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12th Heavy Field Artillery Regiment (Italy)
Military unit / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 12th Heavy Field Artillery Regiment (Italian: 12° Reggimento Artiglieria Pesante Campale) is an inactive artillery regiment of the Italian Army, which was based in Vercelli in Piedmont and assigned to the 3rd Army Corps. Originally an artillery regiment of the Royal Italian Army, the regiment was formed in 1920 with pre-existing groups, which had fought during World War I on the Italian front. During World War II the regiment formed an army corps artillery grouping, which in 1943 fought against the allies during the invasion of Sicily. The regiment and its depot were lost when allied forces entered Palermo on 22 July 1943, while the grouping was disbanded in August 1943 after it had retreated from Sicily to Calabria in Southern Italy.[1]
12th Heavy Field Artillery Regiment | |
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12° Reggimento Artiglieria Pesante Campale | |
![]() Regimental coat of arms | |
Active | 10 Aug. 1920 — August 1943 1 Nov. 1986 — 20 Sept. 1992 |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | Italian Army |
Part of | 3rd Army Corps |
Garrison/HQ | Vercelli |
Motto(s) | "Hostibus flagellum" |
Anniversaries | 15 June 1918 - Second Battle of the Piave River |
Insignia | |
Regimental gorget patches |
In 1976 the Artillery Specialists Group "Centauro" was formed and assigned to the Armored Division "Centauro". In 1986 the division was disbanded, the group was transferred to the Artillery Command of the 3rd Army Corps. At the same time the group was renamed 12th Artillery Specialists Group "Biella" and assigned the flag and traditions of the 12th Heavy Field Artillery Regiment. In 1992 the group was disbanded and the flag of the 12th Heavy Field Artillery Regiment was transferred to the Shrine of the Flags in the Vittoriano in Rome.[1][2]
The regimental anniversary falls, as for all Italian Army artillery regiments, on June 15, the beginning of the Second Battle of the Piave River in 1918.[1] This article is about the Royal Italian Army's 12th Heavy Field Artillery Regiment, which was a support unit assigned to a corps-level command. This regiment is unrelated to the 12th Field Artillery Regiment, which was a support unit assigned to a division-level command.[1]