The 21st Engineer Regiment ( it, 21° Reggimento Genio Guastatori) is a

military engineer 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 ...

regiment of the

Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

based in

Caserta Caserta () is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial, and industrial ''comune'' and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Camp ...

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

. Today 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 ...

. In 1937 the regiment was formed 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. In mathematics 21 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being 1, 3 and 7, and a deficie ...

, which was based in the

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή ��παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...

in eastern

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Su ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the regiment formed engineer units for the Italian forces fighting in the Western Desert Campaign. 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 halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented ...

and the British conquest of Cyrenaica the regiment was declared lost. Reformed in 1953 as a battalion the unit was assigned in 1963 to the III Missile Brigade. 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 ( sl, Štivan) near Duino ( sl, Devin) and outflows in the Gulf of Panzano (part of the Gulf of Trieste ...

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 entered the reformed regiment. The regimental anniversary falls, as for all engineer units, on June 24, the end of the

Second Battle of the Piave River The Second Battle of the Piave River, fought between 15 and 23 June 1918, was a decisive victory for the Italian Army against the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I. Though the battle proved to be a decisive blow to the Austro-Hungari ...

in 1918.

History

World War II

On 1 October 1937 the 21st Engineer Regiment was formed in

Trani Trani () is a seaport of Apulia, in 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. History Overview The city of ''Turenum'' appears for the fir ...

by the depot of the 9th Engineer Regiment for the

in the eastern part of

Italian Libya Libya ( it, Libia; ar, ليبيا, Lībyā al-Īṭālīya) was a colony of the Fascist 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 a ...

known as

. The regiment arrived in

Benghazi Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη ('' Berenice'') and '' Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Gha ...

in Libya on 17 October. The regiment consisted of three mixed engineer battalions, each with an engineer company and a connections company. With the outbreak of

the regiment's depot began to mobilize new 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 63rd Infantry Division "Cirene" ( it, 63ª Divisione di fanteria "Cirene") was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The division was formed on 1 October 1937 in Benghazi in Italian Libya and named for the nearby ...

) The regiment's battalions fought in the Western Desert Campaign. 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 and consisted of a command, two engineer companies, and a field park company. On 19 January 1963 the battalion moved to

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) 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. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a t ...

in northern Italy and joined the III Missile Brigade, which was the Italian Army's

nuclear sharing Nuclear sharing is a concept in NATO's policy of nuclear deterrence, which allows member countries without nuclear weapons of their own to participate in the planning for the use of nuclear weapons by NATO. In particular, it provides for the ar ...

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 a corps or named for a river if they supported a division or brigade. On 1 October 1975 the XXI Engineer Battalion was renamed 21st Engineer Battalion "

" and assigned the flag and traditions of the 21st Engineer Regiment. The battalion 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 1 February 1976 the battalion also included 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 ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its t ...

and "Site River" in Tormeno. On 31 December 1979 the 21st Engineer Battalion "Timavo" was disbanded, leaving only one autonomous engineer company in Vicenza. The battalion's flag was transferred to

in the South of Italy, where since 1 February 1979 a new engineer battalion had been raised. On 1 January 1980 the flag and traditions of the 21st Engineer Regiment were given to the engineer battalion in Caserta, which was renamed 21st Engineer Battalion "Timavo". The battalion consisted of a command, a command and park company, and two engineer companies. On 1 January 1981 the regiment raised 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.

Recent times

On 21 September 1993 the battalion lost its autonomy and the next day the battalion entered the newly formed 21st Pioneer Regiment as Pioneer Battalion "Timavo". On 1 October 2000 the regiment was renamed 21st Engineer Regiment and on 1 December of the same year it was assigned to the

Organization

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

As of 2023 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

External links

Italian Army Website: 21° Reggimento Genio Guastatori

References

{{Italian Army Engineer Regiments Engineer Regiments of Italy