Alpine Brigade "Taurinense"

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This article is about the currently active Italian Army Alpine Brigade "Taurinense". For the World War II Royal Italian Army division, see 1st Alpine Division "Taurinense".
Alpine Brigade "Taurinense"
Brigata Alpina "Taurinense"
SFOR
Mozambique ONUMOZ
Kosovo KFOR
Afghanistan ISAF
Commanders
Current
commander		Brigadier Federico Bonato
A Regiment "Nizza Cavalleria" (1st) Centauro column on exercise in Cincu, Romania 2019

The

1st Alpine Division "Taurinense"
.

History

Constitution

The Taurinense was constituted on 15 April 1952 in the city of

III Army Corps
and consisted of the following units:

In the following years the brigade was augmented with further units:

  • Alpini Battalion "Mondovì"
    (1953) as 4th battalion of the 4th Alpini Regiment
  • Alpini Paratroopers Platoon, in Turin (1953)
  • Light Aircraft Section "Taurinense", at Turin-Venaria Reale Air Base (1958)

On 26 October 1962 the Alpini Battalion "Mondovì" moved to

1st Mountain Artillery Regiment
. Thus in 1972 when the brigade was transferred from the III Army Corps to the IV Army Corps it consisted of the following units:

  • Alpine Brigade "Taurinense", in Turin
    • Headquarters and Headquarters Company, in Turin
    • 2nd Alpini (Recruits Training) Regiment, in Cuneo
      • Command and Services Company, in Cuneo
      • Alpini Battalion "Cadore", in Boves
      • Alpini Battalion "Orobica", in Cuneo
      • Alpini Battalion "Taurinense", in Bra
      • Alpini Battalion "Tridentina", in Cuneo
    • 4th Alpini Regiment, in Turin
      • Command and Services Company, in Turin
      • Alpini Battalion "Aosta"
        , in Aosta
      • Alpini Battalion "Saluzzo"
        , in Borgo San Dalmazzo
      • Alpini Battalion "Susa"
        , in Pinerolo
    • 1st Mountain Artillery Regiment
      , in Rivoli
      • Command Battery, in Rivoli
      • Mountain Artillery Group "Aosta"
        , in Saluzzo
      • Mountain Artillery Group "Susa", in Susa
      • Mountain Artillery Group "Mondovì", in Mondovì
    • Services Grouping "Taurinense", in Rivoli
    • Engineer Company "Taurinense", in Turin
    • Signal Company "Taurinense", in Abbadia Alpina
    • Light Aviation Unit "Taurinense", at Turin-Venaria Reale Air Base

1975 Reorganization

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"Taurinense" locations 1989

With

1975 Italian Army reform the regimental level was abolished and battalions came under direct command of multi-arms brigades. At the same time the army reduced and realigned its forces and therefore the Taurinense saw some changes to its composition: the "Aosta" battalion was once more transferred to the Alpine Formation and Training Center, the Mountain Artillery Group "Susa" was renamed "Pinerolo", while the Mountain Artillery Group "Mondovì" was disbanded. The brigade headquarters and the signal company were merged to form the Command and Signal Unit "Taurinense". An anti-tank company was raised, and the Services Grouping "Taurinense" was reorganized as a logistic battalion. The 2nd Alpini Regiment
(Recruits Training) had already been disbanded on 31 October 1974 and with one of its training battalion joining the Taurinense as Alpini Battalion "Mondovì".

After the reform the brigade's two Alpini battalions had an authorized strength of 950 men, while the two artillery groups had an authorized strength of 610 men and fielded 18 M56 105mm pack howitzers each. The new composition was:

