "Sassari"]], two times Italy's highest military honor the [[Gold Medal of Military Valor]], making the two regiments the only units to be twice so honored during the entire war. During [[World War II]] the regiment was assigned to the [[12th Infantry Division "Sassari"]], which in 1941 participated in the [[invasion of Yugoslavia]]. Afterwards the division remained in [[Yugoslavia]] on occupation duty. In March 1943 the division was transferred to [[Rome]], where it was informed of the [[Armistice of Cassibile]] on 8 September 1943. Tasked with defending Rome from [[Operation Achse|invading German forces]] the regiment was forced to surrender on 10 September. In 1958 the regiment was reformed as a training unit based in [[Sassari]]. On 31 December 1975 the regiment was disbanded and the next day it was reformed as a battalion sized training unit. In 1992 the regiment was reformed and has been active as mechanized unit since then.<ref name="152° Fanteria"/>
== History ==
=== Formation ===
On 1 March 1915 the 152nd Infantry Regiment ([[Brigade "Sassari"]]) and the command of the Brigade "Sassari" were formed in [[Tempio Pausania]] near [[Sassari]] in the North of [[Sardinia]]. On the same date the [[151st Infantry Regiment "Sassari"|151st Infantry Regiment]] (Brigade "Sassari") was formed in [[Sinnai]] near [[Cagliari]] in the South of Sardinia. The brigade consisted of personnel levied in Sardinia by the following pre-war regiments:<ref name="La Storia"/><ref name="152° Fanteria"/><ref name="Bde Sassari">{{cite web |title=Brigata Sassari - La Storia |url=https://www.esercito.difesa.it/organizzazione/capo-di-sme/COMFOTER/Comando-Forze-Operative-Sud/Brigata-meccanizzata-Sassari/Pagine/default.aspx |publisher=Italian Army |access-date=22 December 2022}}</ref><ref name="Fronte">{{cite web |title=Brigata "Sassari" |url=http://www.frontedelpiave.info/public/modules/Fronte_del_Piave_article/Fronte_del_Piave_view_article.php?id_a=455&app_l2=397&app_l3=455&sito=Fronte-del-Piave&titolo=Brigata-Sassari |publisher=Fronte del Piave |access-date=22 December 2022}}</ref>
* [[45th Infantry Regiment "Reggio"|45th Infantry Regiment]] ([[Brigade "Reggio"]]) in Tempio Pausania: Command of the Brigade "Sassari" and 152nd Infantry Regiment
* [[46th Infantry Regiment "Reggio"|46th Infantry Regiment]] (Brigade "Reggio") in Sinnai: 151st Infantry Regiment
Each regiment consisted of three battalions, which each fielded four [[fusilier]] companies and one machine gun section. The Brigade "Sassari" formed, together with the [[Brigade "Macerata"]], the 25th Division.<ref name="152° Fanteria"/>
=== World War I ===
{{See also|Brigade "Sassari"}}
During [[World War I]] the Brigade "Sassari" fought on the [[Italian front (World War I)|Italian front]]: in July 1915 during the [[First Battle of the Isonzo]] on the [[Karst Plateau|Karst plateau]] and then in November during the [[Fourth Battle of the Isonzo]] on the slopes of [[Monte San Michele]]. On 15 May 1916 [[Austro-Hungary]] commenced the [[Battle of Asiago]] and the brigade was transferred to the [[Sette Comuni]] plateau. On 16 June 1916 the brigade entered the line to retake the Italian positions on [[Monte Castelgomberto]] and [[Monte Fior]]. By 18 June the positions were back in Italian hands, but the brigade had suffered 3,120 casualties, more than half of the personnel it had entered the front with.<ref name="152° Fanteria"/><ref name="Fronte"/>
