| Ferrovieri Engineer Regiment | |
|---|---|
| Reggimento Genio Ferrovieri | |
 Regimental coat of arms | |
| Active | Oct. 1910 — 8 Sept. 1943 1 Oct. 1957 — today |
| Country |  Italy |
| Branch | Italian Army |
| Role | Railway engineers |
| Part of | Engineer Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Castel Maggiore |
| Motto | "Fervidis rotis ad metam" |
| Anniversaries | 24 June 1918 -Second Battle of the Piave River |
| Decorations |      1×Bronze Medal of Military Valor 1×War Cross of Military Valor 1× Silver Medal of Army Valor 1× Gold Cross of Army Merit 1× Bronze Cross of Army Merit[1][2][3] |
| Insignia | |
| Ferrovierigorget patches |  |
TheFerrovieri Engineer Regiment (Italian:Reggimento Genio Ferrovieri) is amilitary engineering regiment of theItalian Army based inCastel Maggiore in theEmilia Romagna. The regiment is assigned to the army'sEngineer Command and is the Italian Army's only unit capable of constructing and operating railways. The term "Ferrovieri" comes from the Italian word for railway (Italian:Ferrovia) and is used to denote units of the engineer arm tasked with the construction, restoration, maintenance, and operation of railways. Enlisted personnel in such units is addressed by the singular form: "Ferroviere".[4][5][6]
In 1873, theRoyal Italian Army formed the first Italian Ferrovieri companies, which were tasked with the construction and repair of railways. In 1891, the first railway operations companies were formed. In 1910, the Ferrovieri units were used to form the 6th Engineer Regiment (Ferrovieri). DuringWorld War I the regiment's depots formed numerous units, which built and operated railways along theItalian front. In 1919, the regiment was renamed Ferrovieri Engineer Regiment. DuringWorld War II the regiment formed ten Ferrovieri battalions and threePontieri battalions, as well as three railway operations groups. One of the Ferrovieri battalions served in theWestern Desert campaign andTunisian campaign, while two Ferrovieri battalions served with theItalian Army in Russia during theItalian campaign on the Eastern Front. After the announcement of theArmistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943, the regiment was disbanded byinvading German forces, while the Ferrovieri units in Southern Italy joined theItalian Co-Belligerent Army. These units repaired and operated railway lines, which supported the advance of theallied15th Army Group during theItalian campaign. In 1957, the regiment was reformed and included a Ferrovieri battalion and an operations battalion. In 2017, the two battalions merged into a single unit.[5][6] The regiment's anniversary falls, as for all engineer units, on 24 June 1918, the last day of theSecond Battle of the Piave River.[4]
In 1859, during theSecond Italian War of Independence, the first use of railways for military purposes occurred in Italy, when personnel of the1st Engineer Regiment was operated railways to transportFrench andSardinian troops.[5] On 30 September 1873, the Italian government ordered that theRoyal Sardinian Army's Sappers Corps should be split into two regiments and each of the two new regiments should include two Ferrovieri companies. On 1 January 1874, the Sappers Corps was split into the1st Engineer Regiment and2nd Engineer Regiment. The former regiment included one Ferrovieri Company, while the latter regiment included two Ferrovieri companies. The three companies were based inTurin and grouped together in the Ferrovieri Brigade, which was tasked with training the personnel of the two regiment's Ferrovieri companies. On 1 November 1877, the second Ferrovieri Company for the 1st Engineer Regiment was formed in Turin. On 1 November 1883, the four Ferrovieri companies were assigned to the Ferrovieri Brigade, which on the same date joined the newly formed3rd Engineer Regiment. On 23 June 1887, the 3rd Engineer Regiment transferred the Ferrovieri Brigade to the4th Engineer Regiment.[6][7]
In 1891, the Ferrovieri Brigade took over the operation of the Torino-Torre Pellice/Barge railway, which resulted in a reorganization of the brigade: the 1st and 3rd companies were reorganized as operations companies, while the 2nd and 4th companies were organized as construction companies. On 1 July 1895, the Ferrovieri Brigade became an autonomous unit and added the 5th and 6th construction companies. Afterwards the brigade's six companies were group into two Ferrovieri groups. In 1903, the I Ferrovieri Group, which consisted of the 1st Operations Company and 2nd Construction Company, moved toRome. In September 1906, the brigade formed a Motorists Section in Turin. Between September 1907 and September 1910 the I Ferrovieri Group operated theRome–Frascati railway.[6][7]
