11th Carabinieri Mechanized Brigade

Carabinieri units devoted to the riot control and to tactical tasks experienced several organizational phases, from late 1910s to the present day. While from 1919 until 1963 Carabinieri riot units were under the exclusive control of Carabinieri Legions (inter-provincial commands), since 1963 they have been under an unified command: from 1963 to 2000 the Command was set at the Brigade level, while the present-day Division was established in 2001. 1919-1923 The history of the branch of the Carabinieri specifically dedicated to quell massive civil disturbances dates back in 1919, when 18 Carabinieri Autonomous Mobile Battalions (Battaglioni Mobili Autonomi) were established in order to deal with the Biennio Rosso. Before 1919, the operational approach to riot control consisted in drawing Carabinieri from the territorial stations near the event, replacing them with Carabinieri drawn in turn from other Stations; since 1908 several proposes had been made by Carabinieri officers to form organic Carabinieri units in order not to steal Carabinieri from the territorial police service and to improve the harmony within the ranks of Carabinieri assigned to public order services;p. 14 At the end of the World War I, the Royal Italian Army was reduced and both the Royal Carabinieri and the Royal Guard of Public Security were augmented.p. 268 Following the end of the War, participants to rallies increased in numbers and Army units deployed in internal order services significantly decreased. The Arm of Carabinieri, in order to sustain the increasingly heavy duty, established for the first time outside war several Army-style Battalions. The 1920 Battalions were organized on: • 3 Carabinieri on foot companies; • 1 Cyclist Carabinieri Company; • 1 Machine-guns Section (2 Sections for seven Mobile Battalions: Torino 1°, Milano 1°, Firenze, Roma 1°, Roma 2°, Roma 3°, Palermo). Between 1919 and 1920, the Carabinieri performed 233 public order and riot control operations and suffered 517 casualties (43 dead and 474 wounded). According to Arnaldo Grilli and Antonio Picci, between 1919 and 1922, Carabinieri Mobile Battalions were awarded with 2 Gold Medals of Military Valour, 55 Silver Medals of Military Valour, 62 Bronze Medals of Military Valour, as well as hundreds of Solemn commendations. The Mobile Battalions Groups were: In the immediate aftermaths of World War II, both police and Carabinieri were strictly prohibited by armistice clauses to have hand grenades, machine guns, rifles and even handguns. On 6 August 1956, the blue beret was assigned to mobile units (Mobile Battalions and Trucked Units). On 26 August 1949, the Banditry Repression Forces Command was established under Colonel Ugo Luca.pp. 168–169 Such disturbances were politically motivated and, as such, differently reported.pp. 61–63 In the aftermaths of World War II (between 1946 and 1948), Carabinieri managed to evade the majority of the riot control operations;p. 407 In 1945, each Battalion deployed 12 M15/42 tanks; in 1946 tanks were retired and replaced with Staghound armoured cars. In 1953 each Battalion received two Tank Platoons (8 tanks) with M3 Stuart light tanks, and as of 1958 each Battalion could deploy 8 M4 Sherman tanks and 13 Staghound armoured cars. As of 1962, each Battalion had 6 tanks and 5 light armoured cars.p. 117-118 == 1963-2000: 11th Brigade ==

The 11th Carabinieri Mechanized Brigade existed for a continued period of 37 years, and in 2001, with the transformation of the Carabinieri in an autonomous Armed Force, it evolved into the Carabinieri Mobile Units Division. During these years, the Brigade passed through the Cold War and the Years of Lead. == Early proposals ==

Following the 1960 Genoa clashes, a reform project for the Mobile Battalions was envisioned, but later abandoned. Both the organization and the equipment (which included old Sherman tanks and trucked units) were found to be obsolete either inadequate to emergency tasks.p. 48 On 27 January 1963, the Commandant General of the Carabinieri at the time, Lieutenant General Giovanni De Lorenzo, endorsed a proposal of then-Colonel Franco Picchiottip. 107 in order to reorganize riot units. In this proposal, Mobile Battalions were to be available for both wartime and peacetime tasks, with a wartime organization and a reduced peacetime one.p. 62 Mobile Battalions as envisaged by the proposal had to maintain a significant concentration and movement rapidity and readiness and the organic equipment (both in terms of personnel and materials) to be ready to fulfil the wartime tasks.p. 63 Mobile Battalions also were to be with a wartime organization and a reduced peacetime one;pp. 497–498 Mobile Battalions were therefore to be separated to the territorial Carabinieri Legions (regiment-level commands) and organizationally framed within three Carabinieri Regiments. Those Regiments were to have a distinctive operational structure with training, disciplinary and deployment functions, while administrative duties were to be discharged by the relevant territorial Legion.p. 63 In the proposal, only the VII and XIII Mobile Battalions were excluded by the grouping within the three Regiments; after the general elections (which De Lorenzo deemed to be imminent), the VII Carabinieri Mobile Battalion was to be disestablished and re-established in order to be subordinated to the IV Army Corps.p. 64 Cavalry units were deemed to be too fragmented and therefore the proposal also suggested that mounted Carabinieri were to be concentrated in robust cavalry units,p. 498 by reducing Carabinieri stations manned by mounted Carabinieri to a maximum of 70, employing the new cavalry units en masse (both alone or alongside mechanized units). All cavalry forces were to be grouped within a dedicated Regiment with three Squadrons Groups (Battalion-sized cavalry units).p. 63-64 == Establishment ==

