The Italian Army originated as the
Royal Army (
Regio Esercito), which dates from the
proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy following the seizure of the
Papal States and the unification of Italy (
Risorgimento). In 1861, under the leadership of
Giuseppe Garibaldi,
Victor Emmanuel II of the
House of Savoy was invited to take the throne and of the newly created kingdom. The first war it fought was the
Third Italian War of Independence, which resulted in an Italian victory and the liberation of much of eastern Italy. Italian expeditions were dispatched to China during the
Boxer Rebellion of 1900 and to Libya during the
Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912.
World War I The Italian Royal Army's first real taste of modern warfare was during
World War I. Most of the actions were fought in
northern Italy, and the Royal Army suffered many casualties. This included over 700,000 dead. In particular, the frequency of the offensives in which Italian soldiers participated between May 1915 and August 1917, one every three months, was higher than demanded by the armies on the Western Front. Italian discipline was also harsher, with punishments for infractions of duty of a severity not known in the German, French, and British armies. Nevertheless it performed well during
World War 1, as even though Italy was the least supported of the three main Entente powers, the fact the Italians managed to hold the line until late 1917 meant that the industry reached the level that it could outproduce the invader, giving the Italian army the advantage of an excellent air force, and this, coupled with the advantage in artillery, and a higher level of tactical prowess compared to their enemy resulted in 1918 in the biggest Italian victories of the war, the
Second Battle of the Piave, where the Italians stopped the biggest Triple Alliance attack of the Italian front, and the
Battle of Vittorio Veneto, in which Italy totally destroyed the Austro-Hungarian army and so Italy's victory over the
Hasburgs was stipulated on 4 November 1918, at the
Villafranca Armistice. During the
Interwar Years the Royal Army participated in the
Italian Invasion of Ethiopia, provided men and materials during the
Spanish Civil War to fight in the Corps of Volunteer Troops (
Corpo Truppe Volontarie), and launched the
Italian invasion of Albania.
World War II On paper, the
Royal Army was one of the
largest ground forces in
World War II, and it was one of the pioneers in using
paratroopers. In reality, it could not field the numbers claimed. Due to their generally smaller size, many Italian divisions were reinforced by an Assault Group (''Gruppo d'Assalto'') of two battalions of
Blackshirts (
MVSN). Reports of Italian military prowess in the Second World War were almost always dismissive. This perception was the result of disastrous Italian offensives against
Egypt and the performance of the army in the
Greco-Italian War. Both campaigns were ill-prepared and executed inadequately. The
Italian 10th Army initially advanced into Egypt but surrendered after being pushed back into central Libya and almost all destroyed by British forces a fifth its size during the three-month
Operation Compass. The less than optimal military leadership was aggravated by the Italian military's equipment, which predominantly dated back to the First World War and was not up to the standard of either the Allied or the German armies. Italian medium tanks performed very differently depending on level of training and tank type,
M11 performed badly because of its outdated doctrine, while the
M13 and
M14 performed well after many changes to tactics, it was the center of all Italian armored victories like at the
First Battle of Bir El Gobi and the
Battle of Gazala, while the later
M15 was outdated for the tanks it had to face by the time of its entry into service, for example. More crucially, Italy lacked suitable quantities of equipment of all kinds, and the
Italian high command did not take the necessary steps to plan for possible battlefield setbacks or proper logistical support to its field armies. There were too few anti-aircraft weapons, obsolete anti-tank guns, and too few trucks. The
Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia fought under General
Giovanni Messe, who acknowledged the limitations of his Corps in material and equipment and thus was relieved of his command on 1 November 1942. When the Soviet offensive
Operation Saturn began on 12 December 1942
the Italian 8th Army was quickly crushed. Only about a third of its troops managed to escape the Soviet cauldron, including from the three Alpini Divisions
Tridentina,
Julia and
Cuneense. In North Africa, the Italian
132nd Armored Division "Ariete" and the
185th Infantry Division "Folgore" fought to total annihilation at the
Second Battle of El Alamein. Although the battle was lost, the determined resistance of the Italian soldiers at the
Battle of Keren in East Africa is still commemorated today by the Italian military. After the Axis defeat in Tunisia, the morale of the Italian troops dropped. Once the
Allies landed in Sicily on 10 July 1943, most Italian Coastal divisions simply dissolved. The sagging morale led to the overthrow of Italian dictator
Benito Mussolini by King
Victor Emmanuel III of Italy 15 days later. In September 1943,
Italy made an armistice with the Allies, after this Germany invaded Italy, split into the
Italian Social Republic – effectively a puppet state of Germany – in the north and that of the Badoglio government in the south. The
Italian Co-Belligerent Army (
Esercito Cobelligerante Italiano) was the army of the Italian royalist forces fighting on the side of the Allies in southern Italy after the Allied armistice with Italy in September 1943. The Italian soldiers fighting in this army no longer fought for
Benito Mussolini as their allegiance was to King
Victor Emmanuel and to
Marshal of Italy (Maresciallo d'Italia)
Pietro Badoglio, the men who ousted Mussolini.