In October 1910, the Ferrovieri Brigade was renamed 6th Engineer Regiment (Ferrovieri). The new regiment consisted of a staff, a Ferrovieri battalion with four companies in Turin, a Ferrovieri battalion with two companies in Rome, a motorists battalion with two companies in Turin, a railway operations section in Turin, which operated the Turin-Pinerolo railway, adepot in Turin, and a branch depot in Rome.[6][8] The regiment's oldest and thus senior company, the 1st Operations Company, had been active as 6th Sappers Company during theSecond Italian War of Independence and the followingSardinian campaign in central and southern Italy. On 20 October 1860, during the latter campaign, the 6th Sappers Company distinguished itself in Battle of Macerone Pass and was awarded aBronze Medal of Military Valor, which, upon the regiment's formation, was affixed to the regiment's flag.[1]
In 1912, the regiment's two motorists companies became responsible to train the personnel of the photo-electrical service, which operatedsearchlights. In December 1913, the branch depot in Rome formed the Special Photo-Electrical Section, which trained personnel of the army's artillery arm in the use of searchlights. In 1914, the Special Photo-Electrical Section was transferred to the Artillery Arm's newly formed Artillery Specialists Group.[6]
DuringWorld War I battalions and companies formed by the regiment operated in all sectors of theItalian front. In total the regiment's depot and branch depot formed three Ferrovieri battalions and 16 Ferrovieri companies, ninedecauville operations companies, seven photo-electricians battalions and 36 photo-electricians companies. The two depots also formed 26 territorial photo-electricians sections which operated more than 1,200 searchlight stations.[6] During the war Ferrovieri units built 91 mi (147 km) of railway, 373 mi (600 km) ofdecauvilletrench railways, and repaired 144 bridges.[5][8]
On 21 November 1919, the 6th Engineer Regiment (Ferrovieri) was renamed Ferrovieri Engineer Regiment. At the time the regiment consisted of command, the I Ferrovieri Battalion with four companies in Turin, the II Ferrovieri Battalion with two companies inTreviso, a railway operations section in Turin, a depot in Turin, and a branch depot in Treviso. The Railway Operations Section operated theChivasso–Ivrea–Aosta railway since 1915. In April 1920, the photo-electricians units were assigned to newly formed army corps telegraphers battalions.[6]
In November 1921, the 2nd Railway Operations Section was formed inMeran, which operated theBolzano-Meran-Mals railway. In 1923, the two sections were united in the Operations Group. On 11 March 1926, the Ferrovieri Engineer Regiment was renamed Ferrovieri Regiment. On 25 April 1932, the 2nd Railway Operations Section was disbanded and the regiment then only operated the Chivasso–Ivrea–Aosta railway.[6]
In 1935, the regiment formed the following units in preparation for theSecond Italo-Ethiopian War:[6]
On 1 October 1938, the regiment received a Dismountable Metal Bridges Company from the2nd Pontieri Regiment.[6]
DuringWorld War II the regiment'sdepot in Turin mobilized the following units:[6]
On 9 July 1943, the day beforeallied forces landed on Sicily, the Italian Army's General Staff ordered that all Ferrovieri units, with the exception of those inItalian occupied France,Italian occupied Greece,Corsica andSardinia, would be assigned on 15 July 1943 to four Ferrovieri groupings:[6]
During the war, the VII Ferrovieri Battalion served in theWestern Desert campaign andTunisian campaign. The IX and X Ferrovieri battalions served on theEastern Front,[9] where the X Ferrovieri Battalion fought in theBattle of Arbuzovka as infantry, earning the battalion aWar Cross of Military Valor, which was affixed to the regiment's flag and is depicted on the regiment's coat of arms.[6][1] In 1941, the IV Ferrovieri Battalion's 9th Ferrovieri Company built a combined road and rail bridge over theCorinth Canal, using an AustrianRoth-Waagner-Brückengerät. The same battalion repaired the bridge over theGorgopotamos river after the British-GreekOperation Harling had successfully destroyed the bridge on 25 November 1942.[10] Another bridge repaired by the regiment's troops was theStampetta Bridge in Slovenia. The III and VI Ferrovieri battalions served during thecampaign in Sicily.[6]
In the evening of 8 September 1943, theArmistice of Cassibile, which ended hostilities between theKingdom of Italy and theAnglo-American Allies, was announced by GeneralDwight D. Eisenhower on Radio Algiers and by MarshalPietro Badoglio onItalian radio. Germany reacted byinvading Italy and the regiment and most of its units were disbanded soon thereafter by German forces. However, the regiment's units in southern Italy were unaffected by the German invasion of Italy and thus able to join theItalian Co-Belligerent Army, which assigned them to the Ferrovieri Grouping. The grouping repaired and operated railway lines, which transported supplies and materiel for the allied15th Army Group fighting its way up the Italian peninsula during theItalian campaign. Initially the Ferrovieri Grouping consisted of the I and XIII Ferrovieri battalions, which were later joined by the II, III, and VI Ferrovieri battalions. The Ferrovieri repaired, and at times also operated, theNaples-Reggio Calabria, Naples-Caserta, Naples-Rome, Rome-Pisa,Rome-Florence,Bari-Ancona-Bologna, and Bologna-Verona railways. The grouping was disbanded on 1 November 1945, and only two of its dismountable metal bridges companies remained active. After the war, the two companies built 23 bridges and dismantled 13, which had been partially destroyed during the war. In 1947, the two companies were used to form a Ferrovieri Battalion inCastel Maggiore.[6]
