4th Alpini Paratroopers Regiment

On 15 October 1872, the Royal Italian Army formed 15 locally recruited Alpini companies in the alpine regions of Northern Italy. Nine more companies were formed the following year. In 1875 the 24 companies were organized into seven battalions, and in 1878 the companies were increased to 36 and the battalions to ten. On 1 November 1882, the Alpini companies were increased to 72 and grouped into 20 battalions. On the same date the battalions were assigned to six newly formed Alpini regiments, which were numbered 1st to 6th from West to East, while companies were numbered from 1 to 72 from to West to East. Upon entering the regiments, the battalions, which until then had been designated by a Roman numeral, were named for their recruiting zone, while the Alpini companies were renumbered sequentially from 1st to 72nd. One of the six Alpini regiments formed on 1 November 1882 was the 4th Alpini Regiment, which was formed in Turin in Piedmont. The new regiment received the Battalion "Val Pellice", which recruited in the Pellice Valley, the Battalion "Val Chisone", which recruited in the Chisone Valley, and the Battalion "Val Brenta", which was recruited in the Brenta valley in Veneto.^[6][7]

On 1 April 1885, the regiment transferred the Battalion "Val Chisone" to the 3rd Alpini Regiment, and the Battalion "Val Brenta" to the 6th Alpini Regiment. In turn the regiment received from the 6th Alpini Regiment the battalion "Val d'Orco" and "Val d'Aosta". The Battalion "Val d'Orco" recruited in the Orco Valley, while the Battalion "Val d'Aosta" recruited in the Aosta Valley.^[6][7]

In 1886 the regiment moved from Turin to Ivrea and on 1 November of the same year, the battalions changed their names from their recruiting zones to the cities and towns, where their base was located. At the same time 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. The 4th Alpini Regiment consisted afterwards of the following units:^[6][7]

On 1 October 1888, the Alpini Battalion "Pinerolo" was transferred to the 3rd Alpini Regiment, which in turn ceded its Alpini Battalion "Susa 2°" in Susa to the 4th Alpini Regiment. On 1 February 1889, the Alpini Battalion "Susa 2°" was renamed Alpini Battalion "Susa". In 1895-96 the regiment provided 14 officers and 512 troops to help form the I and II provisional Alpini battalions, which were deployed to Eritrea for the First Italo-Ethiopian War. In 1901 the regiment was assigned together with the 3rd Alpini Regiment and 5th Alpini Regiment to the II Alpini Group, which on 9 August 1910 was renamed II Alpine Brigade. In 1908 the Alpini Battalion "Susa" returned to the 3rd Alpini Regiment, and the 4th Alpini Regiment formed a new battalion, which received the 7th Alpini Company of the Alpini Battalion "Aosta", the 24th Alpini Company of the Alpini Battalion "Pinerolo", and the 37th Alpini Company of the Alpini Battalion "Ivrea". The new battalion was initially based in Pallanza and therefore named Alpini Battalion "Pallanza", but soon the battalion moved from Pallanza to Intra and was renamed Alpini Battalion "Intra". The 4th Alpini Regiment consisted now of the following battalions:^[6][7]

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 the 1908 Messina earthquake Medal of Merit, which was affixed to the regiment's flag. On 29 September 1911 the Kingdom of Italy declared war against the Ottoman Empire and the regimental command of the 4th Alpini Regiment along with the Alpini Battalion "Ivrea" deployed to Libya for the Italo-Turkish War.^[4][6][7]

During World War I the regiment consisted of ten battalions and saw heavy fighting in the Alps regions of the Italian front against Austro-Hungarian and German forces. During the war, the regiment consisted of the following battalions (pre-war battalions in bold, followed by their first and second line reserve battalions):

•   Ivrea, Val d'Orco, Monte Levanna, Pallanza
•   Aosta, Val Baltea, Monte Cervino
•   Intra, Val Toce, Monte Rosa

The Alpini Battalion "Aosta" distinguished itself in 1917 during heavy combat on Monte Vodice and in 1918 on Monte Solarolo, for which the battalion was awarded Gold Medal of Military Valor. The regiment's battalions were also awarded five Silver Medals of Military Valor during the war, four of which were shared between the Intra and Val D'Orco battalions, the Aosta and Val Toce battalions, the Monte Levanna and Aosta battalions, and the Monte Levanna and Val Toce battalions. During the war a total of 31,000 men served in the 4th Alpini Regiment, of which 189 officers and 4,704 soldiers were killed, and 455 officers and 10,923 soldiers were wounded.^[9]

On 10 September 1935, the 1st Alpine Division "Taurinense" was formed, which consisted of the 3rd Alpini Regiment, 4th Alpini Regiment, and 1st Mountain Artillery Regiment. The division participated in 1936 in the Italian invasion of Abyssinia.

In 1940, the regiment, as part of the Taurinense division, fought in the Italian attack on Greece. After the German invasion of Yugoslavia the Taurinense performed garrison and anti-partisan duties in Montenegro. After the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943, most of the division was captured by German forces near Kotor, while the Alpini Battalion "Ivrea" and Alpine Artillery Group "Aosta" joined the Yugoslav Partisans and formed the Partisan Division "Garibaldi".