Cold War Following the
2 June 1946 Italian institutional referendum, on 10 June the kingdom was replaced by a
Republic, and the Royal Army changed its name to become the Italian Army ("Esercito Italiano"). Initially, the army fielded five infantry divisions, created from the five combat groups of the
Italian Co-belligerent Army and equipped with British material. Additionally the army fielded three internal security divisions without heavy equipment to garrison the country's two major islands: •
Infantry Division "Cremona", in
Turin (formerly part of
British V Corps) •
Infantry Division "Folgore",
Florence (formerly part of
British XIII Corps) •
Infantry Division "Friuli", in
Bolzano (formerly part of
Polish II Corps) •
Infantry Division "Legnano", in
Bergamo (formerly part of Polish II Corps) •
Infantry Division "Mantova", in
Varazze (formerly part of
British Eighth Army) •
Internal Security Division "Aosta", in
Palermo on
Sicily •
Internal Security Division "Sabauda", in
Enna on Sicily •
Internal Security Division "Calabria", in
Sassari on
Sardinia As the status of the city of
Free Territory of Trieste was disputed by the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia the Italian army moved the
Infantry Division "Folgore" to
Treviso and the
Infantry Division "Mantova" to
Gorizia in 1947. At the same time, the army began training an additional seven divisions and five
Alpini brigades. •
Infantry Division "Aosta", in
Messina (activated 1 February 1948) •
Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna", in
Civitavecchia (activated 1 April 1948) • Infantry Division "Avellino", in
Salerno (at reduced strength) (activated 1 September 1949) •
Alpine Brigade "Julia", in
Cividale del Friuli (activated 15 October 1949) •
Infantry Division "Trieste", in
Bologna (activated 1 June 1950) •
Alpine Brigade "Tridentina", in
Bressanone (activated 1 May 1951) •
Infantry Division "Pinerolo", in
Bari (at reduced strength) (activated 15 April 1952) •
Alpine Brigade "Taurinense", in
Turin (activated 15 April 1952) •
Armored Division "Ariete", in
Pordenone (activated 1 October 1952) •
Armored Division "Centauro", in
Verona (activated 1 November 1952) •
Alpine Brigade "Orobica", in
Merano (activated 1 January 1953) •
Armored Division "Pozzuolo del Friuli", in
Rome (activated 1 January 1953) •
Alpine Brigade "Cadore", in
Belluno (activated 1 July 1953) Following the creation of
NATO, the Italian Army was integrated into NATO's
Allied Forces Southern Europe and prepared for a feared invasion from the east, possibly via
Yugoslavia.
