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1st Alpini Regiment

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1st Alpini Regiment
1° Reggimento Alpini
Regimental coat of arms
Active1 Nov. 1882 — 10 Sept. 1943
23 Nov. 1945 — 15 April 1946
31 Oct. 1974 — 30 Aug. 1997
4 Oct. 2022 — today
Country Italy
BranchItalian Army
TypeMountain Infantry
Part ofAlpine Brigade "Taurinense"
Garrison/HQTurin
Motto(s)"Nec descendere nec morari"
Anniversaries16 June 1917
Decorations
1x Military Order of Italy
1x Gold Medal of Military Valor[1]
5x Silver Medals of Military Valor
1x Bronze Medal of Military Valor[2]
Insignia
Alpini gorget patches

The 1st Alpini Regiment (Italian: 1° Reggimento Alpini) in an inactive mountain warfare regiment of the Italian Army last based in Pinerolo in Piedmont. The regiment belongs to the Italian Army's Alpini infantry speciality and was last active as Alpini Battalion Mondovì. On 1 October 2022, the flag and traditions of the regiment were assigned to the Command and Tactical Supports Unit "Taurinense" of the Alpine Brigade "Taurinense". The regiment was formed by the Royal Italian Army on 1 November 1882.[3][4][5]

History

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On 15 October 1872, the Royal Italian Army formed 15 locally recruited Alpini companies in the alpine regions of Northern Italy. Nine more companies were formed the following year. In 1875 the 24 companies were organized into seven battalions, and in 1878 the companies were increased to 36 and the battalions to ten. On 1 November 1882, the Alpini companies were increased to 72 and grouped into 20 battalions. On the same date the battalions were assigned to six newly formed Alpini regiments, which were numbered 1st to 6th from West to East. Upon entering the regiments, the battalions, which until then had been designated by a Roman numeral, were named for their recruiting zone, while the Alpini companies were renumbered sequentially from 1st to 72nd. One of the six Alpini regiments formed on 1 November 19882 was the 1st Alpini Regiment, which was formed in Mondovì in Southern Piedmont. The new regiment received the battalions "Alto Tanaro" and "Val Tanaro", which recruited in the Tanaro Valley, as well as the Battalion "Val Camonica", which recruited in the Camonica Valley in Lombardy.[4][5]

On 1 April 1885, the regiment transferred the Battalion "Val Camonica" to the 5th Alpini Regiment and in turn received from the 2nd Alpini Regiment the Battalion "Val Pesio", which recruited along the Pesio river in Southern Piedmont. On 1 November 1886, the battalions changed their names from their recruiting zones to the cities and towns, where their base was located. At the same time Alpini soldiers and non-commissioned officers were issued thread tufts, called Nappina in Italian, which were clipped to the Cappello Alpino headdress, and colored white for the troops of a regiment's first battalion, red for the troops of a regiment's second battalion, green for the troops of a regiment's third battalion, and blue for the troops of a regiment's fourth battalion. The 1st Alpini Regiment consisted afterwards of the following units:[4][5]

  • 1st Alpini Regiment, in Mondovì[5]
    • Alpini Battalion "Ceva", in Ceva (former Battalion "Val Tanaro")
    • Alpini Battalion "Pieve di Teco", in Pieve di Teco (former Battalion "Alto Tanaro")
    • Alpini Battalion "Mondovì", in Mondovì (former Battalion "Val Pesio")

In 1895-96 the regiment provided 20 officers and 527 troops to help form the I and II provisional Alpini battalions, which were deployed to Eritrea for the First Italo-Ethiopian War. In 1901 the regiment was assigned together with the 2nd Alpini Regiment to the I Alpini Group, which on 9 August 1910 was renamed I Alpine Brigade. In 1911, the Alpini Battalion "Mondovì" was deployed to Libya for the Italo-Turkish War. The battalion distinguished itself during the occupation of El-Mergèb and in the Battle of Misrata, and was awarded Bronze Medal of Military Valor, which was affixed to the flag of the 1st Alpini Regiment and added to the regiment's coat of arms.[2] During the war the 1st Alpini Regiment also provided 136 troops to augment other units fighting in the war.[4][5]

World War I

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Main article: Alpini and Mountain Artillery formations in World War I
World War 1: 1st Alpini camp below the Sella Nevea pass

During World War I the regiment consisted of nine battalions and saw heavy fighting in the Alps regions of the Italian front against Austro-Hungarian and German forces. During the war the regiment consisted of the following battalions (pre-war battalions in bold, followed by their first and second line reserve battalions):

  • Ceva, Val Tanaro, Monte Mercantour
  • Pieve di Teco, Val Arroscia, Monte Saccarello
  • Mondovi, Val d'Ellero, Monte Clapier

During the war a total of 1,200 officers and 40,000 soldiers served in the 1st Alpini Regiment, of which 175 officers and 4,126 soldiers were killed, and 390 officers and 10,805 soldiers were wounded. The regiment's battalions were awarded three Silver Medals of Military Valor during the war, one of which was shared between the Ceva and Monte Saccarello battalions.[6]

Interwar years

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Cap insignia of the Alpini.

