WEBVTT

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Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we are unpacking

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a visual contradiction that I think just perfectly

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captures the weirdness of military history. Oh,

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it really does. Right. So I want you to picture

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a modern, chaotic battlefield. We're talking...

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drone swarms, digital comms, armored infantry

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fighting vehicles just churning up the mud. A

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completely 21st century combat zone. Exactly.

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And right in the middle of that high -tech chaos,

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I want you to imagine a soldier standing there

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wearing a two -foot -tall, bare -skin cap that

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looks like it was, I don't know. stolen from

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a Napoleonic museum. It is such a jarring image

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when you actually see it. I mean, you expect

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them to be holding a musket, but instead they're

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holding a suppressed assault rifle or, you know,

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they're manning a modern anti -tank launcher.

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We are talking about the Granatieri di Sardegna.

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The Grenadiers of Sardinia. And I want to be

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really clear right off the bat based on the sources

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we're looking at today. This isn't just a ceremonial

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unit. Right. Because I know when people see the

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fancy uniforms, they immediately think palace

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guard. They think tourist attraction. Yeah. Right.

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Like the guards at Buckingham Palace. But these

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guys are a fully mechanized infantry brigade.

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They really are. They have tanks. They have heavy

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weapons, armored personnel carriers. And yet

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they also serve as the personal ceremonial guard

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for the president of Italy. It's this fascinating

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mix of, you know, don't mess with me and look

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how impeccable my dress uniform is. That duality

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is really their defining feature. I mean, they

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are the oldest regiment in the Italian army.

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They have a continuous lineage going all the

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way back to 1659. Which is wild. It is. But they

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are also a NATO -ready combat unit. And managing

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those two identities, being a living museum piece

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and, well, a modern combat force, is incredibly

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difficult. So before we get into the actual combat

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record, we have to clear up the name. Yeah. Because

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I know this trips people up when they first hear

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about them. The Sardinia part. Yeah, the Grenadiers

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of Sardinia. When I was looking into the recruitment

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stats in our sources. These guys aren't all from

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the island of Sardinia. No, not at all. In fact,

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most of them are from the mainland. So is this

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just like false advertising? It does sound like

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a geographic misnomer today, but it's actually

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a political title. You have to remember that

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Italy as a unified country is a relatively new

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invention, historically speaking. Right, late

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19th century. Exactly. So before unification,

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the powerhouse state in that region was the Kingdom

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of Sardinia. Right, which was ruled by the House

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of Savoy. But their capital wasn't actually on

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the island, right? No, it was in Turin, up in

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Piedmont. It's kind of like how the kingdom of

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Prussia wasn't just about the specific region

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of Prussia. It was the political entity that

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eventually formed Germany. That is the perfect

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analogy. The House of Savoy controlled the island

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of Sardinia. So they took the title Kings of

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Sardinia to, you know, elevate their status.

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And these grenadiers were the king's own personal

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troops. So the name refers to the kingdom, the

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state, not the island itself. As we'll see later,

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there is a very specific historical link to the

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island that pops up. There is, yeah. So our mission

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for this deep dive is to figure out how this

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unit traces a line from guarding a duke in the

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17th century to fighting off the Austrian Empire,

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surviving the absolute betrayal and chaos of

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World War II, and then somehow ending up as beast

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keepers in Lebanon today. It's a massive journey.

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It really is. Yeah. And I want to focus on the

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why. Why does a modern army keep a unit like

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this around? Is it just pure nostalgia, or does

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that centuries -old history actually make them

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better in a fight? Well, to answer that, you

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really have to look at the order of precedence.

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Okay, this is the ranking system, right? Yeah.

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Like, who marches first in a parade? Correct.

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In the Italian army, the Granatieri di Sardegna

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are number one, period. They are the senior regiment

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of the infantry. If the whole army is on parade,

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they are at the very front. Which sounds like

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a great honor. But in military terms, being first

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usually has a, well, a darker implication. It

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absolutely does. Being first in precedence historically

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meant you were first in the line of battle. First

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to fight, first to die. Exactly. And that identity

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starts way back in 1659. The Duke of Savoy, Charles

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Emmanuel II, he decides he can't rely on feudal

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levies anymore. He needs professionals. Right.

