The 3rd Alpini Regiment () is a mountain warfare regiment of the Italian Army based in Pinerolo 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 3rd Alpini Regiment, which had its recruiting area in the Cottian Alps and Graian Alps. During World War I the regiment expanded to 13 battalions, which fought separately in the alpine areas of the Italian front.
In 1935 the regiment was assigned to the 1st Alpine Division "Taurinense", with which it served during World War II in the invasion of France. In 1942 the division was transferred to Montenegro, where it served on occupation duty until the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943. Following the announcement the division instantly began to fight German forces. By early October the remnants of the division and of its regiments were forced to surrender to the Germans. With Alpini, who had escaped from Montenegro the Italian Co-Belligerent Army formed in fall 1943, the Alpini Battalion "Piemonte", which fought on the allied side in the Italian campaign. From June to September 1944, the Alpini battalions "Piemonte" and "Monte Granero", which had been reformed by the depot of the 3rd Alpini Regiment in February 1943, were assigned to the reformed 3rd Alpini Regiment. On 30 September 1944, the 3rd Alpini Regiment was disbanded and the Alpini Battalion "Piemonte" was assigned to the Special Infantry Regiment "Legnano".
In 1946, the Alpini Battalion "Susa" was reformed and assigned to the 4th Alpini Regiment. In 1975 the 4th Alpini Regiment and the Alpini Battalion "Susa" became an autonomous unit. The battalion was assigned to the Alpine Brigade "Taurinense" and in 1976 it was assigned the flag and traditions of the 3rd Alpini Regiment. In 1993 the regiment was reformed. The regiment's anniversary falls on 16 June 1915, the day the regiment with the battalions "Pinerolo", "Fenestrelle", "Exilles", and "Susa" conquered the summit of Mount Krn in a night attack.
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 3rd Alpini Regiment, which was formed in Fossano in Southern Piedmont. The new regiment received the Battalion "Val Stura", which recruited in the Stura Valley, the Battalion "Val Maira", which recruited in the Maira Valley, and the Battalion "Monti Lessini", which recruited in Lessinia in Veneto.
3rd Alpini Regiment, in Fossano Battalion "Val Stura", in Vinadio 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th Company Battalion "Val Maira", in Dronero 20th, 21st, 22nd, and 23rd Company Battalion "Monti Lessini", in Verona 56th, 57th, and 58th Company
In the night of 18–19 August 1883, the Battalion "Val Stura" helped extinguish a fire that threatened to engulf the village of Bersezio. For this the battalion was awarded a Bronze Medal of Civil Valor, which was affixed to the flag of the 3rd Alpini Regiment. In 1884 the regiment moved from Fossano to Savigliano. On 1 April 1885, the regiment transferred the battalions "Val Stura" and "Val Maira" to the 2nd Alpini Regiment, and the Battalion "Monti Lessini" to the 6th Alpini Regiment. In turn the regiment received from the 4th Alpini Regiment the Battalion "Val Chisone", which recruited in the Chisone Valley, and from the 5th Alpini Regiment the battalions "Val Dora" and "Moncenisio", which both recruited in the Susa Valley, through which the Dora Riparia river flows and which lies beneath the Moncenisio massif.
In 1886 the regiment moved from Savigliano to Turin and on 1 November of the same year, 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 3rd Alpini Regiment consisted afterwards of the following units:
3rd Alpini Regiment, in Turin Alpini Battalion "Fenestrelle", in Fenestrelle (former Battalion "Val Chisone") 28th, 29th, 30th, and 37th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Susa 1°", in Susa (former Battalion "Val Dora") 31st, 32nd, and 33rd Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Susa 2°", in Susa (former Battalion "Moncenisio") 34th, 35th, and 36th Alpini Company
On 1 October 1888, the Alpini Battalion "Susa 2°" was transferred to the 4th Alpini Regiment, which in turn ceded its Alpini Battalion "Pinerolo" in Pinerolo to the 3rd Alpini Regiment. During the same year the regiment also ceded the 37th Company of the Battalion "Fenestrelle" to the Alpini Battalion "Ivrea" of the 4th Alpini Regiment. On 1 February 1889, the Alpini Battalion "Susa 1°" moved from Susa to Exilles and consequently the battalion was renamed Alpini Battalion "Exilles", while on the same date the Alpini Battalion "Susa 2°" was renamed Alpini Battalion "Susa". In 1895–96 the regiment provided 16 officers and 574 troops to help form the II provisional Alpini battalions, which was deployed to Eritrea for the First Italo-Ethiopian War. In 1901 the regiment was assigned together with the 4th Alpini Regiment and 5th Alpini Regiment to the II Alpini Group, which on 9 August 1910 was renamed II Alpine Brigade. In 1908 the Alpini Battalion "Susa" returned to the 3rd Alpini Regiment and the Alpini Battalion "Pinerolo" ceded its 24th Alpini Company to the 4th Alpini Regiment, to help form the Alpini Battalion "Pallanza". After the 3rd Alpini Regiment which consisted of the following battalions:
3rd Alpini Regiment, in Turin Alpini Battalion "Pinerolo", in Pinerolo 25th, 26th, and 27th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Fenestrelle", in Fenestrelle 28th, 29th, and 30th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Exilles", in Exilles 31st, 32nd, and 33rd Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Susa", in Susa 34th, 35th, and 36th Alpini Company
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.
Italo-Turkish War
On 29 September 1911, the Kingdom of Italy declared war against the Ottoman Empire and the Alpini battalions "Fenestrelle" and "Susa" were deployed to Libya for the Italo-Turkish War. On 4 May 1912, the Alpini Battalion "Fenestrelle" was part of the Italian forces, which landed in Kalithea Bay on Rhodes in the Aegean Sea. The battalion participated in the Battle of Rhodes, which led to the Italian occupation of the Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea. On 6 August 1912, the Alpini Battalion "Susa" participated in the occupation of Zuwarah in Libya and in October 1912 the battalion was assigned to the 8th Special Regiment, which had been formed in Libya with the command of the 8th Alpini Regiment and was led by Colonel Antonio Cantore. On 23 March 1913, the 8th Special Regiment fought in the Battle of Assaba against local rebel forces.
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 3rd Alpini Regiment consisted of the following units:
3rd Alpini Regiment, in Turin Alpini Battalion "Pinerolo" 25th, 26th, 27th, and 82nd Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Fenestrelle" 28th, 29th, 30th, and 83rd Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Exilles" 31st, 32nd, 33rd, and 84th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Susa" 34th, 35th, 36th, 85th, and 102nd Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Val Pellice" 224th, 225th, and 226th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Val Chisone" 228th, 229th, and 230th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Val Dora" 231st and 232nd Alpini Company (3rd Alpini Company, originally assigned to the Alpini Battalion "Pieve di Teco", joined the battalion in 1916) Alpini Battalion "Val Cenischia" 234th, 235th, and 236th 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 3rd Alpini Regiment thus added the following Monte battalions:
Alpini Battalion "Monte Granero" 82nd, 125th, and 126th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Monte Albergian" 83rd, 127th, and 128th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Monte Assietta" 84th, 129th, and 130th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Moncenisio" 85th, 102nd, and 131st 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. On 15 June 1916, the regiment formed the 158th Alpini Company, which was assigned to the Alpini Battalion "Fenestrelle". On 16 May 1916, the Alpini Battalion "Pieve di Teco" of the 1st Alpini Regiment was disbanded and the battalion's 3rd Alpini Company was reformed by the 3rd Alpini Regiment to complement Alpini Battalion "Val Dora".