The 183rd Parachute Regiment “Nembo” is an airborne unit of the Italian Army, part of the Parachute Brigade “Folgore”.
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.
The “Nembo” Division was dissolved, 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 From the Regiment were drawn around one hundred officers, non-commissioned officers and paratroopers (all volunteers), who, classified in the “Centuria Nembo”, participated in Operation Herring by jumping from American planes on the night of 20 April 1945 on the retreating German forces in the Poggio Rusco area.
At the end of the Second World War, the 1 October 1948 in compliance with the peace treaty which prevented Italy from having air-droppable troops within its army, the Parachute Regiment "Nembo" was transformed into the 183rd Infantry Regiment "Nembo" and placed within the Motorized Infantry Division "Folgore", remaining as such until the restructuring of the Italian Army in 1975, when it was reduced to the battalion level and placed in the "Gorizia" mechanized brigade where on its black beret it still maintained the emblem with the wings and the sword typical of the airborne troops, parading with a representative unit at the national gatherings of the Italian Paratroopers.
In 1991 the 183rd Infantry Battalion “Nembo” was disbanded and the war flag assigned to the reconstituted 183rd Paratrooper Battalion “Nembo” who, transferred from Gradisca d'Isonzo to Pistoia, was organically incorporated into the Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore".
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 Valor e Gold Medal of Victim of Terrorism.
This is the current composition of the regiment:
The regiment's motto is “...AND TO TAMP DOWN THE HEART"
Decree of 9 November 1945. It competed in bite and tenacity with the other regiment of the division, engaged in a hard decisive attack, giving support with a backup battalion and with another battalion destined to engage the adversary from behind. It participated with the first in an alternating, harsh series of attacks and counterattacks, it developed the action of the second with unscrupulous impetus despite knowing that it could not count on any fuel for the effort and trusting only in the motto of the Italian paratrooper: "the heart of backup". In this way it disoriented the enemy. Its vigilant patrols were the first to plant the tricolour on the contested objective, when the adversary, to escape from a now hopeless squeeze, was induced, under cover of night, to break contact and give up the fight. Thus it consecrated with a brilliant tangible success a glorious day for the Armed Forces and for the Italian Paratroopers.
Filottrano, 8-9 July 1944 – To the 184th Parachute Regiment “Nembo”
Decree of 9 November 1945. Participated with valor and marked aggressiveness in an operational cycle with allied troops against the German enemy. With overwhelming momentum, it tore away from the tenacious adversary a long ridge organized in depth in the direction of the axis and battered by intense concentric fire from artillery and mortars. It then set foot and gained ground at the cost of heavy losses inside a robust town defended house by house. Counterattacked by infantry and tanks, it contained them valiantly by barricading itself in the marginal buildings; then, regaining new momentum, it managed to penetrate a second time inside the town and to disengage its own encircled fractions. Finally, maintaining pressure on the adversary at close range, it induced him to break contact during the night to escape from a now hopeless fight and thus consecrated with brilliant tangible success a glorious day for the Italian Armed Forces and Paratroopers.
Filottrano, 9 July 1944 – To the 183rd Parachute Regiment “Nembo”
Decree of 24 July 1947. In a tough campaign he stood up to an enemy whose ancestral warrior qualities and sense of desperation for the inevitable end gave him particular determination and tenacity. Multiple patrol actions and surprise attacks conducted with unparalleled audacity in the midst of very fortified positions drew their mark from the generous and overwhelming impetus of his men. In a very tough offensive action against enemy paratrooper troops he conquered, in violent combat with bladed weapons and hand grenades, a town strongly organized for defense, contested to the last by a determined adversary, who only the irresistible courage of his soldiers managed to bend. In a brilliant and risky action conducted by a unit of brave paratroopers, dropped from airplanes on the enemy rear lines, he spread panic and terror, capturing over 1,300 prisoners and a large amount of war material. A synthesis of the finest virtues of the Italian Paratroopers, he linked his name to the most brilliant glories of the Specialty.
Tossignano, March-April 1945; Case Grizzano. 19 April 1945: Poggio Rusco area, 23 April 1945
Decree of 4 January 1978. When the violent earthquake struck Friuli, he promptly rushed to the disaster areas and, with courage and fraternal enthusiasm for human solidarity, gave a valid contribution to the relief of the wounded and survivors and to the removal of the rubble, limiting the damage of the serious disaster. The work carried out received the appreciation of the Authorities and the unconditional gratitude of the affected populations, strengthening the prestige of the Army
Friuli, 6 -15 May 1976
Decree of 5 October 1994. The 183rd Parachute Regiment “Nembo”, part of the Italian forces in Somalia, participated in the rescue operations for the Somali population, devoting itself with total dedication and high professionalism in the dangerous mission and confirming, in numerous combing actions for the search for weapons and in operations against guerrillas and anti-banditry, the very high level of efficiency. the great courage and generosity of its members. Involved in numerous firefights, it always reacted with effectiveness and determination, highlighting the military value, operational capacity and very strong motivation of its men. Despite the heavy losses suffered in combat, it continued to carry out the tasks entrusted to it without wavering with the pride and pride of persevering in the attempt to restore security and humanitarian aid to the tormented Somali people and in the determination to honor the distant Homeland.
Somalia, 21 May 1993 – 7 September 1993