On 1 November 1883, the
Royal Italian Army formed the 3rd Engineer Regiment, which, on 1 November 1895, was renamed
3rd Engineer Regiment (Telegraphers). After the end of
World War I the Royal Italian Army reorganized its forces and on 31 March 1920, the 3rd Engineer Regiment (Telegraphers) was disbanded. In 1975, the traditions of the 3rd Engineer Regiment (Telegraphers) were assigned to the
10th Signal Battalion "Lanciano", which in 1993 entered the
3rd Signal Regiment. Since then the traditions of the 3rd Engineer Regiment (Telegraphers) are perpetuated by the 3rd Signal Regiment. On 1 October 1934, the regiment merged with the Engineer Arm's Complementary Officer Cadets School and was renamed 3rd Engineer School Regiment. On the same day, the regiment transferred the
radio-telegraphers battalion to the
4th Engineer Regiment. Afterwards the regiment consisted of a command, a cadets battalion, a mixed engineer battalion (with sappers, engineer, cableway, and photo-electricians companies), a teleradio battalion, the two dovecotes, and a depot. •
V Army Corps Engineer Command, in
Vittorio Veneto • I Pioneers Fortification Battalion, in
Casarsa della Delizia — formed on 1 September 1950, moved to
Orcenico Superiore in 1951 • V Pioneers Fortification Battalion, in
Sterzing — formed on 20 January 1954 • the XXX Sappers Battalion fought in the
Greco-Italian War and then on the
Eastern Front. The battalion was nearly wiped out during the Soviet
Operation Little Saturn. Only 121 men out of 480 survived. For its conduct and sacrifice on the Eastern Front the XXX Sappers Battalion was awarded a
Silver Medal of Military Valor. On 12 November 1976, the
President of the Italian Republic Giovanni Leone assigned with decree 846 the
flag and traditions of the 3rd Engineer Regiment to the battalion. As part of the reform the battalion received the two Silver Medals of Military Valor and the two Bronze Medals of Military Valor, which had been awarded to the XXX, XXXI and XXXII sappers battalions for their service during World War II. The medals were affixed to the battalion's flag and added to the battalion's coat of arms. For its conduct and work after the
1976 Friuli earthquake the battalion was awarded a Bronze Medal of Army Valor, which was affixed to the battalion's flag and added to the battalion's coat of arms. In 2004, the 3rd Engineer Regiment deployed to
Iraq as part of the
Multi-National Force – Iraq. On 5 and 6 August 2004, forces of
Muqtada al-Sadr's
Mahdi Army fought units of the
Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" for control of the three main bridges over the
Euphrates river in
Nasiriyah. The 3rd Engineer Regiment, together with troops of the
Lagunari Regiment "Serenissima", defeated the insurgents' attacks. For its conduct in the two day battle the regiment was awarded a Silver Medal of Army Valor, which was affixed to the regiment's flag and added to the regiment's coat of arms. From November 2006 to April 2007, the regiment deployed to
Lebanon as part of the
UN's
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. For its service in Lebanon the regiment was awarded a Gold Cross of Army Merit, which was affixed to the regiment's flag. == Organization ==