| Italian Army |
Coat of Arms of the Italian Army; the text in Latin reads: The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law. |
| Active |
27 March 1861 - today |
| Country |
Italy |
| Allegiance |
Italian Republic |
| Type |
army |
| Size |
112,000 |
| Part of |
Italian Supreme Defense Council |
| Garrison/HQ |
Rome |
| Motto |
Salus Rei Publicae Suprema Lex Esto |
| Engagements |
Risorgimento
War of 1866
First Italo-Abyssinian War
Italo-Turkish War
World War I
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
Spanish Civil War
Italian invasion of Albania
World War II
Iraq War
War in Afghanistan
War on Terrorism |
| Commanders |
| President of the Italian Republic |
Giorgio Napolitano |
Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito
(Chief of the Army General Staff) |
Generale Fabrizio Castagnetti |
Notable
commanders |
Giuseppe Garibaldi, Armando Diaz, Luigi Cadorna, Emanuele Filiberto, 2nd Duke of Aosta, Enrico Caviglia, Ettore Bastico, Emilio De Bono, Ugo Cavallero, Pietro Badoglio, Rodolfo Graziani
Giovanni Messe |
Soldiers of the 33rd Field Artillery Regiment "Acqui" on parade
The Italian Army (Esercito Italiano) is the ground defense force of the Military of Italy. On July 29, 2004 it became a professional all-volunteer force of 112,000 active duty personnel. The headquarters of the Army General Staff are in Rome, opposite the Presidential Palace.
History
The Italian Army originates in the Regio Esercito (literally: "Royal Army") which dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy following the Risorgimento, or unification of Italy in 1861 after the Papal states were seized. Under the leadership of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the House of Savoy, then represented by Victor Emmanuel II, was invited to take the throne of a new independent kingdom in 1861. The army's first real taste of modern warfare was in World War One and was fought mostly in northern Italy during which it suffered millions of casualties including over 700,000 dead. During the Interwar Years the army participated in the Invasion of Ethiopia, provided troops for the Corpo Truppe Volontarie to fight in the Spanish Civil War and in the Italian invasion of Albania. The Royal Army was one of the largest ground forces in World War Two during which it was one of the pioneers of the use of paratroopers. Many Italian divisions were reinforced by a MVSN Gruppo di Assalto of two battalions due to the small size of the divisions. In 1943 Italy surrendered and split into the Salo Republic, which fielded its own army, and the Italian Co-Belligerent Army (Esercito Cobelligerante del Sud) the army of the Italian royalist forces fighting on the side of the Allies in southern Italy after the Allied armistice with Italy in September 1943. The Italians soldiers fighting in this army no longer fought for Benito Mussolini as their allegiance was to King Victor Emmanuel and to Marshal of Italy (Maresciallo d'Italia) Pietro Badoglio, the men who ousted Mussolini. The kingdom was replaced by a Republic in 1946 and the Royal Army changed its name to become the Esercito Italiano. After WWII, the Army has participated in operations to aid to populations hit by natural disasters. It has, moreover, supplied a remarkable contribution to the forces of police for the control of the territory of the Alto Adige (1967), in Sardinia (“Paris“ 1992), in Sicily (“Vespri Siciliani“1992) and in Calabria (1994). Currently, it protects sensitive objects and places throughout the national territory (“Operazione Domino") since the tragedy of 11 September 2001. The army is also engaged in Missions abroad under the aegis of the UN, the NATO, and of Multinational forces, such as Beirut in Lebanon (1982), Namibia (1989), Albania (1991), Kurdistan (1991), Somalia (1992), Mozambique (1993), Bosnia (1995), East Timor and Kosovo (both in 1999), the Congo (2001), Darfur (2003), Afghanistan (2002), Iraq (2003) and Lebanon again (2006).
The Carabinieri, once the senior corps of the Army, is now an autonomous armed force (alongside the Army, Navy and Air Force). The Carabinieri provides military police services to all the Italian armed force.
World War II
- See also: Military history of Italy during World War II
During WWI 5 million Italians served in the army with 1.5 million being wounded and over 700,000 being killed in action. Another million or so died from disease.
