51st Engineer Battalion "Simeto"

The 51st Engineer Battalion "Simeto" (Italian: 51° Battaglione Genio Pionieri "Simeto") is a military engineering unit of the Italian Army last based in Palermo in Sicily. During the later half of World War I the Royal Italian Army's 2nd Engineer Regiment (Sappers) formed an engineer battalion with the number LI, which served on the Italian Front. In 1935, in preparation for the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, the 4th Engineer Regiment formed an engineer battalion, which received the same number. After the annexation of Ethiopia the battalion remained active and served in the Western Desert campaign and Tunisian campaign of World War II. In 1943, the Italian Co-belligerent Army formed an engineer battalion with the number LI, which was initially assigned to the I Motorized Grouping, then the Italian Liberation Corps, and finally the Combat Group "Legnano". The battalion fought on the allied side in the war's Italian campaign.

After the war the battalion was assigned to the Infantry Division "Legnano". In 1946, the battalion split to form the Engineer Battalion "Legnano" and Signal Battalion "Legnano". In 1975, the Engineer Battalion "Legnano" was disbanded. In 1983, the 51st Engineer Battalion was reformed in Sicily and named for the Simeto river. In 1992, the battalion lost its autonomy and entered the reformed 4th Engineer Regiment. The battalion's anniversary falls, as for all engineer units, on 24 June 1918, the last day of the Second Battle of the Piave River.