Vittorio Veneto Armored Brigade

The Vittorio Veneto Armored Brigade was an armored brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units were armored and mechanized cavalry squadrons. The brigades headquarter was in the city of Villa Opicina, with most of its units based in the province of Trieste. The brigades name was chosen to remember the decisive Italian victory of World War I at the Battle of Vittorio Veneto.

History
The brigade was activated during a major reorganization of the Italian Army: in 1975 the regiment level was abolished and battalions came under direct command of newly formed brigades, which combined units from different arms. On 23 October 1975 the Vittorio Veneto Armored Brigade was activated along with the Gorizia Mechanized Brigade from the disbanded regiments of the Folgore Mechanized Division. The Vittorio Veneto took command of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment Piemonte Cavalleria and the 6th Cavalry Squadrons Group Lancieri di Aosta, while the Gorizia Mechanized Brigade incorporated the men and equipment of the 82nd Infantry Regiment Torino and the 183rd Infantry Regiment Nembo. The division also received the Trieste Mechanized Brigade in Bologna.

The Folgore Mechanized Division was part of the 5th Army Corps based in North-Eastern Italy. The 5th Army Corps was tasked with defending the Italian-Yugoslavian border against possible attacks by either the Warsaw Pact, or Yugoslavia or both. The Vittorio Veneto brigade’s duty was to defended the city of Trieste. Its authorized strength was 3,381 men (214 Officers, 516 non-commissioned officers and 2,651 soldiers) and it was initially composed by the following units:


 * Vittorio Veneto Command and Signal Battalion, in Villa Opicina
 * CoA mil ITA rgt cavalleria 02.png 2nd Mechanized Squadrons Group Piemonte Cavalleria, in Villa Opicina, (VCC-2 Armoured personnel carriers)
 * CoA mil ITA rgt cavalleria 06.png 6th Tank Squadrons Group Lancieri di Aosta, in Cervignano del Friuli, (Leopard 1A2 Main battle tanks)
 * CoA mil ITA rgt cavalleria 09.png 9th Tank Squadrons Group Lancieri di Firenze, in Sgonico, (Leopard 1A2 Main battle tanks)
 * CoA mil ITA rgt artiglieria 008.png 8th Self-propelled Field Artillery Group Pasubio, in Banne, (M109 Self-propelled howitzers)
 * CoA mil ITA btg logistico vittorio veneto.png Vittorio Veneto Logistic Battalion, in Cervignano del Friuli
 * Vittorio Veneto Anti-tank Squadron, in Banne
 * Vittorio Veneto Engineer Company, in Cervignano del Friuli

On 31 October 1986 the Italian Army abolished the divisional level and brigades, that until then had been under one of the Armys four divisions, came forthwith under direct command of the Armys 3rd and 5th Army Corps. The Vittorio Veneto along with the Gorizia came under the 5th Army Corps, while the Trieste was transferred to the 3rd Army Corps. The same year the brigade was transformed in a mechanized brigade and gained three new units, making it one of the strongest brigades of the Army.


 * CoA mil ITA rgt fanteria 001.png 1st Motorized Infantry Battalion San Giusto, in Trieste
 * CoA mil ITA rgt fanteria 033.png 33rd Infantry Battalion Ardenza, in Fogliano Redipuglia
 * 12th Mechanized Squadrons Group Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo, in Gorizia

After the end of the Cold War the Italian Army began to draw down its forces and the Vittorio Veneto was one of the first brigades to be disbanded. On 31 July 1991 the brigade was officially deactivated along with most of its subordinate units. A few units were distributed among other brigades: Piemonte Cavalleria and 8th Self-propelled Field Artillery Group joined the Pozzuolo del Friuli Cavalry Brigade, the Lancieri di Aosta transferred to Palermo and joined the Aosta Mechanized Brigade, while the Lancieri di Firenze moved to Grosetto. The 1st Motorized Infantry Battalion San Giusto became the 1st Infantry (Training) Regiment San Giusto.