After World War II the 4th Alpini Regiment was reformed on 15 April 1946 with the battalions "Aosta", "Saluzzo" and "Susa". In 1953, the "Mondovì" battalion was reactivated as fourth battalion of the regiment. The 4th Alpini Regiment was the infantry component of Alpine Brigade "Taurinense". On 26 October 1962, the "Mondovì" was transferred to the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia to augment the Alpine Brigade "Julia" and in 1963, the "Aosta" battalion was transferred to the Alpine Military School in Aosta. Four years later, it was again subordinated to 4th Alpini Regiment.

In the early stages of the Cold War the 4th Alpini Regiment consisted of the following units:

During the 1975 army reform the army disbanded the regimental level and newly independent battalions were given for the first time their own flags. On 10 October 1975, the 4th Alpini Regiment was disbanded and on the same day the regiment's Alpini Battalion "Aosta" in Aosta was assigned the flag and traditions of the 4th Alpini Regiment.^[7] The "Aosta" was assigned to the Alpine Military School and would have joined the Taurinense only in case of war. On 11 September 1989 the Alpini Battalion "Aosta" was reorganized as Tactical Logistic Support Battalion "Aosta", which supported the Alpine Military School.

On 1 July 1998, Logistical and Tactical Support Battalion "Aosta" was merged with the Complement Officer Cadets Battalion and redesignated as Training Battalion "Aosta". In 2001 the battalion was reduced Training Grouping "Aosta" and therefore transferred the flag of the 4th Alpini Regiment to the Shrine of the Flags in the Vittoriano in Rome..

On 25 September 2004, the 4th Alpini Regiment was reformed as 4th Alpini Paratroopers Regiment in the city of Bolzano with the existing Alpini Paratroopers Battalion "Monte Cervino" as its only battalion. Today the 4th Alpini Paratroopers Regiment is one of three special forces regiments of the Italian Army. The Alpini Paratroopers have recently served in Iraq and one of the regiment's companies was continuously rotated to Afghanistan. In January 2011, the regiment moved to its new base in Montorio Veronese and in 2013 joined the newly formed Army Special Forces Command (COMFOSE).

As of 2024 the regiment's structure is as follows:^[5][10]

The Operational Support Company consists of a C4 Platoon and a Mobility Support Platoon. Each Ranger company fields three platoons of 36 men. The Maneuver Support Company fields an Anti-tank Platoon with eight Spike MR anti-tank guided missiles launchers, a Heavy Mortar Platoon with three F1 120mm mortars and a Medium Mortar Platoon with three Expal 81mm mortars. The maneuver support company is equipped with a total of six F1 120mm mortars and six Expal 81mm mortars, allowing the mortar platoons to switch between calibres as needed.^[11]

The 4th Alpini Regiment is one of the most often and one of the highest decorated regiments of the Italian Army. During its existence the regiment and its battalions were awarded:^[4]

• 1x Knight Cross of the Military Order of Italy for service in World War I
• 1x Knight Cross of the Military Order of Italy for service in the War on Terror 2002-2018^[1]
• 2x Gold Medals of Military Valor:
  • 1x for the conquest of Monte Solarolo by the Alpini Battalion "Aosta", 25–27 October 1918^[2]
  • 1x for the campaign in the Soviet Union by the Skiers Battalion "Monte Cervino"^[3]
• 9x Silver Medals of Military Valor:
  • 1x for the conquest of the saddle between Monte Nero and Monte Rosso by the Alpini battalions "Intra" and "Val d'Orco", 19–21 July 1915
  • 1x for the conquest and defense of the Austrian positions on Alpe di Cosmagnon by the Alpini battalions "Aosta" and "Val Toce", 10 September and 9–12 October 1916
  • 1x for the conquest of Monte Vodice by the Alpini battalions "Aosta" and "Levanna", 18–21 May 1917
  • 1x for the service of the Alpini Battalion "Monte Cervino" during the battles of Monte Vodice, 26–30 May 1917, Monte Melette, 17–26 November 1917 and Monte Fior, 4 December 1917
  • 1x for operations of the Alpini battalions "Levanna" and "Val Toce" on Monte Solarolo, 24–28 October 1918
  • 1x for the defense of the Mecan Pass by the Alpini Battalion "Intra" during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, 31 March 1936
  • 1x for the service of the Alpini Battalion "Monte Cervino" during the Greco-Italian War, 10 January to 23 April 1941
  • 1x for the refusal of the Alpini Battalion "Ivrea" to surrender to German Forces after the armistice of September 1943 and the subsequent service with Yugoslav partisans in Montenegro, September to November 1943
  • 1x for the service of the Alpini Battalion "Piemonte" with the Italian Co-Belligerent Army during the Italian liberation campaign, 18 March 1944 to 8 May 1945
• 1x "Bronze Medal of Military Valor" for defensive operations of the Alpini Battalion "Intra" during the Greco-Italian War, 24–26 January 1941
• 1x "Silver Medal of Civil Valor" for service after the 1957 Piedmont floods
• 1x "Silver Medal of Civil Merit" for service after the 1908 Messina earthquake

• Mino - TV series about the Alpini Battalion "Aosta" during World War I

• Italian Army Website: 4° Reggimento Alpini Paracadutisti