On 3 August 1916 King [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|Victor Emmanuel III]] awarded to the regiments of the Brigade "Sassari" Italy's highest military honor, the [[Gold Medal of Military Valor]], for having retaken the lost Italian positions on the Sette Comuni plateau. On the same day the regiments of the [[Brigade "Regina"]] were awarded a Gold Medal of Military Valor, making the two brigades the first Italian units to be so awarded during the war.<ref name="La Storia"/><ref name="Il Medagliere"/><ref name="152° Fanteria"/><ref name="Fronte"/><ref name="151° Oro">{{cite web |title=151° Reggimento Fanteria "Sassari" |url=https://www.quirinale.it/onorificenze/insigniti/18256 |publisher=President of Italy |access-date=22 December 2022}}</ref><ref name="152° Oro">{{cite web |title=152° Reggimento Fanteria "Sassari" |url=https://www.quirinale.it/onorificenze/insigniti/165091 |publisher=President of Italy |access-date=22 December 2022}}</ref>
In June 1917 the brigade attacked [[Austro-Hungarian]] positions on [[Monte Zebio]] and in September the brigade was back in the East on the [[Banjšice plateau]] for the [[Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo]]. After the Italian defeat in the [[Battle of Caporetto]] the brigade fought delaying actions at [[Buttrio]] and on the [[Monticano]] river from 27 October to 8 November. From 10 December 1917 the brigade was back on the Sette Comuni plateau.<ref name="La Storia"/><ref name="152° Fanteria"/><ref name="Fronte"/>
From 28 to 31 January 1918 the brigade retook the Italian positions on [[Col del Rosso]] and [[Col d'Echelle]] at the cost of 897 casualties. In June the brigade defended [[Musile di Piave|Croce di Musile]] and [[Meolo|Losson]] on the [[Piave (river)|Piave river]] during the [[Second Battle of the Piave River]]. During the [[Battle of Vittorio Veneto]] the brigade attacked over the Piave at [[San Lucia di Piave]] and after breaking through the Austro-Hungarian lines advanced to [[Sacile]], where brigade reached the news of the [[Armistice of Villa Giusti]].<ref name="La Storia"/><ref name="152° Fanteria"/><ref name="Fronte"/>
On 15 June 1920 the King awarded the regiments of the Brigade "Sassari" for having retaken Col del Rosso and Col d'Echelle with a second Gold Medal of Military Valor, making the two regiments the only units to be twice awarded a Gold Medal during the entire war.<ref name="La Storia"/><ref name="Il Medagliere"/><ref name="152° Fanteria"/><ref name="Fronte"/><ref name="151° Oro"/><ref name="152° Oro"/>
=== Interwar years ===
After World War I the Royal Italian Army disbanded the brigades and the regiments raised during the war, with the exception of brigades, whose regiments had both been awarded a Gold Medal of Military Valor. As the regiments of the Sassari had no [[regimental depot]]s of their own, the brigade moved in 1920 to the newly conquered [[Austrian Littoral]], where the brigade took over the barracks of the [[Austro-Hungarian Army]] in [[Trieste]].<ref name="La Storia"/><ref name="152° Fanteria"/>
On 28 October 1926 the brigade was renamed [[12th Infantry Division "Sassari"|XII Infantry Brigade]] and its two regiments were renamed 151st Infantry Regiment "Sassari", respectively 152nd Infantry Regiment "Sassari". On the same date the 152nd Sassari received a battalion from the disbanded 25th Infantry Regiment ([[Brigade "Bergamo"]]), while the brigade received the 12th Infantry Regiment "Casale" from the disbanded [[Brigade "Casale"]]. The XII Infantry Brigade was the infantry component of the [[12th Territorial Division of Trieste]].<ref name="La Storia"/><ref name="152° Fanteria"/>
In 1934, the 12th Territorial Division of Trieste changed its name to [[12th Infantry Division "Timavo"]]. A name change that also extended to the division's infantry brigade. In 1935-36 the regiment provided three officers and 239 enlisted for the units deployed for the [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War]].<ref name="152° Fanteria"/> On 24 May 1939 the XII Infantry Brigade "Timavo" was disbanded and the two infantry regiments "Sassari" came under direct command of the division, which changed its name to 12th Infantry Division "Sassari".<ref name="152° Fanteria"/><ref name="Regio Esercito"/><ref name='151° "Sassari"'>{{cite web |title=151° Reggimento di fanteria "Sassari" |url=http://www.regioesercito.it/reparti/fanteria/rgt/rgt151.htm |publisher=Regio Esercito |access-date=22 December 2022}}</ref><ref name='152° "Sassari"'>{{cite web |title=152° Reggimento di fanteria "Sassari" |url=http://www.regioesercito.it/reparti/fanteria/rgt/rgt152.htm |publisher=Regio Esercito |access-date=22 December 2022}}</ref><ref name="La Storia"/><ref name="Bde Sassari"/>