On 31 October 1935, the 4th Alpine Division “Cuneense” was formed. The division consisted of the 1st Alpini Regiment, 2nd Alpini Regiment and 4th Mountain Artillery Regiment. Each Alpini regiment fielded 160 officers, and 5,046 NCOs and soldiers for a total strength of 5,206 men. Each regiment also had 23 horses, 1,242 mules and 109 transport vehicles at its disposal. The division's order of battle was as follows:

In 1935 the "Pieve di Teco" battalion fought in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, where it distinguished itself during the battles of Amba Aradam, Amba Alagi, Worq Amba, Mai Ceu and Mekan Pass.

World War II

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Main article: 4th Alpine Division "Cuneense"

On 21 June 1940 (one day before the French surrender) the Cuneense began to advance with other Italian units into Southern France. After the French surrender the division was then sent to Albania, where it participated in the Italian attack on Greece. When the German Wehrmacht came to the aid of the beaten Italian armies in Albania in April 1941 through an invasion of Yugoslavia the Cuneense was sent to northern Albania to advance towards the rapidly advancing German divisions. The Cuneense advanced through Montenegro and reached Dubrovnik by the end of the campaign.

In September 1942 the Cuneense was sent with the 2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina", 3rd Alpine Division "Julia" and other Italian units to the Soviet Union to form the Italian Army in Russia (Italian: Armata Italiana in Russia abbreviated as ARMIR) and fight alongside the German Wehrmacht against the Red Army. Taking up positions along the Don River, the Italian units covered part of the left flank of the German Sixth Army, which spearheaded the German summer offensive of 1942 into the city of Stalingrad.

After successfully encircling the German Sixth army in Stalingrad the Red Army's attention turned to the Italian units along the Don. On 14 January 1943, the Soviet Operation Little Saturn began and the three alpine division found themselves quickly encircled by rapidly advancing armored Soviet Forces. The Alpini held the front on the Don, but within three days the Soviets had advanced 200 km to the left and right of the Alpini. On the evening of 17 January the commanding officer of the Italian Mountain Corps General Gabriele Nasci ordered a full retreat. At this point the Julia and Cuneense divisions were already heavily decimated and only the Tridentina division was still capable of conducting combat operations. As the Soviets had already occupied every village bitter battles had to be fought to clear the way out of the encirclement. By morning of 28 January the men of the 1st Alpini Regiment had walked 200 km, fought in 20 battles and spent 11 nights camped out in the middle of the Steppe. Temperatures during the nights were between -30 °C and -40 °C. In the course of that day, the last remnants of the regiment were annihilated by Cossack forces. The last survivors of the 1st Alpini Regiment burnt the regimental flag to prevent it from falling in enemy hands, at which point the regiment ceased to exist.

On 11 February 1943, the survivors were counted and out of 5,206 men of the 1st Alpini Regiment just 722 had reached Axis lines; none of the soldiers of the battalions Ceva, Pieve di Teco and Mondovì had made it out of the Soviet encirclement. 3,475 men of the 1st Alpini Regiment died in Russia.[7] The survivors were repatriated and after the signing of the Italian armistice with the Allies on 8 September 1943, the regiment was formally dissolved.

Cold War

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The 1st Alpini Regiment was reformed on 23 November 1945, but as the unit had burned its war flag and thus lost its regimental colors, the regiment was disbanded again on 15 April 1946.

Alpini Battalion "Mondovì"

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Coat of arms of the Alpini Battalion "Mondovì"

During the 1975 army reform the army disbanded the regimental level and newly independent battalions were given for the first time their own flags. In preparation of the reform the 2nd Alpini Regiment (Recruits Training) was disbanded on 31 October 1974 and the regiment's Alpini Battalion "Orobica" (Recruits Training) in Cuneo was renamed as Alpini Battalion "Mondovì" (Recruits Training). The Mondovì was given the traditions of the 1st Alpini Regiment and received a new flag.[8] The battalion was assigned to the Alpine Brigade "Taurinense" and remained active until 30 August 1997.[5]

When the battalion was disbanded it had the following structure:

  • Alpini Battalion "Mondovì"
    • Command and Services Company
    • 9th Alpini Company
    • 10th Alpini Company
    • 11th Alpini Company
    • 103rd Alpini Company

Reactivation

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On 1 October 2022 the flag and traditions of the 1st Alpini Regiment were assigned to the Command and Tactical Supports Unit "Taurinense" of the Alpine Brigade "Taurinense".[3]

Organization

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As of 2024 the unit is organized as follows:[3][9]

  • 1st Alpini Command and Tactical Supports Unit, in Turin[3][9]
    • Command and Logistic Support Company
    • 111th Signal Company

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "1° Reggimento Alpini". Quirinale - Presidenza della Repubblica. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b "1° Reparto Comando e Supporti Tattici Alpini - Il Medagliere". Italian Army. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d "1° Reparto Comando e Supporti Tattici Alpini". Italian Army. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d "1° Reparto Comando e Supporti Tattici Alpini - La Storia". Italian Army. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f F. dell'Uomo, R. Puletti (1998). L'Esercito Italiano verso il 2000 - Vol. Primo - Tomo I. Rome: SME - Ufficio Storico. p. 451.
  6. ^ "1° Reggimento Alpini". Vecio.it. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  7. ^ "Unirr.it".
  8. ^ "Alpine Brigade "Taurinense" - La Storia". Esercito Italiano. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  9. ^ a b "1° Reparto Comando e Supporti Tattici Alpini". Italian Defense Ministry. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
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