4th Tank Regiment (Italy)


The 4th Tank Regiment is a tank regiment of the Italian Army based in Persano in Campania. The regiment is equipped with Ariete C1 main battle tanks and assigned to the Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi". In 1936, the Royal Italian Army formed the regiment as a training and administrative unit. During World War II the regiment's command was sent to Libya, where it fought in the Western Desert campaign. The regiment's command, and the tank battalions assigned to it, were destroyed during the British Operation Compass. For its conduct in North Africa the regiment was awarded Italy's highest military honor the Gold Medal of Military Valor. In March 1941, the regiment was reformed, but it remained in Rome for the rest of the war as a training command. The regiment was disbanded by German forces after the Armistice of Cassibile was announced on 8 September 1943.
In 1953, the regiment was reformed and assigned to the Armored Division "Pozzuolo del Friuli". In 1958, the regiment was transferred to the Infantry Division "Legnano". In 1975, the regiment was disbanded and its flag and traditions were assigned to the 20th Tank Battalion "M.O. Pentimalli", which had become an autonomous unit on 30 October 1975. In 1991, the battalion was disbanded. In 1992, the regiment was reformed in Ozzano dell'Emilia and incorporated the 11th Tank Battalion "M.O. Calzecchi". One year later the regiment swapped name and flags with the 33rd Tank Regiment, which was based Civitavecchia. In 1995, the regiment transferred its flag to Bellinzago Novarese, where it replaced the flag of the 31st Tank Regiment, which moved to Altamura. Originally the unit, like all Italian tank units, was part of the army's infantry arm, but on 1 June 1999 the tankers specialty was transferred from the infantry arm to the cavalry arm. Consequently, on the same date the regiment replaced its flag with a cavalry standard. In 2013, the regiment transferred its standard to Persano, where it replaced the standard of the 131st Tank Regiment.
The regiment's anniversary falls on 21 January 1941, the day British forces captured Tobruk and the 4th Tank Infantry Regiment fought until its annihilation, for which the regiment was awarded Italy's highest military honor the Gold Medal of Military Valor.

History

Interwar years

On 1 October 1927, the Royal Italian Army reorganized its Armed Tanks Formation Center in Rome and formed the Armed Tanks Regiment as central training unit for the army's tank battalions. In 1931, the regimental headquarter moved from Rome to Bologna. On 15 September 1936, the Armed Tanks Regiment was split into four tank infantry regiments, which had training and administrative functions:
The 4th Tank Infantry Regiment received six battalions from the disbanded regiment and formed a depot, which included training and maintenance units. The six battalions, like all tank battalions at the time, were named for infantry officers, who had served in World War I and been awarded posthumously Italy's highest military honor the Gold Medal of Military Valor. The regiment consisted of the following units after its founding:
  • 4th Tank Infantry Regiment, in Rome
  • * II Breach Tanks Battalion "Alessi", in Rome
  • * V Breach Tanks Battalion "Suarez", in Rome
  • * VIII Assault Tanks Battalion "Bettoja", in Rome
  • * IX Assault Tanks Battalion "Guadagni", in Bari
  • * X Assault Tanks Battalion "Menzinger", in Agnano
  • * XII Assault Tanks Battalion "Cangialosi", in Palermo
  • * 4th Training Center, in Rome
  • * 4th Maintenance Workshop, in Rome
The assault tanks battalions fielded L3/33 tankettes, which were soon replaced by slightly improved L3/35 tankettes, while the breach tanks battalion fielded Fiat 3000 light tanks. On 15 July 1937, the II Breach Tanks Battalion "Alessi" was transferred to the newly formed 31st Tank Infantry Regiment. On 5 June 1937, the regiment formed a new XX Assault Tanks Battalion, as the XX Assault Tanks Battalion "Randaccio" had been disbanded after it returned from fighting in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, and, on 1 October of the same year, the regiment formed a new XXI Assault Tanks Battalion, as the XXI Assault Tanks Battalion "Trombi" had been disbanded after it returned from Libya. The two new tank battalions were sent to Libya, where they were assigned to the XX Army Corps, respectively the XXI Army Corps.
In 1938, all Assault Tank Battalions were renamed Tank Battalion L, while Breach Tanks Battalions were renamed Tank Battalion M. On 30 November 1938, the 4th Tank Infantry Regiment transferred its V Tank Battalion M to the 2nd Tank Infantry Regiment, which the next day was reorganized as 32nd Tank Infantry Regiment and then joined the II Armored Brigade. On the same date, 30 November 1938, the 3rd Tank Infantry Regiment transferred the Tank Company L Sardinia to the 4th Tank Infantry Regiment.
On 7 April 1939, the VIII Tank Battalion L and X Tank Battalion L participated in the Italian invasion of Albania. The two battalions were assigned to the landing force, which went ashore in Durrës and occupied the city after the Battle of Durrës. Both battalions remained in Albania and, on 20 May 1939, joined the 31st Tank Infantry Regiment, which had moved from Siena to Tirana in Albania. On the same date, the 31st Tank Infantry Regiment ceded its CCCXI Tank Battalion M in Siena and CCCXII Tank Battalion M in Massa to the 4th Tank Infantry Regiment. During 1939, the IX Tank Battalion L moved to Libya, where it joined the XXII Army Corps and the Tank Company L Sardinia was expanded to Tank Battalion Sardinia.

