Regiment "Lancieri Vittorio Emanuele II" (10th)

The Regiment "Lancieri Vittorio Emanuele II" (10th) ( - "Lancers Vittorio Emanuele II") is an inactive cavalry unit of the Italian Army. In 1859, the Royal Sardinian Army formed the Regiment Vittorio Emanuele Cavalry with volunteers from Veneto and Romagna, which had arrived in Turin after the outbreak of the Second Italian War of Independence. In 1860, the regiment fought in the Sardinian campaign in central Italy and in 1866, in the Third Italian War of Independence. In World War I the regiment fought on the Italian Front. During World War II the regiment was initially assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Division "Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro", with which it participated in April 1941 in the invasion of Yugoslavia. In 1942, the regiment was equipped with tanks and self-propelled guns and renamed Armored Regiment "Vittorio Emanuele II". In 1943, the regiment was assigned to the 135th Armored Cavalry Division "Ariete". After the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943, the regiment fought against invading German forces. On 14 September 1943, the regiment's officers dissolved the regiment. The regiment's anniversary falls on 19 June 1918, the fourth day of the Second Battle of the Piave River, on which the regiment defeated an Austro-Hungarian attack near Monastier di Treviso, for which the regiment was awarded a Bronze Medal of Military Valor. As the regiment is a lancer unit, its enlisted personnel is addressed as "Lancer" ().

History Italian Wars of Independence Second Italian War of Independence On 21 July 1858, French Emperor Napoleon III and the Prime Minister of Sardinia Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour met in Plombières and reached a secret verbal agreement on a military alliance between the French Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia against the Austrian Empire. On 26 January 1859, Napoleon III signed the Franco-Sardinian Treaty, followed by King Victor Emmanuel II on 29 January 1859. On 9 March 1859, Sardinia mobilized its army, followed by Austria on 9 April. On 23 April, Austria delivered an ultimatum to Sardinia demanding its demobilization. Upon Sardinia's refusal, Austria declared war on 26 April and three days later the Austrians crossed the Ticino river into Piedmont. Consequently, France honored its alliance with Sardinia and declared war on Austria on 3 May 1859, which led to the Second Italian War of Independence.

After the declaration of war, volunteers from Veneto, which at the time was part of the Austrian Empire, and the Romagna, which was part of the papal state, arrived in Turin. On 10 June 1859, the Royal Sardinian Army formed with these volunteers the Regiment Vittorio Emanuele Cavalry (). The regiment was named for the King of Sardinia Victor Emmanuel II and its troops were armed with lance, sabre and pistolone — a pistol with a shoulder stock. On 24 June 1859, the Sardinian, French and Austrian armies met in the Battle of Solferino. On 11 July 1859, Emperor Napoleon III and Emperor Franz Joseph I met at Villafranca and concluded the Armistice of Villafranca, which ended the war. The Regiment Vittorio Emanuele Cavalry did not see action in the war and was instead sent in July to occupy Bologna in the Papal Legations of the Romagne. On 30 November 1859, the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, Duchy of Modena and Reggio, and the Papal Legations of the Romagne were united under the Royal Government of Emilia, which on 1 January 1860 was redesignated as the Royal Provinces of Emilia. On 11 and 12 March 1860, the Royal Provinces of Emilia voted in a plebiscite for annexation by the Kingdom of Sardinia. On 18 March 1860, the annexation act was presented to Victor Emmanuel II, one week later, on 25 March 1860, the Regiment Vittorio Emanuele Cavalry was incorporated into the Royal Sardinian Army. On 6 June of the same year, the Sardinian War Ministry ordered that the army's cavalry regiments, which were equipped with lances — with the exception of the four line cavalry regiments — were to join the new Lancers speciality. Consequently, on the same day, the Regiment Vittorio Emanuele Cavalry was renamed Regiment "Lancieri Vittorio Emanuele".

In September 1860, the regiment participated in the Sardinian campaign in central Italy, during which the regiment fought on 11 September in the occupation of Pesaro and on 18 September in the Battle of Castelfidardo. From 24 to 29 September 1860, the regiment fought in the Siege of Ancona. On 16 February 1864, the regiment ceded its 6th Squadron to help form the Regiment "Lancieri di Foggia".

Third Italian War of Independence On 20 June 1866, the Third Italian War of Independence between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire began. During the war the Regiment "Lancieri Vittorio Emanuele" formed, together with the Regiment "Lancieri di Firenze" and Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Monferrato", the II Cavalry Brigade of the IV Corps of the Army of the Po, which operated along the Po river. On 5 July 1866, the Army of the Po began the siege of the Austrian fortress at Borgoforte and during the night between 6 and 7 July the army crossed the Po river. On 11 July, the first forces of the Army of the Po entered Rovigo, which had been abandoned by the Austrians, as the Austrian forces in Italy had received the order to retreat towards the Isonzo river and the Trentino region. On 14 July, the Italian IV Corps ceded five divisions and the Italian I Corps one division to form the V Corps and VI Corps. Additionally the Italian II Corps and III Corps ceded both one division to form the VIII Corps. Afterwards the Army of the Po, which now consisted of the I, IV, V, VI, and VIII corps with a combined force of 14 divisions and six cavalry brigades, began a rapid advance through Veneto towards the Isonzo river without encountering Austrian forces. During the advance, the 5th Squadron of the Regiment "Lancieri Vittorio Emanuele" was the first Italian unit to enter Padua, where the squadron was informed by local railwaymen that an Austrian supply train remained at the railway station in Vicenza. The 5th Squadron's commander then commandeered one of the trains stranded at the Padua Railway Station and with ten of his men and around thirty volunteers from Padua moved to Vicenza, where the Austrian supply train and also an Austrian military magazine were captured.

