Alpini: Difference between revisions

Italian Alpini
Alpini in a parade
Active	1872 - today
Country	Italy
Branch	Italian Army
Type	Mountain troops
Size	2 Brigades
Part of	Alpine Corps Command
Nickname(s)	Le Penne Nere ("Black Feathers")
Patron	San Maurizio celebrated every September 22nd
Motto(s)	Di Qui Non Si Passa! ("From here, nobody goes through!")
Anniversaries	October 15th 1872 Date of Foundation
Engagements	First Italo–Ethiopian War Boxer Rebellion Italo-Turkish War World War I Second Italo-Abyssinian War Greco-Italian War World War II War in Afghanistan
Decorations	9 Croci di Cavaliere dell'O.M.I.<br /207 Gold Medals for Military Valour [16 at the reparts, 191 at the single soldier] 22 Silver Medals for Military Valour 5 Bronze Medals for Military Valour 1 War Cross for Military Valour 2 Bronze Medals for Army Valour 1 Gold Medal for Civil Valour 1 Bronze Medal for Civil Valour 1 Silver Cross for Army Merit 1 Cross for Army Merit.
Commanders
Notable commanders	Luigi Reverberi

The Alpini, meaning "the Alpines", are the elite mountain warfare soldiers of the Italian Army. They are currently organised in two main operational brigades, which are subordinated to the Alpini Corps Command. The singular is an Alpino (an "Alpine").

Originally formed in 1872, their mission was to protect Italy's northern mountainous borders. In 1888 the Alpini were sent to their first mission abroad, in Africa, during the First Italo–Ethiopian War. They distinguished themselves during World War I when they fought against Austro-Hungarian soldiers in what has since been called the "War in snow and ice". During World War II, the Alpini fought together with Axis forces mostly on the Eastern Front being tasked to hold the front in the Don river plains.

In the 1990s, after the end of the Cold War, three of the five Alpini brigades and many support units were disbanded due to the reorganization process of the Italian Army. Currently, despite having some of the best trained and best equipped mountain troops in the world, the military role of Alpines is seen in terms of peacekeeping missions and minor disputes interventions.

History

1872 to 1887

At the suggestion of Captain Giuseppe Perrucchetti the first 15 Alpini companies were formed by Royal decree nr. 1056, in 1872 as a militia force capable of defending Italy’s northern mountainous borders. The newly created Kingdom of Italy, faced major problems in defending its new land borders, which, after the 1866 war against Austria, coincident in large parts with the Alpine Arch. Homeland defense had previously been based on the so called Quadrilatero strategy, which called for the defense of the Po Valley ("Pianura Padana") and left the Alpine region undefended as it was considered a territory unsuitable to military operations.

The idea of recruiting the inhabitants of the mountain valleys and forming them into a special corps, thereby taking advantage of both their knowledge of the mountain territory and their adaptability to Alpine conditions, was an innovative one. For this purpose the mountain regions were divided into seven military districts, each commanded by an officer and home to at least two Alpini companies. At first each company consisted of 120 men. Soldiers were equipped with the Vetterli 1870 rifle. In 1873 nine additional companies were raised bringing the total to 24 companies. In 1875 the companies doubled in size and were now composed of 250 soldiers and 5 officers, which were then formed into 7 Alpini battalions. Each battalion was named after one of the seats of the seven military districts:

1° Cuneo, 2° Mondovi, 3° Torino (Susa), 4° Torino (Chivasso), 5° Como, 6° Treviso, 7° Udine

In 1877, five Alpini mountain artillery batteries were formed and, in the following year, the Alpini had already grown to 36 companies of mountain infantry organized into 10 battalions. On November 1, 1882, the Alpini doubled in size to now 72 companies in 20 Alpini battalions. The 20 battalions and 8 Alpini mountain artillery batteries were now organized into six numbered Alpini regiments and two Alpini mountain artillery brigades. Each battalions was named after the area it was tasked to defend in case of war:

• 1° regiment in Mondovì: "Alto Tanaro", "Val Tanaro", "Val Camonica" battalions
• 2° regiment in Brà: "Col Tenda", "Val Schio", "Val Pesio" battalions
• 3° regiment in Fossano: "Val Stura", "Val Maira", "Monti Lessini" battalions
• 4° regiment in Torino: "Val Pellice", "Val Chisone", "Val Brenta" battalions
• 5° regiment in Milan: "Val Dora", "Moncenisio", "Valtellina", "Alta Valtellina" battalions
• 6° regiment in Conegliano: "Val d'Orco", "Cadore", "Val d'Aosta", "Val Tagliamento" battalions

The numbers used earlier to distinguish the battalions were dropped while at the same time the companies were now numbered from 1 to 72. To distinguish the battalions, soldiers and non commissioned officers were issued thread tufts of various colors, which were added to the Cappello Alpino: white for the first, red for the second and green for the third battalion of each regiment. Special battalions not part of a regiment were issued blue tufts.