Allied Land Forces Southern Europe (LANDSOUTH), was activated on 10 July 1951 to defend northeastern Italy. The command was headquartered at
Verona, and placed under Lieutenant General
Maurizio Lazzaro De Castiglioni. Some three infantry divisions and three brigades were the only forces initially available to this command to defend northeastern Italy. The divisions in question were the
Infantry Division "Mantova" in
Gorizia, the
Infantry Division "Folgore" in
Treviso, the
Infantry Division "Trieste" in Bologna. Two of the three brigades were
Alpini mountain infantry brigades – the
Alpine Brigade "Julia" in
Cividale del Friuli and
Alpine Brigade "Tridentina" in
Brixen, while the third brigade was the
Armored Brigade "Ariete" in
Pordenone. Exercise "Italic Weld", a combined air-naval-ground exercise in
northern Italy involving the United States, Italy, Turkey, and Greece, appears to have been one of the first exercises in which the new Italian Army orientation was tested. On 1 May 1952 the army activated one
army command and two
corps commands, the
Third Army in
Padua, and the
IV Army Corps in
Bolzano and
V Army Corps in
Vittorio Veneto, to be able to circumvent
NATO's
chain of command in case a war should break out between Italy and
Yugoslavia for the
Free Territory of Trieste. Later in 1952 the army also raised the
VI Army Corps in
Bologna, followed by the
III Army Corps in Milan in 1957, both of which were also assigned to the Third Army. During the early 1960s the army reduced the "Trieste", "Friuli", "Pozzuolo del Friuli", "Pinerolo", "Avellino", and "Aosta" divisions to brigades and raised the I Paratroopers Brigade in
Pisa. On 1 October 1965, the Infantry Brigade "Avellino" was disbanded and, on 10 June 1967, the 1st Paratroopers Brigade was allowed to add "
Folgore" to its name. It was now named
Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore". With the easing of tensions between Italy and Yugoslavia, the Third Army, along with VI Army Corps, was disbanded on 1 April 1972, and its functions were taken over by
NATO's
Allied Forces Southern Europe in
Verona. Before the disbanding of Third Army the army's structure was as follows: •
Third Army, in
Padua •
Anti-aircraft Artillery Command, in Padua •
III Army Corps, in
Milan •
Armored Division "Centauro", in
Novara •
Infantry Division "Legnano", in
Bergamo •
Infantry Division "Cremona", in
Cuneo •
Alpine Brigade "Taurinense", in
Turin (transferred to IV Army Corps in 1972) •
IV Army Corps, in
Bolzano (renamed IV Alpine Army Corps on 1 January 1973) •
Alpine Brigade "Orobica", in
Merano •
Alpine Brigade "Tridentina", in
Bressanone •
Carnia-
Cadore Troops Command, in
Belluno •
Alpine Brigade "Cadore", in
Belluno •
Alpine Brigade "Julia", in
Cividale del Friuli •
V Army Corps, in
Vittorio Veneto •
Armored Division "Ariete", in
Pordenone •
Infantry Division "Folgore", in
Treviso •
Infantry Division "Mantova", in
Udine •
Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli", in
Gorizia (a division-sized, armored formation) •
III Missile Brigade, in
Portogruaro (armed with nuclear
Honest John missiles) •
Trieste Troops Command, in
Trieste •
Lagunari Regiment "Serenissima", in
Venice (a brigade-sized formation) •
VI Army Corps, in
Bologna •
Infantry Brigade "Friuli", in
Florence •
Infantry Brigade "Trieste", in
Bologna •
Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore", in
Pisa •
Army General Staff, in
Rome •
I Military Territorial Command, in Turin •
V Military Territorial Command, in Padua •
VII Military Territorial Command, in Florence •
VIII Military Territorial Command, Rome •
Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna", in Rome •
Sardinia Military Command, in
Cagliari •
X Military Territorial Command, in Naples •
Infantry Brigade "Pinerolo", in
Bari •
XI Military Territorial Command, in Palermo •
Infantry Brigade "Aosta", in
Messina 1975 reform The most significant reorganization of the Italian Army took place in 1975, when the regimental level was abolished and battalions came under direct command of newly formed multi-arms brigades. At the same time, the reduction of the
