The 16th Infantry Regiment "Savona" () is an inactive unit of the Italian Army last based in Savona in Liguria. The regiment is named for the city of Savona and part of the Italian Army's infantry arm. The regiment was formed on 19 December 1821 by the Royal Sardinian Army as Brigade of "Savona", with the troops of the Brigade of "Genova", who had remained loyal during the revolt in Piedmont in spring 1821 and were retained in service after the Brigade of "Genova" was disbanded on 31 May 1821. Later the Royal Italian Army allowed the two regiments of the Brigade "Savona" to claim the traditions and honors of the Brigade of "Genova", for which reason the regiment's founding is today considered to be 1 April 1815.
After Napoleon Bonaparte's defeat in the War of the Sixth Coalition the King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia returned from exile in Sardinia to Turin in Piedmont. In fall 1814, the European powers at the Congress of Vienna decided that the Republic of Genoa would not be reestablished and its territory given to the Kingdom of Sardinia. On 7 January 1815, the British occupation forces in Genoa handed control of the city to the Piedmontese General Ignazio Thaon di Revel. On 1 April 1815, the existing line infantry units of the Republic of Genoa were used to form the Regiment "Sarzana", which within a few weeks was renamed Regiment of "Genova". In fall of the same year the 15 militia regiments of the Kingdom of Sardinia were disbanded and their battalions assigned as reserve units to the army's regular regiments. Consequently, on 1 November 1815 the Regiment of "Genova" was renamed Brigade of "Genova".
In March 1821 most of the brigade's personnel participated, with the troops of three other infantry brigades and three cavalry regiments, in a revolt against King Victor Emmanuel I, who abdicated in favor of his brother Charles Felix. After the revolt Charles Felix had the four infantry brigades and three cavalry regiments disbanded. The troops of the Brigade of "Genova", who had remained loyal during the revolt, were used to form the new Brigade of "Savona" on 19 December 1821. On the same date, the personnel of the other three brigades, which had remained loyal, was used to form the new brigades "Casale", "Pinerolo", and "Acqui". The seniority of the four new brigades was determined by drawing lots.
In 1831, the brigade was renamed Brigade "Savona" and split into two regiments, which in 1839 were designated 15th Infantry Regiment (Brigade "Savona") and 16th Infantry Regiment (Brigade "Savona"). In 1848–49, the regiment participated in the First Italian War of Independence, and in 1855–56 four of the regiment's companies fought in the Crimean War. In 1859, the regiment participated in the Second Italian War of Independence and the following year in the Sardinian campaign in central and southern Italy. In 1866, the regiment fought in the Third Italian War of Independence and in 1870 it participated in the capture of Rome. During World War I, the regiment fought on the Italian front. In 1934, the regiment was assigned to the 27th Infantry Division "Sila", with which it fought in 1935–36 in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. During World War II, the regiment was assigned to the 55th Infantry Division "Savona", with which it was deployed to Libya for the Western Desert Campaign. In January 1942, the "Savona" division and its regiments were destroyed during the British Operation Crusader and declared lost due to wartime events on 17 January 1942.
In 1975, the regiment's flag and traditions were assigned to the 16th Infantry Battalion "Savona", which trained recruits destined for the Armored Division "Ariete". In 1991, the battalion was disbanded and the flag of the 13th Infantry Regiment "Pinerolo" transferred to the Shrine of the Flags in the Vittoriano in Rome. The regiment's anniversary falls on 30 May 1859, the day of the Battle of Palestro, during which the Brigade "Savona" distinguished itself, for which the brigade's two regiments were both awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valor.
History Formation On 6 April 1814, Emperor Napoleon abdicated and on 11 April the winners of the War of the Sixth Coalition exiled him to the island of Elba. On 20 May 1814, King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia returned from exile in Sardinia to Turin. On 24 May 1814, Victor Emmanuel I ordered to reform the regiments disbanded in 1799, when French forces had occupied his continental possessions. On 27 June 1814, Victor Emmanuel I ordered that the 15 provincial militia regiments, which had been disbanded in 1799, should be reformed.
In September 1814, the Congress of Vienna began, during which the European powers decided the new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the Emperor Napoleon. By October the Congress had decided that the Republic of Genoa would not be reestablished and its territory given to the Kingdom of Sardinia. The Republic of Genoa, which had been annexed by Napoleon's First French Empire in June 1805, protested the decision, but on 7 January 1815, the British occupation forces in Genoa handed control of the city to the Piedmontese General Ignazio Thaon di Revel. On 1 April 1815, the existing line infantry units of the Republic of Genoa were used to form the Regiment "Sarzana", which within a few weeks was renamed Regiment of "Genova" after the newly created Duchy of Genoa. The regiment consisted of a staff, and two battalions, both of which fielded one grenadier company, four fusilier companies, and one Jäger company.
