The 183rd Parachute Regiment 'Nembo' is an airborne unit of the Italian Army, part of the Parachute Brigade 'Folgore'.
History
Framed in the 184th Parachute Division 'Nembo", is transferred to Sardinia in May 1943 and remained there until the following May.
In the aftermath of the armistice of the 3 September 1943, the 185th Parachute Division 'Nembo' Regiment, sent in Calabria to halt the advance of the allied troops, is in Aspromonte, on the floors of Zillastro.
They are exhausted from the long marches, from the losses inflicted by the enemy air force, with few food supplies. They are, however, firm in their resolve to oppose the Allies, who are no longer the enemy. But the paras do not know this. Chaos reigns: the Germans withdraw, the other Italian troops surrender to the enemy or desert. Exhausted, as night falls, they camp in the woods but do not realise that they have been surrounded by the Canadian 'Nova Scotia' regiment.
At first light the bitter discovery: 400 paratroopers against five thousand Canadian soldiers. Despite the overwhelming disparity they attempt to break through the encirclement. Being also short of ammunition, they even make use of bladed weapons by engaging in violent hand-to-hand combat. Inevitably they are overwhelmed, leaving dozens of dead and wounded on the battlefield. The admiration of the commander of the Canadian regiment is such that, after ordering a cease-fire, he expresses his appreciation to the survivors taken prisoner and freed after the armistice has been announced.
After the 8 September 1943 remained with the Southern Kingdom, in the employ of the Italian Liberation Corps, and then took part in the war actions of Abbadia di Fiastra (June 1944) and the battle of Filottrano and the battle of Montecarotto (July 1944) in Le Marche.
Disbanded the 'Nembo' Division, the 24 September 1944 the Gruppo di Combattimento Folgore (Folgore Combat Group) was formed, which framed the 183rd Parachute Regiment that fought valiantly at Tossignano and the Battle of Case Grizzano. In March 1945 A hundred or so officers, non-commissioned officers and paratroopers (all volunteers) were taken from the Regiment, who, framed in the 'Centuria Nembo', took part in Operation Herring by jumping from American planes on the night of 20 April 1945 over the retreating German forces in the Poggio Rusco area.
Post-war
At the end of the Second World War, the 1 October 1948 in compliance with the peace treaty, which prevented Italy from having airborne troops within its army, the Parachute Regiment 'Nembo' was transformed into the 183rd Infantry Regiment 'Nembo' and became part of the Motorized Infantry Division 'Folgore', remaining so until the restructuring of the Italian Army in 1975, when it was reduced to battalion level and framed in the mechanised Brigata meccanizzata 'Gorizia', where on the black beret it nevertheless retained the frieze with wings and gladius typical of the air force, parading with a representative unit at the national gatherings of the Paratroopers of Italy.
In 1991 the 183rd Infantry Battalion 'Nembo' was disbanded and the war flag assigned to the reconstituted 183rd Parachute Battalion 'Nembo' who, having been transferred from Gradisca d'Isonzo to Pistoia, was organically framed in the 'Folgore' paratrooper brigade.
23 April 1993, the battalion was elevated to the rank of regiment and assumed its current name.
In the same year he was shiered in Somalia and is involved in the battle of Check Point Pasta: 2 July 1993 will count several injured, including the Staff Sergeant Giampiero Monti, decorated with silver medal for valour, and the Parachutist Massimiliano Zaniolo, bronze medal for valour.
In recent years it has been employed, directly or with aliquots, in the Balkans, Sudan, Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan.
In the latter mission, it plays a crucial role in the area Bala Murghab by setting up its own parachute battalion (the 1st Grizzano) Tobruk Base.
He is involved in several firefights, but always reacts with coolness and determination, crushing any Taliban ambitions. He loses, however, in the terrorist attack of Kabul on 17 September 2009, the 1st Corporal Par. Massimiliano Randino, while the 25 July 2011, lost in combat at Bala Morghab on Lance Corporal Scielto Par. David Tobini decorated with Silver medal for military valour e Gold Medal for Victims of Terrorism.
