The 8th Alpini Regiment () is a mountain warfare regiment of the Italian Army based in Venzone in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The regiment belongs to the Italian Army's Alpini infantry speciality and is assigned to the Alpine Brigade "Julia". On 1 October 1909, the Royal Italian Army formed the 8th Alpini Regiment by splitting the 7th Alpini Regiment. The new regiment's recruiting area consisted of the Carnic Alps, Carnic Prealps, and the Western side of the Julian 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 3rd Alpine Division "Julia", with which it served during World War II in the Greco-Italian War, during which the division suffered heavy losses. For its service and sacrifice on the Greek Front the 8th Alpini Regiment was awarded Italy's highest military honor the Gold Medal of Military Valor. In summer 1942 the division was transferred to the Eastern Front in the Soviet Union, where it was destroyed in winter 1942–43 during the Soviet Operation Little Saturn. The remnants of the division were repatriated in spring 1943. For its service and sacrifice on the Eastern Front the 8th Alpini Regiment was awarded a second Gold Medal of Military Valor. On 8 September 1943, the Armistice of Cassibile was announced and five days later, on 13 September 1943, invading German forces disbanded the 8th Alpini Regiment.
On 15 April 1946, the 8th Alpini Regiment was reformed and in 1949 assigned to the Alpine Brigade "Julia". By 1964, the regiment had become the largest regiment of the Italian Army and consisted of five Alpini battalions. In 1975 the regiment was disbanded and its flag and traditions assigned to the Alpini Battalion "Gemona". In 1992, the regiment was reformed. The regiment's anniversary falls on 24 May 1915, the first day of the war on the Italian front, on which the regiment's Alpini battalions "Tolmezzo" and "Val Tagliamento" earned a shared Silver Medal of Military Valor for having taken and held the summits of Pal Piccolo, Freikofel and Pal Grande.
History On 1 October 1909, the 8th Alpini Regiment was formed in Udine. On the same day the regiment received the Alpini Battalion "Tolmezzo" and the Alpini Battalion "Gemona" from the 7th Alpini Regiment, and also formed the Alpini Battalion "Cividale", which consisted of the 16th and 20th Alpini companies, which had been ceded by the 2nd Alpini Regiment, and the newly formed 76th Alpini Company. The regiment's battalions, like all Alpini battalions at the time, were named for the cities and towns, where their base was located. Since 1886 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. After its formation the 8th Alpini Regiment consisted of the following units:
8th Alpini Regiment, in Udine Alpini Battalion "Gemona", in Gemona 69th, 70th, and 71st Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Tolmezzo", in Tolmezzo 6th, 12th, and 72nd Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Cividale", in Cividale 16th, 20th, and 76th Alpini Company
The regiment was assigned together with the 6th Alpini Regiment and 7th Alpini Regiment to the III Alpini Group, which on 9 August 1910 was renamed III Alpine Brigade.
Italo-Turkish War On 29 September 1911 the Kingdom of Italy declared war against the Ottoman Empire and the regimental command of the 8th Alpini Regiment and the Alpini Battalion "Tolmezzo" were deployed to Libya for the Italo-Turkish War. In October 1912 the regimental command was used to form the 8th Special Regiment, which was led by Colonel Antonio Cantore. The regiment included the Alpini Battalion "Tolmezzo", as well as the 3rd Alpini Regiment's Alpini Battalion "Susa", the 5th Alpini Regiment's Alpini Battalion "Vestone", and the 7th Alpini Regiment's Alpini Battalion "Feltre". On 23 March 1913, the 8th Special Regiment fought in the Battle of Assaba, and on 18 June 1913 in the Battle of Ettangi against local rebel forces. For its conduct in the Battle of Assaba and its conduct in the Battle of Ettangi the Alpini Battalion "Tolmezzo", was awarded two Silver Medals of Military Valor, which were affixed to the flag of the 8th Alpini Regiment and added to the regiment's coat of arms. During the war the 8th Alpini Regiment also provided four officers and 250 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. During the same year the regimental command of the 8th Alpini Regiment moved from Udine to Venzone. 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 8th Alpini Regiment consisted of the following units:
7th Alpini Regiment, in Venzone Alpini Battalion "Gemona" 69th, 70th, 71st, and 97th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Tolmezzo" 6th, 12th, 72nd, and 109th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Cividale" 16th, 20th, 76th, and 110th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Val Fella" 269th and 270th (the 8th Alpini Company, originally assigned to the Alpini Battalion "Pieve di Teco", joined the battalion in 1916) Alpini Battalion "Val Tagliamento" 212th, 272nd, and 278th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Val Natisone" 216th, 220th, and 279th Alpini Company
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 8th Alpini Regiment thus added the following Monte battalions:
Alpini Battalion "Monte Canin" 97th, 154th, and 155th Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Monte Arvènis" 109th, 152nd, and 153rd Alpini Company Alpini Battalion "Monte Matajur" 110th, 156th, and 157th 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. On 16 May 1916, the Alpini Battalion "Pieve di Teco" of the 1st Alpini Regiment was disbanded and the battalion's 8th Alpini Company was reformed by the 8th Alpini Regiment to complement Alpini Battalion "Val Fella".
