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The San Marco Regiment (Italian: ''Reggimento San Marco''), located in Brindisi, are the marines of the Italian Navy. Until the middle of the 1990s the unit was known as the “San Marco Battalion” (''Battaglione San Marco''), until it was expanded beyond battalion size because of the new geopolitical situation after the end of the Cold War and an increasing number of international missions. In 2013 it entered the San Marco Marine Brigade. == History == Marines of Italy was created as ''Fanti da Mar'' in 1550 in the Republic of Venice. The San Marco Regiment traces its history back to the La Marina Regiment, formed in 1713. During the Wars of Italian Independence the Italian Marines were known as the Fanteria Real Marina, units of specially selected sailors who were skilled marksmen.〔 The regiment also played an important role in Peking during the Boxer Rebellion and in the Italo-Turkish War.〔 With the beginning of the Italian campaign during World War I, the unit was named the Brigata Marina (Naval Brigade), and included two regiments, one infantry and one artillery.〔 The brigade's infantry battalions were drawn from various Army and customs units, in addition to sailors from the torpedoed Italian navy cruiser ''Amalfi'' who were hastily equipped as infantry. Following the Battle of Caporetto in October–November 1917, the Italian front had almost collapsed and the Marina Brigade fought in the defence of Venice during the Battle of the Piave River. After the war, the grateful city presented a flag with the Lion of Saint Mark, from Venice's coat of arms, to the marines of the Naval Brigade. The Naval Brigade was renamed the San Marco Brigade because of the connection with Venice, and the Italian Ship of the same name that was sunk in World War I 〔〔The Italian Army in World War 1, David Nicolle, Osprey, London〕 Between the two world wars only a “San Marco Battalion” existed. A special unit of the battalion was sent to garrison the Italian concession in Tianjin, China in 1924 and stayed there until it was interned by the Japanese in 1943, when Italy declared war on the Axis. In the confusion, one post resisted, holding out against Japanese attacks for 24 hours before surrendering. The interned Italians were then given the choice to represent the collaborationist fascist government, or become prisoners of war. The San Marco Battalion also served during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. At the beginning of the Second World War it became a two battalion regiment and later increased in size, and prepared for amphibious landings at Cape Martin in France which never happened.〔When Italy attacked Yugoslavia in April 1941, the San Marco Marines carried out successful landings on several islands in the Adriatic and seized ports against minimal resistance.〔The regiment expanded to seven battalions before the final desert battles in 1943, including the ''Battaglione Nuotatori'' who were trained as parachutists in 1941. The 3rd Battalion of the 'San Marco' Regiment, which became known as the ''Tobruk'' battalion, repelled landings by British Commandos at Tobruk during the night of 13/14 September in 1942, in the course of the botched Operation Agreement. As a result, 200 British Commandos were taken prisoner. The regiment fought at Tobruk and Tunisia, where it defended the Mareth line during April and May 1943. The ''Tobruk'' Battalion was later destroyed on the night of 5 April 1943 while defending the Oidane-el-Hachana line against an attack on Wadi Akarit by the British 69th Infantry Brigade and Gurkha units from the Indian Army 4th Infantry Division.〔〔() 〕 "When we were about ten yards away we had reached the top of the slit trench and we killed any of the survivors," recalled British infantryman Bill Cheall, who had just seen his section leader shot down by a San Marco Marine. "It was no time for pussy footing, we were intoxicated with rage and had to kill them to pay for our fallen pal." The Italian Marines, well dug and plentifully supplied with automatic weapons and grenades, fought well, and casualties among the 6th Green Howards had been severe; two senior officers, six senior NCO's and junior officers and one hundred and eighteen other ranks killed. German General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim later said of the San Marco Marines fighting abilities in Tunisia in 1943, that they were "the best soldiers I ever commanded".〔(Il percorso dei "Leoni di San Marco" )〕Following the Italian surrender in 1943, many San Marco marines fought for the Allies against the Germans, however the 4th (''Caorle'') Battalion fought for the Axis until the end of the war. The San Marco Marine Regiment was deactivated in 1956 but was reformed on 1 January 1965 to battalion strength (Marina Battaglione "San Marco") in Venice with 750 personnel. During the Italian-Yugoslav tensions of Trieste and Istria, the Yugoslav head of state Tito requested the Italian government move the unit from Venice, because he believed it represented a possible aggression against Yugoslavia, and that it was not necessary for the defense of Italy according to the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty. The battalion was then shifted to Brindisi Naval Base in Southern Italy and integrated completely into the Italian Navy. In Venice, the Italian Army reconstituted its Lagunari amphibious infantry. From 1982 to 1984 the San Marco battalion took part in international UN peacekeeping missions in Lebanon. Today the San Marco Marine Regiment consists of the Amphibious Battalion ''Grado'' and the Support Battalion ''Golametto'' with approximately 1,500 marines. Combined with the Logistics and Training Regiment “Carlotto”, landing boats and helicopters, the San Marco Regiment can conduct amphibious assaults and landings. If necessary, the San Marco Regiment can be reinforced by the Army's Lagunari. The naval command is connected by a unified operations staff and is closely associated with the Spanish Marines through the SILF joint landing force. The San Marco Regiment has been active in international peace-keeping operations. Since the early 1980s the unit has deployed to Lebanon, the Persian Gulf, Somalia, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, East Timor, Eritrea and Iraq.〔 The San Marco and the Lagunari were used together for the first time in operation UNIFIL after the 2006 Lebanon war in a peacekeeping mission as the “Initial Entry Force” in September 2006. Two marines from the San Marco Regiment, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, are currently under trial in India and face murder charges for allegedly shooting dead two Indian fishermen, Ajeesh Pinki and Gelastine, 20.5 nm off the coast of Kerala. The 2012 Italian shooting in the Laccadive Sea created a diplomatic dispute between Italy and India over matters of court jurisdiction and functional immunity. The diplomatic row developed into a stand-off with India in March 2013 and resulted in the resignation of Italian foreign minister Giulio Terzi on 26 March 2013. Court proceedings have continued.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= Washington Post: India detains 2 Italian security guards accused in fatal shooting of Indian fishermen )〕 Since 2013 the San Marco Regiment is now part of the larger San Marco Marine Brigade as the ''1st San Marco Marine Regiment''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「San Marco Regiment」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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