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So he creates the Regiment of the Guards. These

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are his personal bodyguards. They are the elite

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of the elite from day one. But the real consolidation

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of the unit happens later, right? In 1831. Yes.

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King Charles Albert does this massive military

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reorganization. He takes that old Regiment of

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the Guards and he merges it with another unit

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called the Regiment of Sardinia. And that second

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unit actually was based on the island, wasn't

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it? It was. During the years, the royals were

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in exile there, hiding out from Napoleon. Okay,

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so that's where the Sardinia part of the DNA

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really gets baked in. It's a merger of the mainland

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palace guard and the island exile guard. Exactly.

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He combines them into the Grenadiers Brigade

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Guardie, and this is where that burden of command

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comes in. How so? Well, by making them the senior

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unit, he wasn't just giving them fancy hats,

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which they got in 1834, by the way, those iconic

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bearskins. He was effectively saying to them,

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you are the anchor. If the line breaks, you are

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the anchor. ones who have to hold it no matter

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what and that leads us perfectly To 1848, the

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first Italian War of Independence, we have the

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Battle of Goria. Yes. This is where their famous

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motto comes from. And I love this story in the

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sources because it's not this grand moment of

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triumph. It's actually a moment of absolute panic.

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It was a very near run thing. The Piedmontese

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army was wavering. The Austrians were pushing

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incredibly hard. And the king is right there

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on the field. King Charles Albert is there and

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he sees the situation deteriorating fast. He

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realizes that if the center of his line collapses,

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the war is basically over. So what does he do?

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He looks around for his grenadiers and he screams,

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To me, the guards. Yeah. It wasn't a ceremonial

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shout for a parade. It was a desperate tactical

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order. Get to my position and save the king.

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And they did. They rallied around him. They stopped

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the Austrian advance. And they completely turned

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the tide of the battle. And that phrase just

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became their motto. It encapsulates their whole

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ethos. When the situation is at its absolute

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worst, the grenadiers are the ones you call.

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Precisely. So that sets the stage for World War

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I. Because by 1915, warfare has changed completely.

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Drastically. We aren't talking about bright uniforms

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and guys lining up with muskets anymore. We're

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talking about industrial slaughter. Trenches.

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Machine guns. Heavy artillery. And this is exactly

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where that guard identity has to evolve. In the

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19th century, their job was to protect the king's

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physical body. But in World War I, they had to

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protect the nation's body. Because the king isn't

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standing on the front line anymore. Right. But

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the grenadiers were. Let's talk about Mount Senjio.

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May 1916. Because reading the accounts of this

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battle in our materials, it's frankly terrifying.

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It is one of the most brutal engagements of the

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war. This was part of the Austrian Streff expedition,

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the punitive expedition. But what was the strategic

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goal there? The Austrians wanted to just knock

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Italy out of the war entirely. They launched

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a massive offensive on the Asiago Plateau, and

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the geography here is crucial to understand.

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Yeah, paint a picture for us. Well, it's a mountainous

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region. If the Austrians broke through those

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mountain passes, they would spill right out onto

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the flat Venetian plains. And if they get to

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the plains, they are literally behind the main

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Italian army that's fighting on the Isonzo River.

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Exactly. It would be a massive encirclement maneuver.

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It's basically game over for Italy. Wow. And

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the unit standing right on the cliff edge, literally

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on the edge of the mountain, was the Granatieri.

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They were the very last line of defense on Mount

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Zangio. The details of this fight are gruesome.

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They weren't just outnumbered. They were completely

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out of ammo. I read about this thing called the

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Grenadier's Leap. Yes. Can you explain what that

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was? Because when I read it, it sounded like

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mythology, but it's apparently right there in

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the official after action reports. It's not a

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myth at all. It was pure desperation. The fighting

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was hand to hand on these incredibly narrow mountain

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paths with, you know, thousand foot drops on

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either side. Just a nightmare scenario. And when

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the grenadiers ran out of bullets and they ran

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out of grenades, they used their bayonets, then

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they used rocks, and eventually they used their

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own bodies. Literally throwing themselves at

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the enemy. There are documented accounts of grenadiers

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grabbing Austrian soldiers and just throwing

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themselves off the cliffs, taking the enemy down

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with them so they couldn't advance. That is a

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level of commitment that goes way beyond just

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following orders. That is an existential kind

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of fight. It really is. They held that position

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for weeks against over... and the numbers from

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the sources are just staggering. What were the

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casualties like? The brigade deployed with roughly

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6 ,000 men. By the time the battle ended in early

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June, they had suffered nearly 4 ,500 casualties.

