13th Tank Battalion "M.O. Pascucci"

13th Tank Battalion "M.O. Pascucci"
13° Battaglione Carri "M.O. Pascucci"
Battalion coat of arms
Active	28 Aug. 1941 — 8 Dec. 1942 11 April 1961 — 31 March 1991
Country	Italy
Branch	Italian Army
Part of	132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete"
Garrison/HQ	Cordenons
Motto(s)	"Oltre qualsiasi ostacolo"
Anniversaries	1 October 1927
Insignia
Tank units gorget patches

The 13th Tank Battalion "M.O. Pascucci" (Italian: 13° Battaglione Carri "M.O. Pascucci") is an inactive tank battalion of the Italian Army, which was based in Cordenons in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and last operationally assigned to the 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete". The unit's lineage traces back to the World War II XIII Tank Battalion M13/40, which was formed in 1941 by the deopt of the 32nd Tank Infantry Regiment. In August 1942, the battalion was assigned to the 132nd Tank Infantry Regiment with which it participated in the Western Desert campaign. The battalion fought in the Battle of Alam el Halfa and the Second Battle of El Alamein, during which the battalion was destroyed on 4 November by the 7th British Armoured Division. In 1960 the battalion was reformed and assigned to the 182nd Armored Infantry Regiment "Garibaldi". In 1976 the battalion was renamed 13th Tank Battalion "M.O. Pascucci". In September 1989 the battalion was reduced to reserve unit and in 1991 the battalion was disbanded and its flag transferred to the Shrine of the Flags in the Vittoriano in Rome.^[1][2]

Originally the unit, like all Italian tank units, was part of the army's infantry arm, but on 1 June 1999 the tankers specialty was transferred from the infantry arm to the cavalry arm. The battalion's anniversary falls, as for all tank units, which have not yet distinguished themselves on the battlefield, on 1 October 1927, the day the tankers speciality was founded.^[1]

On 28 August 1941, the depot of the 32nd Tank Infantry Regiment in Verona formed the XIII Tank Battalion M13/40 (with M standing for Italian: "Medio" or Medium). The battalion was equipped with M13/40 tanks. On 21 November 1941, the battalion was assigned to the 31st Tank Infantry Regiment. In July 1942, the XIII Tank Battalion M13/40 was ordered to Libya, where it was assigned in early August to the 132nd Tank Infantry Regiment of the 132nd Armored Division "Ariete" as replacement for the VIII Tank Battalion M13/40, which had been disbanded in July due to the heavy losses it had suffered in the First Battle of El Alamein.^[1]

From 30 August to 5 September 1942, the battalion participated in the Battle of Alam el Halfa, during which the 132nd Tank Infantry Regiment was heavily engaged at El Qattara. On 23 October 1942 the Second Battle of El Alamein commenced during which the 132nd Tank Infantry Regiment clashed repeatedly with British armored formations, but on 4 November the entire Ariete Division was encircled by the 7th British Armoured Division and annihilated. The 132nd Tank Infantry Regiment was declared lost due to wartime events on 20 November 1942, while the XIII Tank Battalion M13/40 was declared lost due to wartime events on 8 December 1942.^[1]

On 11 April 1961, the XXI Tank Battalion of the 182nd Armored Infantry Regiment "Garibaldi" was renamed XIII Tank Battalion. The battalion was based in Sacile and equipped with M47 Patton tanks.^[1]

During the 1975 army reform the army disbanded the regimental level and newly independent battalions were granted their own flags for the first time. On 15 July 1976, the XIII Tank Battalion was renamed 13th Tank Battalion "M.O. Pascucci". Tank and armored battalions created during the 1975 army reform were named for officers, soldiers and partisans of the tank speciality, who had served in World War II and been awarded Italy's highest military honor the Gold Medal of Military Valor. The 13th Tank Battalion was named for Lieutenant Luigi Pascucci, who, as commanding officer of the 10th Company of the XIII Tank Battalion M13/40, fell on 5 November 1942 during the Second Battle of El Alamein.^[1][3]

The battalion was assigned to the Mechanized Brigade "Brescia" and consisted of a command, a command and services company, and three tank companies with M47 Patton tanks. The battalion fielded now 434 men (32 officers, 82 non-commissioned officers, and 320 soldiers).^[1][4] In 1976 the battalion moved from Sacile to Cordenons and on 12 November 1976 the President of the Italian Republic Giovanni Leone granted with decree 846 a new flag to the battalion.^[1][5] In 1977 the battalion replaced its M47 Patton tanks with Leopard 1A2 main battle tanks.^[1]

In 1986, the Italian Army abolished the divisional level and brigades, which until then had been under one of the Army's four divisions, came forthwith under direct command of the Army's 3rd Army Corps or 5th Army Corps. As part of the reform the Mechanized Brigade "Brescia" was transferred from the Mechanized Division "Mantova" to the 3rd Army Corps. Consequently the 13th Tank Battalion "M.O. Pascucci", which was based within the area of operations of the 5th Army Corps, was transferred on 1 August 1986 from the Mechanized Brigade "Brescia" to the 132nd Armored Brigade "Manin" of the Armored Division "Ariete". As the latter division carried a historically significant name, the Armored Division "Ariete" ceased to exist on 30 September in Pordenone, and the next day in the same location the 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete" was activated. The new brigade took command of the units of the 132nd Armored Brigade "Manin", whose name was stricken from the roll of active units of the Italian Army.^[1]

After the end of the Cold War Italian Army began to draw down its forces: on 5 December 1989, the flag of the 13th Tank Battalion "M.O. Pascucci" was transferred to the Shrine of the Flags in the Vittoriano in Rome and on 10 December the battalion was reduced to a reserve unit, which was attached to the 63rd Tank Battalion "M.O. Fioritto" of the Mechanized Brigade "Mantova". On 31 March 1991, the 13th Tank Battalion "M.O. Pascucci" was disbanded.^[1][2]

• Armored Brigade "Ariete"