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52-489: The Istituto Geografico Militare ( IGM ), or Military Geographic Institute , is an Italian public organization, dependent on the Italian Army general staff ( Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito ). It is the national mapping agency for Italy . Its headquarters are in via Cesare Battisti, Florence , and they occupy most part of Santissima Annunziata cloister. It was established by king Vittorio Emanuele II in 1861 and

104-522: A Support Command (COMSUP) was raised in Treviso , which gained operational control of all the remaining combat support, combat service support and CIS units of the Army. The COMSUP controlled three division-sized formations (Army Aviation Command, Anti-aircraft Artillery Command, C4-IEW Command) and three brigade-sized formations (Field Artillery Brigade, Engineer Brigade, Logistic Support Command). Thus after

156-747: A fifth its size during the three-month Operation Compass . The incompetent military leadership was aggravated by the Italian military's equipment, which predominantly dated back to the First World War and was not up to the standard of either the Allied or the German armies. Italian 'medium' M11 , M13 , M14 and M15 tanks were at a marked disadvantage against the comparatively heavily armed American Sherman tanks, for example. More crucially, Italy lacked suitable quantities of equipment of all kinds, and

208-413: A reconnaissance helicopter regiment, an attack helicopter regiment, a field artillery regiment, an engineer regiment, a logistic regiment as well as the standard command and signal unit with the brigade staff. The "Sassari" brigade would not field a cavalry reconnaissance regiment and an artillery regiment unless funds were to be found to raise these units on Sardinia . The "Granatieri di Sardegna" brigade

260-583: The 2nd Mountain Artillery Regiment was disbanded, followed by the 5th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment "Pescara" and the 47th Infantry Regiment "Ferrara" in 2015. As part of the reform, all army schools, training regiments and training centres were to be combined into the newly raised Army Formation, Specialisation and Doctrine Command ( Comando per la Formazione, Specializzazione e Dottrina dell’Esercito or COMFORDOT) in Rome. However, as of July 2019,

312-728: The Air Assault Brigade "Friuli" . Together with the other two divisions Acqui and Tridentina the Friuli took command of operational brigades of the Italian Army. The Logistic Projection Command was disbanded, and its units attached directly to the brigades. As part of the reform, the Army raised the Army Special Forces Command (COMFOSE) in Pisa , which took command of all Special Operations Forces of

364-857: The Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I , Abyssinia before World War II and in World War II in Albania, Balkans, North Africa, the Soviet Union, and Italy itself. During the Cold War , the army prepared itself to defend against a Warsaw Pact invasion from the east. Since the end of the Cold War, the army has seen extensive peacekeeping service and combat in Afghanistan and Iraq . Its best-known combat vehicles are

416-642: The Boxer Rebellion of 1900 and to Libya during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912. The Italian Royal Army's first real taste of modern warfare was during World War I . Most of the actions were fought in northern Italy , and the Royal Army suffered many casualties. This included over 700,000 dead. In particular, the frequency of the offensives in which Italian soldiers participated between May 1915 and August 1917, one every three months,

468-866: The Dardo infantry fighting vehicle , the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank and among its aircraft the Mangusta attack helicopter , recently deployed in UN missions. The headquarters of the Army General Staff are located in Rome opposite the Quirinal Palace , where the president of Italy resides. The army is an all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel. The Italian Army originated as

520-941: The IV Army Corps in Bolzano and V Army Corps in Vittorio Veneto , to be able to circumvent NATO 's chain of command in case a war should break out between Italy and Yugoslavia for the Free Territory of Trieste . Later in 1952 the army also raised the VI Army Corps in Bologna , followed by the III Army Corps in Milan in 1957, both of which were also assigned to the Third Army. During

572-512: The Italian high command did not take the necessary steps to plan for possible battlefield setbacks or proper logistical support to its field armies. There were too few anti-aircraft weapons, obsolete anti-tank guns, and too few trucks. The Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia fought under General Giovanni Messe , who acknowledged the limitations of his Corps in material and equipment and thus

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624-550: The Italian invasion of Albania . On paper, the Royal Army was one of the largest ground forces in World War II , and it was one of the pioneers in using paratroopers . In reality, it could not field the numbers claimed. Due to their generally smaller size, many Italian divisions were reinforced by an Assault Group ( Gruppo d'Assalto ) of two battalions of Blackshirts ( MVSN ). Reports of Italian military prowess in

676-641: The Mechanized Brigade "Legnano" . Only the 132nd Armored Division "Ariete" saw no reduction in its ranks, and its three regiments were used to create three brigades for the division. After the reform the organization of the army was: The brigades under operational control of the Military Regions were: In 1986 the remaining four divisional headquarters were dissolved and all brigades in Northern Italy came under direct command of

728-576: The Royal Army ( Regio Esercito ), which dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy following the seizure of the Papal States and the unification of Italy ( Risorgimento ). In 1861, under the leadership of Giuseppe Garibaldi , Victor Emmanuel II of the House of Savoy was invited to take the throne and of the newly created kingdom. Italian expeditions were dispatched to China during

780-798: The Second Battle of El Alamein . Although the battle was lost, the 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 dropped. Once the Allies landed in Sicily on July 10, 1943, most Italian Coastal divisions simply dissolved. The sagging morale led to

832-430: The "Aquileia", "Brescia", "Goito", "Mameli", "Orobica", "Trieste", and "Vittorio Veneto". The units subordinated to these brigades were mostly disbanded, while the "Garibaldi" brigade command was transferred with one of its battalions to Campania . With the relaxing military situation, the Italian Army kept drawing down forces and disbanding smaller military units, which necessitated a major reorganization by 1997 to merge

884-856: The 1997 reform the structure of the Italian Army was as follows: Between 1997 and 2002 the Army continued to tweak the new structure and with the abolition of obligatory military service a further two brigades ("Centauro", "Tridentina") were disbanded in 2002. On December 1, 2000, the COMFOP became the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Italy (NRDC-IT) and passed its subordinate units to the COMFOD 1 ("Friuli", "Folgore") and COMFOD 2 ("Garibaldi") commands. The "Friuli" Brigade changed its composition and became an airmobile brigade with Army Aviation, Cavalry and Infantry units. The COMSUP had already been reorganized and streamlined in 2000. After 2002

936-533: The 3rd Army Corps became the "Projection Forces Command" (COMFOP), commanding the rapid reaction forces of the Army, the 4th Alpine Army Corps became the "Alpine Troops Command" (COMALP) focusing on peace-keeping operations and the 5th Army Corps became the "1st Defense Forces Command" (COMFOD1) tasked with defending Northern Italy. On January 1, 1998, the "2nd Defense Forces Command" (COMFOD2) was activated in Naples and tasked with defending South and Central Italy. During

988-842: The Alpine Training Center and the Parachuting Training Center remain with the Alpine Troops Command and the Paratroopers Brigade Folgore , respectively. As the security situation in Europe had changed in 2014 with the Russian annexation of Crimea the 2013 reform was paused. Neither were the "Pozzuolo del Friuli", and "Friuli" brigades merged, nor was the "Granatieri di Sardegna" brigade disbanded. On 1 July 2019,

1040-458: The Army's three Army Corps, while the brigades in Central and Southern Italy came under operational control of the local administrative Military Regions. With the disappearance of the divisions the army renamed some of the divisional brigades and granted all of them a new coat of arms to reflect their new independence. By 1989 the army was structured as depicted in the graphic below: At the end of

1092-574: The Army. Furthermore, the Operational Terrestrial Forces Command (COMFOTER) in Verona was split on 1 October 2016 into the "Operational Land Forces Command and Army Operational Command" in Rome and the "Operational Land Forces Support Command" in Verona. At the end of the reform the plan envisioned that the Army would consist of: After the reform, each maneuver brigade, except the "Pozzuolo del Friuli" and "Sassari",

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1144-974: The Cold War in 1989 the Italian Army consisted of 26 Combat Brigades: four Armored Brigades, ten Mechanized Brigades, five Motorized Brigades, five Alpine Brigades, one paratroopers Brigade and one Rocket Artillery Brigade. The units were placed as follows under the three Army Corps's: The brigades under operational control of the Military Regions were: The armored brigades consisted of one command & signals battalion, two or three tank battalions with Leopard 1 A2 tanks, one mechanized infantry battalion with M113 APCs , one self-propelled field artillery group with M109 howitzers , one logistic battalion, an anti-tank company and an engineer company. The Mechanized Brigades consisted of one command & signals battalion, one Tank Battalion (Leopard 1), three mechanized infantry battalions (M113), one Self-propelled Field Artillery Battalion with M109 howitzers, one logistic battalion, an Anti-Tank Company and an Engineer Company; however,

1196-518: The Cold War, the Italian Army units were to be commanded in wartime by NATO's LANDSOUTH Command in Verona ; on October 1, 1997, out of elements of the aforementioned NATO Command, the new "Operational Terrestrial Forces Command" (COMFOTER) was activated. The COMFOTER took command of all the combat, combat support, combat service support and CIS units of the Italian Army. Along with the COMFOTER in Verona,

1248-553: The Italian royalist forces fighting on the side of the Allies in southern Italy after the Allied armistice with Italy in September 1943. The Italian 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. Following the 2 June 1946 Italian institutional referendum , on 10 June

1300-538: The Julia the largest brigade of the Italian Army. The "d'Arresto" Alpini and Infantry units were designated to hold specific fortified locations directly at the border to slow down an attacking enemy. They were not a maneuver element but attached for training and logistic purposes to brigades stationed close to the border. The Missile Brigade "Aquileia" fielded a mix of heavy artillery and missile units, both capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons. The main missile weapon of

1352-741: The Pinerolo Mechanized Brigades fielded a Field Artillery Group with FH-70 howitzers. Additionally, the "Gorizia" and "Mantova" mechanized brigades fielded two Position Infantry battalions each, which were tasked with manning fortifications and bunkers along the Yugoslav-Italian border. The Motorized Brigades consisted of one command & signals battalion, one armored battalion (a mixed unit of tanks and mechanized infantry), three motorized infantry battalions, one Field Artillery Group (FH-70), one logistic battalion, an Anti-Tank Company and an Engineer Company; however,

1404-467: The Sassari Brigade did not contain a field artillery battalion. The Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore" did field one command & signals battalion, one Paratroopers Assault Battalion (a Special Forces Unit), three Paratroopers Battalions, one Airborne Field Artillery Group with Mod 56 howitzers , one logistic battalion, one Army Aviation Helicopter Battalion and an Engineer Company. Three of

1456-544: The Second World War were almost always dismissive. This perception was the result of disastrous Italian offensives against Egypt and the performance of the army in the Greco-Italian War . Both campaigns were ill-prepared and executed inadequately. The Italian 10th Army initially advanced into Egypt but surrendered after being pushed back into central Libya and almost all destroyed by British forces

1508-505: The above three divisions, they remained in service after the reform. The units of the Infantry Division "Folgore" and Infantry Division "Mantova" were mostly disbanded, and the remnants used to create one brigade each; then each of the two divisions was augmented with two brigades to bring them back up to strength. The 131st Armored Division "Centauro" was split into two brigades and then brought back to full strength by adding

1560-599: The army officially ended the 2013 reform: on that date in Florence, the Division "Friuli" was renamed Division "Vittorio Veneto" . With this, the traditions of the name "Friuli" returned to the Airmobile Brigade "Friuli" , whose merger with the "Pozzuolo del Friuli" brigade was disbanded. Likewise the disbanding of the "Granatieri di Sardegna" brigade was disbanded, and it was decided that the second battalion of

1612-575: The brigade was the MGM-52 Lance missile. In total the Italian Army fielded at the end of the Cold War: Additionally the Army fielded 24 Anti-tank companies, one in each combat brigade except the "Sassari" brigade. The end of the cold war in 1989 and the subsequent dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 created a new geopolitical environment in Europe, which contributed to implementation of significative reductions in

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1664-462: The brigade's 1st "Granatieri di Sardegna" "Regiment" would become independent as 2nd Grenadier Battalion "Cengio" and grow to regiment by 2020 as first step to bring the brigade back to full strength. On 10 January 2020 the 31st Tank Regiment was reformed as Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Lodi" (15th) thus completing the transformation of the Mechanized Brigade "Pinerolo" . Corpo Truppe Volontarie Too Many Requests If you report this error to

1716-470: The early 1960s the army reduced the "Trieste", "Friuli", "Pozzuolo del Friuli", "Pinerolo", "Avellino", and "Aosta" divisions to brigades and raised the I Paratroopers Brigade in Pisa . On 1 October 1965, the Infantry Brigade "Avellino" was disbanded and, on 10 June 1967, the 1st Paratroopers Brigade was allowed to add " Folgore " to its name. It was now named Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore" . With

1768-488: The easing of tensions between Italy and Yugoslavia, the Third Army, along with VI Army Corps, was disbanded on 1 April 1972, and its functions were taken over by NATO 's Allied Forces Southern Europe in Verona . Before the disbanding of Third Army the army's structure was as follows: The most significant reorganization of the Italian Army took place in 1975, when the regimental level was abolished and battalions came under direct command of newly formed multi-arms brigades. At

1820-880: The five Alpine Brigades consisted of one command & signals battalion, two Alpini battalions, one Alpini Training Battalion, two mountain artillery groups (Mod 56), one logistic battalion, an Anti-Tank Company and an Engineer Company; In contrast, the "Tridentina" brigade fielded an Alpini d'Arresto Battalion instead of the Alpini Training Battalion. The exception was the Julia Alpine Brigade which consisted of one command & signals battalion, four Alpini Battalions, one Alpini d'Arresto Battalion, one Alpini Training Battalion, three Mountain Artillery Battalions, one logistic battalion, an Anti-Tank Company and an Engineer Company, making

1872-507: The kingdom was replaced by a Republic , and the Royal Army changed its name to become the Italian Army ("Esercito Italiano"). Initially, the army fielded five infantry divisions, created from the five combat groups of the Italian Co-belligerent Army and equipped with British material. Additionally the army fielded three internal security divisions without heavy equipment to garrison the country's two major islands: As

1924-642: The law n rules it. 68 February 2, 1960. This article about an organisation based in Italy is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Italian Army The Italian Army ( Italian : Esercito Italiano [ EI ]) is the land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces . The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China, Libya , Northern Italy against

1976-709: The only forces initially available to this command to defend northeastern Italy. The divisions in question were the Infantry Division "Mantova" in Gorizia , the Infantry Division "Folgore" in Treviso , the Infantry Division "Trieste" in Bologna. Two of the three brigades were Alpini mountain infantry brigades – the Alpine Brigade "Julia" in Cividale del Friuli and Alpine Brigade "Tridentina" in Brixen , while

2028-407: The overthrow of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini by King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy 15 days later. In September 1943, Italy made an armistice with the Allies and split into the Italian Social Republic – effectively a puppet state of Germany – in the north and that of the Badoglio government in the south. The Italian Co-Belligerent Army ( Esercito Cobelligerante Italiano ) was the army of

2080-415: The remaining battalions into coherent units and disband now superfluous brigade commands. Thus a further six brigades were disbanded during the latter half of 1996 and 1997: "Acqui", "Cadore", "Cremona", "Gorizia", "Legnano", and "Mantova". In addition, the remaining units were moved to new bases and changed in composition, designation, and tasks. The three Army Corps were renamed, and their functions expanded:

2132-406: The same time, the reduction of the military service from 15 to 12 months for the army and air force and from 24 to 18 months for the navy forced the army to reduce its forces by nearly 45,000 troops. Therefore, while in the existing brigades "Orobica", "Tridentina", "Cadore", "Julia", "Taurinense", "Friuli", "Trieste", "Folgore", "Pinerolo", "Aosta" and "III Missile Brigade" only the regimental level

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2184-399: The status of the city of Free Territory of Trieste was disputed by the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia the Italian army moved the Infantry Division "Folgore" to Treviso and the Infantry Division "Mantova" to Gorizia in 1947. At the same time, the army began training an additional seven divisions and five Alpini brigades. Following the creation of NATO , the Italian Army

2236-417: The strength of the armed forces of all the NATO countries, in order to obtain the so called " peace dividend ". This was reflected also in the Italian Army, that in the following decades went through several reductions, named "reforms". In 1991, the Army began the post-Cold War draw-down of its forces with the disbandment of seven brigades and a large number of smaller units. The brigades disbanded in 1991 were

2288-414: The structure of the Italian Army was as follows: During 2011 some small changes regarding the support units of the Army were enacted. The COMSUP took command of the Army's schools and merged them, where possible, with the support brigades. Minor units were moved South and to the islands to reduce the Army's footprint in the wealthier North of Italy. At the same time, the designation of the "Pinerolo" brigade

2340-421: The third brigade was the Armored Brigade "Ariete" in Pordenone . Exercise "Italic Weld", a combined air-naval-ground exercise in northern Italy involving the United States, Italy, Turkey, and Greece, appears to have been one of the first exercises in which the new Italian Army orientation was tested. On 1 May 1952 the army activated one army command and two corps commands, the Third Army in Padua , and

2392-483: Was abolished, the divisions and "Pozzuolo del Friuli" brigade were subjected to major changes: While the Infantry Division "Cremona" was reduced to a brigade, the Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna" and Infantry Division "Legnano" and the Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" were split to create two new brigades each. Afterwards, the three units ceased to exist. The remaining four divisions were also subjected to major changes and reductions, however, unlike

2444-409: Was changed back to Mechanized Brigade. Afterwards the COMSUP consisted, besides four Army schools of the following commands: In 2013 the Army began a major reform. The three corp-level commands COMFOD 1 , COMFOD 2 and COMALP were to disband, while the "Mantova" Division Command moved from Vittorio Veneto to Florence , where it was renamed as Division "Friuli" , taking the name and traditions of

2496-464: Was destined to disband, with its cavalry regiment joining the "Pinerolo" brigade. In contrast, the 1st Granatieri di Sardegna Regiment was planned to become a public duties unit under the Capital Military Command in Rome. In 2013 the reform started with the disbanding of the 131st Tank Regiment and the 57th Infantry Battalion "Abruzzi" , while the 33rd Field Artillery Regiment "Acqui" was reformed as 185th Paratroopers Artillery Regiment "Folgore" . In 2014

2548-447: Was higher than demanded by the armies on the Western Front. Italian discipline was also harsher, with punishments for infractions of duty of a severity not known in the German, French, and British armies. During the Interwar Years the Royal Army participated in the Italian Invasion of Ethiopia , provided men and materials during the Spanish Civil War to fight in the Corps of Volunteer Troops ( Corpo Truppe Volontarie ), and launched

2600-415: Was integrated into NATO's Allied Forces Southern Europe and prepared for a feared invasion from the east, possibly via Yugoslavia . Allied Land Forces Southern Europe (LANDSOUTH), was activated on 10 July 1951 to defend northeastern Italy. The command was headquartered at Verona , and placed under Lieutenant General Maurizio Lazzaro De Castiglioni . Some three infantry divisions and three brigades were

2652-438: Was planned to field the following units: a command and signal unit with the brigade staff, one cavalry reconnaissance regiment, three combat maneuver regiments, one artillery regiment, one engineer regiment, and one logistic regiment. The "Pozzuolo del Friuli" brigade was planned to merge with the "Friuli" brigade and field a cavalry reconnaissance regiment, an air-assault infantry regiment, an amphibious-assault infantry regiment,

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2704-457: Was relieved of his command on November 1, 1942. When the Soviet offensive Operation Saturn began on December 12, 1942 the Italian 8th Army was quickly crushed. Only about a third of its troops managed to escape the Soviet cauldron, including from the three Alpini Divisions Tridentina , Julia and Cuneense . In North Africa, the Italian 132nd Armored Division "Ariete" and the 185th Infantry Division "Folgore" fought to total annihilation at

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