2nd Light Infantry Regiment
The 2nd Light Infantry Regiment (In Italian: 2o Reggimento d’Infanteria Leggera) was one of the light infantry regiments of the Kingdom of Naples. It was among the first units to be formed within the Kingdom, being created with the decree of 27th May 1806, less than two months after Joseph Bonaparte was proclaimed King. Although it saw almost no service outside of Italy, it fought with distinction during the brigandage. It is most remembered for its conduct at Tolentino, where it broke but was rallied by the king himself. It formed the first square of D’Aquino’s famous attack at Tolentino.
Formation & Origins
Early Organisation
The 2nd Light was formed by decree of 27th May 1806.[1][2] The official organisation of the regiment was set to two battalions and two depot companies.[1][2] The first battalion of the regiment was formed from the Fucilieri di Città, a Bourbon unit formed by the Duke of Ascoli to serve as a police corps within the city of Naples. Its old commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Gaetano Vayro, was given the colonelcy of the 2nd Light.[3][2] According to Cortese, the 2nd battalion of the regiment would only be formed in October, bringing the strength of the regiment to a meagre 850 men. Nonetheless, the regiment was fully equipped and generally well-trained by September that year, although it was not brigaded with any French units yet.[2]
The formation of the 2nd Light came as part of the French initiative to begin relaying the suppression of the local brigandage to local troops. The incessant guerilla activity in certain provinces had tied down significant French resources that could be used to fight the British regular troops; furthermore, fighting the insurgents with their own countrymen would be significant morale blow to the vigilantes. Furthermore, the raising of more Neapolitan regiments increased the new regime's prestige and legitimacy by making an army composed of local subjects, rather than French mercenaries.
As in all regiments in the Neapolitan Army pre-1808, the 2nd Light's battalions had nine companies of 140 men each, and a staff consisting of the regiment's senior officers and a number of civilian servicemen (armourers, tailors, etc.).[1] Each battalion would have seven "centre" companies of Chasseurs, one of Carabiniers, and one of Voltigeurs. The latter two would be commonly known as the élite companies. However, as the old Fucilieri battalion was significantly understrength for an army battalion (it had been a police unit, after all), it was not surprising that the 2nd Light's initial strength was much below that of a normal two-battalion regiment.
Service in the Brigandage
Soon after the regiment was formed, it was moved to Capua for training and organisation. It was stationed there when when it was chosen by Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Léopold Sigisbert Hugo to form part of his mobile attack column, tasked with eliminating the famous brigand Fra Diavolo's large insurgent band.[4] Hugo's command was composed of the entire Neapolitan 1st Line Regiment, of the Regiment Real Africano, and detachments of infantry from the Royal Guard and the Corsican Legion.[5][6][7] The addition of the 2nd Light brought this force to a strength of around 3,000 men and two light guns.[8]
Hugo's plan to wipe out Fra Diavolo involved entering the province of Frosinone and trapping the brigand against the Garigliano river and the divisions of Generals Duhesme and Goullus positioned in the Papal States. However, Fra Diavolo predicted this and instead set off in the direction of Cervaro, aiming to go around the Garigliano. Hugo pursued briskly and almost caught the brigand outside Cervaro, although the band then escaped into the mountains. Here, Fra Diavolo left a rearguard in Acquafondata at a narrow gorge, aimed at delaying Hugo long enough for the rest to escape.[8] The 2nd Light was the first to reach the scene, around four in the morning of September 30th. The regiment immediately was launched forward by Hugo, the carabinier company in the lead; a lively firefight ensued, followed by a vigorous charge that sent the brigands fleeing.[4][5][6] Thus, the 2nd Light had its baptism of fire.
The pursuit of Fra Diavolo continued until late October with little success; the brigand continued to always be one step ahead of his Franco-Neapolitan pursuers. The trying autumn conditions and the poor state of the mountain passages further worsened Hugo's task. In late October Fra Diavolo's force was largely destroyed by a French battalion that happened to be crossing in the area by chance; unfortunately, the brigand evaded capture again and rebuilt his command promptly.[8]
The 2nd Light would continue hunting Fra Diavolo’s band alongside the 1st Line, spread out on the left bank of the Biferno river. Not long after, the brigand would be surprised and assaulted by Hugo’s combined force, alongside several National Guard units; in the ensuing fight, the pouring rain made muskets useless, and the fight descended to bloody hand-to-hand fighting. The Royal Guard and the Corsicans led the attack, finally managing to rout the brigands after several hours of ferocious fighting. During the retreat around sixty brigands were captured, all of which were executed on the spot.[6] Although both sides suffered horrifying losses (the French allegedly lost 400 men killed alone), Fra Diavolo’s band escaped across the river again towards Benevento. This was unfortunate for the French, as a detachment of the local national guard had been ordered to occupy the only bridge in the area earlier.[8] Had the commander of the national guards reacted faster, Fra Diavolo would have been captured on the spot.
