1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna"

1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna"
1° Reggimento "Granatieri di Sardegna"
Regimental coat of arms
Active	18 April 1659 — 10 May 1799 24 May 1814 — 17 Sept. 1943 15 May 1944 — 21 Aug. 1944 1 July 1946 — today
Country	Italy
Branch	Italian Army
Part of	Mechanized Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna"
Garrison/HQ	Rome
Motto(s)	"A me le Guardie!"
Anniversaries	18 April 1659 – Founding of the Granatieri speciality
Decorations	1× Military Order of Italy 2× Gold Medals of Military Valor 3× Silver Medals of Military Valor 1× Bronze Medal of Military Valor 1× Silver Medal of Merit[1][2][3]
Insignia
Granatieri gorget patches

The 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" (Italian: 1° Reggimento "Granatieri di Sardegna") is a grenadiers unit of the Italian Army's infantry arm's grenadiers (Italian: Granatieri) speciality. The regiment is based in Rome and assigned to the Mechanized Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna". The regiment was first formed in 1659 and is the currently oldest active unit of the Italian Army and the most senior regiment in the Italian Army's infantry order of precedence. Together with its sister the regiment, the 2nd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna", the regiment is the guard regiment of Rome.^[4][5][6]

In 1659, the Savoyard Army formed the Guard Regiment, which was tasked with guarding the Dukes of Savoy on the battlefield. For the next 140 years the regiment fought in all wars the Duchy of Savoy and then the Kingdom of Sardinia were involved. In 1747, the regiment's I Battalion distinguishing itself in the Battle of Assietta. In 1798, French forces occupied Piedmont and King Charles Emmanuel IV was forced into exile on the island of Sardinia. Afterwards, the regiment was pressed into the service of the French-controlled Piedmontese Republic. In 1799, Austrian forces drove the French from Piedmont and the regiment was disbanded. In 1814, Napoleon was forced to abdicate and King Victor Emmanuel I returned from exile in Sardinia to Turin, where the Guards Regiment was reformed. In 1815, the regiment was used to form the Grenadier Guards Brigade. In 1831, the Grenadier Guards Brigade was renamed Guards Brigade and the brigade's battalions were used to form the 1st Grenadiers Regiment (Guards Brigade), which was joined in the brigade by the 2nd Hunters Regiment (Guards Brigade). In 1848, in preparation for the First Italian War of Independence, the Guards Brigade formed the 2nd Grenadiers Regiment (Guards Brigade), while the battalions of the 2nd Hunters Regiment (Guards Brigade) were assigned to the two grenadier regiments. During the same year, the Guards Brigade formed the 1st Hunters Regiment, which in 1850 left the Guards Brigade and became the Hunters of Sardinia Regiment. Consequently, the Guards Brigade was renamed Grenadiers Brigade. In 1852, the Hunters of Sardinia Regiment was disbanded and its battalions transferred to the regiments of the Grenadiers Brigade, which was renamed Grenadiers of Sardinia Brigade (Italian: Brigata Granatieri di Sardegna).^[4][6]

In 1859, the 1st Grenadiers Regiment (Grenadiers of Sardinia Brigade) fought in the Second Italian War of Independence. In 1860-61, the regiment fought in the Sardinian campaign in central and southern Italy, during which the regiment distinguished itself in the Siege of Gaeta, for which it was awarded Italy's highest military order the Gold Medal of Military Valor. In 1866, the 1st Grenadiers Regiment (Grenadiers of Sardinia Brigade) fought in the Third Italian War of Independence. In 1871, the brigade level was abolished and consequently, the Grenadiers of Sardinia Brigade was disbanded, while the brigade's two regiments were renamed 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna", respectively 2nd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna". In 1881, the brigade level was reintroduced and the two grenadier regiments were renamed 1st Grenadiers Regiment (Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna"), respectively 2nd Grenadiers Regiment (Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna").^[4][6]

During World War I the 1st Grenadiers Regiment (Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna") fought on the Italian front. In May 1916, the brigade fought to annihilation on Monte Cengio during the Austro-Hungarian Army's Asiago Offensive. For the defense of Monte Cengio, the 1st Grenadiers Regiment and its sister regiment, the 2nd Grenadiers Regiment, were both awarded a Gold Medal of Military Valor. In 1926, the Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna" was renamed XXI Infantry Brigade and the brigade's two regiments were renamed 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna", respectively 2nd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna". During the same year the 3rd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" was formed and assigned to the XXI Infantry Brigade. During World War II the regiment was assigned to the 21st Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna", with which it served in occupied Slovenia. In November 1942, the "Granatieri di Sardegna" division was recalled to Rome. After the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943, the "Granatieri di Sardegna" division fought against invading German forces. On 10 September, after a last stand at Porta San Paolo, the division surrendered to the Germans, which disbanded the division and its regiments a week later.^[4][6]

In 1944, the Italian Co-belligerent Army reformed the regiment for a short time on the island of Sardinia. In 1946, the 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" was reformed and assigned to the Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna". In 1976, the regiment was disbanded and its flag and traditions transferred to the 1st Mechanized Grenadiers Battalion "Assietta". The battalion was assigned, together with the 2nd Mechanized Grenadiers Battalion "Cengio" and 3rd Grenadiers Battalion "Guardie", to the Mechanized Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna". In 1992, the 1st Mechanized Grenadiers Battalion "Assietta" lost its autonomy and entered the reformed 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna".^[4][6] The regiment's anniversary falls, as for all grenadier units, on 18 April 1659, the day the Granatieri speciality was founded. As the Italian Army's guard unit, the regiment's personnel was required to have a minimum height of 1,90 meters. In 2004, after the suspension of conscription, the height requirement was reduced to 1,85 meters for officers and 1,80 meters for enlisted personnel.^[5][6]