military service from 15 to 12 months for the army and air force and from 24 to 18 months for the navy forced the army to reduce its forces by nearly 45,000 troops. Therefore, while in the existing brigades "Orobica", "Tridentina", "Cadore", "Julia", "Taurinense", "Friuli", "Trieste", "Folgore", "Pinerolo", "Aosta" and "III Missile Brigade" only the regimental level was abolished, the divisions and "Pozzuolo del Friuli" brigade were subjected to major changes: While the
Infantry Division "Cremona" was reduced to a brigade, the
Infantry Division "Granatieri di Sardegna" and
Infantry Division "Legnano" and the
Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" were split to create two new brigades each. Afterwards, the three units ceased to exist. The remaining four divisions were also subjected to major changes and reductions, however, unlike the above three divisions, they remained in service after the reform. The units of the
Infantry Division "Folgore" and
Infantry Division "Mantova" were mostly disbanded, and the remnants used to create one brigade each; then each of the two divisions was augmented with two brigades to bring them back up to strength. The
131st Armored Division "Centauro" was split into two brigades and then brought back to full strength by adding the
Mechanized Brigade "Legnano". Only the
132nd Armored Division "Ariete" saw no reduction in its ranks, and its three regiments were used to create three brigades for the division. After the reform the organization of the army was: •
3rd Army Corps (
Milan): •
Armored Division "Centauro" (
Novara) •
3rd Mechanized Brigade "Goito" (
Milan) •
Mechanized Brigade "Legnano" (
Bergamo) •
31st Armored Brigade "Curtatone" (
Bellinzago Novarese) •
Motorized Brigade "Cremona" (
Turin) •
4th Alpine Army Corps (
Bolzano): •
Alpine Brigade "Cadore" (
Belluno) •
Alpine Brigade "Julia" (
Udine) •
Alpine Brigade "Orobica" (
Merano) •
Alpine Brigade "Taurinense" (
Turin) •
Alpine Brigade "Tridentina" (
Brixen) •
5th Army Corps (
Vittorio Veneto): •
Armored Division "Ariete" (
Pordenone) •
8th Mechanized Brigade "Garibaldi" (
Pordenone) •
32nd Armored Brigade "Mameli" (
Tauriano) •
132nd Armored Brigade "Manin" (
Aviano) •
Mechanized Division "Folgore" (
Treviso) •
Mechanized Brigade "Trieste" (
Bologna) •
Mechanized Brigade "Gorizia" (
Gorizia) •
Armored Brigade "Vittorio Veneto" (
Villa Opicina) • Amphibious Troops Command (
Venice, a regiment-sized formation, tasked with the defence of the
Venetian Lagoon) •
Mechanized Division "Mantova" (
Udine) •
Mechanized Brigade "Brescia" (
Brescia) •
Mechanized Brigade "Isonzo" (
Cividale del Friuli) •
Armored Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" (
Palmanova) •
3rd Missile Brigade "Aquileia" (
Portogruaro) •
Trieste Troops Command, (
Trieste, a brigade-sized formation consisting mostly of reserve units) The brigades under operational control of the Military Regions were: •
VII Territorial Military Command (
Florence) •
Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore" (
Livorno) •
Motorized Brigade "Friuli" (Florence) •
VIII Territorial Military Command (
Rome) •
Motorized Brigade "Acqui" (
L'Aquila) •
Mechanized Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna" (Rome) •
X Territorial Military Command (
Naples) •
Motorized Brigade "Pinerolo" (
Bari) •
XI Territorial Military Command (
Palermo) •
Motorized Brigade "Aosta" (
Messina)
1986 reform In 1986 the remaining four divisional headquarters were dissolved and all brigades in Northern Italy came under direct command of the Army's three Army Corps, while the brigades in Central and Southern Italy came under operational control of the local administrative Military Regions. With the disappearance of the divisions the army renamed some of the divisional brigades and granted all of them a new coat of arms to reflect their new independence. By 1989 the army was structured as depicted in the graphic below:
End of the Cold War in 1989 At the end of the Cold War in 1989 the Italian Army consisted of 26 Combat Brigades: four Armored Brigades, ten Mechanized Brigades, five Motorized Brigades, five
Alpine Brigades, one paratroopers Brigade and one Rocket Artillery Brigade. The units were placed as follows under the three Army Corps's: •
3rd Army Corps (
Milan): •
Armored Brigade "Centauro" (
Novara) •
Mechanized Brigade "Goito" (Milan) •
