On 1 November 1888, the Royal Italian Army formed the 17th Field Artillery Regiment in
Novara. The new regiment consisted of eight batteries and one
train company ceded by the
5th Field Artillery Regiment. The ceded batteries had participated in the
First, the
Second, the
Sardinian campaign in central and Southern Italy in 1860–61, and the
Third Italian War of Independence. In 1895–96, the regiment formed the 1st Mountain Artillery battery for the
First Italo-Ethiopian War. The battery deployed to
Eritrea and fought in the
Battle of Adwa. The regiment also provided 139 troops for other units deployed to East Africa for the war. In 1911–12, the regiment provided one group command and two batteries for the
Italo-Turkish War. The regiment also provided 235 troops to augment other units deployed for the war. In May 1915, the regiment formed with its reserve personnel one group of three batteries for the
41st Field Artillery. In June 1942, the Sforzesca division arrived in
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in
Ukraine, where it was assigned to the
XXXV Army Corps. After arriving in the Soviet Union the 17th Artillery Regiment "Sforzesca" also received the 70th Anti-tank Battery with
75/39 anti-tank guns. In July 1942, the division participated in the capture of
Khrustalnyi in
Luhansk Oblast. In early August 1942, the division established a bridgehead on the eastern bank of the
Don river and advanced along the
Khopyor river to the village of
Yarskoy 1-y. On 12 August 1942, the Sforzesca division was attacked by the Soviet
63rd Army, which consisted of the
197th Rifle Division,
203rd Rifle Division and
14th Guards Rifle Division. The Sforzesca division was forced give up the bridgehead and fall back to the villages of
Yagodnyi and
Chebotarevskii to the South of the Don river. While Chebotarevskii was overrun by Red Army forces, Yagodnyi held and on 21 August the remaining Italian troops counterattacked. On 24 August, the stronghold at Yagodnyi had run out of ammunition, but the Italian troops there were saved by the arrival of the
3rd Bersaglieri Regiment and
6th Bersaglieri Regiment of the
3rd Cavalry Division "Principe Amedeo Duca d'Aosta" and the German
79th Infantry Division. For its conduct and service at Yagodnyi between 17 and 31 August 1942 the 17th Artillery Regiment "Sforzesca" was awarded a
Silver Medal of Military Valor, which was affixed to the regiment's flag. On 1 January 1951, the Infantry Division "Cremona" included the following artillery regiments: On 12 November 1976, the
President of the Italian Republic Giovanni Leone assigned with decree 846 the
flag and traditions of the 17th Light Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment to the 17th Light Anti-aircraft Artillery Group "Sforzesca". After the reform the group consisted now of the following units: •
17th Light Anti-aircraft Artillery Group "Sforzesca", in
Villafranca • Command and Services Battery, in Villafranca • 1st Light Anti-aircraft Artillery Battery, at
Villafranca Air Base • 2nd Light Anti-aircraft Artillery Battery, at
Ghedi Air Base • 3rd Light Anti-aircraft Artillery Battery, at
Istrana Air Base In 1993, the batteries were disbanded: the 2nd Battery on 15 September, the 3rd Battery on 15 November, and the 1st Battery on 15 December. One day earlier, on 14 December, the 2nd Light Anti-aircraft Group in
Mestre had left the
121st Light Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment, and, on 15 December 1993, that group was renamed 17th Light Anti-aircraft Artillery Group "Sforzesca". On 17 September 1995, the 17th Light Anti-aircraft Artillery Group "Sforzesca" lost its autonomy and the next day the group entered the reformed 17th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment. On the same day, the flag and traditions of the 17th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment were transferred from the battalion to the reformed regiment. The reformed regiment's 1st Anti-aircraft Group consisted of three batteries, which were equipped with
Skyguard surface-to-air missile systems and
Stinger man-portable air-defense systems.
Recent times On 30 June 1997, the
18th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment in
Rimini was disbanded and the regiment's flag transferred the next day to the
Shrine of the Flags in the
Vittoriano in
Rome for safekeeping. On the same day, 1 July 1997, the flag of the 17th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment "Sforzesca" was moved from Villafranca to Rimini, where the 17th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment "Sforzesca" took over the base and units of the disbanded regiment. On 1 January 2002, the regiment was assigned to the Anti-aircraft Artillery Brigade. In October 2002, the command of the 17th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment "Sforzesca" in Rimini moved to
Sabaudia and the regiment's anti-aircraft group in Rimini was assigned to the
121st Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment "Ravenna" as 2nd Anti-aircraft Group. On 11 September 2009, the Anti-aircraft Artillery Brigade was merged with the Anti-aircraft Artillery School to form the
Anti-aircraft Artillery Command. == Organization ==