Mameli Armored Brigade

Brigata Corazzata Mameli
160px Coat of Arms of the Armored Brigade Mameli
Active	1 October 1975 - 1 April 1991
Country	Italy
Branch	Italian Army
Type	Cavalry
Role	Armored warfare
Part of	1975-1986 Ariete Armored Division 1986-1991 5th Army Corps
Garrison/HQ	Tauriano

The Mameli Armored Brigade was an armored brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units were tank and Bersaglieri battalions. The brigade's headquarters was in the city of Tauriano, a subdivision of the city of Spilimbergo. All the brigades units were based in Spilimbergo. The brigade's name was chosen to honor the Italian patriot Goffredo Mameli writer of the lyrics of the Italian national anthem. The brigade's sister brigades, the Manin Armored Brigade and Garibaldi Mechanized Brigade were named in honor of Daniele Manin and in honor of Giuseppe Garibaldi, both heroes of the Italian unification.

History

Mameli

19 Guide

3 Galas
5 Chiamenti
23 di Borgo
12 Capua

Mameli Armored Brigade battalions in 1989

The brigade was activated during a major reorganization of the Italian Army: in 1975 the regiment level was abolished and battalions came under direct command of newly formed brigades, which combined units from different arms. On 1 October 1975 the Mameli Armored Brigade was activated along with the Manin Armored Brigade and the Garibaldi Mechanized Brigade from the disbanded regiments of the Ariete Armored Division. The Ariete Armored Division was part of the 5th Army Corps based in North-Eastern Italy. The 5th Army Corps was tasked with defending the Italian-Yugoslavian border against possible attacks by either the Warsaw Pact, or Yugoslavia or both. The Ariete Armored Division was based in the middle of the potential front. The brigade's authorized strength was 3,381 men (214 Officers, 516 non-commissioned officers and 2,651 soldiers) and it consisted initially of the following units:

• Mameli Command and Signal Battalion, in Tauriano
• 25px 3rd Tank Battalion M.O. Galas, in Tauriano, (M60A1 Main battle tanks)
• 25px 5th Tank Battalion M.O. Chiamenti, in Tauriano, (M60A1 Main battle tanks)
• 23rd Bersaglieri Battalion Castel di Borgo, in Tauriano, (VCC-1 Armored personnel carriers)
• 25px 12th Self-propelled Field Artillery Group Capua, in Vacile, (M109 Self-propelled howitzers)
• 25px Mameli Logistic Battalion, in Vacile
• Mameli Anti-tank Squadron, in Vacile
• Mameli Engineer Company, in Vacile

On 31 October 1986 the Italian Army abolished the divisional level and brigades, that until then had been under one of the Armys four divisions, came forthwith under direct command of the Armys 3rd and 5th Army Corps. The Mameli, Garibaldi and Ariete (formerly the Manin) brigades came directly under the 5th Army Corps and the Mameli received the 19th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron Cavalleggeri Guide from the disbanded division.

After the end of the Cold War the Italian Army began to draw down its forces and the Mameli was the first brigade to be disbanded. On 1 April 1991 the brigade was officially deactivated along with some of its subordinate units. The 3rd Tank and 5th Tank Battalion and 23rd Bersaglieri Battalion were transferred to the Ariete Armored Brigade, while the 19th Cavalry Squadron Cavalleggeri Guide passed to the Garibaldi Bersaglieri Brigade.

External links

• Italian Army Homepage: History of the Ariete Division