Mechanized Brigade "Legnano" (
Bergamo) •
Mechanized Brigade "Brescia" (
Brescia) •
Mechanized Brigade "Trieste" (
Bologna) •
Motorized Brigade "Cremona" (
Turin) •
4th Alpine Army Corps (
Bolzano): •
Alpine Brigade "Cadore" (
Belluno) •
Alpine Brigade "Julia" (
Udine) •
Alpine Brigade "Orobica" (
Merano) •
Alpine Brigade "Taurinense" (
Turin) •
Alpine Brigade "Tridentina" (
Brixen) •
5th Army Corps (
Vittorio Veneto): •
132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete" (
Aviano) •
Armored Brigade "Mameli" (
Tauriano) •
Armored Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" (
Palmanova) •
8th Mechanized Brigade "Garibaldi" (
Pordenone) •
Mechanized Brigade "Vittorio Veneto" (
Villa Opicina) •
Mechanized Brigade "Gorizia" (
Gorizia) •
Mechanized Brigade "Mantova" (
Udine) •
3rd Missile Brigade "Aquileia" (
Portogruaro) The brigades under operational control of the Military Regions were: •
VII Territorial Military Command (
Florence) •
Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore" (
Livorno) •
Motorized Brigade "Friuli" (Florence) •
VIII Territorial Military Command (
Rome) •
Motorized Brigade "Acqui" (
L'Aquila) •
Mechanized Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna" (Rome) •
X Territorial Military Command (
Naples) •
Mechanized Brigade "Pinerolo" (
Bari) •
XI Territorial Military Command (
Palermo) •
Motorized Brigade "Aosta" (
Messina) •
Autonomous Military Command Sardinia (
Cagliari) •
Motorized Brigade "Sassari" (
Sassari) The armored brigades consisted of one command & signals battalion, two or three tank battalions with
Leopard 1A2 tanks, one mechanized infantry battalion with
M113 APCs, one self-propelled field artillery group with
M109 howitzers, one logistic battalion, an anti-tank company and an engineer company. The Mechanized Brigades consisted of one command & signals battalion, one Tank Battalion (Leopard 1), three mechanized infantry battalions (M113), one Self-propelled Field Artillery Battalion with M109 howitzers, one logistic battalion, an Anti-Tank Company and an Engineer Company; however, the Pinerolo Mechanized Brigades fielded a Field Artillery Group with
FH-70 howitzers. Additionally, the
"Gorizia" and
"Mantova" mechanized brigades fielded two Position Infantry battalions each, which were tasked with manning fortifications and bunkers along the Yugoslav-Italian border. The Motorized Brigades consisted of one command & signals battalion, one armored battalion (a mixed unit of tanks and mechanized infantry), three motorized infantry battalions, one Field Artillery Group (FH-70), one logistic battalion, an Anti-Tank Company and an Engineer Company; however, the Sassari Brigade did not contain a field artillery battalion. The Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore" did field one command & signals battalion, one
Paratroopers Assault Battalion (a
Special Forces Unit), three Paratroopers Battalions, one Airborne Field Artillery Group with
Mod 56 howitzers, one logistic battalion, one Army Aviation Helicopter Battalion and an Engineer Company. Three of the five Alpine Brigades consisted of one command & signals battalion, two Alpini battalions, one Alpini Training Battalion, two mountain artillery groups (Mod 56), one logistic battalion, an Anti-Tank Company and an Engineer Company; In contrast, the "Tridentina" brigade fielded an Alpini d'Arresto Battalion instead of the Alpini Training Battalion. The exception was the
Julia Alpine Brigade which consisted of one command & signals battalion, four Alpini Battalions, one Alpini d'Arresto Battalion, one Alpini Training Battalion, three Mountain Artillery Battalions, one logistic battalion, an Anti-Tank Company and an Engineer Company, making the Julia the largest brigade of the Italian Army. The "d'Arresto" Alpini and Infantry units were designated to hold specific fortified locations directly at the border to slow down an attacking enemy. They were not a maneuver element but attached for training and logistic purposes to brigades stationed close to the border. The Missile Brigade "Aquileia" fielded a mix of heavy artillery and missile units, both capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons. The main missile weapon of the brigade was the
MGM-52 Lance missile.
