Overview
The 4th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment "Peschiera" () is an air defense regiment of the Italian Army. Originally an air defense regiment of the Royal Italian Army, the regiment is now based in Mantua in Lombardy and assigned to the Anti-aircraft Artillery Command. The regiment's batteries are equipped with SAMP/T air defense systems. During the Cold War, the regiment was equipped with MIM-23 Hawk surface-to-air missiles and formed, together with the 5th Anti-aircraft Missile Artillery Regiment, the air defense belt of the Italian Army in the country's Northeast. The regiment's anniversary falls, as for all Italian Army artillery regiments, on June 15, the beginning of the Second Battle of the Piave River in 1918.
Interwar years
On 1 November 1926, the 4th Anti-aircraft Artillery Center was formed in Peschiera, with the existing III Anti-aircraft Group and one group from the disbanded 14th Heavy Artillery Regiment. After being formed, the center moved from Peschiera to Mantua. On 1 January 1927, the center consisted of a command, a trucked group with 75/27 C.K. anti-aircraft guns, a positional group with 76/45 anti-aircraft guns, a photo-electricians unit, and a depot. The photo-electricians unit operated searchlights. On 1 April 1930, the positional group was transferred to the 7th Heavy Artillery Regiment, while the 3rd Anti-aircraft Artillery Center ceded its trucked group with 75/27 C.K. anti-aircraft guns and its photo-electricians unit to the 4th Anti-aircraft Artillery Center. On 1 June of the same year, the center changed its name to 4th Trucked Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment.
In April 1931, the two photo-electricians units were disbanded and both of the regiment's trucked groups formed a photo-electricians section and an acoustic locator squad with the personnel of the two disbanded units. On 1 January 1934, the regiment changed its name to 4th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment. In September 1935, the regiment was mobilized for the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and deployed to the city of Marsala in Sicily. At the same time, the regiment's depot in Mantua formed the XI Group, which was deployed to Rome for the defense of the capital. On 10 March 1936, the regiment's depot formed the 256th and 257th positional batteries, which were transferred to Italian Libya, where they joined the 2nd Colonial Artillery Regiment.
In July 1936, the regiment was demobilized and afterwards consisted of a command, a command battery, two groups of three batteries each, and a training battery. On 10 January 1938, the regiment formed the 7th Trucked Battery with 75/46 mod. 34 anti-aircraft guns, which in June of the same year, was sent to Spain as part of the Corpo Truppe Volontarie, which supported the Nationalist forces under General Francisco Franco against the Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War.
World War II
truck with 90/53 anti-aircraft gun At the outbreak of World War II, the regiment consisted of a command, a command unit, the II, IX, and XI groups with 75/27 C.K. anti-aircraft guns, XVII and XXII groups with 75/46 mod. 34 anti-aircraft guns, and one group with 20/65 mod. 35 autocannons. On 10 June 1940, the day Italy entered the war, the regiment was assigned to the Artillery Command of the 1st Army. On 28 June, the XVII and XXII groups were sent to Italian Libya for the Western Desert campaign. In early 1941, the XI Group was sent to occupied Albania, where it fought in the Greco-Italian War. * 4th Anti-aircraft Artillery Grouping ** Command Unit ** XXXVI Trucked Group with 75/46 mod. 34 anti-aircraft guns (mobilized by the 5th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment) ** XXXVII Trucked Group with 75/46 mod.
34 anti-aircraft guns (mobilized by the 4th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment) ** XXXVIII Trucked Group with 75/46 mod. 34 anti-aircraft guns (mobilized by the 1st Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment) ** 31st Battery with 20/65 mod. 35 anti-aircraft guns (mobilized by the 1st Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment) ** 40th Battery with 20/65 mod. 35 anti-aircraft guns (mobilized by the 1st Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment) ** 42nd Battery with 20/65 mod. 35 anti-aircraft guns (mobilized by the 1st Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment) ** 65th Battery with 20/65 mod. 35 anti-aircraft guns (mobilized by the 4th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment) The grouping was assigned to the 8th Army, which was sent to the Eastern Front. The grouping departed from Mantua on 13 June 1942. Upon arrival in Russia, the IV and XIX trucked groups with 75/46 mod.
