1st San Marco Regiment
[2] 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.
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.
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.
[3] 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.
[3][6] "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.
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.
In Venice, the Italian Army had earlier reconstituted its Lagunari this time as its amphibious infantry force, its presence was also the reason why the battalion moved south.
Since the early 1980s the unit has deployed to Lebanon, the Persian Gulf, Somalia, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, East Timor, Eritrea and Iraq.
[2] 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 the early hours of the morning 2 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.
Advanced force and reconnaissance operations are undertaken by a separate company (“Demolitori di Ostacoli Antisbarco DOA” today called "Compagnia Operazioni Speciali Andrea Bafile"), tasked primarily with the clearing of landing zones and the removal of barriers, obstacles and mines.
The DOA/Bafile Company trains with the commando frogmen of the Italian Fleet Command Special Forces COMSUBIN GOI, who themselves are drawn largely from the ranks of the San Marco marines.
General tasks of support fall into the scope of responsibility of the Carlotto regiment, which supplies the Golametto battalion with the necessary materials before deployment depending upon operational orders .
Today, however, close co-operation exists because of a common operations staff in Brindisi, which has continued to strengthen ties between the two units ( Forza di Proiezione dal Mare ).
