Italian Army

History

The Italian Army originated as the Royal Army (Regio Esercito), which dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy following the seizure of the Papal States and the unification of Italy (Risorgimento). In 1861, under the leadership of Giuseppe Garibaldi, Victor Emmanuel II of the House of Savoy was invited to take the throne and of the newly created kingdom.

The first war it fought was the Third Italian War of Independence, which resulted in an Italian victory and the liberation of much of eastern Italy.

Italian expeditions were dispatched to China during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 and to Libya during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912.

World War I

The Italian Royal Army's first real taste of modern warfare was during World War I. Most of the actions were fought in northern Italy, and the Royal Army suffered many casualties. This included over 700,000 dead. In particular, the frequency of the offensives in which Italian soldiers participated between May 1915 and August 1917, one every three months, was higher than demanded by the armies on the Western Front. Italian discipline was also harsher, with punishments for infractions of duty of a severity not known in the German, French, and British armies.

Nevertheless it performed well during World War 1, as even though Italy was the least supported of the three main Entente powers, the fact the Italians managed to hold the line until late 1917 meant that the industry reached the level that it could outproduce the invader, giving the Italian army the advantage of an excellent air force, and this, coupled with the advantage in artillery, and a higher level of tactical prowess compared to their enemy resulted in 1918 in the biggest Italian victories of the war, the Second Battle of the Piave, where the Italians stopped the biggest Triple Alliance attack of the Italian front, and the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, in which Italy totally destroyed the Austro-Hungarian army and so Italy's victory over the Hasburgs was stipulated on 4 November 1918, at the Villafranca Armistice.

During the Interwar Years the Royal Army participated in the Italian Invasion of Ethiopia, provided men and materials during the Spanish Civil War to fight in the Corps of Volunteer Troops (Corpo Truppe Volontarie), and launched the Italian invasion of Albania.

World War II

On paper, the Royal Army was one of the largest ground forces in World War II, and it was one of the pioneers in using paratroopers. In reality, it could not field the numbers claimed. Due to their generally smaller size, many Italian divisions were reinforced by an Assault Group (Gruppo d'Assalto) of two battalions of Blackshirts (MVSN).

Reports of Italian military prowess in the Second World War were almost always dismissive. This perception was the result of disastrous Italian offensives against Egypt and the performance of the army in the Greco-Italian War. Both campaigns were ill-prepared and executed inadequately. The Italian 10th Army initially advanced into Egypt but surrendered after being pushed back into central Libya and almost all destroyed by British forces a fifth its size during the three-month Operation Compass.

The less than optimal military leadership was aggravated by the Italian military's equipment, which predominantly dated back to the First World War and was not up to the standard of either the Allied or the German armies. Italian medium tanks performed very differently depending on level of training and tank type, M11 performed badly because of its outdated doctrine, while the M13 and M14 performed well after many changes to tactics, it was the center of all Italian armored victories like at the First Battle of Bir El Gobi and the Battle of Gazala, while the later M15 was outdated for the tanks it had to face by the time of its entry into service, for example. More crucially, Italy lacked suitable quantities of equipment of all kinds, and the Italian high command did not take the necessary steps to plan for possible battlefield setbacks or proper logistical support to its field armies. There were too few anti-aircraft weapons, obsolete anti-tank guns, and too few trucks.

The Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia fought under General Giovanni Messe, who acknowledged the limitations of his Corps in material and equipment and thus was relieved of his command on 1 November 1942. When the Soviet offensive Operation Saturn began on 12 December 1942 the Italian 8th Army was quickly crushed. Only about a third of its troops managed to escape the Soviet cauldron, including from the three Alpini Divisions Tridentina, Julia and Cuneense.

In North Africa, the Italian 132nd Armored Division "Ariete" and the 185th Infantry Division "Folgore" fought to total annihilation at the Second Battle of El Alamein. Although the battle was lost, the determined resistance of the Italian soldiers at the Battle of Keren in East Africa is still commemorated today by the Italian military.

