Formation On 16 April 1861, the
Royal Italian Army formed the
Brigade "Calabria" in
Modena. The brigade consisted of the 59th Infantry Regiment and
60th Infantry Regiment, which were formed on the same day and based in
Brescia, respectively in Modena. The 59th Infantry Regiment received three battalions ceded by the
20th Infantry Regiment of the
Brigade "Brescia", and by the
21st Infantry Regiment and
22nd Infantry Regiment of the
Brigade "Cremona", while the 60th Infantry Regiment received three battalions ceded by the
11th Infantry Regiment and 12th Infantry Regiment of the
Brigade "Casale", and by the
17th Infantry Regiment of the
Brigade "Acqui". On 1 August 1862, both regiments of the Brigade "Calabria" ceded one of their depot companies to help form the 67th Infantry Regiment (
Brigade "Palermo"), and their 17th Company and 18th Company to help form the
68th Infantry Regiment (
Brigade "Palermo"). In 1862–66 the 59th Infantry Regiment operated in
Southern Italy and then
Sicily to suppress the
anti-Sardinian revolt, which had erupted after the
Kingdom of Sardinia had annexed the
Kingdom of Two Sicilies. In 1866, the Brigade "Calabria" participated in the
Third Italian War of Independence. During the night of 18 April 1916, the Italians detonated five tonnes of
blasting gelatin in a mine driven under the summit of Col di Lana. The explosion destroyed the Austro-Hungarian summit position and the 59th Infantry Regiment's I Battalion stormed the summit, while the III Battalion attacked the ridge between the summits of Col di Lana and
Monte Sief. On 20–21 April the 60th Infantry Regiment continued the attack over the summit ridge towards Monte Sief. After a pause, the 59th Infantry Regiment's III Battalion attempted again to storm the summit of Monte Sief on 26 May 1916. On 18 July 1916, the Brigade "Calabria" was transferred to the
Travignolo Valley. After the disastrous
Battle of Caporetto the brigade retreated to the new frontline along the
Piave river. On 18 November 1917, the Brigade "Calabria" entered the frontline on the
Monte Grappa massif, where the brigade fought in the
First Battle of Monte Grappa on
Monte Tomba and the neighboring
Monfenera. On 22 November 1917, the Austro-Hungarian forces drove the Brigade "Calabria" off the summit of Monte Tomba, but the brigade counterattacked five times and retook the summit. On the same day the 59th Infantry Regiment's II Battalion and III Battalion defeated a series of enemy attacks on Monfenera. On this day alone the brigade suffered more than 650 casualties. On 2 December 1917, the brigade, which had suffered 1,665 casualties in two weeks of combat, was replaced in the first line by French troops. In 1933, the regiment moved from La Maddalena to
Tempio Pausania. In 1934, the 30th Territorial Division of Cagliari was renamed Military Command Cagliari –
30th Infantry Division "Sabauda" and in September of the same year the Military Command Sassari –
31st Infantry Division "Caprera" was formed. The Military Command Cagliari was based in
Cagliari and responsible for the South of the island of Sardinia, while the Military Command Sassari was based in
Sassari and responsible for the island's North. The same month the XXXI Infantry Brigade "Caprera" was formed and assigned to the 31st Infantry Division "Caprera". The XXX Infantry Brigade "Sabauda" then transferred the 45th Infantry Regiment "Reggio" and 59th Infantry Regiment "Calabria" to the newly formed brigade. To bring the XXX Infantry Brigade "Sabauda" back up to strength the 60th Infantry Regiment "Calabria" was reformed in
Iglesias with personnel drawn from the 45th, 46th, and 59th infantry regiments. In 1935–36 the 59th Infantry Regiment "Calabria" provided seven officers and 225 troops to units deployed to East Africa for the
Second Italo-Ethiopian War. On 15 April 1939, the 45th Infantry Regiment "Reggio" in Sassari and the 60th Infantry Regiment "Calabria" in Iglesias switched names. On 15 October 1939, the 31st Infantry Division "Caprera" was renamed
31st Infantry Division "Calabria", while the XXXI Infantry Brigade "Caprera" was disbanded, and the 59th Infantry Regiment "Calabria" and 60th Infantry Regiment "Calabria" came under direct command of the division. The division, which also included the 40th Artillery Regiment "Calabria", was tasked with the defense of the Northern half of Sardinia. On 12 November 1976, the
President of the Italian Republic Giovanni Leone assigned with decree 846 the flag and traditions of the 59th Infantry Regiment "Calabria" to the 59th Mechanized Infantry Battalion "Calabria". For its conduct and work after the
1976 Friuli earthquake the battalion was awarded a Silver Medal of Army Valor, which was affixed to the battalion's flag and added to the battalion's coat of arms. 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 under direct command of the Army's
3rd Army Corps or
5th Army Corps. As the Mechanized Division "Mantova" carried the traditions of the
104th Infantry Division "Mantova" and
Combat Group "Mantova", which had both fought against the Germans during the
Italian campaign of
World War II the army decided to retain the name of the division. On 30 September 1986, the Mantova's division command in
Udine was disbanded and the next day the command of the Mechanized Brigade "Isonzo" moved from
Cividale del Friuli to Udine, where the command was renamed
Mechanized Brigade "Mantova". The brigade retained the Isonzo's units, including the 59th Mechanized Infantry Battalion "Calabria". With the end of the
Cold War the Italian Army began to draw down its forces and the 59th Mechanized Infantry Battalion "Calabria" was reduced to a reserve unit in 1989. On 10 December 1989, the flag of the 59th Infantry Regiment "Calabria" was transferred to the Shrine of the Flags in the
Vittoriano in Rome. On 30 June 1991, the 59th Mechanized Infantry Battalion "Calabria" was officially disbanded. == References ==