The 21st Engineer Regiment () is a

military engineering Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics b ...

regiment of the

Italian Army The Italian Army ( []) is the Army, land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China and Italo-Turkish War, Libya. It ...

based in

Caserta Caserta ( ; ) is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. An important agricultural, commercial, and industrial ''comune'' and city, Caserta is located 36 kilometres north of Naples on the edge of the Campanian p ...

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

. The regiment is the engineer unit of the

Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi" The Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi" is a mechanized infantry brigade of the Italian Army, based in the south of the country. Its core units are Bersaglieri, an elite infantry corps of the Italian Army. The brigade is named after Giuseppe Garibaldi ...

. The regiment was formed in 1937 and assigned to the

XXI Army Corps 21 (twenty-one) is the natural number following 20 and preceding 22. The current century is the 21st century AD, under the Gregorian calendar. Mathematics Twenty-one is the fifth distinct semiprime, and the second of the form 3 \times q whe ...

, which was based in

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika (, , after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between the 16th and 25th meridians east, including the Kufra District. The coastal region, als ...

in eastern

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the regiment formed engineer units for the Italian forces fighting in the

Western Desert campaign The Western Desert campaign (Desert War) took place in the Sahara Desert, deserts of Egypt and Libya and was the main Theater (warfare), theatre in the North African campaign of the Second World War. Military operations began in June 1940 with ...

. After the Axis defeat in the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...

and the British conquest of Cyrenaica the regiment was declared lost due to wartime events. The unit was reformed in 1953 in

Trani Trani () is a seaport of Apulia, Southern Italy, on the Adriatic Sea, by railway west-northwest of Bari. It is one of the capital cities of the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani (BAT). History Overview The city of ''Turenum'' appears for the ...

as a battalion. In 1963, the battalion moved to

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

, where it joined the

III Missile Brigade III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * I ...

. In 1975, the battalion was named for the

Timavo The Timavo River, known in Slovene as the or ', is a two-kilometre stream in the Province of Trieste. It has four sources near San Giovanni () near Duino () and outflows in the Gulf of Panzano (part of the Gulf of Trieste) southeast of Monfa ...

river and assigned the flag and traditions of the 21st Engineer Regiment. At the end of 1979, the battalion moved to

in the South of Italy. In 1993, the battalion lost its autonomy and entered the reformed 21st Engineer Regiment. The regiment's anniversary falls, as for all engineer units, on 24 June 1918, the last day of the

Second Battle of the Piave River The Second Battle of the Piave River (or Battle of the Solstice), fought between 15 and 23 June 1918, was a decisive victory for the Italian Army against the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I, as Italy was part of the Allied Forces, whi ...

History

Interwar years

On 1 October 1937, the depot of the

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army () (RE) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfredo Fanti signed a decree c ...

's 9th Engineer Regiment in

formed the 21st Engineer Regiment for the

, which was based in the eastern part of

Italian Libya Libya (; ) was a colony of Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Italian Cyrenaica, Cyrenaica and Italian Tripolitan ...

known as

. On 17 October of the same year, the new regiment arrived at its base in

Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...

in Libya. The regiment was assigned the existing II, LXII, and LXIII mixed engineer battalions, each of which consisted of an engineer company and a connections company. Upon entering the new regiment the three battalions were renumbered and on 1 January 1938, the regiment consisted of a command, a command unit, and the I, II, and III mixed engineer battalions. On 4 July 1938, the regiment's

depot Depot may refer to: Places * Depot, Poland, a village * Depot Glacier (disambiguation) * Depot Island (disambiguation) * Depot Nunatak * Depot Peak Brands and enterprises * Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in Chicago, United States * Of ...

in Benghazi became operational.

World War II

During

the regiment's depot in Benghazi mobilized the following units: * XXI Army Corps Engineer Battalion (for the

) * XXI Army Corps Connections Battalion (for the XXI Army Corps) * LXII Mixed Engineer Battalion (for the 62nd Infantry Division "Marmarica") * LXIII Mixed Engineer Battalion (for the 63rd Infantry Division "Cirene") The regiment's battalions fought in the

. The regiment was declared lost after the Axis defeat in the

in November 1942 and the following British conquest of Cyrenaica.

Cold War

On 1 January 1953, the XXI Engineer Battalion was formed in Trani, which consisted of a command, two engineer companies, and a field park company. On 19 January 1963, the battalion moved from Trani to

in northern Italy, where it joined the

. The III Missile Brigade was the Italian Army's

nuclear sharing Nuclear sharing is a concept in NATO and Russia's policies of nuclear deterrence, which allows member countries without nuclear weapons of their own to participate in the planning, training, and, in extremis, the use of nuclear weapons. In parti ...

unit. During the 1975 army reform the army disbanded the regimental level and newly independent battalions were granted for the first time their own flags. During the reform engineer battalions were named for a lake, if they supported an corps-level command, or a river, if they supported a division or brigade. On 1 October 1975, the XXI Engineer Battalion was renamed 21st Engineer Battalion "Timavo". The battalion was named for the

river, which was fiercely contested between the

and the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After the reform the 21st Engineer Battalion "Timavo" consisted of a command, a command and park company, and two engineer companies. At the time the battalion fielded 527 men (30 officers, 68 non-commissioned officers, and 429 soldiers). On 12 November 1976, the

President of the Italian Republic The president of Italy, officially titled President of the Italian Republic (), is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity and guarantees that Italian politics comply with the Constitution. The presid ...