Cold War

Following the 2 June 1946 Italian institutional referendum, on 10 June the kingdom was replaced by a Republic, and the Royal Army changed its name to become the Italian Army ("Esercito Italiano"). Initially, the army fielded five infantry divisions, created from the five combat groups of the Italian Co-belligerent Army and equipped with British material. Additionally the army fielded three internal security divisions without heavy equipment to garrison the country's two major islands:

Infantry Division "Cremona", in Turin (formerly part of British V Corps)

Infantry Division "Folgore", Florence (formerly part of British XIII Corps)

Infantry Division "Friuli", in Bolzano (formerly part of Polish II Corps)

Infantry Division "Legnano", in Bergamo (formerly part of Polish II Corps)

Infantry Division "Mantova", in Varazze (formerly part of British Eighth Army)

Internal Security Division "Aosta", in Palermo on Sicily

Internal Security Division "Sabauda", in Enna on Sicily

Internal Security Division "Calabria", in Sassari on Sardinia

As the status of the city of Free Territory of Trieste was disputed by the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia the Italian army moved the Infantry Division "Folgore" to Treviso and the Infantry Division "Mantova" to Gorizia in 1947. At the same time, the army began training an additional seven divisions and five Alpini brigades.

Infantry Division "Aosta", in Messina (activated 1 February 1948)

Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna", in Civitavecchia (activated 1 April 1948)

End of the Cold War in 1989

At the end of the Cold War in 1989 the Italian Army consisted of 26 Combat Brigades: four Armored Brigades, ten Mechanized Brigades, five Motorized Brigades, five Alpine Brigades, one paratroopers Brigade and one Rocket Artillery Brigade.

The units were placed as follows under the three Army Corps's:

3rd Army Corps (Milan):

Armored Brigade "Centauro" (Novara)

Mechanized Brigade "Goito" (Milan)

Mechanized Brigade "Legnano" (Bergamo)

Mechanized Brigade "Brescia" (Brescia)

Mechanized Brigade "Trieste" (Bologna)

Motorized Brigade "Cremona" (Turin)

4th Alpine Army Corps (Bolzano):

Alpine Brigade "Cadore" (Belluno)

Alpine Brigade "Julia" (Udine)

Alpine Brigade "Orobica" (Merano)

Alpine Brigade "Taurinense" (Turin)

Alpine Brigade "Tridentina" (Brixen)

5th Army Corps (Vittorio Veneto):

132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete" (Aviano)

Armored Brigade "Mameli" (Tauriano)

Armored Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" (Palmanova)

Post Cold War

The end of the cold war in 1989 and the subsequent dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 created a new geopolitical environment in Europe, which contributed to implementation of significative reductions in the strength of the armed forces of all the NATO countries, to obtain the so called "peace dividend". This was reflected also in the Italian Army, that in the following decades went through several reductions, named "reforms".

1991 reform

In 1991, the Army began the post-Cold War draw-down of its forces with the disbandment of seven brigades and a large number of smaller units. The brigades disbanded in 1991 were the "Aquileia", "Brescia", "Goito", "Mameli", "Orobica", "Trieste", and "Vittorio Veneto". The units subordinated to these brigades were mostly disbanded, while the "Garibaldi" brigade command was transferred with one of its battalions to Campania.

1997 reform

With the relaxing military situation, the Italian Army kept drawing down forces and disbanding smaller military units, which necessitated a major reorganization by 1997 to merge the remaining battalions into coherent units and disband now superfluous brigade commands. Thus a further six brigades were disbanded during the latter half of 1996 and 1997: "Acqui", "Cadore", "Cremona", "Gorizia", "Legnano", and "Mantova". In addition, the remaining units were moved to new bases and changed in composition, designation, and tasks. The three Army Corps were renamed, and their functions expanded: the 3rd Army Corps became the "Projection Forces Command" (COMFOP), commanding the rapid reaction forces of the Army, the 4th Alpine Army Corps became the "Alpine Troops Command" (COMALP) focusing on peace-keeping operations and the 5th Army Corps became the "1st Defense Forces Command" (COMFOD1) tasked with defending Northern Italy. On 1 January 1998, the "2nd Defense Forces Command" (COMFOD2) was activated in Naples and tasked with defending South and Central Italy. During the Cold War, the Italian Army units were to be commanded in wartime by NATO's LANDSOUTH Command in Verona; on 1 October 1997, out of elements of the aforementioned NATO Command, the new "Operational Terrestrial Forces Command" (COMFOTER) was activated. The COMFOTER took command of all the combat, combat support, combat service support and CIS units of the Italian Army. Along with the COMFOTER in Verona, a Support Command (COMSUP) was raised in Treviso, which gained operational control of all the remaining combat support, combat service support and CIS units of the Army. The COMSUP controlled three division-sized formations (Army Aviation Command, Anti-aircraft Artillery Command, C4-IEW Command) and three brigade-sized formations (Field Artillery Brigade, Engineer Brigade, Logistic Support Command).