At this point, Fra Diavolo remained almost alone; most of his followers were killed, and only he and three or so loyalists remained. This made the task of capturing him harder, although fortunately for the French, he would be betrayed several days later and captured. He was hanged in Naples on 11th November.[9]
Reorganisation & Imperial Service
The regiment would return to Naples in December 1806 and remain stationed there for several months. Although the unit had officially abandoned its duties as a police unit, its members regularly patrolled the Neapolitan streets and helped maintain order. Unfortunately, this had a detrimental effect on the regiment’s cohesion as a unit; many soldiers were forced to sleep on the streets out of sheer exhaustion, while many married and local soldiers would prefer to spend the night in their homes within the city rather than in the regiment’s barracks, making the task of keeping the regiment coordinated much harder.[2] When General Edme Aimé Lucotte visited the regiment’s barracks sometime in the evening in 1807, he found them almost deserted! Hence, a complaint was made to the Ministry of War which called for the reorganisation of the regiment.[2]
The decision fell to separate the local married soldiers (ages thirty to fifty) from the remainder of the regiment and form them into a separate sedentary battalion, which would operate solely within the city of Naples. This was enacted on 26th September 1809.[2] The corps would become the Municipal Guard of Naples later that year and continued as a police unit until being converted into the 6th Line Infantry Regiment in 1810.[10] Meanwhile, the remainder of the 2nd Light would be transferred outside of the city to nullify the problems related with patrolling the streets.[2]
In early 1809 the regiment was destined to take part in the occupation of the Papal States, alongside the rest of the kingdom's light infantry units.[11] This bloodless campaign saw the regiment stationed in the city of Rome and its surroundings.[12] It is unclear whether the regiment was also deployed to put down the rebellion in Veneto that same year.
In 1811, six companies of the regiment (later increased to be the entire 2nd battalion) were destined to become part of the garrison of the strategically important island of Corfu, on the other side of the Adriatic Sea. For unclear reasons, this order was cancelled on short notice, much to the regimental officers' frustration. Unfortunately, one of the chasseur companies had already boarded a transport and was heading towards the island when it was intercepted and captured by a British warship on 1st May 1811, placing over a hundred men and two officers into captivity. It is probable that most of the men were released and returned to Naples around the time of Murat's defection to the allies.[2]
On 4th January 1812, the colonelcy of the regiment was given to Carlo Filangieri, an influential and talented noble who had served in the French Army and was part of the courts of both Joseph and Joachim.[13][2] Filangieri and his regiment were chosen to be part of General Francois Detrés’s division of Neapolitan troops destined for the Russian campaign. Around this time the regiment had a strength of 1,600 men. However, several days after beginning the march to Poland, the regiment was sent back to Naples for unknown reasons by Murat, and hence missed the campaign. It would spend the rest of 1812 and 1813 in the Kingdom.
3rd Light Infantry Regiment
On 16th February 1813 the colonel of the regiment became a certain French officer named Michel, who would be the regiment’s last colonel. It is unknown what his role in the Neapolitan Army was prior to this date. That same day the regiment was renamed the 3rd Light Infantry Regiment (3o Reggimento d’Infanteria Leggera) as part of the general reorganisation of the army’s light infantry arm. On 3rd March the regiment would be raised to four battalions, and on May 29th the fourth battalion would be given to the newly formed 4th Light Infantry Regiment.[2][10]
Italian Campaigns 1814-15
For the upcoming 1814 campaign in Northern Italy, the 3rd Light was grouped alongside the 2nd Line into d'Aquino's brigade of d'Ambrosio's second division. In November 1813 the regiment had a total strength of 43 officers and 1,488 men, split into two battalions. It would serve in this position for the next two campaigns.
