Goito Mechanized Brigade

Brigata Meccanizzata Goito
Coat of Arms of the Mechanized Brigade Goito
Active	21 October 1975–1 June 1991
Country	Italy
Allegiance	Italian Army
Branch	Infantry
Role	Armored warfare
Size	Brigade
Part of	1975–1986 Centauro Armored Division 1986–1991 3rd Army Corps
Garrison/HQ	Milan

The Goito Mechanized Brigade was an mechanized brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units were mechanized Bersaglieri battalions. The brigades headquarter was in the city of Milan. The brigades name was chosen in memory of the First Italian War of Independence Battle of Goito.

History

The brigade was activated during a major reorganization of the Italian Army: in 1975 the regiment level was abolished and battalions came under direct command of newly formed brigades, which combined units from different arms. On 21 October 1975 the Goito Mechanized Brigade along with the Curtatone Armored Brigade were activated from disbanded regiments of the Centauro Armored Division. The Goito took command of the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment. The division also received the Legnano Mechanized Brigade.

The Centauro Armored Division was part of the 3rd Army Corps based in North-Western Italy. The 3rd Army Corps was tasked with defending Lombardy and Piedmont in case the 4th Alpine Army Corps and 5th Army Corps would have failed to stop attacking Warsaw Pact forces east of the Adige river. The brigade’s authorized strength was 4,733 men (272 Officers, 637 non-commissioned officers and 3,824 soldiers) and it was initially composed by the following units:

• Goito Command and Signal Battalion, in Milan
• 4th Tank Battalion M.O. Passalacqua, in Solbiate Olona, (Leopard 1 Main battle tanks)
• 6th Bersaglieri Battalion Palestro, in Torino, (VCC-2 Armoured personnel carriers)
• 10th Bersaglieri Battalion Bezzecca, in Solbiate Olona, (VCC-2 Armoured personnel carriers)
• 18th Bersaglieri Battalion Poggio Scanno, in Milan, (VCC-2 Armoured personnel carriers)
• 3rd Self-propelled Field Artillery Group Pastrengo, in Vercelli, (M109 Self-propelled howitzers)
• Goito Logistic Battalion, in Monza
• Goito Anti-tank Company, in Torino
• Goito Engineer Company, in Novara

On 1 November 1986 the Italian Army abolished the divisional level and brigades, that until then had been under one of the Armys four divisions, came forthwith under direct command of the Armys 3rd and 5th Army Corps. The Goito along with the Centauro and Legnano brigades came under the 3rd Army Corps. The same year the 6th Bersaglieri Battalion was reduced to a reserve unit.

After the end of the Cold War the Italian Army began to draw down its forces and the Goito was one of the first brigades to be disbanded. On 1 June 1991 the brigade was officially deactivated along with most of its subordinate units. The remaining units were distributed among other brigades: the 4th Tank Battalion and 18th Bersaglieri Battalion joined the Legnano Mechanized Brigade, while the 10th Bersaglieri Battalion had already moved to Bologna and joined the Trieste Mechanized Brigade on 1 March 1991.