Thus after the 1997 reform the structure of the Italian Army was as follows:

COMFOTER (Verona):

COMFOP (Milan):

Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore" (Livorno)

Mechanized Brigade "Friuli" (Bologna)

Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi" (Caserta)

COMALP (Bolzano):

Alpine Brigade "Julia" (Udine)

2002 reform

Between 1997 and 2002 the Army continued to tweak the new structure and with the abolition of obligatory military service a further two brigades ("Centauro", "Tridentina") were disbanded in 2002. On 1 December 2000, the COMFOP became the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Italy (NRDC-IT) and passed its subordinate units to the COMFOD 1 ("Friuli", "Folgore") and COMFOD 2 ("Garibaldi") commands. The "Friuli" Brigade changed its composition and became an airmobile brigade with Army Aviation, Cavalry and Infantry units. The COMSUP had already been reorganized and streamlined in 2000.

After 2002 the structure of the Italian Army was as follows:

COMFOTER (Verona):

NRDC-IT (Milan):

NRDC-IT Signal Brigade (Milan)

COMALP (Bolzano):

Alpine Brigade "Julia" (Udine)

Alpine Brigade "Taurinense" (Turin)

COMFOD 1 (Vittorio Veneto):

Armored Brigade "Ariete" (Pordenone)

Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore" (Livorno)

Airmobile Brigade "Friuli" (Bologna)

Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" (Gorizia)

COMFOD 2 (Naples):

Mechanized Brigade "Aosta" (Messina)

Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi" (Caserta)

Mechanized Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna" (Rome)

Armored Brigade "Pinerolo" (Bari)

2011 reform

During 2011 some small changes regarding the support units of the Army were enacted. The COMSUP took command of the Army's schools and merged them, where possible, with the support brigades. Minor units were moved South and to the islands to reduce the Army's footprint in the wealthier North of Italy. At the same time, the designation of the "Pinerolo" brigade was changed back to Mechanized Brigade. Afterwards the COMSUP consisted, besides four Army schools of the following commands:

Anti-aircraft Artillery Command (Sabaudia)

Artillery Command (Bracciano)

Engineer Command (Rome)

Logistic Projection Command (Rome)

2013 reform

In 2013 the Army began a major reform. The three corp-level commands COMFOD 1, COMFOD 2 and COMALP were to disband, while the "Mantova" Division Command moved from Vittorio Veneto to Florence, where it was renamed as Division "Friuli", taking the name and traditions of the Air Assault Brigade "Friuli". Together with the other two divisions Acqui and Tridentina the Friuli took command of operational brigades of the Italian Army.

The Logistic Projection Command was disbanded, and its units attached directly to the brigades. As part of the reform, the Army raised the Army Special Forces Command (COMFOSE) in Pisa, which took command of all Special Operations Forces of the Army. Furthermore, the Operational Terrestrial Forces Command (COMFOTER) in Verona was split on 1 October 2016 into the "Operational Land Forces Command and Army Operational Command" in Rome and the "Operational Land Forces Support Command" in Verona.

At the end of the reform the plan envisioned that the Army would consist of:

2 × heavy brigades (Ariete, Garibaldi) armed with, Centauro tank destroyers, Ariete tanks, Dardo infantry fighting vehicles and PzH2000 self propelled artillery

2 × medium brigades (Aosta, Pinerolo) armed with Centauro tank destroyers and Freccia infantry fighting vehicles and FH-70 towed artillery

4 × light brigades (Folgore, Julia, Taurinense, Sassari) armed with Centauro tank destroyers, Puma armoured personnel carriers and FH-70 towed artillery

1 × air-assault brigade (Pozzuolo del Friuli) with Pumas, A129 Mangusta attack and NH90 transport helicopters.

