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Italian Army's specialist mountain infantry

The Alpini are the Italian Army's specialist mountain infantry. Part of the army's infantry corps, the speciality distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. Currently the active Alpini units are organized in two operational brigades, which are subordinate to the Alpine Troops Headquarters. The Alpini's name comes from their inceptive association with the Alps, the mountain range that Italy shares with France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia. An individual soldier of the Alpini is called Alpino. Established in 1872, the Alpini are the oldest active mountain infantry in the world. Their original mission was to protect Italy's border with France and Austria Hungary. In 1888 the Alpini deployed on their first mission abroad, in Africa, a continent to which they returned on several occasions and during various wars of the Kingdom of Italy. During World War I 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 primarily in the Balkans Campaigns and on the Eastern Front. During the Cold War the Alpini formed five brigades, which during the 1990s were reduced to two.

Although established as a defensive mountain warfare force, the 1° Battaglione Alpini d'Africa (1st African Alpini Battalion) was established in 1887. The battalion's four companies were composed of volunteers taken from all other Alpini battalions. As part of the Corpo Speciale d'Africa (Special African Corps), the battalion deployed to Eritrea to take revenge for the lost battle of Dogali. The battalion returned on April 27, 1888, to Naples, having lost its commanding officer and 13 men due to tropical diseases. Back in Italy, eight mules were assigned to each Alpini company in the same year. The Vetterli 70 rifle was replaced by the newer Vetterli Vitali mod. 70/87 rifle. Also, based on a general reorganization of the Italian militia system, 38 Alpini companies and 15 mountain batteries were assigned 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 Abyssinia escalated into the First Italo–Abyssinian War the 1° Battaglione Alpini d'Africa was reformed and sent to Eritrea again. It would soon become the first Alpini unit to engage combat. Four batteries of the 1st Mountain Artillery Regiment were also sent to Eritrea to augment the four deployed brigades under command of Oreste Baratieri. The battalions' first engagement was on March 1, 1896, during the Battle of Adowa. The Alpini were outnumbered and heavily defeated by Abyssinian troops. Over 400 out of 530 men died, including the commanding officer, Lt. Col. Davide Menini. After the battle, the first Gold Medal for Military Valor (Italian: Medaglia d'oro al valor militare) was awarded to a member of the Alpini Corps: Capitan Pietro Cella and his Alpini from the 4th company occupied and held the Amba Rajo (English: Rajo Mountain) until March 2, thus allowing the rest of defeated Italian Army forces to flee. Capitan Cella and all his men died in the effort. In memory of their ultimate sacrifice, he has been awarded the Gold Medal for Military Valor After such a defeat, an Alpini expeditionary regiment with 5 battalions was formed and sent to Eritrea on March 7, 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, and remained on garrison duty in Tianjin until the end of 1901. On November 13, 1902, after a short period of experimentation with skis the Alpini began to form specially equipped and trained Skiing Companies (Italian: Compagnie Sciatori). After a heavy earthquake on September 8, 1905, in the Calabria region (Southern Italy), the Alpini deployed to the area for three months to assist in the clearance of debris and reconstruction efforts. They experienced a similar situation in 1908, after the devastating Messina earthquake. A massive expansion of the Alpini begun in 1909. On July 15 the 2nd Mountain Artillery Regiment was formed in Vicenza with four artillery groups and a total of 12 batteries. In 1908, two new battalions namely the Tolmezzo and Pallanza (later renamed as Intra in 1909) had already been formed and assigned to the 7th and 4th regiments, respectively. On October 1, 1909, the "Tolmezzo" and "Gemona" battalions from the 7th Alpini regiment, along with the newly raised Cividale battalion, became the three battalions of new 8th Alpini Regiment, based in Udine. The first commander of the 8th Alpini regiment was Col. Antonio Cantore, who would become a living legend to the Alpini during World War I. As the 8th Alpini regiment was formed, the Alpini could now count on 25 battalions organised into 8 regiments, 2 mountain artillery regiments with 24 batteries organised into 8 groups, and 75 reserve companies organised into 22 battalions. Reserve battalions were named after the valleys from where their soldiers, former Alpini, were recruited (also known as the 'Valle' battalions). Regiment Garrison/HQ 1st Bn./Grp. 2nd Bn./Grp. 3rd Bn./Grp. 4th Bn./Grp. 8th AlpiniUdine Tolmezzo Gemona Cividale1st Mountain ArtilleryTorino Oneglia Mondovì Torino Susa Torino Aosta2nd Mountain ArtilleryVicenza Conegliano Bergamo Vicenza Belluno

In 1910 the last pre war Alpini battalion was established as the Belluno Bn. in the very same city. When Italy declared war on Turkey in 1911 in an attempt to conquer Libya, the Alpini units were once again deployed on desert combat. From 1911 to 1914, the Saluzzo, Mondovì, Ivrea, Verona, Tolmezzo, Feltre, Susa, Vestone, Fenestrelle, and Edolo battalions, together with the Torino Susa, Mondovì, and Vicenza artillery groups, were deployed to Libya on missions of different duration. The first units to be sent to Libya were the Saluzzo (25 October 1911), Mondovì (3 November 1911), Ivrea (3 November 1911) and Verona (16 December 1911) battalions. When the unexpected Turkish resistance caused an embarrassingly slow advance of the Italian forces, reinforcements were sent to Libya. On October 18, 1912 Turkey and Italy signed the Treaty of Lausanne, which ended the war between the two nations. Italy, however, had now to face a full scale rebellion by the local population, and required more troops than those deployed in combat to suppress it. Therefore, in October 1912 the Tolmezzo, Feltre, Susa, and Vestone battalions were deployed in Zanzur, Libya, and formed the 8th Special Alpini Regiment (Italian: 8° Reggimento Alpini Speciale) under the command of Colonel Antonio Cantore. The last Alpini unit to leave Libya was the Feltre battalion. It reached Italy in August 1914, while the Bedouin rebellion in Libya continued unabated.

Currently an Alpino is equipped with a Beretta ARX 160 assault rifle, usually fitted with an Aimpoint M3 Reddot, a Beretta 92 FS pistol, OD/82SE hand grenades, a Type III AP/98 (they are now slowly being provided with the newest NC4/09 bulletproof vest, phasing out the 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. 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 provided 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 later two will be replaced by the Spike anti tank guided missile over the next years. In 1999 the artillery regiments have been issued with the FH 70 howitzer. This has led to a great increase in firepower compared to the previously used OTO Melara Mod 56 pack howitzer, but also reduced their versatility. Indeed, they are not designated now as "mountain artillery", but as "Field Artillery (Mountain)" regiments. Currently the Alpini are being provided with a small number of ARX 160 rifles to field test the designated standard rifle of the Italian Army in harsh and cold environments.

The ANA (Associazione Nazionale Alpini or National Alpini Association) is a registered society representing the "Veci" ( ie "the old ones" in English; singular: "vecio" ) 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 10th 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 and have a good time while remembering old times.