6th Alpini Regiment

The 6th Alpini Regiment (Italian: 6° Reggimento Alpini) is a mountain warfare training regiment of the Italian Army based in Bruneck in South Tyrol. The regiment belongs to the Italian Army's Alpini infantry speciality and is assigned to the Alpine Training Center in Aosta. The regiment was formed by the Royal Italian Army on 1 November 1882.

6th Alpini Regiment
6° Reggimento Alpini
Regimental coat of arms
Active	1 Nov. 1882 — 10 Sept. 1943 16 April 1946 — today
Country	Italy
Branch	Italian Army
Type	Mountain Infantry
Part of	Alpine Training Center
Garrison/HQ	Bruneck
Motto(s)	"Più salgo più valgo"
Anniversaries	10 June 1917
Decorations	1x Military Order of Italy 1x Gold Medal of Military Valor 5x Silver Medals of Military Valor 1x Bronze Medal of Military Valor 1x Bronze Medal of Red Cross Merit 1x 1908 Messina earthquake Medal of Merit
Insignia
Alpini gorget patches

History

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, while companies were numbered from 1 to 72 from to 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 1882 was the 6th Alpini Regiment, which was formed in Conegliano in Veneto. The new regiment received the Battalion "Val d'Orco", which recruited in the Orco Valley, the Battalion "Val d'Aosta", which recruited in the Aosta Valley, the Battalion "Cadore", which recruited in the Cadore area, and the Battalion "Val Tagliamento", which recruited in the Tagliamento Valley.

• 6th Alpini Regiment, in Conegliano
  • Battalion "Val d'Orco", in Ivrea
    • 38th, 39th, and 40th Company
  • Battalion "Val d'Aosta", in Aosta
    • 41st, 42nd, and 43rd Company
  • Battalion "Cadore", in Pieve di Cadore
    • 65th, 66th, 67th, and 68th Company
  • Battalion "Val Tagliamento", in Gemona
    • 69th, 70th, 71st, and 72nd Company

On 1 April 1885, the regiment transferred the battalions "Val d'Orco" and "Val d'Aosta" to the 4th Alpini Regiment, and received in turn from the 2nd Alpini Regiment the Battalion "Val Schio", which recruited in the Schio Valley, from the 3rd Alpini Regiment the Battalion "Monte Lessini", which recruited in Lessinia, and from the 4th Alpini Regiment the Battalion "Val Brenta", which was recruited in the Brenta valley. 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. On the same day, 1 November 1886, the 6th Alpini Regiment formed the Alpini Battalion "Feltre", with companies ceded by the Battalion "Val Brenta" and Battalion "Cadore". At the same time the regiment formed three new Alpini companies, which were numbered 73rd, 74th, and 75th. As the regiment had become too complex to administer it was divided on 1 August 1887 into the 6th Alpini Regiment and 7th Alpini Regiment. The latter was formed in Conegliano with the regimental command of the 6th Alpini Regiment and the battalions "Feltre", "Pieve di Cadore" and "Gemona". On the same date the regimental command of the 6th Alpini Regiment was reformed in Verona and the regiment consisted afterwards of the following units:

• 6th Alpini Regiment, in Verona
  • Alpini Battalion "Verona", in Verona (former Battalion "Monte Lessini")
    • 56th, 57th, 58th, and 73rd Alpini Company
  • Alpini Battalion "Vicenza", in Vicenza (former Battalion "Val Schio")
    • 59th, 60th, and 61st Alpini Company
  • Alpini Battalion "Bassano", in Bassano (former Battalion "Val Brenta")
    • 62nd, 63rd, and 74th Alpini Company

In 1887-88 the regiment's 56th Company was deployed to Massawa for the Italo-Ethiopian War of 1887–1889, which led to the establishment of the Italian colony of Eritrea. In 1895-96 the regiment provided 19 officers and 523 troops to help form the I and V provisional Alpini battalions, which were deployed to Eritrea for the First Italo-Ethiopian War. In 1901 the regiment was assigned together with the 7th Alpini Regiment to the III Alpini Group, which on 9 August 1910 was renamed III Alpine Brigade. In December 1908 the regiment was deployed to the area of the Strait of Messina for the recovery efforts after the 1908 Messina earthquake. For its service the regiment was awarded the 1908 Messina earthquake Medal of Merit, which was affixed to the regiment's flag.

In 1911, the Alpini Battalion "Verona" was deployed to Libya for the Italo-Turkish War. On 18-19 June 1913, the battalion distinguished itself in the Battle of Ettangi against local rebel forces and was awarded Silver Medal of Military Valor, which was affixed to the flag of the 6th Alpini Regiment and added to the regiment's coat of arms. During the war the 6th Alpini Regiment also provided one officer and 125 troops to augment other units fighting in the war.