=== World War II ===
{{See also|12th Infantry Division "Sassari"}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-304-0604A-30, Italien, italienische Kriegsgefangene.jpg|300px|thumbnail|right|Sassari officers on the left and an [[Alpini|Alpino]] officer negotiating with German paratroopers during the fighting in Rome in 1943]]
At the outbreak of [[World War II]] the regiment consisted of a command, a command company, three [[fusilier]] battalions, a support weapons battery equipped with [[Cannone da 65/17 modello 13|65/17]] [[infantry support gun]]s, and a mortar company equipped with [[81/14 Model 35 Mortar|81mm Mod. 35]] [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]]s. On 6 April 1941 the division participated in the [[invasion of Yugoslavia]] and for the next two years the division's command was based in [[Knin]], while the division's units were employed in anti-[[Yugoslav Partisans|partisan]] operations in the surrounding area. In March 1943, after the [[Case White|Battle of the Neretva]], the division was transferred to [[Rome]] to defend the city in case of an [[Allies of World War II|allied attack]].<ref name="Regio Esercito"/><ref name="La Storia"/><ref name="152° Fanteria"/>
After the announcement of the [[Armistice of Cassibile]] on 8 September 1943 the division was tasked with defending Rome from Italy's former [[Nazi Germany|German]] allies. Together with the [[21st Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna"]] and [[135th Armored Cavalry Division "Ariete"]], the [[Carabinieri]] Legion "Roma", and other minor units the Sassari fought the German [[2nd Parachute Division (Germany)|2nd Fallschirmjäger Division]] for two days. On 10 September 1943 the III Battalion of the 152nd Infantry Regiment "Sassari" joined the grenadiers of the "Granatieri di Sardegna" division, the lancers of the [[Regiment "Lancieri di Montebello"]], and hundreds of civilians at [[Porta San Paolo]] for a last stand. By 17:00 the Germans broke the line of the Italian defenders, who had suffered 570 dead. Soon after the Italian military units surrendered to the Germans as the flight of the King Victor Emmanuel III from Rome made further resistance senseless. Before surrendering the Italian soldiers handed their weapons over to the civilian population, which was quick to form an organized resistance movement in the city.<ref name="Regio Esercito"/><ref name="La Storia"/><ref name="152° Fanteria"/>
=== Cold War ===
On 1 July 1958 the 152nd Infantry Regiment "Sassari" was reformed by renaming the existing 3rd Recruits Training Center in [[Sassari]]. The regiment was assigned to the Sardinia Military Command and its structure was as follows:<ref name="La Storia"/><ref name="152° Fanteria"/>
{{tree list}}
* [[File:CoA mil ITA rgt fanteria 152.png|30px]] '''152nd Infantry Regiment "Sassari"''', in [[Sassari]]
** Command Company, in Sassari
** I Battalion, in Sassari
** II Battalion, in [[Cagliari]]
** III Battalion, in [[Macomer]]
{{tree list/end}}