On 10 September 1871, the regiment was renamed 10th Cavalry Regiment (Vittorio Emanuele), and on 5 November 1876, Cavalry Regiment "Vittorio Emanuele" (10th). In 1887, the regiment provided personnel and horses for the formation of the Mounted Hunters Squadron, which fought in the Italo-Ethiopian War of 1887–1889. In 1895-96, the regiment provided one officer and 68 enlisted for units deployed to Italian Eritrea for the First Italo-Ethiopian War. On 16 December 1897, the regiment was renamed Regiment "Lancieri Vittorio Emanuele" (10th). On 29 July 1900, Victor Emmanuel III ascended to the throne of Italy and consequently, on 30 August 1900, the regiment was renamed Regiment "Lancieri Vittorio Emanuele II" (10th). On 1 October 1909, the regiment ceded its 3rd Squadron to help form the Regiment "Lancieri di Vercelli" (26th). In 1911–12, the regiment provided 174 enlisted to units deployed for the Italo-Turkish War.

World War I At the outbreak of World War I the regiment consisted of a command, a depot, and two cavalry groups, with the I Group consisting of three squadrons and the II Group consisting of two squadrons and a machine gun section. Together with the Regiment "Lancieri di Milano" (7th) the regiment formed the III Cavalry Brigade, which was assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Division "Veneto". On 24 May 1915, one day after Italy had declared war against the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the III Cavalry Brigade crossed the border and occupied Cervignano del Friuli and on 27 May, the city of Grado. In April 1916, the 2nd Cavalry Division was dismounted for service in the trenches of the Italian front, however once the Austro-Hungarian Army began the Asiago offensive the division was quickly mounted again and sent to guard the assembly of the Italian 5th Army around Vicenza.

In 1917, the regiment's depot in Vicenza formed the 859th Dismounted Machine Gunners Company as reinforcement for the regiment. On 24 October 1917, the Imperial German Army and Austro-Hungarian Army began the Battle of Caporetto and already on the first day of the battle the German 14th Army broke through the Italian lines at Kobarid. All mounted Italian cavalry regiments were sent forward to cover the retreat of the Italian 2nd Army and 3rd Army from the Isonzo front. The III Cavalry Brigade was assigned to cover the retreat of the 2nd Army and the Regiment "Lancieri Vittorio Emanuele II" (10th) fought delaying actions at Adegliacco on the Torre river, Torreano, San Vito di Fagagna, and then at San Daniele del Friuli. The regiment then fell back to the new Italian line along the Piave river.

On 15 June 1918, the Austro-Hungarian Army began the Second Battle of the Piave River, during which Austro-Hungarian forces crossed the Piave river. In the first days of the battle, the regiment's dismounted troops fought at Rovarè and San Pietro Novello. On 19 June, half of the regiment's 1st Squadron was encircled by Austro-Hungarian troops near Monastier di Treviso and fought its way out of the encirclement with drawn sabres. On the same day, the regiment's 2nd Squadron and Machine Gunners Squadron covered the Italian infantry's retreat from the outlying trenches at Monastier di Treviso to San Pietro Novello, while the regiment's 3rd, 4th, and 5th squadrons drove Austro-Hungarian troops back, which had broken into the Italian line at San Pietro Novello. On 23 and 24 June, the regiment fought in the Italian counterattack to dislodge the Austro-Hungarian bridgehead on the Piave Vecchia river. On 24 October 1918, the Royal Italian Army began the Battle of Vittorio Veneto and on 30 October, the regiment, like all cavalry regiments, was ordered to pursue the retreating Austro-Hungarian armies. On 4 November 1918, the regiment arrived in Gonars, where it was informed of the Armistice of Villa Giusti.

For its conduct at Monastier di Treviso and on the Piave Vecchia during the Second Battle of the Piave River and the pursuit of the fleeing enemy after Battle of Vittorio Veneto the Regiment "Lancieri Vittorio Emanuele II" (10th) was awarded a Bronze Medal of Military Valor, which was affixed to the regiment's standard.

Interwar years After the war the Royal Italian Army disbanded the second groups of all thirty cavalry regiments, while the first groups were reduced to two squadrons. On 21 November 1919, 14 cavalry regiments were disbanded and their groups transferred to 14 of the remaining cavalry regiments. One of the disbanded regiments was the Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Aquila" (27th), whose group was renamed II Squadrons Group "Cavalleggeri di Aquila". Afterwards, the squadrons group, which remained based in Brescia and retained the disbanded regiment's standard, was assigned to the Regiment "Lancieri Vittorio Emanuele II" (10th).