Reports of Italian military prowess in the Second World War were, almost always, dismissive. This being the result of disastrous Italian offensives against Egypt and Greece in 1940. Both campaigns were ill-prepared and executed amateurishly. I.e. The Italian Italian 10th Army advancing into Egypt surrendered after a brief campaign (see Operation Compass) to a British force one fifth its size.
The incompetent military leadership of the first war year was aggravated by the Italian military's equipment, which was not up to the standard of either the Allied or the German armies.[1] More crucially, Italy lacked suitable quantities of equipment of all kinds and high command did not take necessary steps to plan for possible setbacks on the battlefield or proper logistic support of its field armies. There were too few anti-aircraft weapons, obsolete anti-tank guns, too few trucks and the Italian 'medium' M11, M13 and M14 tanks were at a marked disadvantage against the comparatively heavily armed American Sherman 'light' tanks.
The Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia fought bravely under General Giovanni Messe, who acknowledged the limitations of his Corps in material and equipment and thus was relieved of his command on November 1st, 1942. When the Soviet offensive Operation Saturn began on December 12th, 1942 the the Italian 8th Army was quickly crushed and only about a third of its troops managed to escape the Soviet cauldron; notably the three Alpini Divisions Tridentina, Julia and Cuneense fought stubbornly and to almost their total annihilation to escape the Soviet encirclement (see: Battle of Nikolayevka).
The Italian Armored Division Ariete and the Parachute Division Folgore fought to total annihilation at the Second Battle of El Alamein. Also determined resistance of the Italian soldiers at the Battle of Keren in East Africa is still commemorated today by the Italian military.
After the Axis defeat in Tunisia the morale of the Italian troops dipped and when the Allies landed in Sicily on July 10th, 1943 most Italian Coastal divisions simply dissolved. The sagging moral led to the overthrow of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini by King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy 15 days later.
Command structure
The Armed Forces of Italy are under the command of the Italian Supreme Defense Council, presided over by the President of the Italian Republic. The Italian Army is commanded by the SME or “Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito” (Chief of the Army General Staff) in Rome. The Chief of staff has direct control of all support and logistics operations in Italy (i.e. military clinics, repair facilities, acquisitions,…), but no direct control of the operational forces, which are all assigned to and commanded by COMFOTER: “Comando delle Forze Operative Terrestri” (Command of Operational Land Forces).
Operational forces
- See also: List of active units of the Italian Army
COMFOTER has direct command on a NATO rapid reaction Corps Command (NRDC-IT), of four support brigades (Artillery, Air Defense, Logistics, Engineering), as well as command of the Army Aviation, the Army Communication and Transmission command and of three commands called COMFOD 1, COMFOD 2 and COMALP, which between them command the actual 11 Italian combat Brigades. The attached units are in detail:
Structure of the Italian Army (click to enlarge).
 NRDC-IT
The NRDC or "NATO Rapid Deployable Corps" is located in Solbiate Olona and has a support brigade at its dependency, formed by:
- Support Brigade in Solbiate Olona (Lombardy)
 1° Signal Regiment in Milan (Lombardy) (33°) Logistic Support Regiment in Solbiate Olona (Lombardy)
 COMALP
“Comando Truppe Alpine” (Alpine Troops Command) or COMALP has command over the professional Mountain Troops of the Italian Army, called "Alpines", in Italian Alpini. It is located in Bolzano and consist of the following units:
 COMFOD 1
NH90 Helicopter of the Italian Army
“Comando Forze di Difesa 1” or COMFOD 1 resides in the north-eastern city of Vittorio Veneto (Veneto) and commands the most specialized brigades of the Italian Army:
 “Mantova” Infantry Division Command (without fixed units)
 “Ariete” Armored Brigade in Pordenone (Friuli-Venezia Giulia)
