The Bersaglieri, singular Bersagliere (, "sharpshooter"), are a troop of marksmen in the Italian Army's infantry corps. They were originally created by General Alessandro Ferrero La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Royal Sardinian Army, which later became the Royal Italian Army. They can be recognized by their distinctive wide-brimmed hat decorated with black western capercaillie feathers, which is worn with the dress uniform. The feathers are also applied to their combat helmets.
Description The Bersaglieri Corps were a high-mobility light infantry at their inception in 1836, with their specific situation evolving with changes in warfare. In the nineteenth century, Bersaglieri acted as skirmishers or shock troops, moving from place to place by running. An elaborate system of bugle calls allowed their units to be deployed and commanded quickly, singly or in combination. The tradition of running continues today in parades and during barracks duty. In World War I, some Bersaglieri served as bicycle troops, better to execute their mission of maneuver warfare. During the Cold War, the Bersaglieri were exclusively employed as mechanized infantry.
Bersaglieri performed in parades and military tattoos, always running instead of marching, with hundreds of black capercaillie feathers flowing from their wide-brimmed black hats. These feathers are also worn on Bersaglieri combat helmets. They once served a military purpose, acting as camouflage and as a sunshade for the marksman's shooting eye. Today, they are a badge of honour.
Origins and history
The relatively poor Kingdom of Sardinia could not afford large numbers of cavalry, so a quick-moving infantry corps of marksmen were needed. These troops were trained to high physical and marksmanship standards. Like the French chasseurs à pied, a level of independence and initiative was encouraged so that they could operate in looser formations, in which direct command and control was not required. They fired individually and carried 60 rounds instead of the standard 40 rounds of traditional line infantry. The first uniform was black with brimmed hats, called "vaira". These were intended to defend the head from sabre blows.
The first public appearance of the Bersaglieri was on the occasion of a military parade on 1 July 1836. The First Company marched through Turin with the rapid, high-stepping gait (180 paces/minute) still used by the Bersaglieri in World War II and later. The modern Bersaglieri still run both on parade and even during barracks duty – on penalty of punishment if they do not. The new corps impressed King Charles Albert, who immediately had them integrated as part of the Piedmontese regular army. The corps grew rapidly and by 1852 there were already 10 battalions, each with four companies.
Throughout the nineteenth century the Bersaglieri filled the role of skirmishers, screening the slow-moving line and column formations, but acting as special shock troops if required. They were originally intended to serve as mountain troops, as well; the climber Jean-Antoine Carrel was a Bersagliere. When the Alpini Corps were created in 1872 a strong rivalry arose between the two elite corps.
Unified Italy
During the First War of Italian Independence (1848–1849) the Bersaglieri distinguished themselves by storming the bridge at Goito in an episode known to later historiography as the Battle of Goito Bridge (la Battaglia del Ponte di Goito). In 1855 the Bersaglieri provided five battalions for the Sardinian expeditionary corps in the Crimean War, where they were involved in the Siege of Sevastopol and the Battle of the Chernaya. Most of the casualties were suffered due to a cholera epidemic. Their bravery at the Cernaia was widely recognized and played a key role in gaining Piedmont-Sardinia a seat in the negotiations at the war's end. For their effort in the Crimea, the Bersaglieri were rewarded a red fez with a blue tassel, in honour from the French zouaves troops, with whom they served, as they watched the Bersaglieri's bravery in the battle.
When the Armata Sarda became the Regio Esercito (Royal Italian Army) in 1860, the existing 36 battalions were used to create six Bersaglieri regiments, which had administrative and disciplinary duties. The regiments were assigned to the army corps', with the regiment's battalions assigned to the divisions in the corps as reconnaissance units.
1st Bersaglieri Regiment under I Army Corps with the I, IX, XIII, XIX, XXI and XXVII battalions 2nd Bersaglieri Regiment under II Army Corps with the II, IV, X, XV, XVII and XVIII battalions 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment under III Army Corps with the III, V, VIII, XX, XXIII and XXV battalions 4th Bersaglieri Regiment under IV Army Corps with the VI, VII, XI, XII, XXXV and XXXVI battalions 5th Bersaglieri Regiment under V Army Corps with the XIV, XVI, XXII, XXIV, XXVI and XXXIV battalions 6th Bersaglieri Regiment under VI Army Corps with the XXVIII, XXIX, XXX, XXXI, XXXII and XXXIII battalions
The most famous action of the Bersaglieri occurred on 20 September 1870, when the XII Bersaglieri Battalion stormed Rome through a breach created by Italian artillery in the Aurelian Walls near Porta Pia leading to the capture of Rome and end of the temporal power of the Pope, thus completing the unification of Italy. A monument was erected in 1932 in front of Porta Pia to commemorate the event at the same time as the National Museum of the Bersaglieri corps was moved to Porta Pia, where it resides still today.
In 1871, the Bersaglieri corps added another four battalions and the regiments were increased from six to 10 and given also operational command of the battalions. In 1883 a further two regiments were added for a total of 12 Bersaglieri regiments, one for each army corps with three battalions per regiment. Therefore, the four battalions raised in 1871 were disbanded.
