5th Alpini Regiment

5th Alpini Regiment
5° Reggimento Alpini
Regimental coat of arms
Active	1 Nov. 1882 — 10 Sept. 1943 1 Jan. 1953 — today
Country	Italy
Branch	Italian Army
Type	Mountain Infantry
Part of	Alpine Brigade "Julia"
Garrison/HQ	Sterzing
Motto(s)	"Nec videar dum sim"
Anniversaries	8 June 1916
Decorations	1x Military Order of Italy 2x Gold Medals of Military Valor[1][2] 1x Silver Medal of Military Valor 1x Bronze Medal of Military Valor 1x 1908 Messina earthquake Medal of Merit[3]
Insignia
Alpini gorget patches

The 5th Alpini Regiment (Italian: 5° Reggimento Alpini) is a mountain warfare regiment of the Italian Army based in Sterzing in South Tyrol. The regiment belongs to the Italian Army's Alpini infantry speciality and is assigned to the Alpine Brigade "Julia". The regiment was formed by the Royal Italian Army on 1 November 1882.^[4][5][6]

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. 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 19882 was the 5th Alpini Regiment, which was formed in Milan in Lombardy. The new regiment received the battalions 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; as well as the battalions "Valtellina" and "Alta Valtellina", which both recruited in the Valtellina Valley.^[5][6]

On 1 April 1885, the regiment transferred the battalions "Val Dora" and "Moncenisio" to the 3rd Alpini Regiment, and received from the 1st Alpini Regiment the Battalion "Val Camonica", which recruited in the Camonica 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. The same year the 5th Alpini Regiment formed the Alpini Battalion "Rocca d’Anfo" and then consisted of the following units:^[5][6]

In 1887-88 the regiment's 48th Company was deployed to Massawa for the Italo-Ethiopian War of 1887–1889, which led to the establishment of the Italian colony of Eritrea. In 1889 the Alpini Battalion "Rocca d’Anfo" moved to Vestone and therefore changed its name Alpini Battalion "Vestone". In 1895-96 the regiment provided 25 officers and 641 troops to help form the I and IV provisional Alpini battalions, which were deployed to Eritrea for the First Italo-Ethiopian War. In 1901 the regiment was assigned together with the 3rd Alpini Regiment and 4th Alpini Regiment to the II Alpini Group, which on 9 August 1910 was renamed II 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 the 1908 Messina earthquake Medal of Merit, which was affixed to the regiment's flag.^[3][5][6]

On 29 September 1911 the Kingdom of Italy declared war against the Ottoman Empire and the Alpini Battalion "Edolo" was deployed to Libya for the Italo-Turkish War. On 11-12 February 1912, a platoon of the battalion's 51st Company distinguished itself during the defense of the Italian position designated Ridotta Lombardia near Derna, which was held in hand-to-hand combat against Bedouin forces. On 8-10 October 1912, the battalion distinguished itself in the Battle of Bu Msafer near Derna. The same month the Alpini Battalion "Vestone" 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. During the war the 5th Alpini Regiment also provided 4 officers and 276 troops to augment other units fighting in the war.^[5][6]

For its conduct at Ridotta Lombardia and in the Battle of Bu Msafer the Alpini Battalion "Edolo", was awarded Silver Medal of Military Valor, while the Alpini Battalion "Vestone" was awarded Bronze Medal of Military Valor for its conduct in the Battle of Assaba. Both medals were affixed to the flag of the 5th Alpini Regiment and added to the regiment's coat of arms.^[3][5][6]

During World War I the regiment consisted of 16 battalions and saw heavy fighting in the Alps regions of the Italian front against Austro-Hungarian and German forces. During the war the regiment consisted of the following battalions (pre-war battalions in bold, followed by their first and second line reserve battalions):

• Morbegno, Val d'Intelvi, Monte Spluga, Monte Mandrone
• Tirano, Valtellina, Stelvio, Tonale
• Edolo, Val Camonica, Monte Adamello, Monte Ortler
• Vestone, Val Chiese, Monte Suello, Monte Cavento

During the war 268 officers and 6,307 soldiers of the regiment were killed, and 499 officers and 10,745 soldiers were wounded. The regiment's Alpini Battalion "Morbegno" was awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valor during the war.^[7]

On 1 September 1920 the Alpini Battalion "Trento" was raised by the 5th Reggimento Alpini, which on 1 July 1921 was transferred together with the Alpini Battalion "Vestone" to the 6th Alpini Regiment. On 10 September 1935, the 2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" was formed, which consisted of the 5th Alpini Regiment, 6th Alpini Regiment, and 2nd Mountain Artillery Regiment.