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Good Lord, that's 75%. That effectively destroys

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a unit. It does, but they bought time. Because

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they didn't break... The Italian reserve army

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had enough time to mobilize and stop the Austrians

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from reaching the plains. So they sacrificed

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the unit to save the entire army. Yes, both regiments

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were awarded the gold medal of military valor,

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but the cost was an entire generation of those

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soldiers. It really drives home that point about

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precedence. Being number one means you stay until

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you are wiped out. That's the burden. Now, let's

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fast forward 20 -something years to World War

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II, and this is a completely different kind of

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nightmare for them. It is. In World War I, the

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enemy was clear. It was the Austrians across

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the trench. In World War II, specifically in

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September 1943, the enemy was, well, everyone.

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Right. The armistice of Casabay. Italy surrenders

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to the Allies. But the Germans, who were their

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allies literally five minutes ago, immediately

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launch Operation Axis. To occupy Italy and disarm

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the Italian army. And the Italian chain of command

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just completely evaporates. It was total chaos.

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Generals were fleeing. Orders weren't coming

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through at all. But the Granatieres were stationed

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in Rome. And their job, historically, was to

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defend the capital. So while the king and the

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high commander are busy running away to the south

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to save themselves, the Granatiers stay. They

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stayed and they f***ed. This leads to the Battle

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of Porto San Paolo. And what strikes me here

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is that this wasn't just a traditional military

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engagement. It turned into a popular uprising

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almost instantly. That's the key difference.

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They were fighting German panzer grenadiers and

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paratroopers. Yeah. Heavily armed elite units.

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Right. The grenadiers fought this brutal fighting

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retreat. through the suburbs of Rome, falling

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back to the ancient gate of Porto San Paolo.

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And as they were fighting, civilians started

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running out of their houses. And we aren't talking

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about just random bystanders either. We're talking

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about the future political leadership of Italy.

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It's an incredible convergence of history. You

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had Sandra Pertini, who would go on to become

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the president of Italy in the 1980s, fighting

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with a rifle right alongside the soldiers. You

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had Luigi Longo, a major communist leader. You

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had high school students. The grenadiers were

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just handing out weapons from their armories

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to anyone who could hold one. Just think about

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the symbolism of that for a second. The king's

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guards, the ultimate symbol of the old monarchy

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handing rifles to communists and Republicans

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to fight a common enemy. It really is the birth

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of the Italian resistance right there in the

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street. Militarily, though, they couldn't hold

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out, right? No, they lost. The Germans had tanks.

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The Grenadiers didn't have anywhere near enough

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heavy anti -tank weapons to stop them. They were

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overrun by the evening of September 10th. And

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they took heavy losses again. Over 500 dead.

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But that moment broke the psychological hold

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of the fascism and monarchy alliance. The Grenadiers

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sided with the people, not just the state apparatus.

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There's also this incredible side story from

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the sources during this exact same time that

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I think it's overlooked. The Granacheri weren't

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just in Rome. There were three battalions deployed

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in Corsica. Yes, they were serving as occupation

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troops on the island. And when the armistice

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happens, they are in an even worse spot than

00:12:20.360 --> 00:12:23.299
the guys in Rome. They are on an island completely

00:12:23.299 --> 00:12:26.000
cut off. With German units all around them. But

00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:27.980
they refuse to surrender. The German commander

00:12:27.980 --> 00:12:30.399
on Corsica demanded their surrender, assuming

00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:32.440
they would just fold like so many other units

00:12:32.440 --> 00:12:34.840
did and all the confusion. And what did the grenadier

00:12:34.840 --> 00:12:37.340
commander say? He basically said, come and get

00:12:37.340 --> 00:12:40.700
us. And then they did something amazing. They

00:12:40.700 --> 00:12:43.340
joined forces with the local French partisans,

00:12:43.340 --> 00:12:46.139
the very people they had been occupying just...

