The 2nd Alpini Regiment () is a mountain warfare regiment of the Italian Army based in Cuneo in Piedmont. The regiment belongs to the Italian Army's Alpini infantry speciality and is assigned to the Alpine Brigade "Taurinense". On 1 November 1882, the Royal Italian Army formed the 2nd Alpini Regiment, which had its recruiting area in the Maritime Alps and Cottian Alps. During World War I the regiment expanded to ten battalions, which fought separately in the alpine areas of the Italian front.
In 1935 the regiment was assigned to the 4th Alpine Division "Cuneense", with which it served during World War II in the invasion of France and the Greco-Italian War. In summer 1942 the division was transferred to the Eastern Front in the Soviet Union, where it was destroyed in winter 1942–43 during the Soviet Operation Little Saturn. The remnants of the division were repatriated in spring 1943. For its service and sacrifice on the Eastern Front the 2nd Alpini Regiment was awarded Italy's highest military honor the Gold Medal of Military Valor. On 8 September 1943, the Armistice of Cassibile was announced and two days later, on 10 September 1943, invading German forces disbanded the 2nd Alpini Regiment.
In 1963 the regiment was reformed as a training unit in Cuneo. In 1974, the regiment was disbanded, and two years later the flag and traditions of the regiment were assigned to the Alpini Battalion "Saluzzo", which had become an autonomous unit in October 1975 and was assigned to the Alpine Brigade "Taurinense". In 1992, the regiment was reformed. The regiment's anniversary falls on 6 June 1916, the height of the Battle of Asiago, during which four of the regiment's battalions earned a Silver Medal of Military Valor for holding Monte Fior and Monte Castelgomberto.
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 2nd Alpini Regiment, which was formed in Bra in Southern Piedmont. The new regiment received the Battalion "Val Pesio", which recruited along the Pesio river in Southern Piedmont, the Battalion "Col Tenda", which recruited in the Vermenagna Valley that leads to the Col de Tende pass, and the Battalion "Val Schio", which recruited in the Schio Valley in Veneto.
2nd Alpini Regiment, in Bra Battalion "Val Pesio", in Mondovì 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th Company Battalion "Col Tenda", in Borgo San Dalmazzo 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th Company Battalion "Val Schio", in Vicenza 59th, 60th, and 61st Company
On 1 April 1885, the regiment transferred the Battalion "Val Pesio" to the 1st Alpini Regiment and the Battalion "Val Schio" to the 6th Alpini Regiment. In turn the regiment received from the 3rd Alpini Regiment the Battalion "Val Stura", which recruited in the Stura Valley, and the Battalion "Val Maira", which recruited in the Maira Valley. The Battalion "Val Stura" had been awarded a Bronze Medal of Civil Valor in 1883, which was affixed to the flag of the 2nd Alpini Regiment, when the battalion joined the regiment. 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. The 2nd Alpini Regiment consisted afterwards of the following units:
2nd Alpini Regiment, in Bra Alpini Battalion "Borgo San Dalmazzo", in Borgo San Dalmazzo (former Battalion "Col Tenda") 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Vinadio", in Vinadio (former Battalion "Val Stura") 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Dronero", in Dronero (former Battalion "Val Maira") 20th, 21st, 22nd, and 23rd Alpini Company
In 1895–96 the regiment provided 22 officers and 611 troops to help form the I, III and IV provisional Alpini battalions, which were deployed to Eritrea for the First Italo-Ethiopian War. In 1901 the regiment moved from Bra to Cuneo. The same year the regiment as assigned together with the 1st Alpini Regiment to the I Alpini Group, which on 9 August 1910 was renamed I Alpine Brigade. In 1904 the Alpini Battalion "Vinadio" moved from Vinadio to Dronero, while the Alpini Battalion "Dronero" moved from Dronero to Saluzzo. Consequently the two battalions were renamed Alpini Battalion "Dronero" and Alpini Battalion "Saluzzo". In January 1908, the regiment transferred the 12th Alpini Company of the Alpini Battalion "Borgo San Dalmazzo" to 7th Alpini Regiment to help form the Alpini Battalion "Tolmezzo". 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 a Silver Medal of Merit, which was affixed to the regiment's flag. In October 1909, the regiment transferred the 16th Alpini Company of the Alpini Battalion "Dronero" and the 20th Alpini Company of the Alpini Battalion "Saluzzo" to 8th Alpini Regiment to help form the Alpini Battalion "Cividale". In 1911, the Alpini Battalion "Saluzzo" was deployed to Libya for the Italo-Turkish War, where it fought in the Battle of Derna. During the war the 2nd Alpini Regiment also provided 1 officer and 207 troops to augment other units fighting in the war.