On June 7, 1883, the "fiamme verdi" (green flames) collar patch was introduced thus making the Alpini officially a specialty within the Italian infantry corps. The distinctive headdress the "Cappello Alpino" with its black raven feather was also introduced, which quickly led the Alpinis to be nicknamed "Le Penne Nere" ("Black feathers"). Officers hats replaced the black feather with a white eagle feather. At first the hat was a black felt hat, but with the introduction of the new green-grey uniform in 1910 the hat was changed to the distinctive grey felt hat that is still retained today. The Alpini were also distinguished by green cuffs on their dark blue tunics and green piping on their light blue/grey trousers. When grey-green service uniforms were introduced for the Alpini in 1906 the distinctive green collar patches and Alpine headdress were retained.

The material, weapons and equipment of each battalion was stored in the major village of the area they were tasked to defend in case of war. Soldiers of a battalion were only recruited from this area. In 1887 the battalions names were changed from the areas to defend to the names of the villages. Therefore i.e. the Edolo battalions soldiers were recruited in the vicinity of the village Edolo, where the arsenal and the training ground of the battalion were based and the battalions officers were housed. This local recruitment led to a strong identification of the population with the Alpini units, as men from the same village were all drafted into the same company and the companies from one valley were all part of the same battalion.

In 1887 the Ispettorato delle truppe alpine (Alpine Troops Inspectorate) was created in Rome, which took administrative command of all Mountain troops. This led to a reorganization of the Alpini: on August 1st, 1887 the 7° Alpini Regiment was formed in Conegliano Veneto receiving two battalions from the 6th regiment. The number of battalions was increased by two to a new total of 22. On November 1st, 1887 the 1° Mountain Artillery Regiment was formed in Turin with nine batteries, each equipped with four 75mm howitzers. The new layout of the Alpini thus was:

• 1° regiment: "Ceva", "Pieve di Teco", "Mondovi" battalions
• 2° regiment: "Borgo San Dalmazzo", "Vinadio", "Dronero" battalions
• 3° regiment: "Fenestrelle", "Susa II", "Susa I" (renamed "Exilles" in 1889) battalions
• 4° regiment: "Aosta", "Ivrea", "Pinerolo" battalions
• 5° regiment: "Morbegno", "Tirano", "Edolo"', "Rocca d'Anfo" (renamed "Vestone" in 1889) battalions
• 6° regiment: "Verona", "Vicenza", "Bassano" battalions
• 7° regiment: "Feltre", "Pieve di Cadore", "Gemona" battalions

1888 to 1914

Although created as a defensive force specializing in Alpine combat, in 1887 the 1° Battaglione Alpini d’Africa (1st African Alpini Battalion) was formed. The battalions four companies were were formed from volunteers from all other Alpini battalions. As part of the Corpo Speciale d'Africa (Special African Coprs) the battalion was sent to Eritrea to take revenge for the lost battle of Dogali. The battalion returned on April 27th, 1888 to Naples having lost its commanding officer and 13 men to tropical diseases.

Back in Italy in 1888 eight mules were assigned to each Alpini company. The Vetterli 70 rifle was substituted by the newer Vetterli-Vitali mod. 70/87 rifle. Also with a general reorganization of the Italian militia system it was decided to assign 38 Alpini companies and 15 mountain batteries to active units of the Regio Esercito (Royal Italian Army). In 1892 the Alpini were the first troops to be issued with the new Mod. 91 rifle, which was replaced in 1897 by the Mod. 91TS version and remained in service until 1945.