00:12:46.409 --> 00:12:49.429
Days before. That is wild. They teamed up with

00:12:49.429 --> 00:12:52.470
them and the Free French Forces, and they fought

00:12:52.470 --> 00:12:55.889
a brutal campaign to kick the Germans completely

00:12:55.889 --> 00:12:58.269
off the island. It just shows that their esprit

00:12:58.269 --> 00:13:00.710
de corps works even when the king has fled and

00:13:00.710 --> 00:13:03.169
the capital has fallen. They didn't need orders

00:13:03.169 --> 00:13:05.450
from Rome to know what to do. That's the true

00:13:05.450 --> 00:13:08.389
value of that deep institutional history. When

00:13:08.389 --> 00:13:10.669
the chain of command breaks, the culture of the

00:13:10.669 --> 00:13:12.529
regiment takes over. They knew who they were,

00:13:12.549 --> 00:13:15.039
so they knew how to act. So the war eventually

00:13:15.039 --> 00:13:18.240
ends. The monarchy is abolished. Italy becomes

00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:20.720
a republic. But the Grenadiers survive all of

00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:22.460
that. They do. They transition from being the

00:13:22.460 --> 00:13:25.639
Royal Guard to the Presidential Guard. But they

00:13:25.639 --> 00:13:28.120
also have to modernize for the Cold War. And

00:13:28.120 --> 00:13:30.080
this brings us to the mechanized part of their

00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:32.460
name today. And this was a pretty painful transition

00:13:32.460 --> 00:13:34.620
for them. In the Cold War, they needed to be

00:13:34.620 --> 00:13:36.779
able to stop a potential Soviet tank column.

00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:39.120
So you can't just march in straight lines with

00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:41.240
rifles anymore. You need armored personnel carriers.

00:13:41.480 --> 00:13:44.000
You need tanks. But there's a logistical problem

00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:46.279
here that I found really funny in the source

00:13:46.279 --> 00:13:48.299
material, but it must have been practically impossible

00:13:48.299 --> 00:13:51.100
to deal with. The height requirement. Oh, yes.

00:13:51.299 --> 00:13:53.700
The height requirement. Historically, to be a

00:13:53.700 --> 00:13:56.360
grenadier, you had to be huge. The requirement

00:13:56.360 --> 00:13:59.899
was a minimum of 195 centimeters. It's about

00:13:59.899 --> 00:14:02.279
six foot five. Which is great for a parade. It

00:14:02.279 --> 00:14:05.409
looks super intimidating. But, uh... Have you

00:14:05.409 --> 00:14:08.669
ever tried to fit a 6 '5 man into the back of

00:14:08.669 --> 00:14:11.659
a cramped armored vehicle? It is an absolute

00:14:11.659 --> 00:14:13.799
nightmare. Armored vehicles are designed for

00:14:13.799 --> 00:14:16.019
the average human and usually a fairly compact

00:14:16.019 --> 00:14:18.259
one at that. It's like trying to fold an NBA

00:14:18.259 --> 00:14:20.899
team into a Honda Civic. Basically, yeah. Yeah.

00:14:20.980 --> 00:14:23.759
The Grenadiers use the Dardo infantry fighting

00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:26.860
vehicle now. And before that, they used the M113.

00:14:26.940 --> 00:14:29.539
And the troop compartments are incredibly cramped.

00:14:29.639 --> 00:14:32.019
I can only imagine. There are actual stories

00:14:32.019 --> 00:14:35.120
of Grenadiers having to essentially do yoga just

00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:37.519
to get into their firing positions inside the

00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:40.120
vehicle. So did they eventually? lower the height

00:14:40.120 --> 00:14:43.620
requirement? They had to, but not entirely because

00:14:43.620 --> 00:14:47.500
of the vehicles. In 2004, Italy ended the draft.