World War I
At the outbreak of World War I the Alpini speciality consisted of eight regiments, which fielded 26 battalions with 79 companies. Each Alpini battalion, with the exception of the Alpini Battalion "Verona", fielded three Alpini companies, while the Alpini Battalion "Verona" fielded four companies. Each company consisted of one captain, four lieutenants and 250 other ranks. After Italy's initial declaration of neutrality 38 additional Alpini companies were formed during the autumn of 1914 with men, who had completed their military service in the preceding four years. These companies were numbered from 80th to 117th and assigned to the existing Alpini battalions. In January 1915, each Alpini battalion formed a reserve battalion, with men, who had completed their military service at least four years, but not more than eleven years prior. These reserve battalions were named for a valley (; abbreviated Val) located near their associated regular Alpini battalion's base, and the reserve battalions received the same Nappina as their associated regular Alpini battalion. The companies of the Valle battalions were numbered from 201st to 281st, with the numbers 227th, 233rd, 237th, 271st, and 273rd unused.
On 23 May 1915, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary and at the time the 2nd Alpini Regiment consisted of the following units:
2nd Alpini Regiment, in Cuneo Alpini Battalion "Borgo San Dalmazzo" 13th, 14th, 15th, 99th, and 117th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Dronero" 17th, 18th, 19th, 81st, and 101st Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Saluzzo" 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 80th, and 100th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Val Stura" 213th, 214th, and 215th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Val Maira" 217th, 218th, and 219th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Val Varaita" 221st, 222nd, and 223rd Alpini Company
By the end of 1915 the Alpini regiments began to form additional companies with recruits born in 1896. These new companies were numbered from 118th to 157th and were used, together with the 38 companies formed earlier, to form an additional reserve battalion for each regular battalion. These new battalions were named for a mountain () located near their associated regular Alpini battalion's base, and the reserve battalions received the same Nappina as their associated regular Alpini battalion. The 2nd Alpini Regiment thus added the following Monte battalions:
Alpini Battalion "Monte Argentera" 99th, 117th, and 122nd Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Bicocca" 81st, 101st, and 123rd Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Monviso" 80th, 100th, and 124th Alpini Company
As the mountainous terrain of the Italian front made the deployment of entire Alpini regiments impracticable, the regimental commands of the eight Alpini regiments were disbanded in March 1916. Likewise in April 1916 the pre-war alpine brigade commands were disbanded, and the personnel of the regimental commands and alpine brigade commands used to from twenty regiment-sized group commands and nine brigade-sized grouping commands. Afterwards Alpini battalions were employed either independently or assigned to groups, groupings, or infantry divisions as needed. In February and March 1917 the Royal Italian Army formed twelve skiers battalions, each with two skiers companies. On 21 May 1917, the VI Skiers Battalion was disbanded and its personnel used to form the Alpini Battalion "Cuneo", which was assigned to the 2nd Alpini Regiment and consisted of the 297th, 298th, and 299th Alpini companies. The battalion was associated with the Alpini Battalion "Borgo San Dalmazzo" and therefore its troops wore a white Nappina.
In November and December 1917, after the disastrous Battle of Caporetto, the following retreat to the Piave river, and the subsequent First Battle of the Piave River and First Battle of Monte Grappa, the Royal Italian Army disbanded twenty Alpini battalions, which had suffered heavy casualties during the battles and retreat. Among the twenty battalions were the following battalions of the 2nd Alpini Regiment:
Alpini Battalion "Bicocca"; battalion annihilated during the retreat and disbanded on 25 November 1917, with the survivors assigned to the Alpini Battalion "Dronero" Alpini Battalion "Val Stura"; battalion annihilated during the retreat and disbanded on 25 November 1917, with the survivors assigned to the Alpini Battalion "Dronero" Alpini Battalion "Monte Argentera"; battalion annihilated during the retreat and disbanded on 30 November 1917 Alpini Battalion "Monviso"; battalion annihilated during the retreat and disbanded on 30 November 1917
After the retreat to the Piave river the Alpini Battalion "Val Varaita" fought in December 1917 for control of Monte Asolone in the Monte Grappa massif, where the battalion suffered again heavy casualties. On 15 February 1918, the Alpini Battalion "Val Varaita" was one of further seven Alpini battalions to be disbanded and its remaining personnel was transferred to the Alpini Battalion "Fenestrelle" of the 3rd Alpini Regiment.
During the war 151 officers and 3,442 soldiers of the 2nd Alpini Regiment were killed in action, while 308 officers and 5,498 soldiers were wounded. For their service and sacrifice during the war six of the regiment's battalions were awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valor: the Alpini Battalion "Saluzzo" was awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valor for taking and holding the summit of Monte Čukla on 4–10 May 1916.