In 1949, the a Railway Operations Section was reformed in Turin, which once again took over operation of theChivasso–Ivrea–Aosta railway. The section was quickly expanded to Railway Operations Company. On 15 December 1949, the Ferrovieri Battalion in Castel Maggiore and the Railway Operations Company in Turin were assigned to the reformed2nd Pontieri Engineer Regiment. On 1 January 1954, the Ferrovieri Battalion became an autonomous unit, which on 1 October 1957, was used to reform the Ferrovieri Engineer Regiment. On the same day, the 2nd Pontieri Engineer Regiment transferred the II Pontieri Battalion inLegnano and the Railway Operations Company in Turin to the Ferrovieri Engineer Regiment. The reformed regiment was assigned to the Tuscan-Emilian Military Region and consisted at the time of a command, a command company, the I Ferrovieri Battalion, the II Pontieri Battalion, the Railway Operations Company, and the 3rd Dismountable Metal Bridges Company. On 1 January 1962, the regiment received the VI Army Corps Engineer Battalion from theVI Army Corps. In 1963, the 3rd Dismountable Metal Bridges Company was disbanded. On 1 February 1964, the II Pontieri Battalion was returned to the 2nd Pontieri Engineer Regiment. On 1 July 1965, the Railway Operations Company was expanded to Railway Operations Battalion.[5][6][8]
As part of the1975 Italian Army reform the VI Army Corps Engineer Battalion was disbanded on 31 October 1975. During the reform the regiment was transferred from the Tuscan-Emilian Military Region to the Engineering Inspectorate. After the reform the regiment's organization was as follows:[5][6][8]
Ferrovieri Engineer Regiment, inCastel Maggiore[5][6][8]On 8 October 1977, flood waters of theToce river swept the railway bridge of theDomodossola–Milan railway betweenFondotoce andFeriolo away and the Ferrovieri Engineer Regiment was called to rebuild the 120 m (131 yd) bridge. On 27 May 1978, the new bridge was opened and traffic between Milan and theSimplon Railway could resume. For the reconstruction of the bridge the regiment was awarded a Bronze Cross of Army Merit, which was affixed to the regiment's flag.[1][2]
On 16 July 1992, the regiment's Command and Services Platoon was expanded to Command and Services Company. In 1996, after theBosnian War, the regiment deployed toBosnia-Herzegovina, where it repaired the 186 mi (300 km) longNovi Grad–Bosanska Otoka–Martin Brod–Strmica railway in NorthernBosnia, which had been heavily damaged during the war. The regiment returned to Italy in 1998. For its service in Bosnia-Herzegovina the regiment was awarded a Silver Medal of Army Valor, which was affixed to the regiment's flag and added to the regiment's coat of arms.[1] On 1 December 1997 the regiment was assigned to the army's Engineer Grouping, which on 10 September 2010, was reorganized asEngineer Command.[5]
In July 1999, after theKosovo War, the regiment deployed toKosovo, where it operated theSkopje–Kosovo Polje–Pristina railway, and repaired/operated the Kosovo Polje–Peć andKlina–Prizren railways. The regiment returned to Italy in December 1999.[11][5][8] For its service in Kosovo the regiment was awarded a Gold Cross of Army Merit, which was affixed to the regiment's flag.[1][3]
On 27 September 2001, the regiment ceded the operation of the Chivasso–Ivrea–Aosta railway to theFerrovie dello Stato. On 1 February 2002, the regiment formed the Operations Battalion inOzzano Emilia, which consisted of the personnel and materiel of the 2nd Ferrovieri Battalion (Operations) inTurin, before the latter disbanded on 31 August of the same year and reformed as32nd Engineer Battalion the next day. On 31 October 2017, the regiment disbanded its Operations Battalion and merged the battalion's functions and personnel into the Ferrovieri Battalion.[5][8]
As of 2024 the Ferrovieri Engineer Regiment is organized as follows:[12][13]
Ferrovieri Engineer Regiment, inCastel Maggiore[13]{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link).svg) Four-star rank (OF 9) | |||||||
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.svg) Three-star rank (OF 8) | |||||||
.svg) Two-star rank (OF 7) |
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.svg) One-star rank (OF 6) |
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