00:14:47.820 --> 00:14:50.299
Ah, okay. When you have mandatory conscription,

00:14:50.460 --> 00:14:53.019
you can scan the entire population of 18 -year

00:14:53.019 --> 00:14:55.399
-old men and just cherry pick the absolute tallest

00:14:55.399 --> 00:14:57.440
one. Right, you have a massive pool to choose

00:14:57.440 --> 00:14:59.450
from. But when you go to an all -volunteer force,

00:14:59.629 --> 00:15:02.309
you just can't be that picky anymore. So they

00:15:02.309 --> 00:15:05.809
lowered the requirement to 190 centimeters, which

00:15:05.809 --> 00:15:08.809
is about 6 '3". Still giants compared to your

00:15:08.809 --> 00:15:11.429
average infantryman. Oh, yes. And this creates

00:15:11.429 --> 00:15:13.990
a really unique training challenge for them today.

00:15:14.230 --> 00:15:17.539
Most units just train for combat. But the grenadiers

00:15:17.539 --> 00:15:19.700
have to split their time. Right. The dual identity.

00:15:20.039 --> 00:15:22.200
Exactly. They have to master the Dardo fighting

00:15:22.200 --> 00:15:26.059
vehicle, the anti -tank tactics, complex urban

00:15:26.059 --> 00:15:28.779
warfare drills. And then they have to spend hours

00:15:28.779 --> 00:15:31.120
perfecting their ceremonial drill for the president.

00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:33.100
It's a double workload. You have to be a tier

00:15:33.100 --> 00:15:35.100
one parade marcher and a tier one combat soldier.

00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:37.860
And they really have deployed to real combat

00:15:37.860 --> 00:15:40.960
zones. They were in Kosovo with KFOR. They're

00:15:40.960 --> 00:15:42.879
heavily involved in the Uniful Mission in Lebanon.

00:15:43.159 --> 00:15:45.730
And Iraq and Afghanistan, too. Right. And when

00:15:45.730 --> 00:15:47.490
they are down there on deployment, they aren't

00:15:47.490 --> 00:15:49.769
wearing the bearskins. They are in full tactical

00:15:49.769 --> 00:15:52.669
gear patrolling the blue line. But I imagine

00:15:52.669 --> 00:15:55.230
that discipline carries over. Absolutely. The

00:15:55.230 --> 00:15:57.970
precision you need to execute a flawless parade

00:15:57.970 --> 00:16:00.830
drill is the exact same mindset you need for

00:16:00.830 --> 00:16:03.929
maintaining a complex armored vehicle or clearing

00:16:03.929 --> 00:16:06.500
a hostile room. Okay, I want to wrap up with

00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:09.539
one specific story from our sources that I think

00:16:09.539 --> 00:16:11.779
really answers that nostalgia question I posed

00:16:11.779 --> 00:16:12.919
at the beginning. Oh, I know which one you're

00:16:12.919 --> 00:16:15.659
going to bring up. It involves a duke from the

00:16:15.659 --> 00:16:19.139
1700s and a very, very old bank account. This

00:16:19.139 --> 00:16:22.000
is the story of Don Albergo Genovese, the Duke

00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:25.019
of San Pietro. We have to go way back to 1776.

00:16:25.379 --> 00:16:28.139
Okay. His father had actually founded the Sardinia

00:16:28.139 --> 00:16:30.710
Regiment. And Don Alberto wanted to ensure that

00:16:30.710 --> 00:16:32.610
the regiment was taken care of long term, so

00:16:32.610 --> 00:16:36.210
he donated 120 ,000 scudo to them. Which is an

00:16:36.210 --> 00:16:38.889
absolute fortune in 18th century money. A massive

00:16:38.889 --> 00:16:41.350
fortune. He set up a trust. The interest from

00:16:41.350 --> 00:16:43.269
that money was to be used for the regimental

00:16:43.269 --> 00:16:46.029
band and, more importantly, to financially support

00:16:46.029 --> 00:16:48.350
the widows of fallen soldiers. But there's a

00:16:48.350 --> 00:16:50.009
condition. There's always a catch with these

00:16:50.009 --> 00:16:52.230
things. The catch was that the regiment had to

00:16:52.230 --> 00:16:54.629
celebrate a mass in his memory on the anniversary

00:16:54.629 --> 00:16:58.019
of his death. Every single year, forever. Forever.