Unit summary In total the Italian Army fielded at the end of the Cold War: Additionally the Army fielded 24 Anti-tank companies, one in each combat brigade except the "Sassari" brigade.
Post Cold War The
end of the cold war in 1989 and the subsequent
dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 created a new
geopolitical environment in Europe, which contributed to implementation of significative reductions in the strength of the armed forces of all the NATO countries, to obtain the so called "
peace dividend". This was reflected also in the Italian Army, that in the following decades went through several reductions, named "reforms".
1991 reform In 1991, the Army began the post-Cold War draw-down of its forces with the disbandment of seven brigades and a large number of smaller units. The brigades disbanded in 1991 were the "Aquileia", "Brescia", "Goito", "Mameli", "Orobica", "Trieste", and "Vittorio Veneto". The units subordinated to these brigades were mostly disbanded, while the "Garibaldi" brigade command was transferred with one of its battalions to
Campania.
1997 reform With the relaxing military situation, the Italian Army kept drawing down forces and disbanding smaller military units, which necessitated a major reorganization by 1997 to merge the remaining battalions into coherent units and disband now superfluous brigade commands. Thus a further six brigades were disbanded during the latter half of 1996 and 1997: "Acqui", "Cadore", "Cremona", "Gorizia", "Legnano", and "Mantova". In addition, the remaining units were moved to new bases and changed in composition, designation, and tasks. The three Army Corps were renamed, and their functions expanded: the 3rd Army Corps became the "Projection Forces Command" (COMFOP), commanding the rapid reaction forces of the Army, the 4th Alpine Army Corps became the "Alpine Troops Command" (COMALP) focusing on peace-keeping operations and the 5th Army Corps became the "1st Defense Forces Command" (COMFOD1) tasked with defending Northern Italy. On 1 January 1998, the "2nd Defense Forces Command" (COMFOD2) was activated in Naples and tasked with defending South and Central Italy. During the Cold War, the Italian Army units were to be commanded in wartime by NATO's LANDSOUTH Command in
Verona; on 1 October 1997, out of elements of the aforementioned NATO Command, the new "Operational Terrestrial Forces Command" (COMFOTER) was activated. The COMFOTER took command of all the combat, combat support, combat service support and CIS units of the Italian Army. Along with the COMFOTER in Verona, a Support Command (COMSUP) was raised in
Treviso, which gained operational control of all the remaining combat support, combat service support and CIS units of the Army. The COMSUP controlled three division-sized formations (Army Aviation Command, Anti-aircraft Artillery Command, C4-IEW Command) and three brigade-sized formations (Field Artillery Brigade, Engineer Brigade, Logistic Support Command). Thus after the 1997 reform the structure of the Italian Army was as follows: •
COMFOTER (
Verona): •
COMFOP (
Milan): •
Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore" (
Livorno) •
Mechanized Brigade "Friuli" (
Bologna) •
Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi" (
Caserta) •
COMALP (
Bolzano): •
Alpine Brigade "Julia" (
Udine) •
Alpine Brigade "Taurinense" (
Turin) •
Alpine Brigade "Tridentina" (
Brixen) •
COMFOD 1 (
Vittorio Veneto): •
Armored Brigade "Ariete" (
Pordenone) •
Mechanized Brigade "Centauro" (
Novara) •
Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" (
Gorizia) •
COMFOD 2 (
Naples): •
Mechanized Brigade "Aosta" (
Messina) •
Mechanized Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna" (Rome) •
Armored Brigade "Pinerolo" (
Bari) •
Mechanized Brigade "Sassari" (
Sassari) •
COMSUP (
