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31st Tank Regiment (Italy)

The 31st Tank Regiment is an inactive tank regiment of the Italian Army, which was based in Lecce in Apulia and last operationally assigned to the Mechanized Brigade "Pinerolo". The regiment was formed in July 1937 by the Royal Italian Army and assigned to the I Armored Brigade. In April 1939, the regiment moved from Siena to Tirana in occupied Albania. In winter 1940-41, the regiment fought in the Greco-Italian War and in 1941 in the invasion of Yugoslavia. In November 1942, the regiment was sent to Libya, where it fought in the Western Desert campaign and then in the Tunisian campaign. In April 1943, the regiment was disbanded due to the heavy losses it had suffered in the Battle of El Guettar. The regiment was immediately reformed in Italy, but it saw no further action, until invading German forces disbanded it after the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943.

History
On 15 July 1937, the 31st Tank Infantry Regiment was formed in Siena. The new regiment received the I Breach Tanks Battalion "Raggi" from the 3rd Tank Infantry Regiment, the II Breach Tanks Battalion "Alessi" from the 4th Tank Infantry Regiment, and the XXXI Assault Tanks Battalion "Cerboni" from the 5th Bersaglieri Regiment. On the same date the regiment joined the I Armored Brigade, which also included the 5th Bersaglieri Regiment. The breach tank battalions were equipped with Fiat 3000 Mod. 30 light tanks, and the assault tanks battalion with L3/33 tankettes. In 1938, all Assault Tank Battalions were renamed Tank Battalion L (with L standing for or Light), while Breach Tanks Battalions were renamed Tank Battalion M (with M standing for or Medium). On 30 November 1938, the regiment received the VII Tank Battalion L from the 3rd Tank Infantry Regiment. • III Armored Brigade "Centauro", in Novara On the same date, 21 October 1975, the regiment's II Tank Battalion became an autonomous unit and was renamed 101st Tank Battalion "M.O. Zappalà", while the XXVIII Bersaglieri Battalion became an autonomous unit and was renamed 28th Bersaglieri Battalion "Oslavia". The three battalions were then assigned to the 31st Armored Brigade "Curtatone", which was formed on the same day by reorganizing the command of the 31st Tank Regiment. The two tank battalions consisted of a command, a command and services company, and three tank companies with Leopard 1A2 main battle tanks. Each of the two battalions fielded now 434 men (32 officers, 82 non-commissioned officers, and 320 soldiers). On 12 November 1976, the President of the Italian Republic Giovanni Leone assigned with decree 846 the flag and traditions of the 31st Tank Regiment to the 1st Tank Battalion "M.O. Cracco" and the flag and traditions of the 131st Tank Infantry Regiment to the 101st Tank Battalion "M.O. Zappalà". In 1986, the Italian Army abolished the divisional level and brigades, which until then had been under one of the Army's four divisions, came forthwith under direct command of the Army's 3rd Army Corps or 5th Army Corps. As the Armored Division "Centauro" carried a historically significant name, the division ceased to exist on 31 October in Novara, and the next day in the same location the 31st Armored Brigade "Centauro" was activated. The new brigade took command of the units of the 31st Armored Brigade "Curtatone", whose name was stricken from the roll of active units of the Italian Army. From 1 January 2011 to 28 February 2017, the regiment was assigned to the Italian Army's Cavalry School in Lecce as test unit for the "Future Soldier" networked warfighting project. In 2012, the regiment moved from Altamura to Lecce. On 10 January 2020, the 31st Tank Regiment was disbanded and its standard transferred to the Shrine of the Flags in the Vittoriano in Rome, while on the same date the personnel of the disbanded regiment was used to reform the Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Lodi" (15th). == See also ==
Source: Wikipedia ↗
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