Field Artillery Regiment "a Cavallo"
The Field Artillery Regiment "a Cavallo" is a field artillery regiment of the Italian Army. The regiment is the heir to all Italian Army horse artillery units and maintains a mounted section with historic horse-drawn field guns. Today the regiment is based in Vercelli in Piedmont and Milan in Lombardy. The regiment is operationally assigned to the Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" and provides artillery support to the Italian Armed Forces' National Sea Projection Capability.
The three Silver Medals of Military Valour awarded to the regiment in World War II for its service with the Italian Army in Russia and the Silver Medal of Military Valour awarded to the Fast Artillery Regiment for its service with the 133rd Armoured Division "Littorio" in the Western Desert Campaign are affixed to the regiment's standard and displayed on the regiment's coat of arms. Additionally the regiment's standard also carries temporarily the Gold Medal of Military Valour and the Bronze Medal of Military Valour awarded to Fast Artillery Regiment for its service with the 27th Infantry Division "Brescia" in the Western Desert Campaign, and the Silver Medal of Military Valour awarded to 201st Motorized Artillery Regiment for its service with the Italian Army in Russia.Current Structure
As of 2019 the Field Artillery Regiment "a Cavallo" consists of:
- Regimental Command, in Vercelli
- * Command and Logistic Support Battery, in Vercelli
- * Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Tactical Liaison Battery, in Vercelli
- * 1st Howitzer Group "M.O. Gioacchino Bellezza", in Vercelli
- ** 1st Howitzer Battery
- ** 2nd Howitzer Battery
- ** 3rd Howitzer Battery
- ** Fire and Technical Support Battery
- * 2nd Horse Group "M.O. Sergio Bresciani", in Milan
- ** Historical Mounted Section
- ** Mounted Batteries Military Equestrian Center
- ** Mounted Batteries Museum
The Command and Logistic Support Battery fields the following sections: C3 Section, Transport and Materiel Section, Medical Section, and Commissariat Section. The 1st Howitzer Group is equipped with FH-70 towed howitzers, while the 2nd Horse Group's Historical Mounted Section is equipped with horse-drawn 75/27 Mod. 1912 guns. The Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Tactical Liaison Battery is equipped with RQ-11B Raven unmanned aerial vehicles and ARTHUR counter-battery radars.