Formation On 26 January 1683,
Victor Amadeus II,
Duke of Savoy issued a decree to form the first permanent cavalry regiment in his dominions. With the same decree Victor Amadeus II nominated Manfredo Giuseppe Scaglia, Count of Verrua as the regiment's first commander and established that the regiment had to be mustered within the following two months. The regiment, which was initially named Dragoons of Verrua, consisted of a staff of 18 officers and six companies of 50
dragoons each. As the regiment's troops were dressed in blue uniforms the regiment was also known as the "Dragons Bleus". A few months after its founding the regiment, which was based in
Pinerolo, was given the name Regiment "Dragoni di Sua Altezza Reale" (Regiment "Dragoons of His Royal Highness"). In 1684, the regiment added two additional companies. On 7 October 1689, a second dragoon regiment was formed, which was initially known as Dragons Verts due to their green uniforms. On 4 July 1690, in preparation for the entry of Savoy into the
Nine Years' War, a third dragoon regiment was formed, which was initially known as Dragons Jaunes due to their yellow uniforms. During the same year the Dragons Verts were given the name Regiment "Dragoni del Génévois" (Regiment "Dragoons of
Génévois"), while the Dragons Jaunes were given the name
Regiment "Dragoni di Piemonte" (Regiment "Dragoons of
Piedmont"). While the Regiment "Dragoni di Piemonte" remained at its garrison to recruit and train its freshly levied troops, the regiments "Dragoni di Sua Altezza Reale" and "Dragoni del Génévois" fought on 18 August 1690 in the
Battle of Staffarda. In January 1691, the Regiment "Dragoni di Sua Altezza Reale" was sent to reinforce the Regiment "Dragoni di Piemonte" at
Avigliana Castle, which blocked the route to
Turin to the French. On 28 May 1691, French troops stormed the castle, and while the garrison's infantry troops were taken prisoner, the two dragoons regiments escaped the same fate on their horses. Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Sardinia, King Victor Emmanuel I had abolished after his return from exile the freedoms granted by the
Napoleonic Code and established an oppressive
absolutist rule. The widespread resentment to this kind of rule, the wish for a constitution and a desire by a part of the Royal Sardinian Army's officers corps to declare war on Austria to aid the revolutionaries in Naples resulted in a conspiracy led by
Annibale Santorre, Count of Santarosa to overthrow the Sardinian government and declare war on Austria. In the night of 6 to 7 March, Santorre and three fellow conspirators met with Prince
Charles Albert, Prince of Carignano, a cousin of King Victor Emmanuel I and the second in line to the throne Sardinia, who did not dissuade them from their intentions. The next day, on 7 March 1821, the Austrian forces defeated the Neapolitan rebels in the
Battle of Rieti, but nonetheless during the night from 9 to 10 March the Sardinian conspirators began their coup. In
Alessandria the troops of the Regiment "Dragoni del Re" arrested their officers and, together with the troops of the
Brigade of "Genova", took control of the
city's citadel. However, in Turin the rebels were forced by loyal troops, which included the Regiment "Piemonte Reale Cavalleria", to abandon the city and move to Alessandria. In
Pinerolo 300 troops of the Regiment "Cavalleggeri del Re" joined the rebellion and left for Alessandria. The Regiment "Dragoni della Regina" in Vercelli however ignored the pleas of its deputy commander to join the rebellion and followed the regiment's commander to
Novara. Likewise, a small number of the dragons of the Regiment "Dragoni del Re", who did not wish to join the rebellion, left Alessandria and joined the loyal forces in Turin. However, the biggest setback for the rebellion was the arrest of the Colonel Carlo Morozzo, Count of San Michele, commander of the Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Piemonte", who had been tasked with bringing his regiment from
Fossano to
