Alpine Brigade Cadore

Brigata Alpina Cadore
Coat of Arms of the Alpine Brigade Cadore
Active	1 July 1953 - 10 January 1997
Country	Italy
Branch	Italian Army
Type	Alpini
Role	Mountain Infantry
Part of	IV Army Corps 1953 - 1997
Garrison/HQ	Belluno

The Alpini Brigade Cadore was a light Infantry brigade of the Italian Army, specializing in mountain warfare. Its core units were the Alpini, the mountain infantry corps of the Italian Army, that distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. The brigade was based in the Italian provinces of Belluno and Vicenza. The headquarters was in the city of Belluno. It was disbanded in 1997.

The Cadore was constituted on 1 July 1953 in the city of Belluno. The brigade’s name Cadore alludes to the Cadore Alps in the northernmost part of the province of Belluno. Most of the brigades recruits came from the north-eastern Veneto Region. The brigade was tasked with defending the Piave valley against an attack by forces of the Warsaw Pact. The brigade’s strength was around 3600 men and initially it was composed of the:

In the following years the brigade was augmented with further units:

The Alpini Parachutist Platoon merged with the other four Alpini Brigades Parachutist Platoons on 1 April 1964 to form an Alpini Parachutist Company under direct command of the 4th Alpine Army Corps.

In 1975 the Val Cismon Alpini Battalion was disbanded and 264th Alpini Company of the battalion was transferred to the Val Brenta Alpini battalion of the Tridentina Alpine Brigade. The Pieve di Cadore Mountain Artillery Group was dissolved. The regimental level was abolished and the remaining units came under direct control of the Cadore Brigade. The new composition was:

After the 1976 reform the 4th Alpine Army Corps was responsible to defend the Italian border along the main chain of the alps from the Swiss-Austrian-Italian border tripoint in the west to the Italian-Yugoslavian border in the east. In case of war with Yugoslavia the 4th Alpine Army Corps would remain static in its position guarding the left flank of the Italian V Corps, which would meet the enemy forces in the plains of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The only brigade which would have seen combat in such a case would have been the Julia.