8th Paratroopers Engineer Regiment "Folgore"

The 8th Paratroopers Engineer Regiment "Folgore" (Italian: 8° Reggimento Genio Guastatori Paracadutisti "Folgore") is an airborne military engineering regiment of the Italian Army based in Legnago in Veneto. The regiment is assigned to the Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore" and combines the lineage and traditions of the Royal Italian Army's 8th Engineer Regiment and VIII Paratroopers Sappers Battalion, and the Italian Co-Belligerent Army's CLXXXIV Mixed Engineer Battalion.

In 1926, the Royal Italian Army formed the 8th Engineer Regiment in Rome. During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and World War II the regiment's depot formed engineer battalions and smaller units, which deployed with divisions and corps to the fronts of the war. After the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943 the regiment was disbanded by invading German forces. In May 1942, the VIII Paratroopers Battalion of the 3rd Paratroopers Regiment was sent to the Sappers School in Civitavecchia to train as sappers. After the training the battalion was renamed VIII Paratroopers Sappers Battalion. The battalion was attached to the 185th Infantry Division "Folgore", with which the battalion deployed to Libya for the Western Desert campaign. In November 1942, the "Folgore" division and the VIII Paratroopers Sappers Battalion were destroyed during the Second Battle of El Alamein. In September 1944, the Italian Co-Belligerent Army formed the CLXXXIV Mixed Engineer Battalion for the Combat Group "Folgore". The battalion fought on the allied side in the Italian campaign. In spring 1945, the battalion distinguished itself in combat against German forces on the Santerno river.

In 1947, the CLXXXIV Mixed Engineer Battalion split to form the Connections Battalion "Folgore" and the Engineer Battalion "Folgore". In November 1975, the Engineer Battalion "Folgore" was renamed 184th Engineer Battalion "Santerno" and assigned the flag and traditions of the 8th Engineer Regiment. In September 1992, the battalion lost its autonomy and entered the reformed 8th Sappers Regiment. In 1995, the regiment was disbanded. In June 2001, the 5th Paratroopers Engineer Battalion "Bolsena" was renamed 8th Paratroopers Sappers Battalion. In October 2004, the battalion lost its autonomy and entered the reformed 8th Paratroopers Engineer Regiment "Folgore". The regiment's anniversary falls, as for all engineer units, on 24 June 1918, the last day of the Second Battle of the Piave River. However, as the regiment also inherited the traditions of the VIII Paratroopers Sappers Battalion, the regiment also celebrates the anniversary of the paratroopers speciality, which falls on 23 October 1942, the first day of the Second Battle of El Alamein.