On 1 January 1883 the 16th Fortress Regiment in
Mantua formed the 1st Mountain Brigade, while the 14th Fortress Regiment in
Genoa formed the 2nd Mountain Brigade. The 1st Mountain Brigade consisted of the 1st Mountain Battery, which had been ceded by the 11th Fortress Regiment, the 2nd and 3rd mountain batteries, which had been ceded by the 12th Fortress Regiment, and the 4th Mountain Battery, which was formed with elements of the other three batteries. The 2nd Mountain Brigade consisted of the 5th Mountain Battery, which had been ceded by the 13th Fortress Regiment, the 6th and 7th mountain batteries of the 14th Fortress Regiment, and the 8th Mountain Battery, which was formed with elements of the other three batteries. Both brigades were based detached from their respective regiments: the 1st Mountain Brigade was based in
Vicenza, while the 2nd Mountain Brigade was based in
Turin. All eight batteries were equipped with the 7 BR Ret. Mont. mountain guns. On 1 November 1887 the 14th Fortress Regiment and 16th Fortress Regiment ceded the two mountain brigades to help form the Mountain Artillery Regiment in
Turin. The regiment consisted of a staff, and three brigades: In 1913 the batteries received
65/17 mod. 13 mountain guns. At the outbreak of
World War I the regiment formed the 51st, 52nd, and 54th batteries and entered the war with the organization depicted in the following table: Note 1: The "Torino-Pinerolo" group's 53rd Mountain Artillery Battery was not raised until November 1916 for lack of available
65/17 mod. 13 mountain guns.
World War II addressing the men of the Alpine Artillery Group "Aosta" in September 1943 of the
"Taurinense" in
Pljevlja October 1943 In August 1939 the regiment mobilized the Alpine Artillery Group "Val Chisone" (47th, 48th, 49th, and 50th batteries) and Alpine Artillery Group "Val d'Orco" (51st and 52nd batteries). The two groups supported the alpini groups, which were manned with reservists. On 10 June 1940, the day Italy entered
World War II, the regiment consisted of a command, command unit, the Alpine Artillery Group "Susa" (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 40th batteries), and the Alpine Artillery Group "Aosta" (4th, 5th, 6th, and 53rd batteries). The regiment was assigned, together with the
3rd Alpini Regiment and
4th Alpini Regiment, to the
1st Alpine Division "Taurinense". In June 1940 the division participated in the
invasion of France in the
Little St Bernard Pass sector. On 31 October 1940 the 53rd Battery was disbanded and reformed in November 1941 for the Group "Val d'Orco". On 15 November 1941 the depot of the regiment formed the
6th Alpine Artillery Regiment, which received the groups "Val Chisone" and "Val d'Orco", and the Alpine Artillery Group "Val d'Adige", which had been formed by the depot of the
2nd Alpine Artillery Regiment "Tridentina". On 2 December 1943 in Pljevlja the remaining Italian soldiers, approximately 16,000 men, were grouped together in the
Division "Garibaldi". Integrated into the Partisan
2nd Corps the division fought in
Montenegro,
Herzegovina,
Bosnia, and
Sandžak until February 1945, when the last troops were repatriated via the liberated harbour of
Dubrovnik. On 12 November 1976 the
President of the Italian Republic Giovanni Leone issued decree 846, which assigned the flag and traditions of the 1st Mountain Artillery Regiment to the Mountain Artillery Group "Aosta" and the flag and traditions of the
4th Mountain Artillery Regiment to the Mountain Artillery Group "Pinerolo". On 15 June 1976 the Mountain Artillery Group "Pinerolo" renumbered the batteries it had inherited from the Group "Susa" and then consisted of the batteries 7th, 8th, and 40th, which were all equipped with 105/14 mod. 56 pack howitzers, with the 7th Battery being mule-carried. On 13 November 1981 the Mountain Artillery Group "Aosta" was equipped with
M114 155mm howitzers. In 1987 the Mountain Artillery Group "Pinerolo" formed a Self-defense Anti-aircraft Battery, which was equipped with
Stinger man-portable air-defense systems.
Recent times After the end of the
Cold War the Italian Army began to draw down its forces. On 23 March 1991 the 7th Battery, 8th Battery and the Command and Services Battery of the Mountain Artillery Group "Pinerolo" were disbanded, while the 40th Battery and the Self-defense Anti-aircraft Battery were transferred to the Mountain Artillery Group "Aosta", which disbanded its own 6th Battery. On 14 September of the same year the Mountain Artillery Group "Aosta", and the two batteries of the Mountain Artillery Group "Pinerolo", moved from Saluzzo respectively from Susa to
Fossano, where they formed the Mountain Artillery Regiment "Aosta". The regiment was equipped with 105/14 mod. 56 pack howitzers and one year later, on 19 September 1992, the regiment was renamed 1st Mountain Artillery Regiment. The regiment consisted now of the following units: 155mm howitzer •
1st Mountain Artillery Regiment, in
Fossano • Command and Services Battery • Self-defense Anti-aircraft Battery, with
Stinger man-portable air-defense systems •
Group "Aosta" • 4th Battery, with
105/14 mod. 56 pack howitzers • 5th Battery, with 105/14 mod. 56 pack howitzers • 40th Battery, with 105/14 mod. 56 pack howitzers On 30 November 2001 the regiment was renamed 1st Field Artillery Regiment (Mountain). The same year the regiment disbanded the Self-defense Anti-aircraft Battery and reformed the 6th and 7th batteries: the 6th as the regiment's Fire and Technical Support Battery, while the 7th became the regiment's Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Tactical Liaison Battery. At the same time the regiment was equipped with
FH-70 155mm howitzers. == Organization ==