As part of the 2nd Division, it was hotly involved in the battle of the Taro River, in which the 3rd Light was the only Neapolitan unit to be truly engaged in a firefight. It was surprised and driven out of several positions by advancing Frenchmen, although it rallied again during the battle. At the end of the war the regiment's third battalion joined it in the Marches. In 1815, at the outbreak of hostilities with Austria, the division was stationed in Ancona and filed off towards Rimini via Senigallia and Pesaro, which the Austrians abandoned without a shot. The 2nd Brigade in particular was engaged in the key battles outside Modena and at Occhiobello. In the latter battle, it unsuccessfully was launched several times at the Austrian position across the Occhiobello bridge, suffering very heavy casualties and being forced to retreat in disorder several times. It was also active in fighting off Austrian sallies from across the river. The regiment's most famous action would be at the decisive battle of Tolentino. On the 2nd of May, the King gave the order to General d'Ambrosio to deploy and take the strategically-important hill of Monte Milone, which the Austrians held with a considerable force of infantry. The 3rd Light was chosen to lead the attack. Formed up in column, the 3rd Light's conscripts almost immediately began to waver upon receiving volleys from the Austrian infantry. The regiment then began to fall into disorder, and the attack almost stalled. The King immediately galloped up, dismounted, and "threw himself among the men", rallying them and leading them forward in person. Unfortunately, the Neapolitans were fighting an uphill battle; the attack was repulsed with loss. Only later was the hill taken when part of D'Ambrosio's division (3rd Light included) flanked the hill and forced the Austrians to withdraw, leaving a number of prisoners in the regiment's hands. Later the next day, the 3rd Light led d'Aquino's attack formed up into a regimental square, a huge formation. The broken ground soon disordered the formation and upon coming into the range of the Austrian line, the regiment took extremely heavy casualties from the Austrian jaegers' rifle fire and the Austrian artillery at close range. The regiment broke, fleeing back across the battlefield. Seeing the 3rd Light break, the rest of the division soon was in full rout.
With the end of hostilities, the regiment was formally disbanded on 20th May in Capua.
Uniform
COMING SOON.
Colours
COMING SOON.
List of Colonels
| Date Appointed | Name |
|---|---|
| 31st July 1806 | Gaetano Vayro |
| 23rd September 1809 | Giuseppe Graziani |
| 4th January 1812 | Carlo Filangieri |
| 3rd July 1813 | ? Michel |
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bullettino delle leggi del Regno di Napoli. Italy, nella Stamperia Simoniana, 1806.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Cortese, Nino. “Corpi e Scuole Militari del Esercito Napoletano dal 1806 al 1815”. Rassegna Storica Napoletana, 1933, p.19 – 57. Italy, A. Miccoli, 1933.
- ↑ Cortese, Nino, and Colletta, Pietro. Storia del reame di Napoli. Italy, Libreria scientifica editrice, 1953.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Hugo, Joseph-Léopold-Sigisbert, and Aubertin, Dominique. Mémoires du général Hugo, gouverneur de plusieurs provinces et aide-major-général des armées en Espagne. France, Ladvocat, 1823.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Amante, Bruto. Fra Diavolo e il suo tempo (1796-1806). Italy, Attività bibliografica editoriale, 1904, p.345.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Dumas, Alexandre. I Borboni di Napoli, Vol 6. Italy, n.p, 1863, p.325
- ↑ Hugo, p.126
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Amante, Bruto. Fra Diavolo e il suo tempo (1796-1806). Italy, Attività bibliografica editoriale, 1904.
- ↑ Colletta, Pietro. Storia del reame di Napoli dal 1734 sino al 1825, Vol II. With “Notizia intorno alla vita di Pietro Colletta” by Marquis Gino A. G. G. Capponi. Italy, n.p, 1861.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Smith, Digby. Murat's Army: The Army of the Kingdom of Naples 1806-1815. United Kingdom, Helion, Limited, 2018.
- ↑ Pivka, Otto von. Napoleon's Italian Troops. United Kingdom, Bloomsbury USA, 1979.
- ↑ Nicassio, Susan Vandiver. Imperial City: Rome Under Napoleon. Germany, University of Chicago Press, 2009.
- ↑ Ravaschieri, Teresa Filangieri Fieschi. (Il) generale Carlo Filangieri: principe di Satriano e duca Taormina. Italy, Treves, 1902.
