The 7th Alpini Regiment () is a mountain warfare regiment of the Italian Army based in Belluno in Veneto. The regiment belongs to the Italian Army's Alpini infantry speciality and is assigned to the Alpine Brigade "Julia". On 1 August 1887, the Royal Italian Army formed the 7th Alpini Regiment by splitting the 6th Alpini Regiment. The new regiment's recruiting area initially consisted of the valleys of the Bellunes Alps, Carnic Alps, Carnic Prealps, and the Western side of the Julian Alps. In 1909 the regiment was split to form the 8th Alpini Regiment and afterwards the regiment's recruiting area consisted of the Bellunes 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 5th Alpine Division "Pusteria", with which it participated in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. During World War II the regiment fought in the invasion of France and the Greco-Italian War. Afterwards the regiment served on occupation duty in Montenegro and, after the occupation of Vichy France, in Alpes-Maritimes. On 8 September 1943, the Armistice of Cassibile was announced and four days later, on 12 September 1943, invading German forces disbanded the 7th Alpini Regiment.
In 1953 the 7th Alpini Regiment was reformed and assigned to the Alpine Brigade "Cadore". In 1975 the regiment was disbanded and its flag and traditions assigned to the Alpini Battalion "Feltre". The regiment was reformed in 1992. The regiment's anniversary falls on 23 April 1941, the last day of the Greco-Italian War, during which the regiment's Alpini Battalion "Feltre" earned a Silver Medal of Military Valor.
History On 1 November 1882, the Royal Italian Army formed six Alpini regiments, one of which was the 6th Alpini Regiment in Conegliano in Veneto. On 1 November 1886, the 6th Alpini Regiment formed the Alpini Battalion "Feltre" in Feltre, with companies ceded by the Battalion "Val Brenta" and Battalion "Cadore". On the same day the all Alpini battalions changed their names from their recruiting zones to the cities and towns, where their base was located. Furthermore 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. As the 6th Alpini Regiment had grown to six battalions and 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. The 7th Alpini Regiment then consisted of the following units:
7th Alpini Regiment, in Conegliano Alpini Battalion "Feltre", in Feltre 64th, 65th, and 66th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Pieve di Cadore", in Pieve di Cadore 67th, 68th, and 75th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Gemona", in Gemona 69th, 70th, 71st, and 72nd Alpini Company
In 1887–88 the regiment's 69th 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 15 officers and 533 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 6th Alpini Regiment to the III Alpini Group, which on 9 August 1910 was renamed III Alpine Brigade. On 9 January 1908, the regiment formed the Alpini Battalion "Tolmezzo" in Tolmezzo, which consisted of the 6th, 12th, and 72nd Alpini companies, which had been by the Alpini Battalion "Ceva" of the 1st Alpini Regiment, the Alpini Battalion "Borgo San Dalmazzo" of the 2nd Alpini Regiment, respectively the Alpini Battalion "Gemona" of the 7th Alpini Regiment. 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.
On 1 October 1909, the regiment transferred the Alpini battalions "Gemona" and "Tolmezzo" to the newly formed 8th Alpini Regiment. On 1 October 1910, the 7th Alpini Regiment formed the Alpini Battalion "Belluno" in Belluno, which consisted of the newly formed 77th and 78th Alpini companies, while the battalion's 79th Alpini Company was only formed in 1914. After the formation of the new battalion the regiment's command moved from Conegliano to Belluno.
Italo-Turkish War On 29 September 1911 the Kingdom of Italy declared war against the Ottoman Empire and the Alpini Battalion "Feltre" was deployed to Libya for the Italo-Turkish War. In October 1912 the battalion 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. For its conduct in the Battle of Assaba the Alpini Battalion "Feltre", was awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valor, which was affixed to the flag of the 7th Alpini Regiment and added to the regiment's coat of arms. During the war the 7th Alpini Regiment also provided one officer and 444 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 7th Alpini Regiment consisted of the following units:
7th Alpini Regiment, in Belluno Alpini Battalion "Feltre" 64th, 65th, 66th, and 95th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Pieve di Cadore" 67th, 68th, 75th, and 96th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Belluno" 77th, 78th, 79th, and 106th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Val Cismon" 264th and 265th Alpini Company (277th Alpini Company joined the battalion in November 1915) Alpini Battalion "Val Piave" 267th and 268th (275th Alpini Company joined the battalion in November 1915) Alpini Battalion "Val Cordevole" 206th and 266th (276th Alpini Company joined the battalion in November 1915)
After the declaration of war the regiment's battalions operated in groups two in the following areas: the Alpini battalions "Feltre" and "Val Cismon" in the Brenta – Cismon area, the Alpini battalions "Belluno" and "Val Cordevole" in the Cordevole and Passo Fedaia area, and the Alpini battalions "Pieve di Cadore" and "Val Piave" in the Ansiei – Padola area, which included Monte Piana. 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 7th Alpini Regiment thus added the following Monte battalions:
Alpini Battalion "Monte Pavione" 95th, 148th, and 149th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Monte Antelao" 96th, 150th, and 151st Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Monte Pelmo" 106th, 146th, and 147th 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 22 May 1917, the VIII Skiers Battalion was disbanded and its personnel used to form the 300th and 301st Alpini companies, which were assigned to Alpini Battalion "Monte Marmolada", which had been formed on the same day. The battalion also received the newly formed 284th Alpini Company and was assigned to the 7th Alpini Regiment. The battalion was associated with the Alpini Battalion "Belluno" and therefore its troops wore a green Nappina.
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 were the Alpini battalions "Belluno" and "Monte Marmolada" of the 7th Alpini Regiment: the "Belluno" had covered the Italian retreat from the main line of the Alps and was surrounded and destroyed by Austro-Hungarian troops at Cansiglio on 10 November 1917. The "Monte Marmolada" escaped the Austro-Hungarian advance and then fought in the Melette area on Monte Tonderecar and Monte Castelgomberto, where it suffered 676 casualties between 7 November and 5 December 1917. The two battalions were declared disbanded on 9 December 1917.
During the war 141 officers and 3,602 soldiers of the regiment were killed in action, while 205 officers and 6,578 soldiers were wounded. For their service and sacrifice during the war two of the regiment's battalions were awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valor and two a Bronze Medal of Military Valor:
the Alpini Battalion "Monte Marmolada" was awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valor for its defense of Monte Tonderecar on 15–22 November 1917 and Monte Castelgomberto on 4–5 December 1917. the Alpini Battalion "Monte Pavione" was awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valor for its conduct during the First Battle of Monte Grappa in the Val Calcino on 11–13 December 1917. the Alpini Battalion "Feltre" was awarded a Bronze Medal of Military Valor for its conduct during the First Battle of Monte Grappa in the Val Calcino and on Monte Valderoa in November and December 1917. the Alpini Battalion "Val Cismon" was awarded a Bronze Medal of Military Valor for its conduct during the First Battle of Monte Grappa on Monte Tomatico, Monte Solarolo, and Monte Valderoa between 14 November and 18 December 1917.