The 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" () is a grenadiers unit of the Italian Army's infantry arm's grenadiers () speciality. The regiment is based in Rome and assigned to the Mechanized Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna". The regiment was first formed in 1659 and 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 regiment, the 2nd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna", the regiment is the guard regiment of Rome.
In 1659, the Savoyard Army formed the Guard Regiment, which was tasked with guarding the Dukes of Savoy on the battlefield. For the next 140 years the regiment fought in all wars the Duchy of Savoy and then the Kingdom of Sardinia were involved. In 1747, the regiment's I Battalion distinguishing itself in the Battle of Assietta. In 1798, French forces occupied Piedmont and King Charles Emmanuel IV was forced into exile on the island of Sardinia. Afterwards, the regiment was pressed into the service of the French-controlled Piedmontese Republic. In 1799, Austrian forces drove the French from Piedmont and the regiment was disbanded. In 1814, Napoleon was forced to abdicate and King Victor Emmanuel I returned from exile in Sardinia to Turin, where the Guards Regiment was reformed. In 1815, the regiment was used to form the Grenadier Guards Brigade. In 1831, the Grenadier Guards Brigade was renamed Guards Brigade and the brigade's battalions were used to form the 1st Grenadiers Regiment (Guards Brigade), which was joined in the brigade by the 2nd Hunters Regiment (Guards Brigade). In 1848, in preparation for the First Italian War of Independence, the Guards Brigade formed the 2nd Grenadiers Regiment (Guards Brigade), while the battalions of the 2nd Hunters Regiment (Guards Brigade) were assigned to the two grenadier regiments. During the same year, the Guards Brigade formed the 1st Hunters Regiment, which in 1850 left the Guards Brigade and became the Hunters of Sardinia Regiment. Consequently, the Guards Brigade was renamed Grenadiers Brigade. In 1852, the Hunters of Sardinia Regiment was disbanded and its battalions transferred to the regiments of the Grenadiers Brigade, which was renamed Grenadiers of Sardinia Brigade ().
In 1859, the 1st Grenadiers Regiment (Grenadiers of Sardinia Brigade) fought in the Second Italian War of Independence. In 1860-61, the regiment fought in the Sardinian campaign in central and southern Italy, during which the regiment distinguished itself in the Siege of Gaeta, for which it was awarded Italy's highest military order the Gold Medal of Military Valor. In 1866, the 1st Grenadiers Regiment (Grenadiers of Sardinia Brigade) fought in the Third Italian War of Independence. In 1871, the brigade level was abolished and consequently, the Grenadiers of Sardinia Brigade was disbanded, while the brigade's two regiments were renamed 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna", respectively 2nd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna". In 1881, the brigade level was reintroduced and the two grenadier regiments were renamed 1st Grenadiers Regiment (Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna"), respectively 2nd Grenadiers Regiment (Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna").
During World War I the 1st Grenadiers Regiment (Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna") fought on the Italian front. In May 1916, the brigade fought to annihilation on Monte Cengio during the Austro-Hungarian Army's Asiago Offensive. For the defense of Monte Cengio, the 1st Grenadiers Regiment and its sister regiment, the 2nd Grenadiers Regiment, were both awarded a Gold Medal of Military Valor. In 1926, the Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna" was renamed XXI Infantry Brigade and the brigade's two regiments were renamed 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna", respectively 2nd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna". During the same year the 3rd Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" was formed and assigned to the XXI Infantry Brigade. During World War II the regiment was assigned to the 21st Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna", with which it served in occupied Slovenia. In November 1942, the "Granatieri di Sardegna" division was recalled to Rome. After the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943, the "Granatieri di Sardegna" division fought against invading German forces. On 10 September, after a last stand at Porta San Paolo, the division surrendered to the Germans, which disbanded the division and its regiments a week later.
In 1944, the Italian Co-belligerent Army reformed the regiment for a short time on the island of Sardinia. In 1946, the 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna" was reformed and assigned to the Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna". In 1976, the regiment was disbanded and its flag and traditions transferred to the 1st Mechanized Grenadiers Battalion "Assietta". The battalion was assigned, together with the 2nd Mechanized Grenadiers Battalion "Cengio" and 3rd Grenadiers Battalion "Guardie", to the Mechanized Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna". In 1992, the 1st Mechanized Grenadiers Battalion "Assietta" lost its autonomy and entered the reformed 1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna". The regiment's anniversary falls, as for all grenadier units, on 18 April 1659, the day the Granatieri speciality was founded. As the Italian Army's guard unit, the regiment's personnel was required to have a minimum height of 1,90 meters. In 2004, after the suspension of conscription, the height requirement was reduced to 1,85 meters for officers and 1,80 meters for enlisted personnel.