When the tensions between Italy and Ethiopia escalated into the First Italo–Ethiopian War the 1° Battaglione Alpini d’Africa was reformed and sent gain to Eritrea. It was to become the first Alpini unit to engage in combat. Also four batteries from the 1° Mountain Artillery regiment were sent to Eritrea to augment the four brigades there under command of Oreste Baratieri. The battalions first engagement was on March 1st, 1896 in the Battle of Adowa in which it was badly mauled by superior numbers of Ethiopian troops. Over 400 of the battalions 530 men died including the commanding officer Lt. Col. Menini. After the battle the first Medaglia d'oro al valor militare (Gold medal for military valor) was awarded to a member of the Alpini corps: Capitan Pietro Cella and his Alpini from the 4th company occupied and held Amba Rajo (Rajo mountain) until March 2nd, thus securing the escape of the remnants of the beaten Italian Army. Capitan Cella and all his men died and for this sacrifice he was awarded the Medaglia d'oro al valor militare.^[1] After this disaster a Alpini expeditionary regiment with 5 battalions was formed and sent do Eritrea on March 7th, 1896, but it saw little combat and was repatriated in June of the same year.

During the 1900 Boxer Rebellion, a Mountain Artillery Battery was sent to China as part of the international relief force that lifted the siege of the International Compound in Beijing. On November 13th, 1902 after a brief period of experimentation with skis the Alpini began to form specially equipped and trained Compagnie Sciatori (Skiing Companies). After a heavy earthquake on September 8th, 1905 in the Calabria region of Southern Italy Alpinis are sent south for three months to assist in the clearance and reconstruction efforts. The same happened in 1908 after the devastating Messina earthquake.

The year 1909 saw a massive expansion of the Alpini. On July 15th the 2nd Mountain Artillery Regiment regiment was formed in Vicenza with four artillery groups and a total of 12 batteries. Already in 1908 two new battalions, the Tolmezzo and Pallanza (renamed Intra in 1909) had been formed and assigned to the 7° respectively the 4° regiment. On October 1st, 1909, the “Tolmezzo” and "Gemona" battalions from the 7° Alpini regiment, along with the newly raised Cividale battalion became the three battalions of new 8° regiment, which was stationed in the city of Udine. The first commander of the 8° Alpini regiment became Col. Antonio Cantore, who would become a legend to the Alpini during World War I. With the formation of the 8th regiment the Alpini now compromised 25 battalions in 8 regiments, 2 mountain artillery regiments, with 24 batteries organized in 8 groups and 75 reserve companies organized in 22 battalions. The reserve battalions were named after the valleys from where its soldiers, former Alpinis, were recruited (so called Valle battalions).

• 8° regiment in Udine: "Gemona", "Cividale", "Tolmezzo" battalions

In 1910 the last pre-war Alpini battalion was raised: the Belluno in the city of the same name.

From 1911 until 1914, the Alpini battalions Fenestrelle, Saluzzo, Mondovi, Susa, Ivrea, Verona, Feltre, Edolo, Tolmezzo, Venzone along with batteries from both Alpini Artillery regiments fought during the Italo-Turkish War in the Libyan desert.

World War I

During World War I the 24 peacetime Alpini battalions were increased by 64 battalions and saw heavy combat all over the alpine arch. During the war years the Alpini regiments consisted of the following battalions (pre-war raised units in bold). The first reserve units were named after the valleys (in Italian: "Val") in Northern Italy from were they drew their recruits. The later raised units were named after mountains in Northern Italy:

• 1° regiment: "Pieve di Teco", "Ceva", "Mondovi", "Val Tanaro", "Val Rosa", "Val d'Ellero", "Monte Clapier", "Monte Saccarello", "Monte Mercantur".
• 2° regiment: "Borgo San Dalmazzo", "Dronero", "Saluzzo", "Val Stura", "Val Maira", "Val Varaita", "Argentera", "Bicocca", "Monte Viso".
• 3° regiment: "Pinerolo", "Fenestrelle", "Susa", "Exilles", "Val Pellice", "Val Chisone", "Val Dora", "Val Cenischia", "Monte Granero", "Monte Albergian", "Monte Assietta", "Moncenisio".
• 4° regiment: "Aosta", "Ivrea", "Intra", "Val d'Orco", "Val Baltea", "Val Toce", "Monte Levanna", "Monte Cervino", "Monte Rosa".
• 5° regiment: "Morbegno", "Tirano", "Edolo", "Vestone", "Val d'Intelvi", "Val Tellina", "Val Camonica", "Val Chiese", "Monte Spluga", "Stelvio", "Monte Adamello", "Monte Suello".
• 6° regiment: "Verona", "Vicenza", "Bassano", "Val d'Adige", "Val Leogra", "Val Brenta", "Monte Baldo", "Monte Berico", "Sette Comuni".
• 7° regiment: "Feltre", "Pieve di Cadore", "Belluno", "Val Cismon", "Val Piave", "Val Cordevole", "Monte Pelmo", "Monte Pavione", "Monte Antelao".
• 8° regiment: "Gemona", "Cividale", "Tolmezzo", "Val Tagliamento", "Val Fella", "Val Natisone", "Monte Arvenis", "Monte Canin", "Monte Matajur".