Giovanni Leone Giovanni Leone (; 3 November 1908 – 9 November 2001) was an Italian politician, jurist and university professor who was President of Italy from 1971 to 1978. A founding member of Christian Democracy (Italy), Christian Democracy (DC), Leone br ...

assigned with decree 846 the

flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

and traditions of the 21st Engineer Regiment to the battalion. On 1 February 1976, the battalion received from the

3rd Missile Brigade "Aquileia" The 3rd Missile Brigade "Aquileia" () was an artillery brigade of the Italian Army active between 1959 and 1991. The brigade was stationed in North-Eastern Italy and armed with missile and artillery systems capable of firing tactical nuclear weapo ...

the 2nd Fusiliers Company in

, which was tasked with guarding the nuclear weapons depots "Site Pluto" in

Longare Longare is a town in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends int ...

and "Site River" in Tormeno. On 1 February 1979, an engineer battalion was formed in

southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

. On 31 December 1979, the 21st Engineer Battalion "Timavo" in Vicenza was disbanded, with only one autonomous engineer company remaining active to cover the engineering needs of the 3rd Missile Brigade "Aquileia". The 21st Engineer Regiment's flag was then transferred to

in the South of Italy, where the next day, on 1 January 1980, the engineer battalion in Caserta was renamed 21st Engineer Battalion "Timavo". The battalion was assigned to the Southern Military Region and consisted of a command, a command and park company, and two engineer companies. For its conduct and work after the

1980 Irpinia earthquake The 1980 Irpinia earthquake () took place in Italy on 23 November 1980, with a moment magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). It left at least 2,483 people dead, at least 7,700 injured, and 250,000 homeless. Eart ...

the battalion was awarded a Bronze Medal of Army Valor, which was affixed to the battalion's flag and is depicted on the battalion's coat of arms. On 1 January 1981, the battalion formed a third engineer company and on 1 January 1987, the Command and Park Company split into the Command and Services Company and the Special Equipment Company. Afterwards the battalion consisted of the following units: * CoA mil ITA rgt genio 21

21st Engineer Battalion "Timavo", in

** Command and Services Company ** 1st Engineer Company ** 2nd Engineer Company ** 3rd Engineer Company ** Special Equipment Company

Recent times

On 21 September 1993, the 21st Engineer Battalion "Timavo" lost its autonomy and the next day the battalion entered the reformed 21st Pioneers Regiment as Pioneers Battalion "Timavo". On 1 October 2000, the regiment was renamed 21st Engineer Regiment and, on 1 December of the same year, it was transferred from the Southern Military Region to the

. On 26 June 2003, the regiment deployed to

Nasiriyah Nasiriyah ( , ; , BGN: , ), also spelled Nassiriya or Nasiriya, is a city in Iraq, the capital of the Dhi Qar Governorate. It lies on the lower Euphrates, about south-southeast of Baghdad, near the ruins of the ancient city of Ur. Its po ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. Taking up garrison and peacekeeping duties in the city the regiment found itself soon embroiled in the Iraqi insurgency. On 7 December 2003, the regiment left Iraq and returned to Italy. For its conduct in Iraq the regiment was awarded a Silver Medal of Army Valor, which was affixed to the regiment's flag and is depicted on the regiment's coat of arms. After the August 2016 earthquake in

Central Italy Central Italy ( or ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region with code ITI, and a European Parliament constituency. It has 11,704,312 inhabita ...

the regiment's companies deployed to the area to assist in the recovery efforts and to provide engineering services to the affected communities. For its service after the earthquake the regiment was awarded a Bronze Cross of Army Merit, which was affixed to the regiment's flag.

Organization

Italian Army - 21st Engineer Regiment - VTMM Orso ACRT-RC vehicles during exercise Red Autumn 2022

As of 2024 the 21st Engineer Regiment is organized as follows: * CoA mil ITA rgt genio 21

21st Engineer Regiment, in

** Command and Logistic Support Company ** Sappers Battalion "Timavo" *** 1st Sappers Company *** 2nd Sappers Company *** 3rd Sappers Company *** 4th Deployment Support Company ** Engineer Company, in

Castrovillari Castrovillari ( Calabrian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. Geography Castrovillari lies in the north of Calabria, close to the border with Basilicata and within the Pollino Nationa ...

The Engineer Company in Castrovillari provides disaster relief and emergency support for the

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

region.

External links

Italian Army Website: 21° Reggimento Genio Guastatori

References

{{Italian Army Engineer Regiments Engineer Regiments of Italy