1st Bersaglieri Regiment under I Army Corps with the I, VII and IX battalions 2nd Bersaglieri Regiment under II Army Corps with the II, IV, and XVII battalions 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment under III Army Corps with the XVIII, XX, and XXV battalions 4th Bersaglieri Regiment under IV Army Corps with the XXVI, XXIX and XXXI battalions 5th Bersaglieri Regiment under V Army Corps with the XIV, XXII and XXIV battalions 6th Bersaglieri Regiment under VI Army Corps with the VI, XIII and XIX battalions 7th Bersaglieri Regiment under VII Army Corps with the VIII, X and XI battalions 8th Bersaglieri Regiment under VIII Army Corps with the III, V and XII battalions 9th Bersaglieri Regiment under IX Army Corps with the XXVIII, XXX and XXXII battalions 10th Bersaglieri Regiment under X Army Corps with the XVI, XXXIV and XXXV battalions 11th Bersaglieri Regiment under XI Army Corps with the XV, XXVII and XXXIII battalions 12th Bersaglieri Regiment under XII Army Corps with the XXI, XXIII and XXXVI battalions
World War I
During World War I, the 12 existing Bersaglieri regiments were augmented by nine newly raised regiments and fought with distinction on the Italian Front. Of the 210,000 members of Bersaglieri regiments, 32,000 were killed and 50,000 wounded during the war. Italy's last surviving World War I veteran, Delfino Borroni, was a member of the 6th Bersaglieri Regiment from Bologna. Another member who served as Bersagliere on the front (and was wounded) was Benito Mussolini.
A contingent of Bersaglieri drawn from the autonomous battalions of the 1st Bersaglieri Regiment was sent to participate in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in 1917, where they were attached to the Egyptian Expeditionary Force commanded by General Edmund Allenby. Their "mainly political" role was to assert "hereditary ecclesiastical prerogatives in connection with the Christian churches at Jerusalem and Bethlehem."Wavell 1968 pp. 90–1
Peacetime regiments At the outbreak of World War I in 1914 the Bersaglieri corps consisted of 12 regiments each organized into a regimental HQ, three battalions on foot, and one cyclist's battalion. Each regiment also contained a machine gun section with two machine guns. The battalions on foot consisted of three companies of 250 men each, while the cyclist battalions consisted of three companies of 150 men each. Additionally, each cyclist's battalion had its own machine gun section with two machine guns. Between the outbreak of the war and the Italian declaration of war on 23 May 1915 the Italian army was forced to send the 1st Bersaglieri Regiment and five battalions from other Bersaglieri regiments to Libya as the local population fiercely resisted the Italian occupation. On 29 December 1914 the army sent the 10th Bersaglieri Regiment to Albania, which was in turmoil after its freshly installed ruler William, Prince of Albania had fled the country in September 1914. Already since 4 May 1912 two battalions of the 4th Bersaglieri Regiment were in Rhodes to garrison the newly conquered Italian Islands of the Aegean.
With war imminent the army began to raise new Bersaglieri battalions to replace the battalions deployed overseas and on 8 April 1915, the 10th bis Bersaglieri Regiment was formed to replace the 10th deployed in Albania. Starting in January 1915 additional battalions were raised starting, which remained autonomous and were not integrated into an existing regiment. When hostilities commenced the Bersaglieri consisted of: 13 regiments (one in Libya, one in Albania, eleven in Italy) 55 battalions on foot (41 grouped in 13 regiments (two deployed to Rhodes); 14 autonomous battalions, of which seven in Libya and seven at the Italian Front) 12 cyclist battalions
On 10 January 1916 the High Command ordered to increase all Bersaglieri battalions on foot by one company to four companies, with the battalions deployed to Libya being exempt, retaining three. Later that spring the Bersaglieri companies of the battalions on foot were reduced from 250 to 225 men, but in turn each battalion received its own machine gun section with two machine guns, a submachine-gun section with two Villar Perosa submachine guns, and a Sapper unit with 88 men. On 3 March 1916 the regimental command of the 1st Bersaglieri Regiment was disbanded and its battalions became autonomous.
At the end of 1916 the Bersaglieri fielded: 15 regiments (one in Albania, 14 in Italy) 48 battalions on foot (45 grouped in 15 regiments and three autonomous battalions). Each of these battalions consisted of four companies of 225 men each, a sapper unit, a machine-gun section, and two submachine-gun sections 15 autonomous battalions on foot (two deployed to Rhodes, thirteen in Libya). Each of these battalions consisted of three companies of 250 men each and a machine-gun section 12 cyclist battalions, each with three companies of 150 men and a machine-gun section
Early in 1917 each battalion in Italy received a second submachine-gun section and in May the battalions were thoroughly reorganized: the machine gun sections of each battalion were increased to a machine gun company with six machine guns, while the battalion's 4th companies were grouped in independent "marching" battalions (Battaglione di Marcia), which acted as personnel reserve for the armies deployed to the front.
After the defeat at Caporetto the Italian army was forced to retreat from the Isonzo river to the Piave river. During the retreat four Bersaglieri regiments and three autonomous battalions were so badly mauled that they had to be disbanded: besides the wartime regiments 15 and 21, also the peacetime regiments 4 and 9 were disbanded. Thus at the end of 1917 the Bersaglieri corps consisted of:
16 regiments (one in Albania, 15 in Italy) 48 battalions on foot (grouped in 16 regiments). Each of these battalions consisted of three companies of 225 men each, a machine gun company, a sapper unit, and two submachine-gun sections.