Formation In June 1690, the
Victor Amadeus II,
Duke of Savoy joined
Grand Alliance, which required Savoy to enter the
Nine Years' War against the
Kingdom of France. Initially the Savoyard Army fielded only two cavalry regiments (
Regiment "Dragoni di Sua Altezza Reale", Regiment "Dragoni del Génévois"), to which a third was added on 4 July 1690 (
Regiment "Dragoni di Piemonte"). On 23 July 1692, the existing Piedmont Squadron, which had been formed upon Savoy's entry into the war and consisted of two brigades of mounted
Gens d'Arme, was split and formed two regiments: one in
Turin, which was initially named for its commander Regiment Cavaglià, the other in
Valdengo, which was initially named for one of its company commanders Regiment None, and then for its commander Regiment Montbrison. Later in the same year the Regiment Cavaglià was given the name
Cavalry Regiment "Piemonte Reale" (), while the Regiment Montbrison was given the name Cavalry Regiment "Savoia" (). The Cavalry Regiment "Piemonte Reale" was named for the
Principality of Piedmont, while the Cavalry Regiment "Savoia" was named for the
Duchy of Savoy. Both regiments consisted of a staff of 36 officers and nine companies of 50
cavaliers per company. On 4 October 1693, all five Savoyard cavalry regiments fought in the
Battle of Marsaglia. On 5 December 1696, the regiment was reduced from nine to eight companies. On 29 August 1696, France and Savoy signed the
Treaty of Turin, which ended the latter's involvement in the war, followed on 20 September 1697, by the
Peace of Ryswick, which ended the Nine Years' War. Consequently, the number of cavaliers per company in the Savoyard Army's two cavalry regiments were reduced 50 to 35 cavaliers. On 22 November 1699, the Cavalry Regiment "Savoia" was disbanded and its personnel and horses transferred to the Cavalry Regiment "Piemonte Reale" and Regiment "Dragoni di Sua Altezza Reale". 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 30 April 1848, the Regiment "Savoia Cavalleria" clashed with Austrian forces in the
Skirmish of Pastrengo. On 6 May, the regiment distinguished itself in the
Battle of Santa Lucia and on 30 May it fought in the
Battle of Goito. On 23 and 24 July, the Regiment "Savoia Cavalleria" fought at
Sommacampagna, the prelude to the larger
Battle of Custoza the next day. On the second day of the
Battle of Sommacampagna the Regiment "Savoia Cavalleria" captured the flag of the Austrian 48th Infantry Regiment "
Erzherzog Ernst". 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. 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 "Savoia Cavalleria" fought in the
Battle of Mortara. On 23 March 1849, the regiment fought in the
Battle of Novara, which resulted in a decisive defeat of the Sardinian forces. In the evening of the same day, 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). On the same date, 20 May 1920, the Regiment "Lancieri Vittorio Emanuele II" ceded a squadron of its I Squadrons Group to the Regiment "Savoia Cavalleria" (3rd). Furthermore, on the same date, the Regiment "Savoia Cavalleria" (3rd) retired its lances and was renamed Regiment "Savoia Cavalleria". On 1 July 1920, the traditions and standard of the Regiment "Lancieri di Vercelli" (26th) were entrusted to the Regiment "Savoia Cavalleria". In 1923, the regiment was granted the privilege to wear a
scarlet tie instead of the traditional scarlet stripe on the black lapel of its uniform jacket. On 24 May 1925, the standard of the disbanded Regiment "Lancieri di Vercelli" (26th) was transferred to the
Shrine of the Flags, which at the time was located in
Castel Sant'Angelo, for safekeeping. On 25 December 1941, the Soviets launched a counterattack against the 3rd Cavalry Division "Principe Amedeo Duca d'Aosta", with the division's positions in Novoorlivka, and Petropavlivka coming under heavy attack. On 15 March 1942, the two cavalry regiments, 3rd Horse Artillery Regiment, and III Light Tanks Group "San Giorgio" left the 3rd Cavalry Division "Principe Amedeo Duca d'Aosta" and formed the Horse Troops Grouping. For its conduct and service during its first year on the Eastern Front the Regiment "Savoia Cavalleria" was awarded a
Bronze Medal of Military Valor, which was affixed to the regiment's standard. For its conduct and valour in July 1942 during the Battle of Krasnyi Luch and in August 1942 at Izbushensky the Regiment "Savoia Cavalleria" was awarded a
Gold Medal of Military Valor, which was affixed to the regiment's standard. The Regiment "Savoia Cavalleria" retreated back to the city of
Gomel in Belarus, from where the regiment's remnants were repatriated to Italy. In May 1943, the regiment moved to
Castel San Pietro near
Bologna and began the process of being brought back up to full strength. In the evening of 8 September 1943, the
Armistice of Cassibile, which ended hostilities between the
Kingdom of Italy and the
Anglo-American Allies, was announced by General
Dwight D. Eisenhower on Radio Algiers and by Marshal
Pietro Badoglio on
Italian radio. Germany reacted by
invading Italy and due to the overwhelming strength of German forces in the
Emilia region Colonel Bettoni Cazzago ordered the regiment to dissolve. Afterwards Bettoni Cazzago returned with the regiment's standard to his hometown
Brescia, where he joined the local anti-fascist
Partisan Fiamme Verdi Brigade. On 12 November 1976, the
President of the Italian Republic Giovanni Leone assigned with decree 846 the
standard and traditions of the Regiment "Savoia Cavalleria" (3rd) to the squadrons group.
Recent times river On 22 May 1992, the 3rd Armored Squadrons Group "Savoia Cavalleria" lost its autonomy and the next day the squadrons group entered the Regiment "Savoia Cavalleria" (3rd). On the same day, the standard and traditions of the Regiment "Savoia Cavalleria" (3rd) 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 four armored squadrons equipped with wheeled
Centauro tank destroyers. On 6 October 1995, the Regiment "Savoia Cavalleria" (3rd) disbanded its squadrons in
Meran and the next day, on 7 October 1995, the standard of the Regiment "Savoia Cavalleria" (3rd) arrived in
Grosseto, where it replaced the standard of the
Regiment "Lancieri di Firenze" (9th) and took over the latter regiment's base, squadrons, and personnel. Two days later, on 9 October 1995, the standard of the Regiment "Lancieri di Firenze" (9th) was transferred to the
Shrine of the Flags in the
Vittoriano in Rome for safekeeping. The regiment was now part of the
Mechanized Brigade "Friuli". From 23 September 1996 to 29 January 1997, the regiment deployed one of its squadrons to
Sarajevo for the
NATO-led
Implementation Force, respectively the NATO-led
Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which subsumed the former on 20 December 1996. From 26 October 1999 to 8 March 2000, the regiment deployed to
Kosovo as part of the NATO-led
Kosovo Force. On 1 May 2000, the Mechanized Brigade "Friuli" was reorganized and became an
air assault brigade. Consequently, the brigade was renamed
Airmobile Brigade "Friuli". From 22 June to 3 November 2000, the regiment's 1st Squadron returned to Kosovo as part of the Italian contribution to the Kosovo Force. In 2001, the regiment's 4th Squadron deployed to
North Macedonia for the NATO-led
Operation Essential Harvest. From 25 October 2001 to March 2002, the regiment once more deployed to Kosovo. On 20 September 2013, the Regiment "Savoia Cavalleria" (3rd) was transferred from the
Airmobile Brigade "Friuli" to the
Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore". Since 2013, the regiment's troops can obtain the military parachuting license and the regiment's 3rd Reconnaissance Squadron is fully airborne qualified. == Organization ==