Badge of the Royal Italian Army Assault Engineers (Guastatori)

Badge of the Royal Italian Army Assault Engineers (Guastatori)

This badge identified the elite “Guastatori” detachments of the Royal Italian Army, assault engineers trained for demolitions, mine clearance, and direct breach operations. Its emblem — a flaming grenade surmounting a vertical gladius — expressed the fusion of destructive technical skill with close-combat determination.

Manufactured in gilded metal (gold-finished), the badge was worn on the field cap or tunic, sometimes showing slight finish variations depending on the maker. A few examples include enamel inserts, mainly in private or postwar production.

Formed in 1940 after the German pioneer model, the Guastatori operated in North Africa, the Balkans, and on the Eastern Front, earning a reputation for courage and precision engineering under fire. Their badge became both a symbol of specialized technical excellence and a mark of battlefield valor within the Italian Army.

Today, it remains an important reference for collectors and historians studying the evolution of Italian engineer and assault troops in WWII.