 4° Tank Regiment in Bellinzago Novarese (Piedmont) with 54 Ariete 32° Tank Regiment in Tauriano (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) with 54 Ariete 132° Tank Regiment in Cordenons (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) with 54 Ariete 11° Bersaglieri mechanized Infantry Regiment in Orcenigo Superiore (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) with 59 Dardo 132° Self Propelled Artillery Rgt. “Ariete” in Maniago (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) with 32 M109/L, which will be replaced within 2008 by the PzH 2000 10° Engineer Regiment in Cremona (Lombardy) "Ariete" Combat Service Support Battalion in Pordenone
 “Friuli” Air Assault Brigade in Bologna (Emilia)
 3 °Cavalry Regiment “Savoia Cavalleria” in Grosseto (Tuscany) with 50 Centauro and 33 Puma 4x4 66° Air Assault Infantry Regiment “Trieste” in Forlì (Romagna) with 33 Puma 4x4 5° Army Aviation Regiment “Rigel” in Casarsa (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) with
 7° Army Aviation Regiment “Vega” in Rimini (Romagna) with
 "Friuli" Combat Service Support Battalion in Bologna
 COMFOD 2
“Comando Forze di Difesa 2” or COMFOD 2 resides in S. Giorgio a Cremano near Naples and commands 5 brigades. Three of those, the brigades “Aosta”, “Pinerolo” and “Granatieri di Sardegna” are made up of one year volunteers and therefore intended for use mainly on Italian soil. The COMFOD 2 commands:
- “Acqui” Division Command (without fixed units)
 "Acqui" Combat Service Support Battalion in Naples “Garibaldi” Bersaglieri Mechanized Brigade in Caserta (Campania)
 131° Tank Regiment in Persano (Campania) with 54 Leopard 1 19 °Cavalry Regiment “Cavalleggeri Guide” in Salerno (Campania) with 50 Centauro and 33 Puma 4x4 1° Bersaglieri Regiment in Cosenza (Calabria) with 59 Dardo 8° Bersaglieri Regiment in Caserta (Campania) with 59 Dardo 8° Self propelled Artillery Regiment “Pasubio” in Persano (Campania) with few PzH 2000, 21 at the and of 2008 21° Engineer Regiment in Caserta (Campania) "Garibaldi" Combat Service Support Battalion in Caserta
Soldiers of the 8° Cavalry Regiment “Lancieri di Montebello”
Soldiers of the 6° Cavalry Regiment “Lancieri di Aosta”
Soldiers of the Sassari Brigade
 “Granatieri di Sardegna” Mechanized Brigade in Rome (Lazio)
 1° “Granatieri di Sardegna” Mechanized Infantry Regiment in Rome (Lazio) with 41 Puma 6x6 8° Cavalry Regiment “Lancieri di Montebello” in Rome (Lazio) with 50 Centauro and 33 Puma 4x4 33° Self propelled Artillery Regiment “Acqui” in l'Aquila (Abruzzi) with 24 M109/L "Granatieri di Sardegna" Combat Service Support Battalion in Rome
 “Pinerolo” Mechanized Brigade in Bari (Apulia)
 31° Tank Regiment (Battle lab) in Altamura (Apulia) 7° Bersaglieri Regiment in Bari (Apulia) with 59 VCC (M113 improved) 9° Infantry Regiment “Bari” in Trani (Apulia) with 59 VCC (M113 improved) 82° Infantry Regiment “Torino” in Barletta (Apulia) with 59 VCC (M113 improved) 21° Self propelled Artillery Regiment “Trieste” in Foggia (Apulia) with 24 M109/L 11° Engineer Regiment in Foggia (Apulia) "Pinerolo" Combat Service Support Battalion in Bari
 “Aosta” Mechanized Brigade Messina (Sicily)
 6° Cavalry Regiment “Lancieri d’Aosta” in Palermo (Sicily) with 50 Centauro and 33 Puma 4x4 6° Bersaglieri Regiment in Trapani (Sicily) with 59 VCC (M113 improved) 5° Infantry Regiment “Aosta” in Messina (Sicily) with 59 VCC (M113 improved) 62° Infantry Regiment “Sicilia” in Catania (Sicily) with 59 VCC (M113 improved) 24° Self propelled Artillery Regiment “Peloritani” in Messina (Sicily) with 24 M109/L 4° Engineer Regiment in Palermo (Sicily) "Aosta" Combat Service Support Battalion in Messina
 “Sassari” Mechanized Brigade in Sassari (Sardinia)
 151° Infantry Regiment “Sassari” in Cagliari (Sardinia) with 59 VCC (M113 improved) 152° Infantry Regiment “Sassari” in Sassari (Sardinia) with 59 VCC (M113 improved) 5° Engineer Regiment in Macomer (Sardinia)
 CoTIE
“Comando Trasmissioni e ed Informazioni dell’Esercito” or CoTIE is the Italian Army’s Signal and Information Command, it resides in Anzio (Lazio) and consists of the following units:
- Signal Brigade for Maneuver Support
 2° Signal Regiment (Alpini) in Bolzano with the Battalions:
 7° Signal Regiment in Sacile with the Battalions:
 11° Signal Regiment in Civitavecchia (Lazio) with the Battalions:
- 232° Signal Regiment in Avellino (Campania) with the Battalion:
- Signal Brigade for National Support
 3° Signal Regiment in Rome (Lazio) with the Battalions:
- "Lanciano"
- "Abetone"
- "Gennargentu".
