21st Infantry Regiment "Cremona"

21st Infantry Regiment "Cremona"
21° Reggimento Fanteria "Cremona"
Regimental coat of arms
Active	1 Oct. 1848 — May 1849 1 Nov. 1859 — 13 Oct. 2003
Country	Italy
Branch	Italian Army
Part of	Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli"
Garrison/HQ	Alessandria
Motto(s)	"Fortitudo mea in brachio"
Anniversaries	1 November 1916 - Battle of Jamiano
Decorations	1x Military Order of Italy 2x Silver Medals of Military Valor 1x Silver Medal of Merit 1x Bronze Medal of Civil Merit
Insignia
Regimental gorget patches

The 21st Infantry Regiment "Cremona" (Italian: 21° Reggimento Fanteria "Cremona") is an inactive unit of the Italian Army last based in Alessandria in Piedmont. The regiment is named for the city of Cremona and part of the Italian Army's infantry arm. The regiment was formed in 1848 by the Royal Sardinian Army during the First Italian War of Independence. After the war the regiment was disbanded. In 1859, the regiment was reformed after the Kingdom of Sardinia annexed Lombardy after the Second Italian War of Independence. In 1866, the regiment fought in the Third Italian War of Independence. During World War I the regiment fought on the Italian front.

History

First Italian War of Independence

On 12 January 1848, the people of Palermo in Sicily rebelled against the rule of Ferdinand II of the House of Bourbon, King of the Two Sicilies. The Sicilian revolution was the first of the revolutions of 1848. After the news of the February Revolution in Paris, which had led to the abdication of King Louis Philippe on 24 February, reached Turin, the King of Sardinia Charles Albert ordered on 1 March 1848 the mobilization of the Royal Sardinian Army. Initially the King's intention was to use the army against his own citizens, if they would rise against the Savoyard dynasty, but on 18 March 1848, the people of Milan, which was the capital of the Habsburg ruled Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, rose up and in five days of fighting drove the Austrian forces out of the city. On 23 March 1848, King Charles Albert declared war on the Austrian Empire in the hope that he could use the rebellions in Lombardy–Venetia to expand his own kingdom. Thus began the First Italian War of Independence.

On 25 and 26 March 1848, two Sardinian advance guards crossed the Ticino (river) Ticino river, which formed the border between the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Austrian Empire. On 29 March, the main body of the Royal Sardinian Army crossed the Ticino river and marched directly towards the Quadrilatero fortresses at Mantua, Peschiera del Garda, Verona, and Legnano, in whose vicinity the First Campaign of the war was fought. On 22-27 July 1848, Sardinia lost the Battle of Custoza and the Battle of Volta Mantovana. On the evening of 27 July, King Charles Albert ordered a retreat towards Milan. By 19h in the evening of 4 August 1848, the Sardinian troops had retreated within the walls of Milan, where one hour later King Charles Albert held a war council, which decided to abandon the city due to a lack of munitions and food. The next morning the Sardinians were informed that the Austrian commander Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky von Radetz had agreed to allow the Sardinians to retreat and by 6 August the Sardinians had left Milan and retreated over the Ticino. With the Sardinian troops also thousands of Milanese civilians and many of the Lombard volunteers, who had enrolled in the provisional Lombard battalions of the Provisional Government of Milan, crossed the Ticino. Three days later, on 9 August, the Austrian General Heinrich von Heß and the Sardinian General Carlo Canera di Salasco signed an armistice, which stated that Charles Albert's troops would withdraw from the whole of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, and the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza and Duchy of Modena and Reggio, whose rulers would be restored to their thrones. Thus ended the First Campaign of the war.

After the armistice the Austrians sent troops to occupy the duchies of Parma and Piacenza and Duchy of Modena and Reggio, while King Charles Albert began to expand his army with the intent to resume the war at the earliest opportunity. On 16 September 1848, the Royal Sardinian Army formed the 19th Infantry Regiment and 20th Infantry Regiment with the Lombard volunteers, who had retreated with the Royal Sardinian Army over the Ticino river after the signing of the armistice. The 19th Infantry Regiment was formed with the I, III, V, IX, X, XI provisional Lombard battalions, while the 20th Infantry Regiment was formed with the II, IV, VI provisional Lombard battalions, the 1st Brescian Jäger Regiment, the 2nd Lombard Legion, and the Cremonese Volunteer Battalion. The two regiments formed the 1st Brigade of the Lombard Division, which was commanded by General Girolamo Ramorino. On 1 October 1848, the 19th Infantry Regiment ceded two battalions to help form the 21st Infantry Regiment, which also received the XXII Provisional Lombard Battalion, while on the same date the 20th Infantry Regiment ceded three battalions to help form the 22nd Infantry Regiment. The two new regiments formed the 2nd Brigade of the Lombard Division.

On 1 March 1849, the Sardinian Chamber of Deputies voted for the resumption of the war, with 94 votes in favour and 24 against. King Charles Albert decided that hostilities would resume on 20 March and, as stipulated in the 1848 armistice, the Austrians were informed about the continuation of the war eight days before the hostilities resumed. Charles Albert massed his army near Novara, while the Lombard Division under General Ramorino was sent to guard the Ticino river crossings at Pavia. On 20 March, the Lombard division was at La Cava, from where it was be possible to observe the Ticino river from Pavia to its confluence with the Po river. In the event the Lombard Division was attacked it was to retreat North through Sannazzaro towards Mortara. However, early on 20 March General Ramorino abandoned La Cava and moved his division South across the Po river, leaving only the 21st Infantry Regiment at La Cava with orders to retreat across the Po river if the regiment was attacked. At noon on the same day the whole Austrian Army crossed the Ticino river at Pavia and, even though the 21st Infantry Regiment led Major Luciano Manara resisted for six hours, the Austrians fixed the 21st Infantry Regiment in place with a screening forces, while the main body of the army marched North towards Mortara and Vigevano.

