Formation
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 November 1975 the Garibaldi Mechanized Brigade was activated one month after its sister brigades the Manin Armored Brigade and the Mameli Armored Brigade had been activated with the disbanded regiments of the Ariete Armored Division.
The brigades headquarter was in the city of Pordenone. The brigades name was chosen to honor the Italian patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi. The brigades sister brigades in the Ariete Armored Division, the Manin Armored Brigade and Mameli Armored Brigade, were named in honor of Daniele Manin and Goffredo Mameli, both heroes of the Italian unification. The Ariete 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 4,733 men (272 Officers, 637 non-commissioned officers and 3,824 soldiers) consisted of the following units:
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- Garibaldi Command and Signal Battalion, in Pordenone
- 7th Tank Battalion M.O. Di Dio, in Vivaro, (M60A1 Main battle tanks)
- 3rd Bersaglieri Battalion Cernaia, in Pordenone, (VCC-1 Armored personnel carriers)
- 26th Bersaglieri Battalion Castelfidardo, in Maniago, (VCC-1 Armored personnel carriers)
- 19th Self-propelled Field Artillery Group Rialto, in Sequals, (M109 Self-propelled howitzers)
- Garibaldi Logistic Battalion, in Pordenone
- Garibaldi Anti-tank Company, in Vivaro
- Garibaldi Engineer Company, in Orcenico Superiore
On July 1, 1976 the brigade added the 11th Bersaglieri Battalion Caprera in Orcenico Superiore. With the abolition of the divisional level in the Italian army on October 1, 1986 the Garibaldi came under direct control of the 5th Army Corps.
Read more about this topic: Garibaldi Bersaglieri Brigade
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