00:16:58.059 --> 00:17:01.580
And this was 1776. That's 250 years ago. Yes.

00:17:01.639 --> 00:17:04.130
Do they actually still do it? They do. Every

00:17:04.130 --> 00:17:07.069
year on February 18th, the mechanized brigade

00:17:07.069 --> 00:17:10.349
Granateri di Sardegna holds a solemn mass for

00:17:10.349 --> 00:17:12.730
Don Alberto Genovese. That is incredible. They

00:17:12.730 --> 00:17:15.069
wear the 18th century uniforms the band plays.

00:17:15.190 --> 00:17:17.930
They have honored that legal contract through

00:17:17.930 --> 00:17:20.829
world wars, through revolutions, the fall of

00:17:20.829 --> 00:17:23.069
the monarchy, and the rise of the republic. That

00:17:23.069 --> 00:17:25.569
is just mind -blowing to me. It's not just tradition

00:17:25.569 --> 00:17:28.029
like a secret handshake or a song. It's a real

00:17:28.029 --> 00:17:31.329
testament to institutional continuity. Exactly.

00:17:31.490 --> 00:17:45.410
It tells the soul. Wow. And that brings us to

00:17:45.410 --> 00:17:48.269
the big takeaway here. Because you look at modern

00:17:48.269 --> 00:17:52.960
warfare. An era of drones, cyber warfare, AI

00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:55.619
targeting. And it's so easy to look at the bearskin

00:17:55.619 --> 00:17:57.819
hats and the height requirements and think, this

00:17:57.819 --> 00:18:00.059
is silly, this is just cosplay. But that would

00:18:00.059 --> 00:18:02.319
be a huge mistake. Because what we see with the

00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:05.359
Granitieri, from the cliffs of Mount Sinjio to

00:18:05.359 --> 00:18:08.240
the streets of Rome, is that the software of

00:18:08.240 --> 00:18:11.240
a unit matters more than the hardware. The culture.

00:18:11.460 --> 00:18:14.160
Right. That esprit de corps, that deep -seated

00:18:14.160 --> 00:18:16.259
belief that we are the guards, we do not run,

00:18:16.460 --> 00:18:19.079
is what keeps a unit fighting. when a regular

00:18:19.079 --> 00:18:21.579
unit might just break and retreat. Technology

00:18:21.579 --> 00:18:24.599
changes. The uniform changes. But the willingness

00:18:24.599 --> 00:18:27.859
to stand on a cliff edge and hold the line, that

00:18:27.859 --> 00:18:30.480
is cultural. And you only build that culture

00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:32.519
through these centuries of unbroken tradition.

00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:34.440
So the next time you see a photo of the Italian

00:18:34.440 --> 00:18:36.720
president and there's a giant in a fur hat standing

00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:39.160
behind him, don't just see a ceremonial prop.

00:18:39.319 --> 00:18:41.680
See the lineage of the men who jumped off cliffs

00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:44.130
to save an army. And remember that under that

00:18:44.130 --> 00:18:47.109
bearskin, there is a highly trained modern soldier

00:18:47.109 --> 00:18:49.710
ready to do it all over again. Before we go,

00:18:49.809 --> 00:18:51.589
I want to leave you with a thought to mull over.

00:18:52.430 --> 00:18:55.869
If that ancient esprit de corps is so effective

00:18:55.869 --> 00:18:59.089
at keeping soldiers in the fight, how do we build

00:18:59.089 --> 00:19:02.390
that kind of resilience in the brand new domains

00:19:02.390 --> 00:19:05.329
of warfare? Like how do you build the culture

00:19:05.329 --> 00:19:07.970
of the grenadiers for a unit of drone operators

00:19:07.970 --> 00:19:10.430
sitting in a bunker thousands of miles from the

00:19:10.430 --> 00:19:12.980
front line? does tradition still matter when

00:19:12.980 --> 00:19:15.859
the combat is entirely digital that's a fascinating

00:19:15.859 --> 00:19:18.299
question something to think about thanks for

00:19:18.299 --> 00:19:20.119
joining us on this deep dive we'll see you on

00:19:20.119 --> 00:19:20.500
the next one