History Formation On 15 February 1657, towards the end of the Franco-Spanish War, which had involved the Duchy of Savoy on the French side, Duke Charles Emmanuel II approved a project to form a Guard Regiment, which would consist of six companies of 100 men per company. On 1 July 1658, the Regiment Badant, which consisted of troops recruited in the Electorate of Bavaria, was disbanded and with only the company led by Lieutenant Colonel Blanc Rocher remaining in active service. On 29 October of the same year, a company owned by the Marquis Fleury was listed in the Savoyard State's expenses as qualified to be incorporated in a Guard Regiment. On 18 April 1659, Duke Charles Emmanuel II ordered to formally establish the Guard Regiment (), which would protect the Duke during battles. The Guard Regiment consisted of twelve companies, four of which were transferred from the French Regiment of His Royal Highness, while the remaining companies were the Company Blanc Rocher, the Company Fleury, and six companies formed with the best troops drawn from Savoyard militia regiments. Each company consisted of 100 men. On 31 July of the same year, the four companies of the French Regiment of His Royal Highness entered the new Guard Regiment.
Cabinet Wars In 1663, the regiment occupied the Val Pellice and Val Chisone valleys during that year's campaign against the Waldensian rebels. On 19 October 1664, Duke Charles Emmanuel II issued an order of precedence for his military, which ranked the Guard Regiment first among the Savoyard Army's infantry regiments. This gave the regiment the right to march at the head of a column or parade, and regiment placed furthest right on inspection or in a line of battle.
In 1672, the regiment fought in the Second Genoese–Savoyard War. On 2 April 1685, the regiment, which at the time consisted of twenty companies, added six grenadiers to each of its companies. Between 1690 and 1697 the regiment fought in the Nine Years' War against the Kingdom of France. The regiment fought in 1690 in the Battle of Staffarda, in 1693 in the Battle of Marsaglia, in 1693 in the Siege of Pinerolo, and in 1695 in the Siege of Casale. During the Nine Years' War the regiment was reorganized twice: on 2 April 1692, the regiment's twenty companies were divided into two battalions of ten companies each, and on 28 April 1696, the regiment's grenadiers were grouped into two companies, which were then assigned to the regiment's two battalions.
On 31 May 1701, the regiment was reorganized and consisted afterwards of three battalions, each of which fielded six fusilier companies and one grenadiers company. The same year Duke Victor Amadeus II joined the War of the Spanish Succession and the regiment fought in 1701 in the Battle of Chiari and in 1702 in the Battle of Luzzara. On 29 September 1703, the regiment's II Battalion was ambushed and taken prisoner by French troops near San Benedetto Po. The battalion was immediately reformed and in 1704 it fought in the Siege of Vercelli. On 24 July 1704, Vercelli surrendered and the regiment's II Battalion and III Battalion were taken prisoner by the victorious French forces. On 4 August of the same year, the regiment was reorganized and now consisted of two battalions, with six fusilier companies and one grenadiers company per battalion. In 1706, the regiment fought in the Defense of Turin. In 1707 the regiment fought in the Siege of Toulon and, in 1708, the sieges of the forts at Exilles and Fenestrelle. In 1713, the War of the Spanish Succession ended with the Peace of Utrecht, which transferred the Kingdom of Sicily and parts of the Duchy of Milan to Savoy. In October 1713, Victor Amadeus II and his wife, Anne Marie d'Orléans, travelled from Nice to Palermo, where, on 24 December 1713, they were crowned in the cathedral of Palermo King and Queen of Sicily. Afterwards the Guard Regiment moved from Piedmont to Sicily.
In July 1718, Spain landed troops on Sicily and tried to recover the Kingdom of Sicily from Savoy rule. On 2 August 1718, Britain, France, Austria, and Savoy formed an alliance to defeat Spain in the War of the Quadruple Alliance. For the next two year the Guard Regiment fought Spanish forces in Sicily. The war ended in 1720 with the Treaty of The Hague, which restored the position prior to 1717, but with Savoy and Austria exchanging the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Kingdom of Sicily.
In 1733, King Charles Emmanuel III joined the War of the Polish Succession on the French-Spanish side. In 1733, the Guard Regiment fought in the Siege of Pizzighettone and the following Siege of Milan (1733). In 1734, the regiment fought in the Battle of San Pietro and the Battle of Guastalla against Austrian forces.
In 1742, King Charles Emmanuel III joined the War of the Austrian Succession on the Austrian side and the regiment fought in 1742 in the Siege of Mirandola and in 1743 in the First Battle of Casteldelfino. During the same year, 1743, the regiment was renamed Regiment of Guards (). In 1744, the regiment fought in the Battle of Madonna dell'Olmo and in 1745 in the Battle of Bassignano. In 1745-46, the regiment fought in the sieges of Asti, Valenza, and Alessandria. In 1747, the Guard Regiment's I Battalion fought in the decisive Battle of Assietta, where a joint Austro-Sardinian force of 13 battalions defeated a French force of 32 battalions. In 1753, the regiment received white toggles around its uniform buttons to distinguish it from the other infantry regiments. On 21 October 1774, the regiment formed a third battalion, which was disbanded on 15 June 1786. Afterwards the regiment consisted of two battalions, which each fielded four fusiliers and one grenadiers company.
French Revolutionary Wars