1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna"

1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna"
1° Reggimento "Granatieri di Sardegna"
Regimental coat of arms
Active	18 April 1659 – 10 May 1799 24 May 1814 – 10 Sept. 1943 15 May 1944 – 21 Aug. 1944 1 July 1946 – today[1]
Country	Italy
Branch	Italian Army
Part of	Mechanized Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna"
Garrison/HQ	Rome
Motto(s)	"A me le Guardie!"
Anniversaries	18 April 1659 – Founding of the speciality
Decorations	1x Military Order of Italy 2x Gold Medals of Military Valor 3x Silver Medals of Military Valor 1x Bronze Medal of Military Valor 1x Silver Medal of Merit[2]
Insignia
Granatieri gorget patches

The 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" (Italian: 1° Reggimento "Granatieri di Sardegna") is an active unit of the Italian Army based in Rome in Lazio. The regiment is part of the army's infantry arm's Granatieri (Grenadiers) speciality and assigned to the Mechanized Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna". Formed in 1659 the regiment is the currently oldest active unit of the Italian Army and the most senior regiment in the Italian Army's infantry order of precedence. Together with its sister the regiment, the 2nd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna", the regiment is the guard regiment of Rome.^[3][4]

The regiment was formed in 1659 as guard regiment of the Dukes of Savoy on the battlefield. For the next 140 years the regiment participated in all wars of the Duchy of Savoy and Kingdom of Sardinia, distinguishing itself especially in the Battle of Assietta in 1747. In 1798 revolutionary France occupied Piedmont and the regiment was integrated into the Army of the French-controlled Piedmontese Republic. In 1799 Austrian forces occupied Piedmont and the regiment was disbanded. In 1814 Napoleon abdicated and the King of Sardinia returned from Sardinia to Turin, where the regiment was reformed. The regiment then participated in all three Italian Wars of Independence. In 1861 the regiment was awarded Italy's highest military order the Gold Medal of Military Valor for its conduct during the Siege of Gaeta.^[1][4][5]

During World War I the regiment fought on the Italian front, where it fought to annihilation in May 1916 on the Monte Cengio. For their defense of Monte Cengio the regiment and its sister regiment, the 2nd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna", were both awarded a Gold Medal of Military Valor. During World War II the regiment was assigned to the 21st Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna", with which it served in occupied Yugoslavia as occupation force. Recalled to Rome in late 1942 the division fought invading German forces after the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943. After a last stand at Porta San Paolo on 10 September the regiment and division were disbanded by Germans forces.^[1][4][6]

In 1946 the regiment was reformed and assigned to the Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna". In 1975 the regiment was reduced to a battalion sized mechanized unit. In 1992 the regiment was reformed and has been active as mechanized unit since.^[1][4]