34 anti-aircraft guns of the 5th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment were assigned to the grouping. The two groups had been deployed with the Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia to the Soviet Union in July 1941. On 16 December 1942, the Red Army commenced Operation Little Saturn and the anti-aircraft troops were forced to use their anti-aircraft guns in the anti-tank role. Even though the Italian divisions resisted for two weeks the Soviet offensive destroyed most of the Italian 8th Army, and with it most of the 4th Anti-aircraft Artillery Grouping. The remnants of the grouping were repatriated in March 1943. For its conduct in the Soviet Union, the grouping was awarded a Bronze Medal of Military Valor, which today is affixed to the flag of the 4th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment.
In the evening of 8 September 1943, the Armistice of Cassibile, which ended hostilities between the Kingdom of Italy and the Anglo-American Allies, was announced by General Dwight D. Eisenhower on Radio Algiers and by Marshal Pietro Badoglio on Italian radio. Germany reacted by invading Italy and the 4th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment and its depot were disbanded by German forces soon thereafter.
Cold War
On 24 May 1947, the Italian Army reformed the regiment as 4th Light Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment in Albenga with the personnel and materiel of the VI Anti-aircraft Group of the 155th Field Artillery Regiment. The regiment was assigned to the Infantry Division "Mantova" and consisted of a command, a command unit, the I Group with 40/56 autocannons, and the II Group with 40/56 autocannons. In July 1947, the regiment moved from Albenga to Cervignano del Friuli. On 1 December 1948, the regiment began with the formation of a group with 40/56 autocannons for the Armored Brigade "Ariete". On 1 July 1949, the new group was transferred to the 132nd Armored Artillery Regiment of the Ariete brigade.
On 1 January 1951, the Infantry Division "Mantova" included the following artillery regiments: The regiment's new organization was as follows: ** Command and Services Battery, in Mantua ** 1st Missile Group, in Ravenna *** Command and Services Battery, in Ravenna *** 1st Missile Battery, in Valli Basse Comacchio (Site 14) *** 2nd Missile Battery, in Castiglione di Cervia (Site 15) *** 3rd Missile Battery, in Passano di Coriano (Site 16) *** 4th Missile Battery (Reserve), in Ravenna ** 2nd Missile Group, in Mantua *** Command and Services Battery, in Mantua *** 5th Missile Battery, in Povegliano Veronese (Site 9) *** 6th Missile Battery, in Zibello (Site 13) *** 7th Missile Battery, in San Fiorano (Site 11) *** 8th Missile Battery, in Manerbio (Site 12) *** 9th Missile Battery, in Camatte di Suzzara (Site 10) ** 24th Signal Company, in Mantua While the 5th Anti-aircraft Missile Artillery Regiment was the Italian Army's forward deployed air defense unit, which covered the area of operation of the 5th Army Corps, the 4th Anti-aircraft Missile Artillery Regiment covered the 5th Army Corps rear, through which supplies and reinforcements would be moved towards the eastern Italian border.
On 18 June 1986, the 2nd Missile Group moved from Mantua to Cremona.
Recent times
On 30 September 1992, the 4th Anti-aircraft Missile Artillery Regiment was disbanded and the next day the regiment was reformed as 4th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment by reorganizing the regiment's 2nd Missile Group in Mantua. The same day, the 2nd Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment was reformed in Ravenna by reorganizing the disbanded regiment's 1st Missile Group. On 1 October 1997, the regiment was given the name "Peschiera" to commemorate the city of its founding. On 1 January 2002, the regiment was assigned to the Anti-aircraft Artillery Brigade, which, on 11 September 2009, merged with the Anti-aircraft Artillery School to form the Anti-aircraft Artillery Command. On 20 April 2011, the regiment was equipped with modern SAMP/T air defense systems.
Organization
As of 2025 the 4th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment "Peschiera" is organized as follows: * 4th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment "Peschiera", in Mantua ** Command and Logistic Support Battery ** Signal Company ** Anti-aircraft Group *** 1st SAMP/T Battery *** 2nd SAMP/T Battery *** 3rd SAMP/T Battery *** 4th SAMP/T Battery *** Fire Control and Support Battery The regiment is equipped with SAMP/T air defense systems.
External links
* Italian Army Website: 4° Reggimento Artiglieria Controaerei "Peschiera"