  • Alpine Brigade "Taurinense", in Turin
    • Command and Signal Unit "Taurinense", in Turin
    • Alpini Battalion "Mondovì" (Recruits Training), in Cuneo
      • Headquarters and Service Company
      • 9th Alpini (Training) Company
      • 10th Alpini (Training) Company
      • 11th Alpini (Training) Company
      • 103rd Alpini (Training) Company
    • Alpini Battalion "Saluzzo", in Borgo San Dalmazzo
      • Headquarters and Service Company
      • 21st Alpini Company
      • 22nd Alpini Company
      • 23rd Alpini Company
      • 106th Heavy Mortar Company
    • Alpini Battalion "Susa", in Pinerolo
      • Headquarters and Service Company
      • 34th Alpini Company
      • 35th Alpini Company
      • 36th Alpini Company
      • 133rd Heavy Mortar Company
    • Mountain Artillery Group "Aosta", in Saluzzo
      • Headquarters and Service Battery
      • 4th Mountain Artillery Battery
      • 5th Mountain Artillery Battery
      • 6th Mountain Artillery Battery
    • Mountain Artillery Group "Pinerolo", in Susa
      • Headquarters and Service Battery
      • 7th Mountain Artillery Battery
      • 8th Mountain Artillery Battery
      • 40th Mountain Artillery Battery
    • Logistic Battalion "Taurinense", in Rivoli
      • Command and Services Platoon
      • 1st Light Logistic Unit
      • 2nd Light Logistic Unit
      • Medium Logistic Unit
    • Anti-tank Company "Taurinense", in Turin
    • Engineer Company "Taurinense", in Abbadia Alpina
    • Army Light Aviation Unit, at Turin-Venaria Reale Air Base (renamed 4th Reconnaissance Helicopter Squadron and transferred to the 4th Army Aviation Regiment "Altair" on 31 January 1976)

On 1 June 1978 the Airmobile Medical Unit "Taurinense" was formed by reorganized the 101st Field Hospital as a rapid deployable medical asset. The only such unit in the Italian Army.

Strategic plans in case of war

After the 1975 reform the 4th Alpine Army Corps was responsible to defend the Italian border along the

Julia
.

In case of a war with the

Padan plain
. The other alpine brigades would remain static.

In the more likely case the Soviet and Hungarian divisions would invade Austria and march through Southern

Apennine passes into central Italy if enemy forces would have been able to cross the lower Adige and Po rivers; or to block with the French 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade the French-Italian mountain passes in case Warsaw Pact forces would have conquered all of Northern Italy. If the 5th Army Corps with reinforcement from the 3rd Army Corps would have been able to stop Warsaw Pact forces before the Piave river the Taurinense was would have deployed to Norway to support NATO's Allied Command Europe Mobile Force
.

1990s reorganization

On 23 March 1991 the Mountain Artillery Group "Pinerolo" was disbanded. On 1 August 1992 the "Saluzzo" battalion was integrated in the reactivated

1st Mountain Artillery Regiment. With the entry of the "Susa" battalion into the reactivated 3rd Alpini Regiment
on 23 October 1993 the reorganization of the brigade was for the time complete. Both Alpini regiments consisted of one battalion and a support company. The Command and Signal Unit was merged with the Engineer Company into the Command and Tactical Supports Unit. The new composition was:

When the Alpine Brigade "Cadore" was disbanded in 1997, the two remaining regiments of that brigade passed to the Alpine Brigade "Julia", which in turn ceded the 9th Alpini Regiment to the "Taurinense". At the same time the Alpini (Recruits Training) Battalion "Mondovì" was disbanded. The same year the 2nd Alpini Regiment moved from Borgo San Dalmazzo into the base of the disbanded "Mondovì" in Cuneo. In 2002 the Logistic Battalion "Taurinense" was disbanded. On 1 September 2002 the 2nd Battalion of the Ferrovieri Engineer Regiment was merged with the Engineer Company of the brigade's Command and Tactical Supports Unit to form the 32nd Engineer Battalion, which joined the Taurinense on the same date. In On 24 September 2004 the 32nd Engineer Battalion was expanded to 32nd Engineer Regiment.[1]

Organization

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Taurinense units 2022
(The 9th Alpini Regiment is based in L'Aquila in central Italy)
3rd Alpini Regiment mortar platoon
1st Field Artillery Regiment (Mountain)
on exercise

The brigade is part of the Alpine Troops Command and based in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, with the 9th Alpini Regiment based in the central region of Abruzzo. The brigade headquarters is in the city of Turin. As of 4 October 2022 the brigade is organized as follows:

Equipment

The Alpini regiments are equipped with

FH-70 towed howitzers and an unknown number of M56 105mm pack howitzers in the direct fire role.[2]

Gorget patches

Main article: Italian Army gorget patches

The personnel of the brigade's units wears the following gorget patches:[3]

References

  1. ^ "32° Reggimento Genio Guastatori - La Storia". Italian Army. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  2. ^ "Obice da 155/39 FH-70". Esercito Italiano. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  3. ^ "Brigata Alpina "Taurinense"". Italian Army. Retrieved 13 December 2019.

Sources

Italian Army Homepage: History of the Alpine Brigade Taurinense

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