To these 78 regular Alpini battalions came 10 special battalions that were not assigned to any regiment. Some of these regiments were Skiing battalions named after glaciers in the Alps:

• "Garibaldi" battalion (later renamed "Monte Mandrone")
• "Ortler" battalion
• "Cavento" battalion
• "Monte Bianco" battalion

The Alpini battalions were divided in 233 companies of 100 to 150 men each. The Alpini regiments were never sent into battle as a whole, instead single companies and battalions were given specific passes, summits or ridges to guard and defend on their own.

The war has become known as the "War in snow and ice" , as most of the 600 km frontline ran through the highest mountains and glaciers of the Alps. 12 meters (40 feet) of snow were a usual occurrence during the winter of 1915/16 and thousands of soldiers died in avalanches. The remains of these soldiers are still being uncovered today. The Alpini, as well as their Austrian counterparts: Kaiserschützen, Standschützen and Landeschützen occupied every hill and mountain top around the whole year. Whole cities were drilled and blown into the mountainsides and even deep into the ice of glaciers like the Marmolada. Guns were dragged by hundreds of troops on Mountains up to 3,890 m (12,760 feet) high. Streets, cable cars, mountain railroads and walkways were built through the steepest of walls. Most of these walkways and streets are still viable today. In addition, along the former frontline it is still possible to see what is left of hundreds of kilometers of barbed wire.

In this kind of warfare, whoever occupied the higher ground first was almost impossible to dislodge, so both sides turned to drilling tunnels under mountain peaks, filling them up with explosives and then detonating the whole mountain to pieces, including its defenders: i.e. Col di Lana, Monte Pasubio, Lagazuoi, etc.^[2]

Climbing and skiing became essential skills for the troops of both sides and soon Ski Battalions and special climbing units were formed. It was during these years that the Alpini, their spirit and their mules became legend, although at the cost of over 12,000 casualties out of a total of 40,000 mobilized Alpinis.

Many of the famous Alpini songs originated during this time and reflect upon the hardships of the "War in Snow and Ice".

World War II

After World War I all battalions with the exception the pre-war battalions were dissolved. In 1919 the Alpini gained the 9° Alpini regiment. In 1935 the fascist government of Italy reorganized its Armed Forces, creating six Alpine divisions and forming two new Alpini regiments: the 11° Alpini regiment and the 12° Alpini regiment. The 5 Alpine Division Pusteria formed of the 7th and 11th Alpini regiment was quickly dispatched to Eritrea were it participated in the Italian attack on Abyssinia.

During World War II, Italy fielded six Alpine divisions:

• 1st Alpine Division Taurinense
• 2nd Alpine Division Tridentina
• 3rd Alpine Division Julia
• 4th Alpine Division Cuneense
• 5th Alpine Division Pusteria
• 6th Alpine Division Alpi Graie

Each division consisted of two Alpini regiments with three battalions each, one Alpine Artillery Regiment with three Artillery groups, one Mixed Engineer Battalion, one Logistic Battalion and some support units. The strength of each division was 573 officers and 16,887 NCOs and soldiers for a total strength of 17,460 men. Also each division had almost 5000 mules and 500 vehicles of various types at its disposal.
The divisions saw combat in France, Africa, Italy, Albania, The Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Greece. One Alpini battalion was employed in East Africa. In 1942, Tridentina, Julia and Cuneense division were sent to fight in the Soviet Union. In Russia, instead of being deployed in the Caucasus mountains as expected, the Alpini were tasked with holding a front on the plains of the Don River. As a result of this disastrous strategic decision, troops armed, trained, and equipped for mountain warfare were pitted in the plains against tanks and mechanized infantry, to counter which they were neither equipped nor trained. Despite this, the Alpini held the front until January 1943, when, due to the collapse of the Axis front, they were encircled by the advancing Soviet Army. The Alpini were able to break the encirclement and fight their way towards the new line of the front established after the Axis retreat. Only about one third of the Tridentina division (4250 survivors of 15000 troops deployed) and one tenth of the Julia (1200/15000) were able to survive this odyssey. The Cuneense division was annihilated.

Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's fascist government in northern Italy, the Italian Social Republic, had one division of Alpini, the 4th Italian "Monte Rosa" Alpini Division.

