Lagunari
Encyclopedia
Italian Army
The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
. Today's Reggimento Lagunari Serenissima amphibious assault regiment has its headquarters in Mestre
Mestre
Mestre is a city part of the comune of Venice, in Veneto, northern Italy.The city is connected to Venice by a large rail and road bridge, called Ponte della Libertà ....
, a borough of Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, and in the present day they are still subordinate to the Pozzuolo del Friuli Cavalry Brigade
Pozzuolo del Friuli Cavalry Brigade
The Pozzuolo del Friuli Cavalry Brigade is a wheeled armored Reconnaissance brigade of the Italian Army, based mainly in the north-east of the country.- Structure :...
. The lagunari tend to be a very mobile attack force, high-powered weaponry, and tactical skills. They are trained to attack from the water and to establish a beachhead, which is an area of control on foreign territory.
Mission
During the Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, the regiment was stationed in the lagoon-rich south flank of the northeast Italian front. The Lagunari Regiment focused more on yesterday's high intensity, conventional battlefields, such as those expected during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. Nowadays, it has been replaced by the more probable mid- and low intensity conflicts. The Lagunaris have the ability to be projected to any hostile area around the globe due to their maneuverability.The Lagunari Regiment is versatile enough to be capable in conducting special operations under 'unconventional' methods while engaging on a 'conventional' battlefield. Today the Lagunari are intended for international missions, particularly in coastal regions and in areas rich in inland waterways.
The Lagunari Regiment is a maritime-focused, amphibious, highly specialised light - medium force capable of deploying at short notice in support of the Italian military and diplomatic objectives overseas and are optimised for expeditionary warfare: operational situations requiring highly manoeuvrable, normally amphibious, forces. As the Italian Army' specialists in riverine operations the Regiments provide assets and expertise for these unique operations.
Organization
The regiment consists of a staff unit (Malcontenta di Mira - Mestre) and supply company (Mestre), an amphibious transportation company (Sant'Andrea Island, near Venice) and a battalion of naval infantry. The naval infantry battalion is organized like a infantry battalion with VTLMIveco LMV
Iveco LMV is a 4WD tactical vehicle developed by Iveco, and in service with several countries.After its adoption by the Italian Army under the name VTLM Lince , it won the “FCLV” competition of the British Army as the Panther and has been adopted by the armies of Belgium, Croatia, Norway, Russia...
multipurpose vehicles. The special company includes landing boats and smaller speedboats as well has AAV7
Amphibious Assault Vehicle
The Assault Amphibious Vehicle —official designation AAV-7A1 is a fully tracked amphibious landing vehicle manufactured by U.S. Combat Systems .The AAV-7A1 is the current amphibious troop transport of the United States Marine Corps...
amphibious assault vehicles. The Lagunari Regiment fulfills a vital role in the Italian army as an amphibious, expeditionary task force, capable of forcible entry from the land and sea. It is capable of asymmetric warfare
Asymmetric warfare
Asymmetric warfare is war between belligerents whose relative military power differs significantly, or whose strategy or tactics differ significantly....
with conventional, irregular, and hybrid forces.
History
The Lagunaris have a proud history and unique traditions. The Italian Lagunari are the heirs to the embarked troops of the Republic of VeniceRepublic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
. In 1964, the Head of the Italian Army entrusted to the “Serenissima” Lagunari Regiment the formal heritage of this centuries-old history of valour and courage. Today, the military insignia on the uniforms and the traditions in the regiment are those of the proud Venetians' amphibian troops. The birth of the embarked troops of Venice goes back to the time of the fourth crusade when the Doge “Enrico Dandolo
Enrico Dandolo
Enrico Dandolo — anglicised as Henry Dandolo and Latinized as Henricus Dandulus — was the 41st Doge of Venice from 1195 until his death...
” put together one “Regiment ” from ten companies distributed on the warships of the Venetian fleet, and then employed them in the two captures of Constantinople (Bisanzio - 1203/1204).
