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 1st Mountain Brigade was based in
Vicenza and its eight batteries were equipped with the 7 BR Ret. Mont. mountain guns. Note 2: The "Udine" group's 56th Mountain Artillery Battery was not raised until November 1916 for lack of available
65/17 mod. 13 cannons. In 1934 the regiment formed the 18th Battery for the Group "Udine". On 27 October 1934 the III Alpine Brigade changed its name to III Superior Alpine Command and the regiment was renamed 3rd Alpine Artillery Regiment. In December of the same year the command was given the name "Julia". On 10 September 1935 the III Superior Alpine Command "Julia" was renamed
3rd Alpine Division "Julia" and consequently the regiment was renamed 3rd Alpine Artillery Regiment "Julia". On 31 December 1935 the regiment ceded the
Group "Belluno" to help form the
5th Alpine Artillery Regiment "Pusteria". To ready the new regiment quickly for the
Second Italo-Ethiopian War the other alpine artillery regiments transferred existing batteries temporarily to the new regiment. In case of the 3rd Alpine Artillery Regiment "Julia" the 13th Battery of the Group "Conegliano" was transferred to the newly formed
Alpine Artillery Group "Lanzo", but returned to the regiment, when the Group "Lanzo" was disbanded after the war on 12 April 1937. On 25 September 1937 the regiment's Group "Udine" ceded its 16th Battery permanently to the reformed the Group "Lanzo". At the end of February the division was back in the first line. On 28 February a new battle was fought in the
Tepelenë sector and the division once more suffered heavy casualties. On 7 March the Greeks attacked again, and just two days later they renewed the attack, which caused heavy losses among the Italian troops. By 11 March the Greek offensive ended as both, the 3rd Alpine Division "Julia", and the 2nd and the 17th Greek divisions were worn out by the heavy fighting. On 5 March 1941 the Group "Val Piave" of the
5th Alpine Artillery Regiment "Pusteria" ceded its 34th Battery to the Group "Udine". In April 1941, following the German
invasion of Greece, the Julia division was transferred to the area of the
Corinth Canal and occupied the
Peloponnese. For its bravery and sacrifice on the Greek front the 3rd Alpine Artillery Regiment "Julia" was awarded Italy's highest military the
Gold Medal of Military Valor, which was affixed to the regiment's flag and is depicted on the regiment's coat of arms. •
3rd Alpine Artillery Regiment "Julia" On the evening of 17 January 1943, the Alpine Army Corps commander, General
Gabriele Nasci, ordered a full retreat. At this point only the 2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" was still capable of conducting combat operations. The 40,000-strong mass of stragglers — Alpini and Italians from other commands, plus German and Hungarians — followed the Tridentina division, which led the way westwards to the Axis lines. As the Soviets had already occupied every village bitter battles had to be fought to clear the way. By morning of 28 January the Julia had walked 200 km, fought 20 battles, and spent 11 nights camped out in the middle of the Russian
Steppe. Temperatures during the nights were between −30 °C and −40 °C. On 1 February 1943 the remnants of the Alpine Army Corps reached Axis lines. The Julia suffered heavy losses in the breakout: less than a tenth of the division survived (approximately 1,200 survivors of 18,000 troops deployed). As the Alpine Brigade "Julia" was tasked with defending the
Canal Valley, which was considered to be the most likely invasion route for a
Warsaw Pact attack on Italy, the 3rd Mountain Artillery Regiment was augmented even further on 1 December 1963 with the transfer of the
Mountain Artillery Group "Pinerolo" from the
3rd Mountain Artillery Regiment. The Group "Pinerolo" moved from
Susa to
Tolmezzo and, although now stationed in
Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the group retained its traditional recruiting area in Piedmont. as a result of the arrival of the Group Pinerolo in Tolmezzo the Group "Belluno" moved from Tolmezzo to
Tarvisio in 1964. In 1968 the 3rd Mountain Artillery Regiment and the Group "Conegliano" moved from Udine to
Gemona. Afterwards the regiment consisted of the following units: •
3rd Mountain Artillery Regiment, in
Gemona On 12 November 1976 the
President of the Italian Republic Giovanni Leone issued decree 846, which assigned the flag and traditions of the 3rd Mountain Artillery Regiment to the Mountain Artillery Group "Conegliano". With the same decree the
Mountain Artillery Group "Belluno" and
Mountain Artillery Group "Udine" were both granted a new flag. For its conduct and work after the
1976 Friuli earthquake the Mountain Artillery Group "Conegliano" was awarded a Silver Medal of Army Valor, which was affixed to the group's war flag and added to the group's coat of arms. The same year the group moved from Gemona to
Udine. In 1983 the Mountain Artillery Group "Conegliano" was equipped with
M114 155mm howitzers.
Recent times After the end of the
Cold War the Italian Army began to draw down its forces. On 31 October 1989 the 22nd Battery and the Command and Services Battery of the Mountain Artillery Group "Belluno" were disbanded, while the 23th and 24th batteries were transferred to the Mountain Artillery Group "Udine". Afterwards the 24th Battery was reorganized as 24th Light Anti-aircraft Battery and equipped with
Stinger man-portable air-defense systems. In 1991 the Italian Army's General Staff decided that the Mountain Artillery Group "Udine" should become a light anti-aircraft artillery group. In preparation for the reorganization the 24th Light Anti-aircraft Battery was transferred on 4 December 1991 from the Mountain Artillery Group "Udine" to the Mountain Artillery Group "Conegliano". Afterwards the two groups exchanged their names and flags. Two days later, on 6 December 1991, the Mountain Artillery Group "Udine", which was now based in Udine, was reorganized as
Light Anti-aircraft Artillery Group "Udine". The Mountain Artillery Group "Conegliano" was based after the reorganization in Tolmezzo and consisted of the 13th, 14th, and 15th batteries with 105/14 mod. 56 pack howitzers and the 24th Light Anti-aircraft Battery with Stinger man-portable air-defense systems. On 31 July 1992 the Mountain Artillery Group "Conegliano" lost its autonomy and the next day the group entered the reformed 3rd Mountain Artillery Regiment. The regiment consisted now of the following units: •
3rd Mountain Artillery Regiment, in
Tolmezzo • Command and Services Battery • 24th Light Anti-aircraft Battery, with
Stinger man-portable air-defense systems •
Group "Conegliano" • 13th Battery, with
105/14 mod. 56 pack howitzers • 14th Battery, with 105/14 mod. 56 pack howitzers • 15th Battery, with 105/14 mod. 56 pack howitzers On 30 November 2001 the regiment was renamed 3rd Field Artillery Regiment (Mountain) and the same year the regiment reorganized the 24th Light Anti-aircraft Battery as 24th Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Tactical Liaison Battery. Furthermore, during the same year the regiment reformed the 17th Battery, which had been part of the Light Anti-aircraft Artillery Group "Udine" and been disbanded on 31 July 1995, as 17th Fire and Technical Support Battery. At the same time the regiment was equipped with
FH-70 155mm howitzers. On 3 November 2016 the regiment moved from Tolmezzo to
Remanzacco. For its conduct and work during the
COVID-19 pandemic the regiment was awarded a Silver Cross of Army Merit, which was affixed to the regiment's flag. == Organization ==