8th Bersaglieri Regiment

8th Bersaglieri Regiment
8° Reggimento bersaglieri
Regimental coat of arms
Active	1 Jan. 1871 — 9 Sept. 1943 15 Sept. 1949 — today
Country	Italy
Branch	Italian Army
Part of	Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi"
Garrison/HQ	Caserta
Motto(s)	"Velox ad impetum"
Anniversaries	18 June 1836
Engagements	Battle of the Chernaya
Decorations	2x Military Order of Italy[1][2] 2x Gold Medals of Military Valor[3][4] 1x Silver Medal of Military Valor 5x Bronze Medals of Military Valor 1x Gold Medal of Army Valor[5] 1x Silver Medal of Army Valor[6] 1x Silver Medal of Civil Valor 1x 1908 Messina earthquake Medal of Merit[7]
Insignia
Bersaglieri gorget patches

The 8th Bersaglieri Regiment (Italian: 8° Reggimento Bersaglieri) is an active unit of the Italian Army based in Caserta in Campania. The regiment is part of the army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality and operationally assigned to the Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi".^[8] The regiment was formed in 1871 by the Royal Italian Army with preexisting battalions, which had served in the First Italian War of Independence, Crimean War, Second Italian War of Independence, and Third Italian War of Independence. During the Italo-Turkish War the regiment fought against Ottoman Army forces in Libya. During World War I the regiment served on the Italian front. During World War II the regiment was initially assigned to the 132nd Armored Division "Ariete", with which it fought in the Western Desert Campaign, and then to the 136th Armored Division "Giovani Fascisti", with which if fought in the Tunisian Campaign. For its service and sacrifice in the two North African campaigns the regiment was awarded two Gold Medals of Military Valor.^[7][9][10]

In 1949 the regiment was reformed in Pordenone and assigned to the Armored Brigade "Ariete". During the 1975 army reform the regimental command was used to form the command of the 8th Mechanized Brigade "Garibaldi", while the regiment's III Battalion became an autonomous unit and was renamed 3rd Bersaglieri Battalion "Cernaia". The battalion received the flag and traditions of the regiment and was assigned to the 8th Mechanized Brigade "Garibaldi". In 1991 the command of the 8th Mechanized Brigade "Garibaldi" and the 3rd Bersaglieri Battalion "Cernaia" moved from Pordenone to Caserta in the South of Italy. In 1993 the battalion lost its autonomy and entered the reformed 8th Bersaglieri Regiment.^[9][10] The regiment's anniversary falls, as for all Bersaglieri units, on 18 June 1836, the day the Bersaglieri speciality was founded.^[8][9][10]