The 6th Alpini Regiment () 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. On 1 November 1882, the Royal Italian Army formed the 6th Alpini Regiment, which had its recruiting area initially in the Vicentine Alps, Bellunes Alps, Carnic Alps, Carnic Prealps, and the Western side of the Julian Alps. In 1887 the regiment was split to form the 7th Alpini Regiment and afterwards the regiment's recruiting area consisted of the Vicentine 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 2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina", 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 6th 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 6th Alpini Regiment.
On 10 April 1946, the 6th Alpini Regiment was reformed and in 1951 assigned to the Alpine Brigade "Tridentina". In 1975 the regiment was disbanded and its flag and traditions assigned to the Alpini Battalion "Bassano". The regiment was reformed in 1993. On 1 January 2003, the regiment was assigned to the Alpine Troops Command and then reorganized as a mountain warfare training regiment. On 1 January 2009, the regiment was assigned to the Alpine Training Center. The regiment's anniversary falls on 10 June 1917, the height of the Battle of Mount Ortigara, during which four of the regiment's battalions earned a Silver Medal 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 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 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 Alpini Company 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 a Silver 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 a 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
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 6th Alpini Regiment consisted of the following units:
6th Alpini Regiment, in Verona Alpini Battalion "Verona" 56th, 57th, 58th, 73rd, and 92nd Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Vicenza" 59th, 60th, 61st, 93rd, and 108th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Bassano" 62nd, 63rd, 74th, and 94th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Val d'Adige" 256th, 257th, and 258th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Val Leogra" 259th, 260th, and 261st Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Val Brenta" 262nd, 263rd, and 274th 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 6th Alpini Regiment thus added the following Monte battalions:
Alpini Battalion "Monte Baldo" 92nd, 141st, and 142nd Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Monte Berico" 93rd, 108th, and 143rd Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Sette Comuni" 94th, 144th, and 145th 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 1 June 1917, the III and IV Skiers battalions were disbanded and their personnel used to form Alpini Battalion "Monte Pasubio". The new battalion was assigned to the 6th Alpini Regiment and consisted of the 290th, 291st, and 292nd Alpini companies. The battalion was associated with the Alpini Battalion "Vicenza" and therefore its troops wore a red Nappina.
In June 1917 the Alpini battalions "Verona", "Bassano", "Monte Baldo", and "Sette Comuni" were assigned to the 9th Alpini Group for the Battle of Mount Ortigara. The four battalions suffered 228 killed in action, 1,601 wounded in action, and 584 missing in action on Ortigara. 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 was the Alpini Battalion "Val Leogra", which was disbanded on 25 November 1917 to bring the other battalions of the regiment back up to full strength.
During the war 201 officers and 3,294 soldiers of the regiment were killed in action, while 460 officers and 8,670 soldiers were wounded. For their service and sacrifice during the war eight of the regiment's battalions were awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valor:
the Alpini Battalion "Bassano" was awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valor for taking and holding key positions on Monte Čukla on 10 May 1916. the Alpini Battalion "Val Leogra" was awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valor for taking the summit of Monte Cimone on 23 July 1916.