Ultimately the 21st Infantry Regiment was forced to retreat across the Po river, where it joined with the rest of the Lombard Division, which played no role in the remaining events of the war. On 22-23 March 1849, Field Marshal Radetzky decisively defeated the Sardinians in the Battle of Novara and on the evening of the same day King Charles Albert abdicated in favour of his son Victor Emmanuel. On 24 March, the new king met with Radetzky at Vignale and agreed to an armistice, which ended the short Second Campaign of the First Italian War of Independence. As a consequence of the Sardinian defeat the Lombard Division and its four regiments were disbanded in May 1949.

Second Italian War of Independence

After the Second Italian War of Independence the Austrian Empire had to cede the Lombardy region of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia to the Kingdom of Sardinia. After taking control of the region the government of Sardinia ordered the army on 29 August 1859 to raise five infantry brigades and one grenadier brigade in Lombardy. Subsequently on 1 November 1859 the Brigade "Cremona" was activated with the 21st and 22nd infantry regiments, which had been re-raised on 29 August 1859.

The brigade was quickly sent to Southern Italy to suppress the popular revolt of the peasant population against the annexation of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies into the new Kingdom of Italy. In 1866 the brigade fought in the Third Italian War of Independence.

World War I

Main article: Brigade "Cremona"

During World War I the brigade fought on the Italian front, for which its two regiments were each a awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valor.

Interwar years

On 28 December 1926 the brigade assumed the name of XX Infantry Brigade and received the 88th Infantry Regiment "Friuli" from the disbanded Brigade "Friuli". The XX Infantry Brigade was the infantry component of the 20th Territorial Division of Livorno, which also included the 7th Artillery Regiment. In 1934 the division changed its name to 20th Infantry Division "Curtatone e Montanara".

On 15 September 1939 the Curtatone e Montanara transferred all its regiments, except the 88th Infantry Regiment "Friuli", to the newly activated 44th Infantry Division "Cremona" in Pisa.

World War II

Main article: 44th Infantry Division "Cremona"

After Italy's entry into World War II the Cremona participated in the Italian invasion of France. In February 1941 the division was ordered to transfer to northern Sardinia.

On 11 November 1942 Axis forces occupied Vichy France and the Cremona was ferried from Sardinia to southern Corsica to take control of the island. Together with the 20th Infantry Division "Friuli", 225th Coastal Division and 226th Coastal Division the division garrisoned the island until the Armistice of Cassibile was announced on 8 September 1943. After the armistice the Italian forces and French partisans on Corsica fought the German Sturmbrigade Reichführer-SS, 90th Panzergrenadier Division, and Italian XXII Paratroopers Battalion/ 184th Paratroopers Regiment "Nembo", which had crossed over from Sardinia and retreated through Corsica towards the harbor of Bastia in the island's north.

After the end of operations on Corsica the Cremona was transferred to Sardinia and then in July 1944 to southern Italy.

Now part of the Italian Co-belligerent Army the division was reorganized on 25 September 1944 in Altavilla Irpina as Combat Group "Cremona". Equipped with British weapons and materiel the group entered the front on 12 January 1945 as part of British V Corps. When allied forces achieved a major breakthrough during the 1945 spring offensive the Cremona advanced towards Venice and liberated the city on 30 April 1945.

After the war the combat group was garrisoned in Turin and on 15 October 1945 the group was renamed Infantry Division "Cremona". For their conduct in Corsica and during the Italian Campaign both regiments were awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valor.

Cold War

Main articles: Infantry Division "Cremona" and Motorized Brigade "Cremona"

On 1 October 1969 the 22nd Infantry Regiment "Cremona" was reorganized as 22nd Armored Infantry Regiment "Cremona" and the regiment's infantry battalion in Fossano was transferred to the 21st Infantry Regiment "Cremona". With the 1975 army reform the Italian Army abolished the regimental level and battalions came under direct command of the brigades and regional commands. Therefore, on 29 October 1975, the 21st Infantry Regiment "Cremona" was disbanded. On the same day the regiment's four infantry battalions were reformed as:

• I Infantry Battalion, in Alessandria was disbanded and the battalion's equipment was stored. In case of war the equipment would have been used to activate the 50th Motorized Infantry Battalion "Parma", which would have been assigned the war flag of the 50th Infantry Regiment "Parma"
• II Infantry Battalion, in Alessandria reformed as 21st Motorized Infantry Battalion "Alfonsine". The battalion was assigned the flag and traditions of the 21st Infantry Regiment "Cremona"
• III Infantry Battalion, in Asti was reduced to a detachment of the 23rd Infantry Battalion "Como" (Recruits Training), which in 1977 was elevated to 4th Infantry Battalion "Guastalla" (Recruits Training) and assigned the war flag of the 4th Infantry Regiment "Piemonte".
• IV Mechanized Battalion, in Fossano reformed as 22nd Infantry Battalion "Primaro" (Recruits Training). The battalion was assigned the flag and traditions of the 22nd Infantry Regiment "Cremona")

In June 1991 the 21st Motorized Infantry Battalion "Alfonsine" was reorganized as a mechanized battalion. On 24 January 1993 the battalion was elevated to 21st Mechanized Infantry Regiment "Cremona" without changing size or composition. On 5 November 1996 the 21st Mechanized Infantry Regiment "Cremona" was transferred to the Armored Brigade "Centauro". When the Centauro was disbanded on 5 October 2002 the regiment was transferred to the Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli". On 13 October 2003 the 21st Mechanized Infantry Regiment "Cremona" was disbanded and its flag transferred to the Shrine of the Flags in the Vittoriano in Rome.