This is the current composition of the regiment:
- ORSI' Command & Logistics Support Company
- 1st Parachute Battalion 'Grizzano
- 18th Parachute Company 'LEONI'
- 19th Parachute Company 'LINCI'
- 20th 'PUMA' Parachute Company
- 12th 'LEOPARDI' Manoeuvre Support Company
The motto of the regiment is '...AND TO TAMP DOWN THE HEART"
Honours to the Flag of War
Military Military Cross
Decree 9 November 1945. It competed in mordant and tenacity with the other regiment of the division, engaged in a hard decisive attack, supporting it with a back-up battalion and with another battalion destined to engage the adversary on the reverse. He took part with the former in an alternating, bitter affair of attacks and counter-attacks, and developed the action of the latter with unscrupulous impetus even though he knew he could not count on any supply of the effort and relied only on the Italian paratrooper's motto: 'the heart of the back-up'. In doing so, he disoriented the enemy. His vigilant patrols were the first to plant the tricolour on the contested target, when the adversary, in order to evade a hopeless hold, was induced, as night fell, to break contact and give up the fight. Thus consecrated with a brilliant success a glorious day for the Weapons and for the Italian Parachutists.
Filottrano, 8-9 July 1944 - To the 184th Parachute Regiment 'Nembo'.
Bronze Medal for Military Valour
Decree 9 November 1945. Participated with valour and marked aggressiveness in an operational round with allied troops against the German enemy. With overwhelming momentum he wrested from the tenacious adversary a long ridge organised deep in the axis direction and beaten by intense concentric artillery and mortar fire. He then set foot and gained ground at the cost of hard losses in the interior of a sturdy settlement defended house to house. Counter-attacked by infantry and tanks, he successfully contained them by barricading himself in the outlying buildings; then, regaining momentum, he managed to penetrate into the interior of the village a second time and disengage his encircled hamlets. Finally, keeping the pressure on the adversary at close quarters, he induced him to break contact during the night to escape a hopeless fight and thus consecrated with brilliant tangible success a glorious day for the Arms and for the Italian Paratroopers.
Filottrano, 9 July 1944 - To the 183rd Parachute Regiment 'Nembo'.
Silver medal for military valour
Decree 24 July 1947. In a tough campaign he held his own against an enemy whose atavistic warrior qualities and sense of desperation for the inevitable end conferred particular doggedness and tenacity. Numerous patrol actions and manoeuvres carried out with unparalleled audacity in the heart of heavily fortified positions were marked by the generous and overwhelming enthusiasm of his men. In an extremely hard offensive action against the enemy paratroopers, he conquered, in a fierce knife and hand grenade battle, a strongly defended village, which was contested to the last by a determined adversary, whom only the irresistible valour of his soldiers managed to defeat. In a brilliant and risky action led by a unit of valiant paratroopers, dropped from planes on the enemy rear, sowed panic and terror by capturing more than 1,300 prisoners and considerable war material. A synthesis of the finest virtues of the Paratroopers of Italy, he linked his name to the most shining glories of the Specialty.
Tossignano, March-April 1945; Case Grizzano. 19 April 1945: Poggio Rusco area, 23 April 1945
Bronze Medal for Military Valour
Decree of 4 January 1978. When the violent earthquake struck Friuli, he promptly rushed to the devastated areas and, with courage and fraternal zeal of human solidarity, made a valuable contribution to the rescue of the wounded and survivors and to the removal of rubble, limiting the damage caused by the serious disaster. The work carried out met with the appreciation of the authorities and the unconditional gratitude of the affected populations, strengthening the prestige of the Army.
Friuli, 6 -15 May 1976
Silver medal for army valour
Decree of 5 October 1994. The 183" Parachute Regiment "Nembo", part of the Italian forces in Somalia, took part in rescue operations for the Somali population, working with total dedication and high professionalism in the dangerous mission and confirming, in numerous raking actions for the search of weapons and in operations against guerrillas and anti-banditry, the very high level of efficiency, the great courage and generosity of its personnel. Involved in numerous firefights, it always reacted with effectiveness and determination, highlighting the military valour, operational capacity and strong motivation of its men. Despite the serious losses suffered in combat. he continued to carry out his assigned tasks without flinching with the pride and pride of persevering in his efforts to restore security and humanitarian relief to the tormented Somali people and in his determination to honour his distant homeland.
Somalia, 21 May 1993 - 7 September 1993