Moncalieri to arrest King Victor Emmanuel I. On the same day King Charles Albert declared war the Royal Sardinian Army's six cavalry regiments reformed their depot squadrons. At the start of the campaign the cavalry's I Brigade was attached to the I Army Corps, while the II Brigade was attached to the II Army Corps, while the III Brigade was attached to the army reserve division. On 25 March 1848, King Charles Albert ordered to issue all cavalry regiments a 60 cm wide square standard in the colors of the
Italian flag with the arms of Savoy displayed in the center of the white pale. After the start of the war the regiment's 1st Squadron clashed with Austrian forces at
Marcaria and then the regiment was engaged against enemy forces at
Villafranca. On 30 April 1848, the regiment fought in the
Skirmish of Pastrengo and, on 6 May, in the
Battle of Santa Lucia. On 30 May the regiment fought in the
Battle of Goito. On 18 July 1848, during the
Second Battle of Governolo the Regiment "Genova Cavalleria" captured the flag of the Austrian 52nd Infantry Regiment "
Erzherzog Franz Karl". On 27 July, the regiment fought in the
Battle of Volta Mantovana, after which King
Charles Albert ordered a retreat towards Milan. On 9 August, the Austrian General
Heinrich von Heß and the Sardinian General
Carlo Canera di Salasco signed the
Armistice of Salasco, which stated that Charles Albert's troops would withdraw from the whole of the
Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, and the
Duchy of Parma and Piacenza and
Duchy of Modena and Reggio. Thus ended the war's First Campaign. Around 14h three Austro-Hungarian and German divisions attacked the Italian line: the German
5th Infantry Division attacked Carpeneto, while the Austrio-Hungarian 60th Infantry Division attacked Pozzuolo, and the German
117th Infantry Division attacked the "Genova Cavalleria". With the "Genova Cavalleria" under heavy attack the lancers of the Regiment "Lancieri di Novara" (5th) began to harass the left flank of the enemy in repeated
cavalry charges. By 17:30 the cavalry brigade had suffered almost 400 dead and the enemy had entered Pozzuolo. Around 18h General Capodilista ordered his troops to disengage and retreat. Colonel Balbi and the "Bergamo" troops chose to stay in Pozzuolo to cover the retreat. Fifteen minutes later the remnants of the II Cavalry Brigade rode in formation south towards
Santa Maria di Sclaunicco. The last cavalry unit to leave Pozzuolo was the 4th Squadron of the "Genova Cavalleria", which executed a last suicidal charge against the enemy to cover the other units' escape. During the charge, the 4th Squadron's commanding officer Captain
Ettore Laiolo was killed. By nightfall the Regiment "Lancieri di Novara" (5th) had lost 186 men, while the Regiment "Genova Cavalleria" (4th) had lost 281 men. In total the II Cavalry Brigade lost 467 of its 968 men, while the Brigade "Bergamo" lost more than 3,500 men. Ultimately however, the Battle of Pozzuolo was a success as it bought the Italian 3rd Army the time to escape across the Tagliamento river.
Interwar years After the war the Royal Italian Army disbanded the second groups of all thirty cavalry regiments, while the first groups were reduced to two squadrons. On 21 November 1919, 14 cavalry regiments were disbanded and their groups transferred to 14 of the remaining cavalry regiments. One of the disbanded regiments was the Regiment "Lancieri di Mantova" (25th), whose remaining group was renamed II Squadrons Group "Lancieri di Mantova". Afterwards, the squadrons group, which remained based in
Bologna and retained the disbanded regiment's
standard, joined the Regiment "Genova Cavalleria" (4th). On 20 May 1920, the Royal Italian Army disbanded five additional cavalry regiments, among them the
Regiment "Lancieri di Milano" (7th), which ceded one of its remaining squadrons to the Regiment "Genova Cavalleria" (4th). On the same date, the Regiment "Genova Cavalleria" (4th) retired its lances and was renamed Regiment "Genova Cavalleria". On 1 July 1920, the traditions and standard of the Regiment "Lancieri di Mantova" (25th) were entrusted to the Regiment "Genova Cavalleria". On 24 May 1925, the standard of the disbanded Regiment "Lancieri di Mantova" (25th) was transferred to the
Shrine of the Flags, which at the time was located in
Castel Sant'Angelo, for safekeeping.