Treviso): • Army Aviation Command (
Viterbo) • Anti-aircraft Artillery Command (
Padua) • C4-IEW Command (
Anzio) • Field Artillery Brigade (
Portogruaro) • Engineer Brigade (
Udine) • Logistic Support Command (
Udine)
2002 reform during the Falzarego 2011 exercise Between 1997 and 2002 the Army continued to tweak the new structure and with the abolition of obligatory military service a further two brigades ("Centauro", "Tridentina") were disbanded in 2002. On 1 December 2000, the COMFOP became the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Italy (NRDC-IT) and passed its subordinate units to the COMFOD 1 ("Friuli", "Folgore") and COMFOD 2 ("Garibaldi") commands. The "Friuli" Brigade changed its composition and became an airmobile brigade with Army Aviation, Cavalry and Infantry units. The COMSUP had already been reorganized and streamlined in 2000. After 2002 the structure of the Italian Army was as follows: •
COMFOTER (
Verona): •
NRDC-IT (
Milan): •
NRDC-IT Signal Brigade (Milan) •
COMALP (
Bolzano): •
Alpine Brigade "Julia" (
Udine) •
Alpine Brigade "Taurinense" (
Turin) •
COMFOD 1 (
Vittorio Veneto): •
Armored Brigade "Ariete" (
Pordenone) •
Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore" (
Livorno) •
Airmobile Brigade "Friuli" (
Bologna) •
Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" (
Gorizia) •
COMFOD 2 (
Naples): •
Mechanized Brigade "Aosta" (
Messina) •
Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi" (
Caserta) •
Mechanized Brigade "Granatieri di Sardegna" (Rome) •
Armored Brigade "Pinerolo" (
Bari) •
Mechanized Brigade "Sassari" (
Sassari) •
C4-IEW Command (
Anzio) •
COMSUP (
Treviso): • Anti-aircraft Artillery Brigade (
Padua) • Air Cavalry Command (
Viterbo) • Field Artillery Brigade (
Portogruaro) • Engineer Brigade (
Udine) • Logistic Projection Brigade (
Udine)
2011 reform During 2011 some small changes regarding the support units of the Army were enacted. The COMSUP took command of the Army's schools and merged them, where possible, with the support brigades. Minor units were moved South and to the islands to reduce the Army's footprint in the wealthier North of Italy. At the same time, the designation of the "Pinerolo" brigade was changed back to Mechanized Brigade. Afterwards the COMSUP consisted, besides four Army schools of the following commands: • Anti-aircraft Artillery Command (
Sabaudia) • Artillery Command (
Bracciano) • Engineer Command (Rome) • Logistic Projection Command (
Rome)
2013 reform on exercise In 2013 the Army began a major reform. The three corp-level commands
COMFOD 1, COMFOD 2 and
COMALP were to disband, while the
"Mantova" Division Command moved from
Vittorio Veneto to
Florence, where it was renamed as
Division "Friuli", taking the name and traditions of the
Air Assault Brigade "Friuli". Together with the other two divisions
Acqui and
Tridentina the Friuli took command of operational brigades of the Italian Army. The Logistic Projection Command was disbanded, and its units attached directly to the brigades. As part of the reform, the Army raised the Army Special Forces Command (COMFOSE) in
Pisa, which took command of all Special Operations Forces of the Army. Furthermore, the Operational Terrestrial Forces Command (COMFOTER) in Verona was split on 1 October 2016 into the "Operational Land Forces Command and Army Operational Command" in Rome and the "Operational Land Forces Support Command" in Verona. At the end of the reform the plan envisioned that the Army would consist of: • 2 ×
heavy brigades (
Ariete,
Garibaldi) armed with,
Centauro tank destroyers,
Ariete tanks,
Dardo infantry fighting vehicles and
PzH2000 self propelled artillery • 2 ×
medium brigades (
Aosta,
Pinerolo) armed with
Centauro tank destroyers and
Freccia infantry fighting vehicles and
FH-70 towed artillery • 4 ×
light brigades (
Folgore,
Julia,
