The 1st Alpini Regiment () in a mountain warfare unit of the Italian Army based in Turin in Piedmont. The regiment belongs to the Italian Army's Alpini infantry speciality and was last active as Alpini Battalion Mondovì. On 1 October 2022, the flag and traditions of the 1st Alpini Regiment were assigned to the Command and Tactical Supports Unit "Taurinense" of the Alpine Brigade "Taurinense", which on the same day was renamed 1st Alpini Command and Tactical Supports Unit. On 1 November 1882, the Royal Italian Army formed the 1st Alpini Regiment, which had its recruiting area in the Ligurian Alps and Maritime Alps. During World War I the regiment expanded to nine 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 1st 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 1st Alpini Regiment.
In 1950, the 4th Alpini Regiment formed a recruits training battalion in Bra, which was designated Battalion "Mondovì". In 1953, the Alpini Battalion "Mondovì" was reformed as an operational unit. In 1962, the Alpini Battalion "Mondovì" moved to Paluzza in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and was assigned to the 8th Alpini Regiment. In 1975, the battalion in Paluzza was disbanded and on 1 October of the same year, the Recruits Training Battalion "Cuneense" in Cuneo was renamed Alpini Battalion "Mondovì". The battalion was assigned to the Alpine Brigade "Taurinense" and trained the brigade's recruits. In 1976 the battalion was assigned the flag and traditions of the 1st Alpini Regiment. In 1997, the Alpini Battalion "Mondovì" was disbanded. On 1 October 2022, the flag and traditions of the 1st Alpini Regiment were assigned to the Command and Tactical Supports Unit "Taurinense" of the Alpine Brigade "Taurinense". The regiment's anniversary falls on 16 June 1917, the height of the Battle of Mount Ortigara, during which the regiment's battalions earned three Silver Medals of Military Valor.
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 1st Alpini Regiment, which was formed in Mondovì in Southern Piedmont. The new regiment received the battalions "Alto Tanaro" and "Val Tanaro", which recruited in the Tanaro Valley, as well as the Battalion "Val Camonica", which recruited in the Camonica Valley in Lombardy.
1st Alpini Regiment, in Mondovì Battalion "Alto Tanaro", in Pieve di Teco 1st, 2nd and 3rd Company Battalion "Val Tanaro", in Ceva 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th Company Battalion "Val Camonica", in Breno 52nd, 53rd, 54th, and 55th Company
On 1 April 1885, the regiment transferred the Battalion "Val Camonica" to the 5th Alpini Regiment and in turn received from the 2nd Alpini Regiment the Battalion "Val Pesio", which recruited along the Pesio river in Southern Piedmont. During the same year the regiment also ceded the 7th Company of the Battalion "Val Tanaro" to the 4th Alpini Regiment. The 7th Company moved to Domodossola, where it joined the Battalion "Val d'Aosta". 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 1st Alpini Regiment consisted afterwards of the following units:
1st Alpini Regiment, in Mondovì Alpini Battalion "Ceva", in Ceva (former Battalion "Val Tanaro") 1st, 4th, 5th, and 6th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Pieve di Teco", in Pieve di Teco (former Battalion "Alto Tanaro") 2nd, 3rd, and 8th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Mondovì", in Mondovì (former Battalion "Val Pesio") 9th, 10th, and 11th Alpini Company
In 1895–96 the regiment provided 20 officers and 527 troops to help form the I and II provisional Alpini battalions, which were deployed to Eritrea for the First Italo-Ethiopian War. In 1901 the regiment was assigned together with the 2nd Alpini Regiment to the I Alpini Group, which on 9 August 1910 was renamed I Alpine Brigade. In January 1908, the regiment transferred the 6th Alpini Company of the Alpini Battalion "Ceva" to 7th Alpini Regiment to help form the Alpini Battalion "Tolmezzo". In 1911, the Alpini Battalion "Mondovì" was deployed to Libya for the Italo-Turkish War. The battalion distinguished itself during the occupation of El-Mergèb and in the Battle of Misrata, and was awarded a Bronze Medal of Military Valor, which was affixed to the flag of the 1st Alpini Regiment and added to the regiment's coat of arms. During the war the 1st Alpini Regiment also provided 136 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 in fall 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 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 earlier. 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 1st Alpini Regiment consisted of the following units:
1st Alpini Regiment, in Mondovì Alpini Battalion "Ceva" 1st, 4th, 5th, 98th, and 116th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Pieve di Teco" 2nd, 3rd, 8th, 107th, and 115th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Mondovì" 9th, 10th, 11th, and 114th Alpini Company (2nd Alpini Company, originally assigned to the Alpini Battalion "Pieve di Teco", joined the battalion in 1916) Alpini Battalion "Val Tanaro" 201st, 204th, and 205th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Val Arroscia" 202nd, 203rd, and 208th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Val Ellero" 209th, 210th, and 211th 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 1st Alpini Regiment thus added the following Monte battalions:
Alpini Battalion "Monte Mercantour" 98th, 116th, and 121st Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Monte Saccarello" 107th, 115th, and 120th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Monte Clapier" 114th, 118th, and 119th 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. Between 10 and 14 March 1916, the companies of the Alpini Battalion "Pieve di Teco" were disbanded and its personnel assigned to other to the Alpini battalions "Exilles", "Bassano", and "Cividale". On 16 May 1916, the battalion "Pieve di Teco" was also disbanded and its companies reformed by other Alpini regiments and assigned to other Alpini battalions: the 2nd Alpini Company was reformed and assigned to the Alpini Battalion "Mondovì", while the 3rd Alpini Company was reformed to complement the Alpini Battalion "Val Dora" of the 3rd Alpini Regiment, and the 8th Alpini Company was reformed to complement the Alpini Battalion "Val Fella" of the 8th Alpini Regiment.
In June 1917, the remaining eight battalions of the regiment were concentrated, together with 14 other Alpini battalions and four mountain artillery groups, on Mount Ortigara for the Battle of Mount Ortigara. The battle resulted in heavy Italian losses, with the battalions of the 1st Alpini Regiment suffering 574 killed, 3,265 wounded, and 873 missing. 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 1st Alpini Regiment:
Alpini Battalion "Monte Mercantour"; battalion annihilated during the retreat and disbanded on 18 November 1917, with the survivors assigned to the Alpini Battalion "Pinerolo" of the 3rd Alpini Regiment Alpini Battalion "Val Arroscia"; battalion annihilated during the retreat and disbanded on 18 November 1917, with the survivors assigned to the Alpini Battalion "Pinerolo" of the 3rd Alpini Regiment Alpini Battalion "Val Ellero"; battalion annihilated during the retreat and disbanded on 18 November 1917 Alpini Battalion "Ceva"; disbanded on 30 November 1917 and the survivors used to reform the 10th Alpini Company of the Alpini Battalion "Mondovì" Alpini Battalion "Monte Saccarello"; battalion annihilated during the First Battle of Monte Grappa and disbanded on 9 December 1917, with the survivors grouped into the 107th Alpini Company