The 85th Volunteer Training Regiment "Verona" () is an active unit of the Italian Army based in Verona in Veneto. The regiment is named for the city of Verona and was part of the Italian Army's infantry arm until it became a training unit and was redesignated as a "multi-arms unit".
The regiment was one of sixteen infantry regiments formed on 1 November 1884. During World War I the regiment fought on the Italian front and for a short time in Albania. Destroyed during the Battle of Caporetto in 1917 the regiment was reformed in June 1918 and sent to the Macedonian front. During World War II the regiment was assigned to the 60th Infantry Division "Sabratha", which was based in Italian Libya. In February 1941 the division and regiment were destroyed in the Battle of Beda Fomm. Both were reformed in September 1941 and participated in the Western Desert Campaign until both were once more destroyed in July 1942 in the First Battle of El Alamein. In 1975 the regiment was reformed as battalion sized mechanized unit. In 1991 the regiment was reformed as a training unit and has been active since then.
History
Formation
On 1 November 1884 the 85th Infantry Regiment (Brigade "Verona") was formed in Tortona with companies ceded by the 13rd Infantry Regiment (Brigade "Pinerolo"), 27th Infantry Regiment (Brigade "Pavia"), 31st Infantry Regiment (Brigade "Siena"), 32nd Infantry Regiment (Brigade "Siena"), and 47th Infantry Regiment (Brigade "Ferrara"). On the same day the 86th Infantry Regiment (Brigade "Verona") was formed in Novi Ligure with companies ceded by the sister regiments of the above listed regiments and by the 69th Infantry Regiment and 70th Infantry Regiment of the Brigade "Ancona". Both regiments consisted of a staff and three battalions, with four companies per battalion. Together the two regiments formed the Brigade "Verona".
In 1887 the regiment's 4th Company participated in the Italo-Ethiopian War of 1887–1889. In 1895-96 the regiment provided seven officers and 136 enlisted for units deployed to Italian Eritrea for the First Italo-Ethiopian War. In 1911-12 the regiment provided 16 officers and 1,420 enlisted to augment units fighting in the Italo-Turkish War.
World War I
At the outbreak of World War I the regiment consisted of three battalions, each of which fielded four fusiliers companies and one machine gun section. On 1 January 1915 the regimental depot of the 85th Infantry Regiment in Trapani formed the 144th Infantry Regiment (Brigade "Trapani") and on 5 March of the same year the depot formed the command of the Brigade "Trapani". After Italy's entry into the war on 23 May 1915 the Brigade "Verona" was deployed to the Italian front: in 1915 the brigade operated against Austro-Hungarian forces on the Karst plateau and in October 1915 the brigade fought in the Third Battle of the Isonzo on Monte San Michele. On Monte San Michele the brigade lost 74 officers and 2,887 enlisted or about half of it strength.
In November 1915 the brigade was transferred to Albania, where it assembled at Vlorë on 7 December. The brigade then took up positions on the Vjosa river upstream from the confluence with the Shushicë. In May 1916 the brigade was recalled to Italy and sent to the Vallarsa valley to reinforce the Italian lines during the Battle of Asiago. On 31 May 1916 the brigade deployed to Monte Pasubio, where during June and July the brigade repeatedly defeat Austro-Hungarian attacks. For their conduct on Monte Pasubio the two regiments of the Brigade "Verona" were both awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valour.
In January 1917 the depot of the 85th Infantry Regiment formed the 248th Infantry Regiment (Brigade "Girgenti"). In May 1917 the brigade was back on the Karst plateau and fought in the Tenth Battle of the Isonzo on Monte Ermada. In October 1917 the regiment fought in the Battle of Caporetto and was forced to retreat to the Piave river. The brigade was then deployed on Col del Rosso, where it was attacked and nearly overrun by Austro-Hungarian forces on 23 December. On 25 December 1917 the brigade and its regiments were disbanded in Marostica due to the losses the brigade had suffered.
On 1 June 1918 the brigade and its two regiments were reformed in Albania and once more deployed along the Vjosa river. On 5 July 1918 the brigade attacked Austro-Hungarian positions South of Fier, which was taken on 9 July. Afterwards the brigade took up defensive positions near Mallakastër. After the end of the war the brigade remained in Albania until 1920.