1st_Pontieri_Regiment
1st Pontieri Regiment
Military unit
The 1st Pontieri Regiment (Italian: 1° Reggimento Pontieri) is an inactive military engineer unit of the Italian Army last based in Legnano in Lombardy. The term "Pontieri" comes from the Italian word for bridge (Italian: Ponte) and is used to denote units of the engineer arm tasked with the construction of bridges. Enlisted personnel in such units is addressed by the singular form: "Pontiere". The unit was formed in 1933 as 1st Pontieri Regiment (Light Bridges) and active during World War II. The regiment was disbanded by invading German forces after the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943. In 1992 the unit was reformed as 1st Pontieri Engineer Battalion, which received the flag and traditions of the 1st Pontieri Regiment. The battalion was disbanded in 1995.[1] The regimental anniversary falls, as for all engineer units, on June 24, the end of the Second Battle of the Piave River in 1918.[1]