After the reform, each maneuver brigade, except the "Pozzuolo del Friuli" and "Sassari", was planned to field the following units: a command and signal unit with the brigade staff, one cavalry reconnaissance regiment, three combat maneuver regiments, one artillery regiment, one engineer regiment, and one logistic regiment.

2019 changes

As the security situation in Europe had changed in 2014 with the Russian annexation of Crimea the 2013 reform was paused. Neither were the "Pozzuolo del Friuli", and "Friuli" brigades merged, nor was the "Granatieri di Sardegna" brigade disbanded. On 1 July 2019, the army officially ended the 2013 reform: on that date in Florence, the Division "Friuli" was renamed Division "Vittorio Veneto". With this, the traditions of the name "Friuli" returned to the Airmobile Brigade "Friuli", whose merger with the "Pozzuolo del Friuli" brigade was disbanded. Likewise the disbanding of the "Granatieri di Sardegna" brigade was disbanded, and it was decided that the second battalion of the brigade's 1st "Granatieri di Sardegna" "Regiment" would become independent as 2nd Grenadier Battalion "Cengio" and grow to regiment by 2020 as first step to bring the brigade back to full strength.

On 10 January 2020 the 31st Tank Regiment was reformed as Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Lodi" (15th) thus completing the transformation of the Mechanized Brigade "Pinerolo".

2023 changes

In May 2023 the two deployable division commands "Acqui" and "Vittorio Veneto", as well as the Army Simulation and Validation Center were assigned to the Operational Land Forces Command and Army Operational Command. On 1 July 2023 the Capital Military Command was merged into the Operational Land Forces Command and Army Operational Command, which on the same date changed its name to Operational Land Forces Command.

Operations

The Italian Army has participated in operations to aid populations hit by natural disasters. It has, moreover, supplied a remarkable contribution to the forces of police for the control of the territory of the province of Bolzano/Bozen (1967), in Sardinia ("Forza Paris" 1992), in Sicily ("Vespri Siciliani" 1992) and in Calabria (1994). Currently, it protects sensitive objectives and places throughout the national territory ("Operazione Domino") since the September 11 attacks in the United States.

The army is also engaged in Missions abroad under the aegis of the UN, the NATO, and of Multinational forces, such as Beirut in Lebanon (1982), Namibia (1989), Albania (1991), Kurdistan (1991), Somalia (1992), Mozambique (1993), Bosnia (1995), East Timor and Kosovo (both in 1999), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2001), Darfur (2003), Afghanistan (2002), Iraq (2003) and Lebanon again (2006). (From 1980, Italy was the third major world contributor, after USA and the UK, in peacekeeping missions.) The later Gallo Commission investigated a number of serious and substantiated allegations of repeated abuses of Somali non-combatants during the UNOSOM deployment.

The Carabinieri, once the senior corps of the Army, is now an autonomous armed force (alongside the Army, Navy and Air Force). The Carabinieri provide military police services to all the Italian armed forces.

Command structure

The Armed Forces of Italy are under the command of the Italian Supreme Defense Council, presided over by the President of the Italian Republic.

Ranks

Ranks are part of the uniform.

Commissioned officer ranks

The rank insignia of commissioned officers.

Other ranks

The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.

Unit organizations

All brigades have been deployed and are continuously deployed in operations outside of Italy. Combat brigades field between 3–5,000 troops each. Brigade maneuver units are designated as regiments but field men and equipment similar to large battalions, consisting of large command and logistic support company and a combat battalion. Artillery regiments field an additional Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Tactical Liaison Battery.

