Alpini Italian mountain troops

The Alpini were founded in 1872 by Capt. Guisepi Domenico Peruchetti. Their reason for being has always been the defence of Italy's northan mountainous frontier. Their motto is "From here no one shall pass". From the start only men from mountain regions have been recruited, and they have always worn the sage green uniforms, and the felt hat with feather and woollen porn-porn common to the mountains. The Alpini adopted a more relaxed uniform in 1914, with open collar, shirt and tie. Some Alpini units wore coloured ties, the 50th Aosta, the 52nd, and 53rd Piedmonte battalions wore blue, green and red ties respectively but in the main khaki was the usual colour. ( During 1943 to 1945 the colour of the ties took on a different meaning, when the red tie became the symbol of the communist partisans and blue ties became the symbol of the non communist partisans).

From the day that Italy declared war on Austria on May 23rd 1915 to the end of the compaign in the Camic and Julian Alps just forteen days later, the Italian Forces captured all of what is now South Tirol, Venito and Trentino. In these two weeks the Austrian losses were 18,000 killed, 18,000 captured and some 45,000 wounded. The Italian losses for the same period were less than 30,000 in total, killed, captured and wounded.

The Alpini were the only units to carry more than 25 mins. of ammunition when they went into action. ( Mussolini had decreed that because of all the success of the Italian army in Abysinia, troops need only carry small amounts of ammunition on their person).

 

Living History