World War II

In early 1940 the regiment consisted of the following units:
  • 4th Tank Infantry Regiment, in Rome
  • * XII Tank Battalion L, in Palermo
  • * CCCXI Tank Battalion M, in Siena
  • * CCCXII Tank Battalion M, in Massa
  • * Tank Battalion Sardinia, in Cagliari
  • * 4th Training Center, in Rome
  • * 4th Maintenance Workshop, in Rome
On 30 March 1940, the CCCXII Tank Battalion M was assigned to the Aegean Troops in Rhodes, the main island of the Italian Islands of the Aegean. The battalion arrived in Rhodes in September of the same year and was attached to the 50th Infantry Division "Regina". On 1 April 1940, the CCCXI Tank Battalion M was disbanded and its personnel used to form a new VIII Tank Battalion L. During 1940, the Tank Battalion Sardinia was renamed XIII Tank Battalion L.

Western Desert campaign

On 11 June 1940, the day after Italy's entry into World War II, the regiment's command and the regiment's command company were sent to Libya, where the regiment received the I Tank Battalion M11/39 and II Tank Battalion M11/39 from the 32nd Tank Infantry Regiment. The two battalions had been formed by the depot of the 32nd Tank Infantry Regiment with the personnel of the disbanded III and IV breach tanks battalions. In July 1940, the regiment received the LXIII Tank Battalion L from the 63rd Infantry Division "Cirene". On 5 August 1940, the regiment's tanks clashed with British units for the first time near Sidi Azeiz.
On 29 August 1940, the tank battalions in Libya were used to form the Babini Group, which consisted of three formations:
  • Libyan Tank Command, General Valentino Babini
  • * I Tank Grouping, Colonel Pietro Aresca, Commanding Officer of the 4th Tank Infantry Regiment
  • ** I Tank Battalion M11/39
  • ** XXI Tank Battalion L
  • ** LXII Tank Battalion L
  • ** LXIII Tank Battalion L
  • * II Tank Grouping, Colonel Antonio Trivioli
  • ** II Tank Battalion M11/39
  • ** IX Tank Battalion L
  • ** XX Tank Battalion L
  • ** LXI Tank Battalion L
  • * Mixed Tank Battalion
  • ** 1× Tank Company M, with M11/39 tanks
  • ** 1x Tank Company L, with L3/35 tankettes
  • * LX Tank Battalion L
On 9 September 1940, the I Tank Grouping participated in the Italian invasion of Egypt, which initiated the Western Desert campaign. The Italian forces stopped after one week at Sidi Barrani in Egypt and dug in. On 9 December 1940, the British Eighth Army commenced Operation Compass and the Italian tank units, which were deployed piecemeal, were easily defeated by the more numerous and more powerful British tank formations. The first two battalions to be annihilated were the II Tank Battalion M11/39 during an early morning surprise Attack on Nibeiwa and the IX Tank Battalion L in the early afternoon of the same day as prelude to the Battle of Sidi Barrani.
With the Italian forces retreating from Sidi Barrani to Bardia the tanks of the I Tank Battalion M11/39 were sent forward to Sollum and the Halfaya Pass to delay the British advance. By 15 December 1940, both locations were in British hands and the remnants of the I Tank Battalion M11/39 retreated to Tobruk, while the LX Tank Battalion L was destroyed at Buq Buq. The III Tank Battalion M13/40, which was equipped with improved M13/40 tanks, withdrew to Mechili, while the XXI Tank Battalion L left its tankettes at Tobruk and moved to Benghazi to mount on M13/40 tanks that had arrived along with the V Tank Battalion M13/40 and the V Tank Battalion L with L3/35 tankettes.
Between 3 and 5 January 1941, the V, XX, LXI, and LXII tank battalions L were destroyed in the Battle of Bardia. On 7 January 1941, the regimental command of the 4th Tank Infantry Regiment with the remnants of the I Tank Battalion M11/39 and the LXIII Tank Battalion L were surrounded with other Italian forces at Tobruk. On 20 January, during the British capture of Tobruk the position of the 4th Tank Infantry Regiment was overrun by the 19th Australian Brigade with such ferocity that 70% of the remaining officers, including both battalion commanders, and 50% of the remaining troops of the regiment were killed in action. On 13 January, the VI Tank Battalion M13/40 arrived from Italy and joined the rest of the Babini Group, which now consisted of the V and XXI tank battalions M13/40. On 24 January the Babini Group clashed inconclusively with the British 7th Armoured Division at Mechili. After Mechili the remnants of the Italian 10th Army retreated further west to Beda Fomm, where the British Combeforce successfully cut the Italian line of retreat and destroyed on 6–7 February 1941 the remnants of the Italian 10th Army, which included what was left of the III, V, VI, and XXI tank battalions M13/40, in the Battle of Beda Fomm.
Between 10 June 1940 and 21 January 1941, the 4th Tank Infantry Regiment and the III and V tank battalions' casualties were: 15 officers killed and 14 wounded out of 34, and 148 soldiers killed and 244 wounded out of 538. On 25 January 1941, the 4th Tank Infantry Regiment was declared lost due to war time events. For its conduct between 8 July 1940 and 21 January 1941 in Bardia, Sollum, at Halfaya Pass, and in Sidi Barrani, and its sacrifice at Tobruk the 4th Tank Infantry Regiment was awarded Italy's highest military honor the Gold Medal of Military Valor, which was affixed to the regiment's flag. For their service and sacrifice during Operation Compass, the XX and XXI tank battalions L, which had been formed by the 4th Tank Infantry Regiment's depot in 1937, were each awarded a Bronze Medal of Military Valor, which were affixed to the flag of the 4th Tank Infantry Regiment.