Every complete Italian Army brigade fields the following units:

Brigade headquarters

Command and Tactical Support Battalion

Command company

Signal company

Cavalry regiment

Command and logistic support squadron

Armored Squadrons Group

3 × reconnaissance squadrons (each with 6 × Centauro and 12 × VTLM Lince (Centauros to be replaced with 6 × Freccia PLUS Reconnaissance))

Heavy armored squadron (14 × Centauro, (being replaced with Centauro II))

Artillery regiment

Command and logistic support battery

Surveillance, target acquisition and tactical liaison battery (with artillery radars, drones, forward observers)

Artillery group

3 × howitzer batteries (each with 6 × PzH2000 or FH70 howitzers)

Uniforms

The Italian Army uses uniforms that can be divided into four different "families", and hold strict rules that apply to the type of textile, color and badge of the uniforms.. These include: the Regular Uniform (the only one that includes seasonal variations), the Service Uniform, the Service Combat Uniform, and the Ceremonial Uniform (only for officials).

The Regular Uniform

The Regular Uniform comes in summer and winter versions differing exclusively in textiles used. A single-breasted jacket with four buttons and four pockets, and trousers with a classic cut and front pleats with five pockets. The undershirt also has two small pockets. The uniform is completed by a necktie, brown leather gloves, brown shoes, khaki socks, and a cap or headdress.

The Service Uniform

The summer and winter Service Uniform have identical cuts and colors to the Regular uniform, while active military personnel always utilize a special headdress included with the uniform.

The Service Combat Uniform

The Service Combat Uniform is most commonly used out of the four "families" and is distributed to all soldiers with the same mimetic pattern (paratroopers have a different model with strengthening on the shoulders). The uniform comprises a beret, a five-button closure jacket with two internal pockets, and trousers with four pockets. Accessories completing the uniform include gloves, special footwear and a t-shirt with short or long sleeves, depending on the season.

The Ceremonial Uniform

The Ceremonial Uniform includes a double-breasted jacket with six buttons and two pockets on the hips. Trousers come with a classic cut, having the same jacket fabric. The winter version can be worn with the blue cape infantry, a black rigid cap, white gloves and black shoes. Other accessories such as the necktie, a light blue scarf and a sabre complete the uniform.

Operations

A post-World War II peace treaty signed by Italy prevented the country from deploying military forces in overseas operations as well as possessing fixed-wing vessel-based aircraft for twenty-five years following the end of the war.

This treaty expired in 1970, but it would not be until 1982 that Italy first deployed troops on foreign soil, with a peacekeeping contingent dispatched to Beirut following a United Nations request for troops. Since the 1980s, Italian troops have participated with other Western countries in peacekeeping operations across the world, especially in Africa, Balkan Peninsula, and the Middle East.

The Italian Army has not engaged in major combat operations since World War II. However, Italian Special Forces have taken part in anti-Taliban operations in Afghanistan as part of Task Force 'Nibbio'. Italy was not yet a member of the United Nations in 1950 at the time of the war with North Korea.

Italy did take part in the 1990–91 Gulf War but solely through the deployment of eight Italian Air Force Panavia Tornado IDS bomber jets to Saudi Arabia; Italian Army troops were subsequently deployed to assist Kurdish refugees in northern Iraq following the conflict.

As part of Operation Enduring Freedom in response to the September 11 attacks, Italy contributed to the international operation in Afghanistan. Italian forces have contributed to ISAF, the NATO force in Afghanistan, and a Provincial reconstruction team, and 53 Italian soldiers have died under ISAF. Italy has sent 4200 troops, based on one infantry company from the 2nd Alpini Regiment tasked to protect the ISAF HQ, one engineer company, one NBC platoon, one logistic unit, as well as liaison and staff elements integrated into the operation chain of command.

Italian forces also command a multinational engineer task force and have deployed a platoon of Italian military police. Italy leads the Regional Command West in Afghanistan, and its HQ is located in Herat at Camp Arena base. Italian Air Force deployed about 30 aircraft, both helicopters and planes: four AMX Ghibli and two RQ-1A Predator that are used in close air support and intelligence missions, Alenia C-27J Spartan, Boeing CH-47C Chinook, NH90 and Lockheed C-130 Hercules, which are used in transport missions; Bell UH-1N Twin Huey and Agusta A129CBT Mangusta are used in missions of fire support to the troops.