 32° Signal Regiment in Padova (Veneto) with the Battalions :
 46° Signal Regiment in Palermo (Sicily) with the Battalions:
- C4-IEW ISTAR/C4 development and integration Brigade
- RSISC4 regiment in Treviso (Veneto)
 Army Aviation Command
The Army Aviation Command resides in Viterbo and includes the non combat flying formations of the Army (i.e. Transport Planes, support helicopters,…)
 Army Aviation Instruction Center in Viterbo
- 1° Squadron “Auriga” in Viterbo with 6 A129, 6 AB205, 6 AB 212, 6 AB412 and 47 AB 206
- 2° Squadron “Sestante”
- 21° Squadron “Orsa Maggiore” in Elmas (Cagliari) with 12 AB 205
 Air Defense Brigade
 4° Air Defense Regiment “Peschiera” in Mantova with 30 Hawk surface-to-air missile systems 5° Air Defense Regiment “Pescara” in Rovigo with 30 Hawk surface-to-air missile systems 17° Air Defense Regiment “Sforzesca” in Sabaudia with Skyguard "Aspide", SIDAM 25 and Stinger (2 Battalions) 121° Air Defense Regiment “Ravenna” in Bologna with Skyguard "Aspide", SIDAM 25 and Stinger
 Field Artillery Brigade
 Engineering Brigade
 2° Bridge Engineers Regiment in Piacenza 6° Pioneer Engineers Regiment in Rome Railway Engineers Regiment in Castel Maggiore (near Bologna; 2 Battalions)
 Logistics Brigade
 1° Maneuver Logistics Regiment in Rivoli 6° Maneuver Logistics Regiment in Pisa (Tuscany)- 10° Maneuver Logistics Regiment in Persano (Campania)
 24° Maneuver Logistics Regiment (Alpini) “btg Dolomiti” in Merano (South Tyrol)- 1° Transport Regiment in Bellinzago Novarese
 6° Transport Regiment in Budrio- 8° Transport Regiment in Orzano
- 10° Transport Regiment in Bari (Apulia)
Support units
The following support units are not under the command of COMFOTER and their role is exclusively the support of units on Italian soil. They are commanded by various sub staffs of the SME- Army General Staff in Rome.
 Training Brigade in Capua
 17° Infantry Regiment “Acqui” in Capua 47° Infantry Regiment “Ferrara” in Capua 57° Infantry Battalion “Abruzzi” in Sora 80° Infantry Regiment “Roma” in Cassino 85° Infantry Regiment “Verona” in Montorio Veronese 91° Training Battalion “Lucania” in Potenza 123° Infantry Regiment “Chieti” in Chieti 235° Infantry Regiment “Piceno” in Ascoli Piceno
- other Training units:
 1° Tank Regiment in Capo Teulada (Sardinia)
- Technical Support and Logistics units:
- Military Region North
- Military Region South
 44° Signal Support Regiment in Rome 1° Army Aviation Support Regiment “Idra” in Bracciano 4° Army Aviation Support Regiment “Scorpione” in Viterbo
- Others
- 8° Transport Regiment “Casilina”
 11° Transport Battalion “Flaminia”- 57° Infantry Battalion “Abruzzi” in Rome
Effective operational capability
Collar patches worn by soldiers of the Italian Army.