Second Italo-Ethiopian War In June 1935, in preparation for the
Second Italo-Ethiopian War, the regiment formed the I Machine Gunners Squadrons Group "Genova" and II Machine Gunners Squadrons Group "Genova". In August 1935, the two groups, together with the III and IV machine gunners squadrons groups formed by the
Regiment "Lancieri di Aosta" (6th), were deployed to
Italian Somaliland. The four squadrons groups fielded a combined 126 officers, 239 non-commissioned officers and 5,421 troops. On 3 October 1935, the Italians invaded
Ethiopia. In January 1936, after the defeating the Ethiopians in the
Battle of Ganale Doria the four squadrons groups rapidly advanced to
Neghelli, which was occupied on 20 January. In the following months the squadrons groups participated in the defeat of the Ethiopian forces in the South of the country, and between June and December 1936 the squadrons groups conquered the
Galla-Sidamo region. On 1 January 1937, the four groups were given the honor title "Cavalieri di Neghelli" ("Knights of Neghelli"). In late spring 1937, the I and II squadrons groups returned to Italy and were disbanded. On 13 November 1942, the division moved to southern France, which had been occupied by German-Italian forces three days earlier in the operation
Case Anton. The division initially garrisoned
Nice, before assuming coastal defense duties between
Antibes and
Saint Tropez. In December the division moved further East and replaced the
58th Infantry Division "Legnano" along the coast from Antibes to
Menton. The III Dismounted Group "Genova Cavalleria" and IV Dismounted Group "Genova Cavalleria" were assigned to the Harbor Defense Command
Civitavecchia of the
220th Coastal Division, which was responsible for the
coastal defense of northern
Lazio between the rivers Chiarone and Astura.
Cold War On 10 September 1946, the Italian Army decided to form five divisional reconnaissance groups, among them the 4th Dragoons Reconnaissance Group (), which received the traditions and yellow
gorget patches of the Regiment "Genova Cavalleria" (4th). On 20 November 1946, the group became operational in
Albenga. In 1947 the group moved from Albenga to
Palmanova, where it joined the
Infantry Division "Mantova". On 1 February 1949, the group was expanded to 4th Armored Cavalry Regiment "Genova Cavalleria". The regiment, which upon its formation received the standard of Regiment "Genova Cavalleria" (4th), consisted of a command, a command squadron, and three squadrons groups with
M26 Pershing tanks. The same year the regiment provided a mixed squadron for the security corps of the
Trust Territory of Somaliland, which was under Italian administration. The deployment of the squadron lasted until 1951 and it consisted of a command platoon, two armored car platoons with
Staghound T17, and a tank platoon with
Stuart M3A3 tanks. On 12 November 1976, the
President of the Italian Republic Giovanni Leone assigned with decree 846 the
standard and traditions of the Regiment "Genova Cavalleria" (4th) to the 4th Mechanized Squadrons Group "Genova Cavalleria". For its conduct and work after the
1976 Friuli earthquake the squadrons group was awarded a Bronze Medal of Army Valor, which was affixed to the squadrons group's standard and added to its coat of arms.
Recent times On 13 September 1993, the 4th Mechanized Squadrons Group "Genova Cavalleria" lost its autonomy and the next day the squadrons group entered the Regiment "Genova Cavalleria" (4th). On the same day, the standard and traditions of the Regiment "Genova Cavalleria" (4th) were transferred from the squadrons group to the regiment. The regiment consisted of a command, a command and services squadron, and a squadrons group with three armored squadrons equipped with wheeled
Centauro tank destroyers. In 1993, the regiment deployed a Centauro platoon to
Somalia for the
United Nations Operation in Somalia II. == Organization ==