World War I

Main article: Alpini and Mountain Artillery formations in World War I

During World War I the regiment consisted of ten 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):

• Verona, Val d'Adige, Monte Baldo
• Vicenza, Val Leogra, Monte Berico, Monte Pasubio
• Bassano, Val Brenta, Sette Comuni

During the Battle of Caporetto in October 1917 and the following retreat to the Piave river the Val Leogra was destroyed. During the war 201 officers and 3,294 soldiers of the regiment were killed, and 460 officers and 8,670 soldiers were wounded. The regiment's battalions were awarded six Silver Medals of Military Valor during the war, one of which was shared between the Verona, Bassano, Monte Baldo, and Sette Comuni battalions for their conduct during the battle of Monte Ortigara.

Interwar years

On 21 November 1919 the Alpini Battalion "Vicenza" was transferred to the newly formed 9th Alpini Regiment. On 1 September 1920 the Alpini Battalion "Trento" was raised by the 5th Alpini Regiment, which on 1 July 1921 was transferred together with the Alpini Battalion "Vestone" to the 6th Alpini Regiment. On 10 September 1935, the 2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" was formed, which consisted of the 5th Alpini Regiment, 6th Alpini Regiment, and 2nd Mountain Artillery Regiment. On 11 April 1937 the battalions "Bassano" and "Trento" were transferred to the newly formed 11th Alpini Regiment and the 6th Alpini reformed the Alpini Battalion "Val Chiese" as replacement.

World War II

Main article: 2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina"

On 21 June 1940 (one day before the French surrender) the Tridentina advanced with other Italian units into Southern France. Later in 1940 the division was then sent to Albania, where it sustained heavy losses in the Greco-Italian War. In April 1941 the German Wehrmacht came to the aid of the beaten Italian armies in Albania through the invasion of Yugoslavia. Afterwards the Tridentina was repatriated for rest and refit.

In September 1942 the Tridentina under command of General Luigi Reverberi was sent with the 3rd Alpine Division "Julia", 4th Alpine Division "Cuneense" 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 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. The remnants of the Tridentina were able to break the Soviet encirclement in the Battle of Nikolayevka on 26 January 1943, allowing 4,250 Tridentina survivors (out of 15,000 troops deployed) to reach German lines, which were reached on the morning of 28 January. By then the men of the 6th 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.

The few survivors of the 6th Alpini Regiment were repatriated and after the signing of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943, the regiment was dissolved on 10 September 1943 in the village of Franzensfeste.

Cold War

Main article: Alpine Brigade "Tridentina"

After World War II the 6th Alpini Regiment was reformed on 16 April 1946, in the city of Meran with the battalions "Edolo", "Bolzano" and "Trento". The regiment was the infantry component of the newly formed Alpine Brigade "Tridentina". In 1951 the reformed Alpini Battalion "Bassano" joined the 6th Alpini Regiment, while the Alpini Battalion "Edolo" was transferred on 1 January 1953 to the reformed 5th Alpini Regiment.

During the 1975 army reform the army disbanded the regimental level and newly independent battalions were given for the first time their own flags. On 30 September 1975 the 6th Alpini Regiment was disbanded and on the same day the regiment's Alpini Battalion "Bassano" in Innichen was assigned the flag and traditions of the 6th Alpini Regiment.

Before being disbanded in 1975 the structure of the 6th Alpini Regiment was as follows:

• 6th Alpini Regiment, in Bruneck
  • Command and Services Company, in Bruneck
  • Alpini Battalion "Bolzano", in Brixen
    • 92nd Alpini Company
    • 141st Alpini Company
    • 142nd Alpini Company
    • 127th Mortar Company
  • Alpini Battalion "Trento", in Welsberg
    • 94th Alpini Company
    • 144th Alpini Company
    • 145th Alpini Company
    • 128th Mortar Company
  • Alpini Battalion "Bassano", in Innichen
    • 62nd Alpini Company
    • 63rd Alpini Company
    • 74th Alpini Company
    • 129th Mortar Company

Recent times

On 15 January 1993 the Alpini Battalion "Bassano" was elevated to 6th Alpini Regiment without changing size or composition. In autumn 2002 6th Alpini Regiment was transferred to the Alpine Training Center.

Organization

As of 2023 the regiment functions as a NATO-wide high altitude warfare training centre and administers the military training areas in the Puster Valley. Its structure as of 2023 is:

As of 2024 the regiment is organized as follows:

• Regimental Command, in Bruneck
  • Command and Logistic Support Company
  • Alpini Battalion "Bassano"
    • 62nd Alpini Company
    • 74th Training Company, in Innichen

External links

• Italian Army Website: 6° Reggimento Alpini