.

Alpini today

Structure

After World War II, five Alpine Brigades were formed and assigned to the IV (Alpine) Army Corps. Each brigade recruited its soldiers from specific parts of the mountainous areas of Italy thus creating a strong bond with the local populations.

• Julia
• Taurinense
• Tridentina (dissolved 2002)
• Cadore (dissolved 1997)
• Orobica (dissolved 1991)

After the end of the Cold War, all but the Julia and Taurinense Brigades were dissolved, thus leaving the following Alpini units, that still carry the "fiamme verdi" collar insignia:

• as part of the Alpine Corps Command - COMALP:^[3]
  • COMALP Support Battalion
  • Alpini Formation Centre "Aosta Battalion"
  • 4° Alpini Parachutist Regiment "Monte Cervino Battalion" (a Special Forces unit)
  • 6° Alpini Regiment "Bassano Battalion"
  • "Tridentina" Division Command (without fixed units)
  • Alpine Brigade Taurinense:
    • Taurinense Brigade Support Battalion
    • 2° Alpini Regiment "Saluzzo Battalion"
    • 3° Alpini Regiment "Susa Battalion"
    • 9° Alpini Regiment "L'Aquila Battalion"
    • 1° Mountain Artillery Regiment "Aosta Artillery Group"
    • 32° Alpine Engineer Regiment "30° Battaglione"
  • Alpine Brigade Julia:
    • Julia Brigade Support Battalion
    • 5° Alpini Regiment "Morbegno Battalion"
    • 7° Alpini Regiment "Feltre Battalion"
    • 8° Alpini Regiment "Tolmezzo Battalion"
    • 3° Mountain Artillery Regiment "Conegliano Artillery Group"
    • 2° Alpine Engineer Regiment "Iseo Battalion"
• as part of other Military Commands:
  • 2° Mountain Artillery Regiment "Vicenza"
  • 2° Signal Regiment with the "Gardena Battalion" and "Pordoi Battalion"
  • 24° Maneuver Logistics Regiment "Dolomiti"

Armament

Currently an Alpino is equipped with a Beretta SC70/90 assault rifle, a Beretta 92 FS pistol, OD/82SE hand grenades, a Type III AP/98 bullet-proof vest and a 3rd generation night vision device.

The squad automatic weapon is the FN Minimi or, alternatively, the Rheinmetall MG3 (sometime still called MG42). Supporting fire can be provided also by M2 Browning (0.50") machine gun, the Hirtenberger M6C-210 Commando 60 mm, man-portable light mortar or by the MO-120-RT-61 120 mm heavy mortar.

Mobility is guaranteed by the use of Iveco VTLM Lince 4WD tactical vehicles, Puma 6x6 Armored Personal Carriers and Bv 206 / Bv 206S all terrain tracked vehicles.

The anti-tank weapons are the Panzerfaust 3 rocket propelled grenade and the MILAN 2 and TOW II anti-tank guided missiles. The latter two will be replaced by the Spike anti-tank guided missile over the next years.

The artillery regiments were until recently equipped with the OTO Melara Mod 56 pack howitzer. This lightweight gun (1273 kg) can be manhandled by its crew, allowing its use in direct fire support role. Furthermore, it can be easily disassembled in 12 separate loads for ease of transportation, allowing its deployment almost anywhere in the rugged terrain of a mountain battlefield.

Recently the artillery regiments have been issued with the more powerful FH-70 howitzer. Whereas this has led to a great increase in the firepower of the regiments, it has also reduced their versatility. Indeed they are not anymore designated as "mountain artillery".

National Alpini Association

The ANA (Associazione Nazionale Alpini or National Alpini Association) is a registered society representing the "Veci" or former members of the Alpini corps. As the "Veci" see themselves as merely "on leave" rather than veterans, the ANA is colloquially known to be the 10° Alpini Regiment. Since 1920 every year ANA organizes a national reunion the "Veci". Hundreds of thousands of Alpini congregate with family and friends to an Italian city for a weekend in the late spring to celebrate, drink heavily and have a good time while remembering old times. ^[4]

See also

• French Chasseurs Alpins
• German Gebirgsjäger
• Polish Podhale rifles
• Romanian Vânători de Munte

Notes

Sources

Italian Army- The Alpini
COMALP- Alpine Troops Command
ANA Conegliano- History of Alpini units

External links

• Brief History and pictures
• Site dedicated to Alpini, in Italian
• The war in the Dolomites: men, mountains and battles (in italian)