Formation On 26 January 1683,
Victor Amadeus II,
Duke of Savoy issued a decree to form the first permanent cavalry regiment in his dominions. The same year the regiment was given the name
Regiment "Dragoni di Sua Altezza Reale" (Regiment "Dragoons of His Royal Highness"), but the regiment was also known as "Dragons Bleus" due to their blue uniform. 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 in
Asti, 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"). Each of the three dragoon regiments consisted of a staff and eight companies of 50
dragoons per company. In fall of 1690, the Regiment "Dragoni di Piemonte" was sent to garrison
Avigliana Castle, which blocked the route to
Turin to the French. In January 1691, the Regiment "Dragoni di Sua Altezza Reale" was sent to reinforce the castle. 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. On 23 July 1692, two additional cavalry regiments were formed: the Regiment Cavaglià, which was soon renamed
Cavalry Regiment "Piemonte Reale" and the Regiment Montbrison, which was renamed
Cavalry Regiment "Savoia". In 1693, the Savoyard Army's three dragoon regiments added a ninth company and then fielded 36 officers and 450 dragoons. 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. On 19 April 1848, the Regiment "Nizza Cavalleria" clashed with Austrian forces at
Mantua. On 6 May, the regiment fought in the
Battle of Santa Lucia and, on 30 May, the regiment distinguished itself in the
Battle of Goito. In the evening of 27 July 1848, after the defeat in the
Battle of Volta Mantovana, 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. On 1 March 1849, the Sardinian
Chamber of Deputies voted for the resumption of the war, with 94 votes in favour and 24 against. King Charles Albert decided that hostilities would resume on 20 March and, as stipulated in the 1848 armistice, the Austrians were informed about the continuation of the war eight days before the hostilities resumed. Charles Albert then massed his army near
Novara. At noon on 20 March, the whole Austrian Army crossed the
Ticino river at
Pavia and marched North towards Mortara and
Vigevano. On 21 March 1849, the regiment's 2nd and 3rd squadrons distinguished themselves in the
Battle of Mortara. On 23 March 1849, Field Marshal Radetzky decisively defeated the Sardinians in the
Battle of Novara, even though the Regiment "Nizza Cavalleria" distinguished itself in battle once more. In the evening of 23 March, King Charles Albert abdicated in favour of his son
Victor Emmanuel. On 24 March, the new king met with Radetzky at
Vignale and agreed to an armistice, which ended the short Second Campaign of the First Italian War of Independence. On 20 May 1920, the Royal Italian Army disbanded five additional cavalry regiments, among them the Regiment "Lancieri di Montebello" (8th), whose II Squadrons Group "Cavalleggeri di Catania" in
Turin was transferred to the
Regiment "Lancieri Vittorio Emanuele II" (10th), while the regiment's I Squadrons Group and one of that squadron group's squadrons were disbanded. The remaining squadron was transferred to the Regiment "Nizza Cavalleria" (1st), which moved from
Savigliano to Turin, where it took over the barracks of the II Squadrons Group "Cavalleggeri di Catania", which as part of the reform had moved to join the Regiment "Lancieri Vittorio Emanuele II" (10th) in
Brescia. Furthermore, on the same date, the Regiment "Nizza Cavalleria" (1st) retired its lances and was renamed Regiment "Nizza Cavalleria". On 1 July 1920, the traditions and standard of the Regiment "Lancieri di Montebello" (8th) were entrusted to the Regiment "Nizza Cavalleria". On 24 May 1925, the standard of the disbanded regiment was transferred to the
Shrine of the Flags, which at the time was located in
Castel Sant'Angelo, for safekeeping. 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. In February 1944, the
Italian Co-belligerent Army formed the Reconnaissance Squadron "Nizza Cavalleria" in
Cava dei Tirreni. Initially the squadron was assigned to the
IX Assault Unit, which in June 1944, during the
Battle of Ancona, liberated
Cingoli from German occupation. Afterwards the squadron was transferred to the
Polish II Corps, with which continued to serve for the rest of the
Italian campaign. On 12 November 1976, the
President of the Italian Republic Giovanni Leone assigned with decree 846 the
standard and traditions of the Regiment "Nizza Cavalleria" (1st) to the squadrons group.
Recent times , Romania 2019 On 11 September 1991, the 1st Armored Squadrons Group "Nizza Cavalleria" lost its autonomy and the next day the squadrons group entered the 1st Regiment "Nizza Cavalleria". On the same day, the standard and traditions of the Regiment "Nizza Cavalleria" (1st) 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
Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks. On the same day the regiment left the
Motorized Brigade "Cremona" and was assigned to the
3rd Army Corps. On 1 August 1992, the regiment was renamed Regiment "Nizza Cavalleria" (1st). In 1993, the regiment replaced its Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks with wheeled
Centauro tank destroyers. On 16 September 1996, the regiment was transferred from the
3rd Army Corps to the
Support Units Command "Legnano". On 15 October 1997, the regiment joined the
Armored Brigade "Centauro". On 5 October 2002, the Armored Brigade "Centauro" was disbanded and the regiment was transferred to the
Alpine Brigade "Taurinense". On 11 July 2013, the regiment moved from Pinerolo to
Bellinzago Novarese, where the regiment took over the barracks of the
4th Tank Regiment, which had moved to
Persano. == Organization ==