Armored Brigade "Centauro"


After World War II the Italian Army had two units named "Centauro": from 1952 to 1986 the Armored Division "Centauro" and from 1986 to 2002 the Armored Brigade "Centauro". Both units were successor to the World War II era 131st Armored Division "Centauro". The units' name came from the mythological race of half human-half horse creatures named Centaurs.

History

World War II

The 131st Armored Division "Centauro" was formed in April 1939. The division participated in the Greco-Italian War and invasion of Yugoslavia. In August 1942 the division was sent to Libya to fight in the Western Desert Campaign. After the Axis defeat in the Second Battle of El Alamein the division retreated with the German-Italian Panzer Army to Tunisia, where the division participated in the Tunisian Campaign. On 18 April 1943 the division was disbanded due to the losses suffered in the Battle of El Guettar.

Reconstitution

On 1 April 1951 the Italian Army raised the Armored Brigade "Centauro" in Verona and assigned it to the 4th Army Corps. In fall of 1955 the division moved its headquarters to Novara and joined 3rd Army Corps, while the units of the brigade moved to Milan and Bellinzago Novarese. On 1 November 1952 the brigade was renamed Armored Division "Centauro" and consisted of the following units.Armored Division "Centauro", in Novara

1963 reorganization

In 1963 Italian divisions adapted their organization to NATO standards and thus added a brigade level to the divisions structure. The Centauro was now organized as follows:Armored Division "Centauro", in Novara
On 1 October 1968 the brigade headquarters were disbanded. The Armored Division "Centauro" was part of the 3rd Army Corps based in North-Western Italy. The 3rd Army Corps was tasked with defending Lombardy and Piedmont in case the 4th Alpine Army Corps and 5th Army Corps would have failed to stop Warsaw Pact forces east of the Adige river.

1975 army reform

Before the Italian Army reform of 1975 the division had the following organization:Armored Division "Centauro", in Novara
In 1975 the Italian Army undertook a major reorganization of it forces: the regimental level was abolished and battalions came under direct command of newly formed multi-arms brigades. The 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment became the 3rd Mechanized Brigade "Goito" and the 31st Tank Regiment became the 31st Armored Brigade "Curtatone". The units of the 1st Armored Bersaglieri Regiment were transferred to the Mechanized Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna" in Rome. On 21 October 1975 the Centauro took command of the two newly created brigades and additional units to bring it up to full strength.Armored Division "Centauro", in Novara

Armored Brigade "Centauro"

The 31st Armored Brigade "Curtatone" was named for the Battle of Curtatone and Montanara fought during the First Italian War of Independence. The brigade's authorized strength was 3,381 men. On 31 October 1986 the Italian Army abolished the divisional level and brigades, that until then had been under one of the Army's four divisions, came forthwith under direct command of the Army's 3rd or 5th Army Corps. As the Centauro a historically significant name, the division ceased to exist on 31 October in Novara, but the next day in the same location the Armored Brigade "Centauro" was activated. The new brigade took command of the units of the 31st Armored Brigade "Curtatone", whose name was stricken from the roll of active units of the Italian Army. The brigade was part of the 3rd Army Corps based in North-Western Italy and was organized as follows:31st Armored Brigade "Centauro", in Novara

1990–2000

During the 1990s the brigade's structure fluctuated wildly as the Italian Army drew down its forces after the end of the Cold War. On 5 November 1990 the 11th Infantry Battalion "Casale" in Casale Monferrato joined the brigade, followed on 1 June 1991 by a medical battalion from the disbanded Mechanized Brigade "Goito". On 1 July 1991 101st Tank Battalion joined the Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi" and transferred to Persano in the south of Italy. In the following year the 1st Tank Battalion was renamed 31st Tank Regiment without changing its size or composition, similarly the 9th Self-propelled Field Artillery Group became the 131st Self-propelled Field Artillery Regiment. The Anti-tank company was disbanded and the Sapper company merged into the Command and Signal Unit to form the Command and Tactical Supports Unit "Centauro".
On 9 October 1995 the 31st Tank Regiment received the war flag and name of the 4th Tank Regiment and transferred its own name and war flag to the 133rd Tank Regiment in Altamura, followed on 10 October 1995 by the 131st Self-propelled Field Artillery Regiment "Centauro", which received the war flag and name of the 52nd Self-propelled Artillery Regiment "Torino" from the disbanding Mechanized Brigade "Legnano" and transferred its own name and war flag to the 2nd Self-propelled Artillery Regiment "Potenza" in Barletta. The 31st Tank Regiment and 131st Artillery Regiment became both units of the Mechanized Brigade "Pinerolo".
During 1996 the brigade also gained the 2nd and 3rd Bersaglieri regiments from the Legnano, while the 28th Bersaglieri Battalion was disbanded. On 5 November 1996 the 21st Infantry Regiment "Cremona" in Alessandria from the disbanded Motorized Brigade "Cremona" entered the brigade. Followed by the Regiment "Nizza Cavalleria" (1st) in Pinerolo, which was transferred from the 3rd Army Corps. In 1998 the 11th Infantry Battalion "Casale" was transferred to the army's Training Brigade, thus the "Centauro" brigade entered the new millennium with the following units:Mechanized Brigade "Centauro", in Novara

2000–2002

In 2001 the Logistic Battalion and Medical Battalion were transferred to the army's newly formed Logistic Brigade. The 2nd Bersaglieri Regiment was disbanded in 2001, followed by the brigade on 5 October 2002. The remaining units were distributed among other brigades: the Nizza Cavalleria joined the Alpine Brigade "Taurinense", the 3rd Bersaglieri and 4th Tank Regiment joined the Armored Brigade "Ariete", the 21st Infantry Regiment "Cremona" and 52nd Self-propelled Artillery Regiment joined the Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli".