| Comando Truppe Alpine | |
|---|---|
 Coat of Arms of the Alpine Troops Command | |
| Active | 4º Corpo d'Armata 1 May 1945 Comando Truppe Alpine 1 October 1997 - today |
| Country |  Kingdom of Italy Italian Republic |
| Branch |  Royal Italian Army Italian Army |
| Type | Alpini |
| Size | 2 Brigades |
| Part of | Operational Land Forces Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Bolzano (South Tyrol) |
| Engagements | War in Afghanistan |
TheComando Truppe Alpine (Alpine Troops Command) or COMTA (formerly also COMALP) commands the Mountain Troops of theItalian Army, calledAlpini (singular:Alpino) and various support and training units. It is the successor to the4º Corpo d'Armata Alpino (4th AlpineArmy Corps) of theCold War. The Alpini arelight Infantry units specializing inMountain Combat. The subordinate units of the COMTA distinguished themselves during combat inWorld War I andWorld War II.
The history of the COMTA begins after thesecond Italian war of independence. Following the Italian-French victory over theAustrian Empire, theKingdom of Sardinia annexed thePapal Legations in present-dayEmilia Romagna. Thus on 25 March 1860 the 4th Higher Military Command was activated as a territorial command inBologna and tasked to defend the newly acquired territory between thePanaro river and theAdriatic Sea. The command consisted of the 4th, 7th and 13th division of the Line.
At the outbreak of thethird Italian war of independence the command covered the right flank of the main army and remained static along the riverPo. The command under GeneralEnrico Cialdini consisted of the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 17th, 18th and 20th division of the line. However, when the main Italian army failed to break through the AustrianQuadrilatero fortress system south ofLake Garda theV Army Corps marched six divisions over theApennine Mountains, joined up with theIV Army Corps in theRomagna and crossed the lowerPo andAdige rivers in force on 15 July 1866. Cialdini bypassed the Austrian fortresses and main army on his left flank and marched his army all through theVeneto, dispatching one division underGiacomo Medici to invadeTrentino and cut the Austrian line of retreat and three divisions underRaffaele Cadorna to march at speed to the city ofTrieste. Cialdinis army finally reached theIsonzo river on 24 July 1866.
After the Kingdom of Sardinia extended its borders northward following the war by annexing the territory ofVeneto the 4th Higher Military Command was disbanded in spring of 1867. On 15 August 1870 the IV Army Corps was activated for the short campaign tocapture of Rome. After the troops of the corps had entered Rome the corps was turned into the General Army Command, which was tasked with garrison duties inRome. During the campaign the corps commanded the 2nd, 9th, 11th, 12th and 13th division of the line.
In 1873 the command was renamed as 4th General Command and transferred toFlorence to act as territorial command for Tuscany. On 22 January 1877 the corps was renamed as IV Army Corps and transferred toPiacenza. In 1888 the corps moved toGenoa.
In spring 1915, the corps under generalMario Nicolis di Robilant was moved towards the Austrian border and saw its first combat during the battle for Monte Nero (todayKrn) in theJulian Alps. At the outbreak of the war the corps consisted of the 7th and 8th Division of the Line (Infantry), the 33rd Territorial Division, the eliteBersaglieri Division and two division sizedAlpini formations:
For the rest of the war the corps fought on theIsonzo front. In thetwelfth battle of the Isonzo the corps was covering the northern flank of the Italian 2nd Army between MountRombon andDolje. The main Austro-German attack was aimed at the Italian IV and XXVII Corps. The Italian defences were quickly overcome and the rapid advance cut the IV Corps' line of retreat. Most of the men and material of the IV Corps were captured by theCentral Powers troops and the corps was not raised again until the end of the war.
After World War I the corps was moved once again to Bologna until it moved toVerona in 1927 and tasked with territorial and defence duties along the valley of theAdige. The corps consisted of the9th Infantry Division "Pasubio" inVerona and the11th Infantry Division "Brennero" inBolzano. In 1935 the corps was moved toBolzano, but quickly dispatched to reinforce the Italian troops that faced stiffer than expected resistance during the Italianinvasion of Abyssinia. The corps commanded the5th Infantry Division "Cosseria",1st Blackshirt Division "23 March" and5th Blackshirt Division "1° Febbraio". During the campaign in Abyssinia the IV Army Corps participated in theBattle of Shire.
After the return from Abyssinia the corps was tasked with defending the Northern borders of Italy. Specifically in the case of war with Hitler'sThird Reich the corps was tasked with manning theAlpine Wall inSouth Tyrol and delaying the advancing enemy for as long as possible. Although Germany and Italy signed thePact of Steel in 1939 the construction of the fortifications along the Alpine Wall continued unabated.
When Italy declared war on France on 10 June 1940 the corps was near the French-Italian border. The Italian Army only performed limited patrols and remained in its positions until after France had asked for an armistice on 20 June 1940. The next day the Italian divisionscrossed the border in force, but stiff French resistance stopped them along the entire front after a few kilometres. During the campaign the corps commanded the2nd Mountain Infantry Division "Sforzesca",26th Mountain Infantry Division "Assietta" and3rd Alpini Regiment.
After the Italianinvasion of Greece in October 1940 bogged down under stiff Greek resistance the IV Army Corps was dispatched toAlbania to augment the Italian forces along theEpirus front. The corps commanded the5th Alpine Division "Pusteria" and the22nd Infantry Division "Cacciatori delle Alpi". After the war the corps returned to Bolzano.
In July 1942Benito Mussolini decided to scale up the Italian war effort in theSoviet Union. Seven fresh divisions were sent to Southern Russia to augment the existingItalian Expeditionary Corps in Russia. The2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina",3rd Alpine Division "Julia" and4th Alpine Division "Cuneense" were sent to Russia and came under a newly raised corps, which was named Alpine Army Corps; the first time an Italian corps carried the name "Alpine". The threeAlpini divisions were joined by the156th Infantry Division "Vicenza", which performed garrison duties in the corps' rear area.
The corps and most of its troops were annihilated in January 1943 during the SovietOperation Little Saturn. The Italian front along theDon was broken by Soviet armoured and mechanized forces on 16 December 1942, but as the Soviet forces turned South towardsRostov-on-Don on theBlack Sea to cut off the GermanArmy Group A fighting in theCaucasus and the German4th Panzer Army, which was in the midst ofOperation Wintergewitter — the attempt to relieve the6th Army in Stalingrad — the Italian Alpine Corps continued to hold the front along the Don. But on 13 January 1943, the Soviets began the second stage of Operation Saturn and launched the four armies of GeneralFilipp Golikov'sVoronezh Front against theHungarian Second Army on the left flank of the Alpine Corps. Within three days the Alpini found themselves flanked on both sides by Soviet armoured and mechanized units and 200 km away from the new Axis lines. On 17 January the commanding general of the corps Lieutenant GeneralGabriele Nasci finally ordered a full retreat. About 40,000 men formed two columns that followed the Tridentina division which, supported by a handful of German armoured vehicles, led the way westwards to the new Axis front. The Soviets had already occupied every village and bitter battles were fought by the soldiers of the Tridentina to clear the way. On 26 January 1943 the corps' remnants finally broke free from the Soviet encirclement at theBattle of Nikolayevka and reached Axis lines on 1 February 1943.[1] In fifteen days the soldiers covered 200 km on foot, fought twenty-two battles and spent fourteen nights camped in the middle of the Russiansteppe. Temperatures during the night fell between −30 °C (−20 °F) and −40 °C (−40 °F).
The losses were staggering: the "Cuneense" and "Julia" had been annihilated: the Cuneense counted 1,607 survivors out of 17,460 men deployed, the Julia counted less than 1,200 survivors of 17,460 men deployed. The "Tridentina" was somewhat in better shape having managed to bring 4,250 men through the Russian lines. The "Vicenza" hat counted 10,466 men at the beginning of the Soviet offensive, 7,760 of which were killed or missing after the division's remnants reached Axis lines.[2] The worst hit unit was the2nd Alpini Regiment which saw 208 men survive out of 5,206 deployed. In total the corps suffered 34,170 killed in action and 9,400 wounded in action out of 57,000 men at the beginning of the battle.[1]
The remnants of the divisions were repatriated and, along with the IV Corps, which was at this point on garrison duty inDurrës, disbanded in September 1943 after Germany invaded Italy following theItalian-Allied armistice. For the remainder of the war the headquarters of the IV Corps in Bolzano became the headquarters of theGestapo for theOperationszone Alpenvorland.
After the GermanArmy Group C in Italy surrendered on 29 April 1945 with hostilities formally ending on 2 May 1945 Italy immediately sent a military higher command toBolzano to activate there as the IV Territorial Military Command and ensure that the province ofSouth Tyrol would not be reunited withAustria. On 1 May 1952 the command was renamed as IV Army Corps and became one of the three active duty Army Corps of the Italian Army. At first the Corps only commanded theInfantry Division "Friuli" and6th Alpini Regiment. However, in 1949 the Friuli moved toFlorence and the IV Army Corps only consisted of the 6th Alpini Regiment and a few support units.
In the following years the corps added the following major units:
In 1951 the corps - along with the3rd Army Corps and5th Army Corps - were assigned toNATOsAllied Land Forces Southern Europe Command (LANDSOUTH) inVerona. The corps was once more tasked with defending Italy's northern border in South Tyrol. In 1955 the Centauro moved to Novara and joined theIII Army Corps and the IV Army Corps added the Carnia-Cadore Troops Command to its units. The Carnia-Cadore Troops Command was a division level command consisting of theAlpine Brigade "Julia" and theAlpine Brigade "Cadore". The Command was tasked with defending the Italian border in theCadore region and along theCarnic Alps.
In 1972 theAlpine Brigade "Taurinense" joined the IV Army Corps that now commanded all operational Alpini, Alpine, and Mountain units of the Italian Army. On this occasion the corps changed its name to IV Alpine Army Corps. With theItalian Army 1975 reform the Carnia-Cadore Troops Command was disbanded and all five Alpini brigades came under direct command of the IV Alpine Army Corps, which from forthwith was written with Arabic numbers instead of Roman numbers: 4th Alpine Army Corps.
The structure of the 4th Alpine Army Corps from 1976 to 1986 was as follows:
4th Alpine Army Corps Headquarter Battalion, inBolzano
Alpine Brigade "Cadore", inBelluno (Veneto)
Alpine Brigade "Julia", inUdine (Friuli)
Alpine Brigade "Orobica", inMeran (South Tyrol)
Alpine Brigade "Taurinense", inTurin (Piedmont)
Alpine Brigade "Tridentina", inBrixen (South Tyrol)
4th Heavy Field Artillery Regiment, inTrento (reduced to4th Heavy Field Artillery Group "Pusteria" on 31 October 1986) Command and services Battery 1st Heavy Field Artillery Group, (FH-70 howitzer) 2nd Heavy Field Artillery Group, (FH-70 howitzer) 3rd Heavy Field Artillery (Reserve) Group, (FH-70 howitzer) 4th Artillery Specialist Group "Bondone"
2nd Mining Engineer Battalion "Iseo", in Bolzano4th Engineer Battalion "Orta", in Trento4th Signal Battalion "Gardena", in Bolzano
4th Army Corps Auto Group "Claudia", inEppan (renamed 24th Maneuver Logistic Battalion "Dolomiti" in 1986) 7th Alpini Signal Company, inBassano del GrappaAlpini Paratroopers Company "Monte Cervino", in Eppan
After the 1976 reform, the 4th Alpine Army Corps was responsible for defending the Italian border along themain chain of the alps from theSwiss-Austrian-Italian bordertripoint in the west to the Italian-Yugoslavian border in the east. In case of war with Yugoslavia, the 4th Alpine Army Corps would remain static in its position guarding the left flank of the Italian V Corps, which would meet the enemy forces on the plains ofFriuli-Venezia Giulia. The only brigade which would have seen combat in such a case would have been the Julia.
In case of a war with theWarsaw Pact, the 4th Alpine Army Corps had two war plans: one in the case the SovietSouthern Group of Forces andHungarian Army would march through Yugoslavia and the other in case the Warsaw Pact would violateAustrian neutrality and march through Austria. In case the enemy forces would come through Yugoslavia, the Julia would cover the mountainous left flank of the 5th Corps, which, with its four armoured and five mechanized brigades, would try to wear down the enemy before it could break out into the North ItalianPadan plain. The other Alpini brigades would remain static.
In the more likely case, the Soviet and Hungarian divisions would invade Austria, march through SouthernStyria, and through theDrava valley inCarinthia, the Alpini brigades would have been the first front line units of the Italian Army:
To aid in the defence of the narrow mountain valleys the 4th Army Corps re-activated the fortifications of theAlpine Wall. To give an idea of the depth of fortifications: the area of operation of the Tridentina the Puster Valley contained 11 lines of defence, with each line consisting of up to 19 bunkers, which were connected underground. The most heavily fortified valley was the Val Canale.
In case the 4th Alpine Army Corps would have failed in its task to hold the Alpine valleys the Italian Army had two further nuclear armed heavy artillery groups stationed near the Alps: the9th Heavy Artillery Group "Rovigo" inVerona and the27th Heavy Artillery Group "Marche" inUdine. The Rovigo was armed withM115 howitzers and the 27th group withM110 howitzers, the nuclear shells for the 9th were stored inLongarone at "Site Pluto" and "Site River" and the nuclear shells for the Marche were stored inReana del Rojale at the Italian Army ammunition depot "San Bernardo". The Rovigo was tasked with denying the enemy the use of theAdige andPiave valleys, while the Marche was ordered to turn the Canal valley into a fiery hell if the Julia would have been overrun. Each of the three groups had two firing batteries with four artillery systems per battery and 140 nuclear artillery shells per group to fulfil their task. In the late 1980s theW33 nuclear artillery shells were replaced with fewer but more powerfulW79 nuclear artillery shells.
With the introduction of the second version of theMGM-52 Lance tacticalsurface-to-surface missile system in the 1980s the three Heavy Artillery Battalions lost their nuclear role. As the Lance had a greater range (130 km vs. 20 km), a higher mobility and better accuracy the Italian Army decided to rely on its stockpile of over 100 missiles rather than on artillery to deny Soviet forces the passage through the Alpine valleys. Therefore the1st Heavy Artillery Group "Adige" was disbanded on 31 July 1982 with its 8th battery joining the 9th Heavy Artillery Group "Rovigo" as 3rd Battery "Wolves of Elvas". The Rovigo itself lost its nuclear capability in 1986, and the Marche in 1992.
With the end of the Cold War the Italian Army began a decade long reduction of its forces.
The first brigade to disband was theAlpine Brigade "Orobica", which disbanded on 27 July 1991 together with its Alpini battalions Edolo and Morbegno, and its Artillery Group "Bergamo" joining theAlpine Brigade "Tridentina". On the same date the24th Maneuver Logistic Battalion "Dolomiti" moved fromEppan to Meran, where it incorporated personnel and materiel of theLogistic Battalion "Orobica". On 15 September 1994 the battalion was expanded to regiment and renamed24th Maneuver Logistic Regiment "Dolomiti".
On 28 August 1992 the4th Signal Battalion "Gardena" in Bolzano was elevated to2nd Alpine Signal Regiment and incorporated the 7th Alpini Signal Company inBassano del Grappa.
The4th Heavy Field Artillery Group "Pusteria" was disbanded on 4 September 1992 and in its stead the Mountain Artillery Group "Vicenza" of the Tridentina moved toTrento and became the2nd Alpine Artillery Regiment armed withFH-70 howitzers.
On 13 October 1995 the 2nd Alpini Mining Engineer Battalion "Iseo" moved fromBolzano to Trento, where on the same day the 4th Engineer Battalion "Orta" was disbanded and the Iseo became the only battalion of the reactivated2nd Alpine Engineer Regiment morphing from a tunnelling to a sapper battalion in the process. Furthermore in 1995 the Savoia Cavalleria leftMeran and moved toGrosseto in Tuscany where it joined theMotorized Brigade "Friuli". Around the same time the 7th ArmoredCarabinieri Battalion returned to be part of the Carabinieri corps.
The Alpini Paratroopers Company "Monte Cervino" was elevated to battalion on 14 July 1996 and began its conversion from an elite mountain infantry airborne unit to aRanger-qualified unit, a process which was finished in 1999 when the battalion was renamed asAlpini Paratroopers Battalion "Monte Cervino".
On 10 January 1997 theAlpine Brigade "Cadore" disbanded and its7th Alpini Regiment and16th Regiment "Belluno" joined theAlpine Brigade "Julia". In the same year the Alpine Military School inAosta had been reduced to Alpine Training Center with only theAlpini Battalion "Aosta", which by 1998 consisted only of the 42nd Training Company and the 88th Climbers Company.
On 1 October 1997 the 4th Alpine Army Corps was renamed as the Alpine Troops Command (Comando Truppe Alpine or COMALP). At this point the Command consisted of the following units:
COMALP Command Unit, inBolzanoAlpine Brigade "Julia", inUdineAlpine Brigade "Taurinense", inTurinAlpine Brigade "Tridentina", inBrixen
Alpine Training Center, inAosta
Headquarter Company
Logistic Company
Alpini Battalion "Aosta" Headquarters and Service Company 42nd Alpini Company 88th Climbers Company
4th Army Aviation Regiment "Altair", atBolzano-San Giacomo Air Base
2nd Alpine Artillery Regiment, inTrento
2nd Alpine Signal Regiment, in Bolzano
2nd Alpine Engineer Regiment, in Trento
24th Maneuver Logistic Regiment "Dolomiti", inMeran
Alpini Paratroopers Battalion "Monte Cervino", in BolzanoOn 1 December 1997 the 2nd Alpine Artillery Regiment passed from the COMALP to the Army's new Artillery Brigade. On 1 March 1998 the16th Regiment "Belluno" of the Julia and the18th Regiment "Edolo" of the Tridentina passed to the 4th Alpine Army Corps. Both regiments were disbanded after Italy suspend compulsory military service in 2001; the 18th on 30 September 2004 and the 16th on 30 November 2004.
In February 2000 the 2nd Alpine Signal Regiment was transferred to the newly raised Signal Brigade. In February 2001 the 24th Maneuver Logistic Regiment "Dolomiti" added a field maintenance and a field medical battalion to its ranks and transferred to the newly formed Logistic Brigade. In July 2001 the 4th Army Aviation Regiment "Altair" passed to the newly raised Army Aviation Brigade. In 2002 the 2nd Alpine Engineer Regiment was transferred to the Julia. As the Alpini Paratroopers Battalion "Monte Cervino was deployed constantly in thewar in Afghanistan since 2002 the battalion added a third Ranger company in 2004 and was therefore elevated to4th Alpini Paratroopers Regiment on 25 September 2004.
The last brigade to disband was theAlpine Brigade "Tridentina", which lowered its flag for the last time on 31 December 2002. However, on the next day theDivision Command "Tridentina" was activated inBolzano as a deployable division command. The division command carries on the traditions of the2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" and the Alpine Brigade "Tridentina".
Today the Command is located in the northern Italian City ofBolzano and consists of the following units:
Division "Tridentina" inBolzano Command and Tactical Supports Unit "Tridentina" in BolzanoAlpine Brigade "Taurinense" inTurin (Piedmont)Alpine Brigade "Julia" inUdine (Friuli)
Alpine Training Center inAosta (Aosta) Training Regiment in Aosta
6th Alpini Regiment inBruneck (South Tyrol)For operational needs the COMTA can draw troops from the following support units located in the same region as the Command itself:
2nd Alpine Signal Regiment in Bolzano4th Army Aviation Regiment "Altair" in BolzanoIn 2013 the COMTA's4th Alpini Parachutist RegimentMonte Cervino was transferred to the Army Special Forces Command (COMFOSE).
The Alpine Commands main duty was the organization, preparation and conduction ofItaly's contribution to theInternational Security Assistance Force (ISAF) inAfghanistan. Since the beginning of the ongoingwar in Afghanistan the Alpine commands had provided and commanded at all times at least one of the two Italian battlegroups in the theater of operation.
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