In October 1815, the provincial regiments were disbanded and their battalions assigned to the regular regiments as reserve battalions. The Regiment of "Genova" received the two battalions of the Provincial Regiment of "Tortona". Consequently, on 1 November 1815, the regiment was renamed Brigade of "Genova". Each brigade consisted of two battalions in peacetime and four reserve battalions, which would be mobilized in wartime. The battalions had a strength of 789 men and consisted of a staff, a grenadier company, and six fusilier companies. At the same time the battalion's Jäger companies were used to form independent light infantry battalions. The brigade's peacetime organizations was then as follows.
Brigade of "Genova" Regimental Staff 1st Battalion 1st Grenadier Company 1st Division, consisting of the 1st and 3rd fusilier companies 2nd Division, consisting of the 5th and 7th fusilier companies 3rd Division, consisting of the 9th and 11th fusilier companies 2nd Battalion 2nd Grenadier Company 1st Division, consisting of the 2nd and 4th fusilier companies 2nd Division, consisting of the 6th and 8th fusilier companies 3rd Division, consisting of the 10th and 12th fusilier companies
The brigade was assigned the provinces of Tortona, Savona, Albenga, Genoa, Chiavari, Novi, Levante, Voghera, and Bobbio as recruiting zone. On 9 October 1819, King Victor Emmanuel I ordered to reduce the number of troops per battalion to 600 men, while adding two additional reserve battalions to each regiment.
Revolt of 1821 After returning from exile King Victor Emmanuel I abolished all the freedoms granted by the Napoleonic Code and established a fiercely oppressive rule. The widespread resentment of this kind of rule led in March 1821 to a liberal revolt in Piedmont. Four infantry brigades (Brigade of "Monferrato", Brigade of "Saluzzo", Brigade of "Alessandria", Brigade of "Genova") and three cavalry regiments (Regiment "Dragoni del Re", Regiment "Dragoni della Regina", Regiment "Cavalleggeri del Re") sided with the revolutionaries against Victor Emmanuel I, who, on 13 March 1821, abdicated in favor of his brother Charles Felix. Charles Felix asked for Austrian troops to help suppress the revolt. On 8 April 1815, the rebellious units were dispersed by a joint Austro-Sardinian army near Novara.
On 31 May 1821, the four infantry brigades, which had sided with the revolutionaries, were stricken from the rolls of the Royal Sardinian Army and their personnel dismissed from service, while the troops of the stricken brigades, who had not participated in the revolt, were assigned to four provisional line battalions. The troops of the Brigade of "Genova", who remained in service, were assigned to the 4th Provisional Line Battalion, while the remaining troops of the Brigade of "Monferrato" were assigned to the 1st Provisional Line Battalion, the troops of the Brigade of "Saluzzo" to the 2nd Provisional Line Battalion, and the troops of the Brigade of "Alessandria" to the 3rd Provisional Line Battalion. On 19 December 1821, the four provisional line battalions were used to form four new infantry brigades:
Brigade of "Casale": formed with the 1st Provisional Line Battalion and the Italian Jäger Battalion Brigade of "Pinerolo": formed with the 2nd Provisional Line Battalion and the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Light Legion Brigade of "Acqui": formed with the 3rd Provisional Line Battalion and the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Light Legion Brigade of "Savona": formed with the 4th Provisional Line Battalion and a battalion of new recruits
The order of precedence of the battalions within the brigades, as well as the seniority and thus the order of precedence of the four new brigades, was determined by drawing lots. The result ranked the Brigade of "Casale" as the oldest, the Brigade of "Pinerolo" as the second oldest, the Brigade of "Savona" as the third oldest, and the Brigade of "Acqui" as the youngest of the new brigades.
Reforms of 1830, 1831, and 1839 On 1 December 1830, the Royal Sardinian Army's infantry brigades were reorganized. Each brigade consisted afterwards of a staff and five battalions: a grenadier battalion with four grenadier companies, two fusilier battalions with six fusilier companies per battalion, a Jäger battalion with four Jäger companies, and a depot battalion with six fusilier companies. The latter six fusilier companies consisted in peacetime only of training personnel, which in wartime would have trained the recruits destined to reinforce the brigade's fusilier battalions. Each brigade consisted in peacetime of 105 officers and 2,990 enlisted, which would have increased to 4,069 troops in wartime.
On 25 October 1831, the Royal Sardinian Army's infantry brigades were reorganized once more: each brigade added two regimental commands, which were numbered 1st Regiment and 2nd Regiment. Each regiment consisted of two battalions in peacetime and three battalions in wartime. Each battalion consisted of four fusilier companies, a grenadier company, and a Jäger company. The Brigade "Savona" then consisted of the 1st Regiment (Brigade "Savona") and 2nd Regiment (Brigade "Savona"). On 9 June 1832, the regiment's third battalions were reorganized as depot battalions. On 4 May 1839, the regiments were renamed infantry regiment and renumbered by seniority from 1 to 18. The two regiments of the Brigade "Savona" were now designated 15th Infantry Regiment (Brigade "Savona") and 16th Infantry Regiment (Brigade "Savona"). Each regiment consisted of the I and II battalions with one grenadier company and three fusilier companies per battalion, the III Battalion with four Jäger companies, and the IV Battalion, which was a depot battalion with four fusilier companies.
First Italian War of Independence