Taurinense,
Sassari) armed with Centauro tank destroyers,
Puma armoured personnel carriers and
FH-70 towed artillery • 1 ×
air-assault brigade (
Pozzuolo del Friuli) with Pumas,
A129 Mangusta attack and
NH90 transport helicopters. After the reform, each maneuver brigade, except the "Pozzuolo del Friuli" and "Sassari", was planned to field the following units: a command and signal unit with the brigade staff, one cavalry reconnaissance regiment, three combat maneuver regiments, one artillery regiment, one engineer regiment, and one logistic regiment. The "Pozzuolo del Friuli" brigade was planned to merge with the "Friuli" brigade and field a cavalry reconnaissance regiment, an air-assault infantry regiment, an amphibious-assault infantry regiment, a reconnaissance helicopter regiment, an attack helicopter regiment, a field artillery regiment, an engineer regiment, a logistic regiment as well as the standard command and signal unit with the brigade staff. The "Sassari" brigade would not field a cavalry reconnaissance regiment and an artillery regiment unless funds were to be found to raise these units on
Sardinia. The "Granatieri di Sardegna" brigade was destined to disband, with its cavalry regiment joining the "Pinerolo" brigade. In contrast, the 1st Granatieri di Sardegna Regiment was planned to become a public duties unit under the Capital Military Command in Rome. In 2013 the reform started with the disbanding of the 131st Tank Regiment and the
57th Infantry Battalion "Abruzzi", while the 33rd Field Artillery Regiment "Acqui" was reformed as
185th Paratroopers Artillery Regiment "Folgore". In 2014 the
2nd Mountain Artillery Regiment was disbanded, followed by the 5th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment "Pescara" and the 47th Infantry Regiment "Ferrara" in 2015. As part of the reform, all army schools, training regiments and training centres were to be combined into the newly raised Army Formation, Specialisation and Doctrine Command (
Comando per la Formazione, Specializzazione e Dottrina dell’Esercito or COMFORDOT) in Rome. However, as of July 2019, the Alpine Training Center and the Parachuting Training Center remain with the
Alpine Troops Command and the
Paratroopers Brigade Folgore, respectively.
2019 changes snipers in winter ghillie suits in 2019 As the security situation in Europe had changed in 2014 with the Russian
annexation of Crimea the 2013 reform was paused. Neither were the "Pozzuolo del Friuli", and "Friuli" brigades merged, nor was the "Granatieri di Sardegna" brigade disbanded. On 1 July 2019, the army officially ended the 2013 reform: on that date in Florence, the Division "Friuli" was renamed
Division "Vittorio Veneto". With this, the traditions of the name "Friuli" returned to the
Airmobile Brigade "Friuli", whose merger with the "Pozzuolo del Friuli" brigade was disbanded. Likewise the disbanding of the "Granatieri di Sardegna" brigade was disbanded, and it was decided that the second battalion of the brigade's 1st "Granatieri di Sardegna" "Regiment" would become independent as 2nd Grenadier Battalion "Cengio" and grow to regiment by 2020 as first step to bring the brigade back to full strength. On 10 January 2020 the
31st Tank Regiment was reformed as
Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Lodi" (15th) thus completing the transformation of the
Mechanized Brigade "Pinerolo".
2023 changes In May 2023 the two deployable division commands
"Acqui" and
"Vittorio Veneto", as well as the Army Simulation and Validation Center were assigned to the Operational Land Forces Command and Army Operational Command. On 1 July 2023 the Capital Military Command was merged into the Operational Land Forces Command and Army Operational Command, which on the same date changed its name to Operational Land Forces Command. ==Operations==