The embarked troops of Venice had their final organisation in 1550 becoming the “Fanti da Mar” (Infantry of the sea) and they distinguished themselves during all the wars that the Republic of Venice fought against the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, especially during the sieges of Famagosta and Candia, and in the great victory in the battle of Lepanto
Battle of Lepanto (1571)
The Battle of Lepanto took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic maritime states, decisively defeated the main fleet of the Ottoman Empire in five hours of fighting on the northern edge of the Gulf of Patras, off western Greece...
. This heritage still survives in the spirit and the traditions of the current Lagunari.
In 1951, the Italian army
Italian Army
The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
raised the unit of Lagunari. It was a unit of amphibious
Amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...
infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
. The Italian 5th Army Corps saw a need for flank security adjacent to its land front. An amphibious unit was necessary due to the nature of the marshy terrain and many small islands. Up to the army reforms in 1975, the Lagunari Regiment consisted of several battalions (including armour unit). Afterwards, it was reduced to two Lagunari’s battalions: "Serenissima" and "Sile" and one Command (command of the amphibious troops of the Army) which carried on the traditions of the regiment. In 1992, regiments were re-instituted putting the previous combat units in one. The regiment was subordinate to the 5th Army Corps. Afterwards it came under the "Protection Forces Command" in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and then to the above-mentioned Pozzuolo del Friuli Brigade.
Even today, the Lagunari benefit from strong local support in the Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
area (from which they had traditionally been recruited). They are now intended for international missions and are to be used particularly into inland water-rich areas and sea operations. Plans to integrate the Lagunari into an amphibious brigade containing all Italian naval infantry, including the San Marco Regiment
San Marco Regiment
The San Marco Regiment , located in Brindisi, are the marines of the Italian Navy. Until the middle of the 1990s the unit was known as the “San Marco Battalion” , until it was expanded beyond battalion size because of the new geopolitical situation after the end of the Cold War and an increasing...
failed in the 1990s, partly because of the distance between bases - Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
to Brindisi
Brindisi
Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...
.
In 2006, to establish closer cooperation between the two regiments, a common operations staff (‘‘ Forza Nazionale di Proiezione dal Mare ‘‘) was established in Brindisi. The Italian navy
Italian Navy
Italian Navy may refer to:* Pre-unitarian navies of the Italian states* Regia Marina, the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of Italy * Italian Navy , the navy of the Italian Republic...
can, if necessary, fall back on the Lagunari and other support forces of the army. The San Marco regiment can also come within the scope of land operations under army control. Both organizations were used together for the first time, with support forces, in the UNIFIL operations after the 2006 Lebanon war as part of the international mission (as part of the Early Entry Force, September 2006).
Main Operations Abroad
- Operation “Constant Forge” Sarajevo –BOSNIA (September – December 1998);
- Operation “Joint Guardian” Dakovica – KOSSOVO ( November 1999 – March 2000);
- Operation “Consistent Effort” Pec / Klina – KOSSOVO ( February – June 2001);
- Operation “Decisive Endeavour” Pec/Klina/Gorazdevac – KOSSOVO (2002-2003);
- Operation “Antica Babilonia” IRAQ ( June 2003 – March 2005);
- Operation “LEONTE” LEBANON ( August 2006 – April 2007);
- Operation “LEONTE 5” LEBANON ( August 2008 – April 2009);
- Operation “ISAF 15” AFGHANISTAN ( October 2010 – ...)
See also
- Marines
- San Marco RegimentSan Marco RegimentThe San Marco Regiment , located in Brindisi, are the marines of the Italian Navy. Until the middle of the 1990s the unit was known as the “San Marco Battalion” , until it was expanded beyond battalion size because of the new geopolitical situation after the end of the Cold War and an increasing...
the Marines of the Italian NavyItalian NavyItalian Navy may refer to:* Pre-unitarian navies of the Italian states* Regia Marina, the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of Italy * Italian Navy , the navy of the Italian Republic...
.