Mechanized Brigade "Mantova"


The Mechanized Brigade "Mantova" was a mechanized brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units were mechanized infantry battalions. The brigade's headquarters was in the city of Cividale del Friuli and all the brigade's units were based in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. In 2003, the "Mantova" was raised again as a division command.

History

First World War

The "Mantova" Brigade was activated on 1 March 1915 in preparation for Italy's entry into the World War I. Initially the brigade consisted of the 113th and 114th infantry regiment and was the 1st Army's reserve infantry formation. During the first year of the war the brigade was employed on the borders of Trentino. In 1916 it became part of the 37th Territorial Division and fought in the Battle of Asiago. Afterwards the brigade was transferred to the 57th Territorial Division and moved to the area of Redipuglia. In 1917 the brigade was again on the heavily contested Asiago plateau. In 1918, the brigade participated in the Battle of the Piave River near Nervesa and in the Vittorio Veneto. In November 1919 the brigade was disbanded.

Second World War

On 15 March 1942, the 104th Infantry Division "Mantova" was raised in Verona with the re-activated 113th and 114th infantry regiments and the 11th Artillery Regiment "Monferrato". At first the division was based in Piedmont, then in Apulia and Calabria. After allied forces had landed on the Italian peninsula and an armistice between Italy and the Allies had been signed, the division stayed loyal to the King of Italy Victor Emmanuel III.
On 26 September 1943, the division ceded part of the 11th Artillery Regiment to help form the Italian 1st Motorized Group under command of the 58th Infantry Division "Legnano", which was to aid in the allied war effort. On 16 October its 113th Infantry Regiment joined the US Fifth Army and on 30 October 1943 the division received the 76th Infantry Regiment "Napoli" as a replacement for the 113th.
In spring 1944 the division took command of the remnants of the 155th Infantry Division "Emilia" after they had been repatriated from combat against German forces in Dalmatia. At that point the division consisted of the following understrength units:
At the beginning of fall 1944 the division was ordered to re-organize as a Combat Group destined for the frontlines in central Italy. The 76th and 114th infantry regiments and 155th Artillery Regiment were brought up to strength and equipped with British materiel. By spring 1945 the division was ready to join the British Eighth Army, but it arrived at the front just as the German forces had surrendered.

Cold War

Infantry Division "Mantova"

On 15 October 1945 Combat Group "Mantova" regained its old name, Infantry Division "Mantova", and was garrisoned in Varazze on the Ligurian coast. In May 1947 the division was transferred to the city of Udine in north-eastern Italy, where it formed together with the Infantry Division "Folgore" the first line of defence towards Yugoslavia. On 16 September 1947 the division's 114th Infantry Regiment "Mantova" was given the honour of being the first Italian military unit to enter the city of Gorizia after it was returned to Italian control. One week later, on 23 September 1949, the division was joined by the 59th Infantry Regiment "Calabria" and the 5th Artillery Regiment. At this time the "Mantova" division was part of the Italian 5th Military Territorial Command. In the following years, the division repeatedly gained and lost minor units, but its core units - 59th, 76th and 114th infantry regiments, and 5th and 155th artillery regiments - remained in place. In the 1960s the division added the 52nd Infantry Fortification Regiment "Alpi", the LXIII Tank Battalion with M47 Patton tanks and the VI Cavalry Reconnaissance Group "Lancieri di Aosta" to its ranks, but lost the 155th Artillery Regiment in the process.
By 1974, the division had been full motorized and consisted of:
In 1975 the Italian Army undertook a major reorganization of its forces: the regimental level was abolished and battalions came under direct command of multi-arms brigades. As tensions with Yugoslavia over the city of Trieste were allayed by the Treaty of Osimo and because a reduction of the military service from 15 to 12 months for the army and air force and from 24 to 18 months for the navy, forced the army to reduce its forces by nearly 45,000 troops, it was decided that the units of the Infantry Division "Mantova" would contract to brigade. Therefore during 1975 most units of the "Mantova" division were either disbanded or reorganized and on 21 October 1975 the remaining units of the division were used to raise the Mechanized Brigade "Isonzo" in Cividale del Friuli. To bring the division back to full strength it received the newly formed Mechanized Brigade "Brescia" in Brescia and the Armored Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" in Palmanova. By the end of the year the division consisted of the following units.
On 1 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 Army Corps or 5th Army Corps. As the Mechanized Division "Mantova" carried a historically significant name, the division ceased to exist on 30 September in Udine, but the next day in the same location the Mechanized Brigade "Mantova" was activated. The new brigade took command of the units of the Mechanized Brigade "Isonzo", whose name was stricken from the roll of active units of the Italian Army. The "Mantova" brigade then consisted of the following units:
After the end of the Cold War, the Italian Army began a massive drawdown of its forces. At the same time the battalions returned to use the name regiment for traditional reasons:
The brigade itself was disbanded on 30 August 1997 and the last unit under its command, the 82nd Infantry Regiment "Torino", joined the 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete".

Today

In 2002 the Italian Army raised three division commands, with one of the three always readily deployable for NATO missions. The army decided that each division should carry the name and traditions of one of the divisions that served with distinction in World War II. Therefore on 31 December 2002 the 2nd Italian Division in Vittorio Veneto was renamed as Division Command "Mantova".
During the 2013 army reform it was decided to rename the Division "Mantova" as Division "Friuli" to preserve the name "Friuli".