During the [[Italian Army 1975 reform|1975 army reform]] the army disbanded the regimental level and newly independent battalions were granted for the first time their own flags. On 31 December 1975 the 152nd Infantry Regiment "Sassari" was disbanded and the next day the regiment's I Battalion was renamed 152nd Infantry Battalion "Sassari" and assigned the flag and traditions of the 152nd Infantry Regiment "Sassari", while the II Battalion was renamed [[151st Infantry Battalion "Sette Comuni"]] and the III Battalion was reduced to a detachment of the "Sette Comuni" battalion.<ref name="152° Fanteria"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica 12 novembre 1976, n. 846 |url=https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/atto/serie_generale/caricaDettaglioAtto/originario?atto.dataPubblicazioneGazzetta=1976-12-22&atto.codiceRedazionale=076U0846 |publisher=Quirinale - Presidenza della Repubblica |access-date=20 January 2024}}</ref> The battalions remained assigned to the Sardinia Military Command and continued to train recruits.<ref name="La Storia"/><ref name="152° Fanteria"/>
On 1 December 1988 the battalion was assigned to the reformed [[Motorized Brigade "Sassari"]].<ref name="La Storia"/><ref name="152° Fanteria"/>
=== Recent times ===
On 1 February 1991 the battalion was reorganized as 152nd Motorized Infantry Battalion "Sassari" and consisted now of a command, a command and services company, three motorized companies, and a heavy mortar company equipped with towed 120mm Mod. 63 mortars.<ref name="Stefani">{{cite book |last1=Stefani |first1=Filippo |title=La storia della dottrina e degli ordinamenti dell'Esercito Italiano - Vol. III - Tomo 2° |date=1989 |publisher=Ufficio Storico - Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito |location=Rome |pages=1190–1192}}</ref> Already on 31 December of the same year the battalion was reorganized as a mechanized unit and consisted now of a command, a command and services company, three mechanized companies equipped with [[M113 armored personnel carrier|M113]] [[armored personnel carrier]]s, and a heavy mortar company equipped with [[M106 mortar carrier]]s with 120mm Mod. 63 mortars.<ref name="La Storia"/><ref name="152° Fanteria"/><ref name="Stefani"/>
On 25 October 1992 the 152nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion "Sassari" lost its autonomy and the next day the battalion entered the reformed 152nd Infantry Regiment "Sassari" as I Mechanized Battalion.<ref name="La Storia"/><ref name="152° Fanteria"/>
== Organization ==
As of 2023 the 152nd Infantry Regiment "Sassari" is organized as follows:<ref name="Manuale di Gestione">{{cite web |title=152° Reggimento Fanteria "Sassari" - Manuale di Gestione |url=https://www.difesa.it/Protocollo/AOO_Difesa/Esercito/Documents/E20910_MdG_2020.pdf |publisher=Italian Defense Ministry |access-date=23 December 2023}}</ref>
{{tree list}}
* [[File:CoA mil ITA rgt fanteria 152.png|30px]] '''152nd Infantry Regiment "Sassari"''', in [[Sassari]]<ref name="Manuale di Gestione"/>
** Command and Logistic Support Company
** '''1st Mechanized Battalion'''
*** 1st Fusiliers Company
*** 2nd Fusiliers Company
*** 3rd Fusiliers Company
*** Maneuver Support Company
{{tree list/end}}
The regiment is equipped with [[Iveco LMV|VTLM Lince]] vehicles. The Maneuver Support Company is equipped with [[Mortier 120mm Rayé Tracté Modèle F1|120mm mortars]] and [[Spike (missile)|Spike MR]] [[anti-tank guided missiles]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Brigata Sassari in addestramento |url=https://www.esercito.difesa.it/comunicazione/Pagine/brigata-sassari-in-addestramento_201029.aspx |publisher=Italian Army |access-date=29 December 2023}}</ref>
== See also ==
* [[Mechanized Brigade "Sassari"]]
==External links==
*[https://www.esercito.difesa.it/organizzazione/capo-di-sme/COMFOTER/Comando-Forze-Operative-Sud/Brigata-meccanizzata-Sassari/152-Reggimento-Fanteria-Sassari/Pagine/default.aspx Italian Army Website: 152° Reggimento Fanteria "Sassari"]
==References==
{{reflist|1}}
{{Italian Army}}
{{Italian Army Infantry Regiments}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:152nd Infantry Regiment Sassari}}
[[Category:Infantry Regiments of Italy]]