All brigades may be deployed outside Italy and are often involved in peace-keeping operations on foreign soil. The brigades are combat brigades, numbering between 3-7,000 troops each. These units are the pride of the Italian Army and are a front-line well-equipped force capable of dealing with most emergency situations. They are characterised by quality, efficiency, motivation and mobility. In total numbers the Italian Army can field about 85,000 ground troops out of a total Army strength of 112,000 men and women.
Units designated as regiments are large battalions which consist of a large Command, Logistics, and Support Company plus a combat battalion, which, in the case of the infantry (Alpini, Bersaglieri, Granatieri, Lagunari, Infantry) units, consists of:
- 3 or 4 Infantry Companies
- 1 Mortar/Weapons Company
- 1 Antitank Company
The naming has historical reasons. Most regiments are deployed singularly, especially the support brigades' regiments as adjuncts to combat units, formed for the task ahead.
Equipment
Weapons
Combat vehicles
Artillery
Aircraft inventory
The Italian Army operates 484 aircraft, including 471 helicopters.
Operations
A post-World War II peace treaty signed by Italy prevented the country from deploying military forces in overseas operations as well as possessing fixed-wing vessel-based aircraft for twenty-five years following the end of the war.
This treaty expired in 1970, but it would not be until 1982 that Italy first deployed troops on foreign soil, with a peacekeeping contingent being dispatched to Beirut following a United Nations request for troops. Since the 1980s, Italian troops have participated with other Western countries in peacekeeping operations across the world, especially in Africa, Balkan Peninsula and the Middle East.
As of yet, the Italian Army has not engaged in major combat operations since World War II; though Italian Special Forces have taken part in anti-Taliban operations in Afghanistan as part of Task Force 'Nibbio'. Italy was not yet a member of the United Nations in 1950, when that organization went to war with North Korea.
Italy did take part in the 1990-91 Gulf War but solely through the deployment of eight Italian Air Force Panavia Tornado IDS bomber jets to Saudi Arabia; Italian Army troops were subsequently deployed to assist Kurdish refugees in northern Iraq following the conflict.
As part of Operation Enduring Freedom in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, Italy contributed to the international operation in Afghanistan. Italian forces have contributed to ISAF, the NATO force in Afghanistan, and a Provincial reconstruction team and 5 Italian soldiers have died under ISAF. Italy has sent 411 troops, based on one infantry company from the 2nd Alpini Regiment tasked to protect the ISAF HQ, one engineer company, one NBC platoon, one logistic unit, as well as liaison and staff elements integrated into the operation chain of command. Italian forces also command a multinational engineer task force and have deployed a platoon of Italian military police. Three AB 212 helicopters also were deployed to Kabul.
The Italian Army did not take part in combat operations of the 2003 Second Gulf War, dispatching troops only after May 1, 2003 - when major combat operations were declared over by the U.S. President George W. Bush. Subsequently Italian troops arrived in the late summer of 2003, and began patrolling Nasiriyah and the surrounding area. On 26 May, 2006, Italian foreign minister Massimo d'Alema announced that the Italian forces would be reduced to 1,600 by June. As of June 2006 32 Italian troops have been killed in Iraq - with the greatest single loss of life coming on November 12, 2003 - a suicide car bombing of the Italian Carabinieri Corps HQ left a dozen Carabinieri, five Army soldiers, two Italian civilians, and eight Iraqi civilians dead.
As of 2006, Italy ranks third in the world in number of military forces operating in peacekeeping and peace-enforcing scenarios Afghanistan, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Lebanon following only the United States and United Kingdom.
A recent law promotes membership of the Italian Army guaranteeing volunteers post-Army careers in the Carabinieri, Italian State Police, Customs Police, State Forestry Department, Fire Department and other state bodies.
See also
References
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