In February and March 1917 the Royal Italian Army formed twelve skiers battalions, each with two skiers companies. On 27 May 1917, the IX and XII Skiers battalions were disbanded and its personnel used to form the Alpini Battalion "Monte Nero", which was assigned to the 8th Alpini Regiment and consisted of the 294th, 295th, and 296th Alpini companies. The battalion was associated with the Alpini Battalion "Cividale" 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 following battalions of the 8th Alpini Regiment:
Alpini Battalion "Gemona"; battalion annihilated during the retreat and disbanded on 18 November 1917 Alpini Battalion "Monte Canin"; battalion annihilated during the retreat and disbanded on 18 November 1917, with the survivors assigned to the Alpini Battalion "Tolmezzo" Alpini Battalion "Monte Nero"; battalion annihilated during the retreat and disbanded on 18 November 1917, with the survivors assigned to the Alpini Battalion "Tolmezzo" Alpini Battalion "Val Fella"; battalion annihilated during the retreat and disbanded on 9 December 1917
After the retreat to the Piave river the Alpini battalions "Val Tagliamento", "Val Natisone", and "Monte Matajur" fought in November and December 1917 in the First Battle of Monte Grappa, during which the three battalions suffered heavy casualties: the "Val Tagliamento" suffered 1,055 among killed, wounded, and missing, while the "Val Natisone" suffered 736 casualties, and the "Monte Matajur" 702 casualties. As the regiment's recruiting areas in Friuli had been occupied by Austro-Hungarian forces after the Battle of Caporetto, the three battalions were, together with four other Alpini battalions, disbanded on 15 February 1918, and the remaining personnel of the "Monte Matajur" was transferred to the Alpini Battalion "Tolmezzo".
During the war 145 officers and 5,987 soldiers of the regiment were killed in action, while 294 officers and 8,099 soldiers were wounded. For their service and sacrifice during the war five of the regiment's battalions shared two Silver Medals of Military Valor, while two battalions shared Bronze Medal of Military Valor:
the Alpini battalions "Tolmezzo" and "Val Tagliamento" were awarded a shared Silver Medal of Military Valor for having taken and held the summits of Pal Piccolo, Freikofel and Pal Grande on 24 May – 4 July 1915, and for the "Val Tagliamento" to have taken Austrian positions on the Cima Busa Alta in the Lagorai range on 8–10 October 1916. the Alpini battalions "Gemona", "Monte Canin", and "Val Fella" were awarded a shared Silver Medal of Military Valor for their conduct from the start of the war on 24 May 1915 to the three battalions' destruction in the Battle of Caporetto on 6 November 1917. the Alpini battalions "Cividale" and "Val Natisone" were awarded a shared Bronze Medal of Military Valor for the "Cividale" battalion's conduct on Monte Cimone during the Battle of Asiago on 23–26 May 1916, and for the "Val Natisone" battalion's conduct during the same battle at Le Buse, Schiri, on Monte Giove, and Monte Chiesa between 10 May and 9 July 1916.
The two Silver Medals of Military Valor and Bronze Medals of Military Valor were affixed to the 8th Alpini Regiment's flag and added to the regiment's coat of arms.
Interwar years