Formation On 28 January 1859, the
French Empire and the
Kingdom of Sardinia signed a secret treaty of alliance against the
Austrian Empire, which led to the
Second Italian War of Independence. In preparation for the war the
Royal Sardinian Army began to form new units. On 20 February 1859, a
depot was formed in
Cuneo, which trained volunteers arriving from the Austrian
Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia and
Trentino, the
Papal Legations, the
Duchy of Modena and Reggio, and the
Duchy of Parma and Piacenza. On 17 March 1859,
Giuseppe Garibaldi assumed command of the Cacciatori delle Alpi Corps. On the same date the depot in Cuneo formed the 1st Regiment Cacciatori delle Alpi, whose commanding officer was
Enrico Cosenz. Also on the same date a depot was formed in
Acqui, which was tasked with training volunteers arriving from the
Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the central Italian Papal Legations. On 20 March 1859, a third depot was formed in
Savigliano. On 7 April 1859, the depot in Savigliano formed the 2nd Regiment Cacciatori delle Alpi, whose commanding officer was
Giacomo Medici. On 17 April 1859, the depot in Acqui formed the Regiment Cacciatori degli Appennini.
Second Italian War of Independence 's Cacciatori delle Alpi during the
Battle of San Fermo At the outbreak of the war on 26 April the Cacciatori delle Alpi Corps consisted of two regiments and a Horse Guides Squadron. On 4 May 1859, the 3rd Regiment Cacciatori delle Alpi was formed, which on 8 May reached the other two regiments in the field. On 14 May 1859, the corps formed the 1st
Bersaglieri Company. On 22 May the corps reached
Arona and in the following night, two companies crossed the
Ticino river and occupied
Sesto Calende in Lombardy. Garibaldi then moved his entire corps into Lombardy, where he occupied
Varese. On 26 May 1859, the Cacciatori delle Alpi won the
Battle of Varese. In 1916–17 the Brigade "Alpi" operated on the
Marmolada, where the brigade occupied
Punta Serauta on 30 April 1916. In November 1917, after the disastrous
Battle of Caporetto the brigade retreated to the new frontline along the
Piave river. On 7 November 1917, the Brigade "Alpi" entered the front between the bridge over the Piave river at
Vidor and
Grave di Ciano. On 22 December 1917, the brigade was sent to the rear. On 18 January 1918, the brigade was sent to the
Monte Grappa massif, where it occupied positions on
Col del Miglio. On 1 October 1934, the 52nd Infantry Regiment "Alpi" merged with the Complementary Infantry Officer Recruits School in Spoleto and then consisted then of two recruit battalions and one fusilier battalion. In 1934 the 22nd Territorial Division of Perugia changed its name to
22nd Infantry Division "Cacciatori delle Alpi". A name change that also extended to the division's infantry brigade. In 1935–36 the 52nd Infantry Regiment "Alpi" provided 15 officers and 123 troops to units deployed to East Africa for the
Second Italo-Ethiopian War. On 15 July 1936, the 81st Infantry Regiment "Torino" was transferred to the newly formed
52nd Infantry Division "Torino". In 1939 the XXII Infantry Brigade "Cacciatori delle Alpi" was disbanded and its two infantry regiments came under direct command of the division. At the same time the 1st Field Artillery Regiment was renamed 1st Artillery Regiment "Cacciatori delle Alpi" and the 52nd Infantry Regiment "Alpi" moved from
Spoleto to
Terni. Between 5–12 May 1942, the division fought in the
Third anti-Partisan Offensive. This operation was a follow-up to Operation Trio and had as objective the destruction of the Partisan forces in eastern Bosnia, which had been forced there by Operation Trio. While the "Cacciatori delle Alpi" division was on occupation duty in Yugoslavia the division's
depots in Italy formed the
151st Infantry Division "Perugia", for which the depot of the 52nd Infantry Regiment "Cacciatori delle Alpi" in Terni formed on 14 August 1941 the
130th Infantry Regiment "Perugia". On 8 September 1943, the
Armistice of Cassibile was announced and the "Cacciatori delle Alpi" division, which at the time was on occupation duty in the
Ljubljana and
Rijeka area in
Slovenia, was disbanded by
invading German forces. The battalion was assigned to the
Mechanized Brigade "Isonzo" and tasked with manning the fortifications of the
Alpine Wall on the Western bank of the
Torre river from
Udine to
Tarcento, and the fortifications, which blocked the exists of the valleys leading to the border with Yugoslavia. For its conduct and work after the
1976 Friuli earthquake the battalion was awarded a Bronze Medal of Army Valor, which was affixed to the battalion's flag and added to the battalion's coat of arms. On 10 October 1986,
120th Infantry Fortification Battalion "Fornovo" took over the duty to maintain and man the fortifications along the
Tagliamento river from the disbanded
73rd Infantry Fortification Battalion "Lombardia". In turn the 120th Infantry Fortification Battalion "Fornovo" transferred on 1 August 1987 its detached company in
Purgessimo to the 52nd Infantry Fortification Battalion "Alpi".
Recent times On 30 June 1991, the
59th Mechanized Infantry Battalion "Calabria" in
Cividale was disbanded and on 1 July the 52nd Infantry Fortification Battalion "Alpi" moved from Attimis to Cividale. On 31 March 1993, the 52nd Infantry Fortification Battalion "Alpi" was disbanded in Cividale and the next day the Command and Support Unit "Aquileia" of the
3rd Artillery Regiment "Aquileia" in
Portogruaro was reorganized as a training unit and renamed 52nd Battalion "Alpi". The 52nd Battalion "Alpi" was assigned to the
5th Army Corps and received the flag and traditions of the 52nd Infantry Regiment "Alpi". On 29 August 1996, the 52nd Battalion "Alpi" transferred the flag of the 52nd Infantry Regiment "Alpi" to the Shrine of the Flags in the
Vittoriano in Rome and two days later, on 31 August 1996, the battalion was disbanded. == References ==