On 21 June 1940 (one day before the French surrender) the Tridentina advanced with other Italian units into Southern France. Later in 1940 the division was then sent to Albania, where it sustained heavy losses in the Greco-Italian War. In April 1941 the German Wehrmacht came to the aid of the beaten Italian armies in Albania through the invasion of Yugoslavia. Afterwards the Tridentina was repatriated for rest and refit.

In September 1942 the Tridentina under command of General Luigi Reverberi was sent with the 3rd Alpine Division "Julia", 4th Alpine Division "Cuneense" and other Italian units to the Soviet Union to form the Italian Army in Russia (Italian: Armata Italiana in Russia abbreviated as ARMIR) and fight alongside the German Wehrmacht against the Red Army. Taking up positions along the Don River, the Italian units covered part of the left flank of the German Sixth Army, which spearheaded the German summer offensive of 1942 into the city of Stalingrad.

After successfully encircling the German Sixth army in Stalingrad the Red Army's attention turned to the Italian units along the Don. On 14 January 1943, the Soviet Operation Little Saturn began and the three alpine division found themselves quickly encircled by rapidly advancing armored Soviet Forces. The Alpini held the front on the Don, but within three days the Soviets had advanced 200 km to the left and right of the Alpini. On the evening of 17 January the commanding officer of the Italian Mountain Corps General Gabriele Nasci ordered a full retreat. At this point the Julia and Cuneense divisions were already heavily decimated and only the Tridentina was still capable of conducting combat operations. As the Soviets had already occupied every village bitter battles had to be fought to clear the way out of the encirclement. The remnants of the Tridentina were able to break the Soviet encirclement in the Battle of Nikolayevka on 26 January 1943, allowing 4,250 Tridentina survivors (out of 15,000 troops deployed) to reach German lines, which were reached on the morning of 28 January. By then the men of the 5th Alpini Regiment had walked 200 km, fought in 20 battles and spent 11 nights camped out in the middle of the Steppe. Temperatures during the nights were between -30 °C and -40 °C.

The few survivors of the 5th Alpini Regiment were repatriated and after the signing of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943, the regiment was dissolved 10 September 1943 in the vicinity of the city of Brixen.

After World War II the 5th Alpini Regiment was reformed on 1 January 1953, in the city of Meran with The battalions "Tirano" and "Edolo". the regiment was the infantry component of the newly formed Alpine Brigade "Orobica". In 1956 the "Morbegno" battalion was raised again.

During the 1975 army reform the army disbanded the regimental level and newly independent battalions were given for the first time their own flags. On 30 November 1975 the 5th Alpini Regiment was disbanded and on the same day the regiment's Alpini Battalion "Morbegno" in Sterzing was assigned the flag and traditions of the 5th Alpini Regiment.^[6]

Before being disbanded in 1975 the structure of the 5th Alpini Regiment was as follows:

On 27 July 1991 Alpine Brigade "Orobica" was disbanded and the Alpini Battalion "Morbegno" was transferred together with the Alpini Battalion "Edolo" and the Mountain Artillery Group "Bergamo" to the Alpine Brigade "Tridentina".

On 8 August 1992 the Alpini Battalion "Morbegno" was elevated to 5th Alpini Regiment without changing size or composition. In autumn 2002 5th Alpini Regiment was transferred to the Alpine Brigade "Julia".

As of 2024 the regiment is organized as follows:^[4][8]

The Alpini companies are equipped with Bv 206S tracked all-terrain carriers and Lince light multirole vehicles. The maneuver support company is equipped with 120 mm mortars and Spike MR anti-tank guided missiles.^[4]

• Alpine Brigade "Julia"

• Italian Army Website: 5° Reggimento Alpini