Alpini
| Alpini | |
|---|---|
Alpini of the 7th Alpini Regiment
|
|
| Active | 15 October 1872 – present |
| Country |
 Italy
|
| Branch | Italian Army |
| Type | Mountain troops |
| Size | 2 brigades |
| Part of | Alpine Troops Headquarters |
| Nickname(s) |
Le Penne Nere ("The Black Feathers") |
| Patron | San Maurizio, celebrated every September 22nd |
| Motto(s) |
Di Qui Non Si Passa! ("Nobody passes here!") |
| Anniversaries | October 15th (date of foundation) |
| Engagements |
First Italo-Ethiopian War Boxer Rebellion Italo-Turkish War World War I Second Italo-Ethiopian War World War II War in Afghanistan |
| Decorations | 9 Croci di Cavaliere dell'O.M.I. 16 Gold Medals of Military Valor 22 Silver Medals of Military Valor 5 Bronze Medals of Military Valor 1 War Cross of Military Valor 2 Bronze Medals of Army Valor 1 Gold Medal of Civil Valor 1 Bronze Medal of Civil Valor 1 Silver Cross for Army Merit 1 Cross for Army Merit. |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Luigi Reverberi |
The Alpini (Italian for "alpine"), are an elite mountain warfare military corps of the Italian Army. They are currently organized in two operational brigades, which are subordinated to the Alpine Troops Headquarters.
Established in 1872, the Alpini are the oldest active mountain infantry in the world. Their original mission was to protect Italy's northern mountain border with France and Austria. In 1888 the Alpini deployed on their first mission abroad, in Africa, a continent where they returned on several occasions and during various wars of the Kingdom of Italy. They emerged during World War I as they fought a three-year campaign on the Alps against Austro-Hungarian Kaiserjäger and the German Alpenkorps in what has since become known as the "War in snow and ice". During World War II, the Alpini fought alongside the Axis forces, mainly across the Eastern Front and in the Balkans Campaigns.
After the end of the Cold War, the Italian Army was reorganised in the 1990s. Three out of five Alpini brigades and many support units were disbanded. Currently, the Alpini are deployed in Afghanistan.
In 1872, Captain Giuseppe Perrucchetti published a study in the May edition of the Military Review (Italian: Rivista Militare). In the study, he proposed to assign the defence of mountain borders of the recently established Kingdom of Italy to soldiers recruited locally. Indeed, thanks to their knowledge of the surroundings and personal attachment to the area, they would be highly capable and better motivated defenders. Perrucchetti drew heavily on the work of Lieutenant General Agostino Ricci, who in 1868 had organised exercises in the mountains to assess the feasibility of a specialised mountain infantry corps. Five months after Perrucchetti's article, the first 15 Alpini companies were formed by Royal decree no. 1056. The units became active on October 15, 1872, making the Alpini the oldest active Mountain Infantry in the world.
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Wikipedia