On 29 March 1963 Minister of Defence Giulio Andreotti approved the proposal, and the following day the Army General Staff transmitted the authorization to the Carabinieri General Command. On the other hand, the XI Carabinieri Mechanized Brigade had only support tasks, the Interior Ministry retained the power of deployment of Carabinieri Battalions through the General Command and the Brigade Command.p. 521 The establishment of the XI Carabinieri Mechanized Brigade was controversial: some senior officers criticized the decision, deeming that the essential features of the Carabinieri were capillarity and focus on criminal police activity.p. 276, 130 M47 Patton tanks and a paratroopers battalion. • 1st Carabinieri Regiment (HQ Milan): commanding I, II, III and IV Battalions; • 2nd Carabinieri Regiment (HQ Rome): commanding V, VI, VIII and IX Battalions; • 3rd Carabinieri Regiment (HQ Naples): commanding X, XI and XII Battalions; • 4th Mounted Carabinieri Regiment (HQ Rome) with 2 Squadrons Groups (Battalion-level units) and 1 Armoured-motorized Squadron; Between 1973 and 1976, the 5th Carabinieri Regiment (HQ Mestre) also existed, including IV, VII and XIII Battalions.p. 232 The XI Mechanized Brigade was subordinated, on 7 March 1965, to the Inspectorate of Mechanized and Special Units, which included not only the XI Mechanized Brigade, but also all other tactical Carabinieri units: the Carabinieri Paratroopers Battalion, the Territorial Squadrons Groups of Milan, Cagliari and Palermo, the Trucked Units, as well as the naval service. Two years later, on 10 March 1967, the post was modified in "Inspectorate of Mechanized Units", being disbanded in May 1967. In 1968 the blue beret was modified, making it identical in shape to the maroon beret used by paratroopers. Between 1967 and 1968 it was set up the Inspectorate of Mechanized and Training Units (led by a Divisional general), with responsibility on the X Carabinieri Brigade (including schools) and XI Carabinieri Mechanized Brigade. In 1971 it was established the Inspectorate Schools and Special Carabinieri Units; it controlled the X Brigade (dedicated to training) and XI Brigade. On 22 September 1980, the Inspectorate changed its name to Carabinieri Division School and Special Carabinieri Units "Palidoro". In 1985, the Command was deprived of training component and was reorganized on the XI Brigade (Carabinieri Battalions) and the XII Brigade (specialist units); the brigade was therefore placed under a command called Carabinieri Mobile and Special Units Division "Palidoro". == Carabinieri Battalion ==

The Carabinieri Battalion has been, since their initial establishment in 1919, the Carabinieri basic operational element for riot control operations. Carabinieri Battalions underwent several reorganizations. The bulk of Carabinieri Battalions consisted (and had consisted until the suspension of the conscription in Italy) of Auxiliary Carabinieri, i.e. young conscripted soldiers. Rifle Companies all consisted of Auxiliary Carabinieri. • 1 Command Company (1 Command Platoon, 1 Services Platoon, 1 Scouts Platoon); • 2 Rifle Companies (1 Command Platoon, 3 Rifle platoons, 1 Company weapons Platoon each); • 1 Mortars Company; • 1 Tanks Company (1 Command Platoon, 3 Tanks Platoons) It was therefore a robust tactical complex, designed to carry out both riot control and counter-insurgency operations. Brigadier General Pietro Loretelli, Overall, Carabinieri Battalions were divided into two groups, according to the main type (motorized or mechanized unit) of units deployed by the Battalion itself. Both VII and XIII Battalions were to be always maintained at their full wartime force. == Operational history ==

During the Years of Lead and the subsequent period most of the Battalions reduced their military training in order to deal with riot control activities. 7th and 13th Battalions maintained instead their military capabilities and were transferred under direct Army operational control. The 11th Carabinieri Brigade also intervened, through its subordinate units, in several natural disasters through the years. In the 1966 flood of the Arno, the XI Brigade provided 50 M-113 armoured vehicles and several tankers.p. 53 Each of the rescue units provided from Carabinieri Battalions consisted of 120 troops with a field hospital, rescue vehicles and tools and field kitchens, as well as two physicians and paramedics. The 11th Carabinieri Brigade was routinely employed against organized crime, especially in Calabria, Sicily and Sardinia. In 1988 additional reinforcements were deployed in Aspromonte, while in mid 1995 the Brigade provided reinforcements to the territorial police organization against the Sardinian banditry. == Related voices ==

• Carabinieri • Carabinieri Mobile Units Division • 1st Carabinieri Mobile Brigade • 2nd Carabinieri Mobile Brigade • Military police ==References==