Alpine Brigade "Taurinense"
The Alpine Brigade "Taurinense" is a light Infantry brigade of the Italian Army, specializing in Mountain Combat. Its core units are Alpini, the mountain infantry corps of the Italian Army, that distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. The brigade's name "Taurinense" alludes to the Roman name Augusta Taurinorum for the city of Turin around which the brigade is based. Accordingly the brigade's coat of arms is modeled after Turin's coat of arms. The brigade carries on the name and traditions of the 1st Alpine Division "Taurinense".
| Alpine Brigade "Taurinense" | |
|---|---|
| Brigata Alpina "Taurinense" | |
 Coat of Arms of the Alpine Brigade "Taurinense" | |
| Active | 15 April 1952 – today |
| Country | Italy |
| Allegiance | Italian Army |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Brigade |
| Role | Alpini |
| Part of | Alpine Troops Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Turin |
| Colors | green |
| Engagements | Iraq Operation Provide Comfort Bosnia SFOR Mozambique ONUMOZ Kosovo KFOR Afghanistan ISAF |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Brigadier Federico Bonato |
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History
Constitution
The Taurinense was constituted on 15 April 1952 in the city of Turin. Initially the brigade was part of the III Army Corps and consisted of the following units:
In the following years the brigade was augmented with further units:
- Light Aircraft Section "Taurinense", at Turin-Venaria Reale Air Base (1958)
On 26 October 1962 the Alpini Battalion "Mondovì" moved to Paluzza in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region to augment the Alpine Brigade "Julia", followed by the Mountain Artillery Group "Pinerolo", which moved to Tolmezzo on 1 December 1963 to join the Julia. The same year the Alpini Battalion "Aosta" was transferred to the Alpine Formation and Training Center in Aosta, but returned to the 4th Alpini Regiment in 1967. From 1964 to 1967 the "Saluzzo" was placed into reserve status. The Alpini Paratroopers Platoon merged with the paratrooper platoons of the other four alpine brigades on 1 April 1964 to form the Alpini Paratroopers Company in Bolzano under direct command of the 4th Army Corps. The same year the 4th Mortar Company was disbanded and its mortars and troops divided among the brigade's Alpini battalions. On 1 June 1966 the 2nd Alpini (Recruits Training) Regiment joined the brigade. The regiment's four battalions were named for the four alpine brigades to which the conscripts were sent after training: Tridentina, Orobica, Cadore, and Taurinense. In 1970 the Mountain Artillery Group "Mondovì" was raised and added to the 1st Mountain Artillery Regiment. Thus in 1972 when the brigade was transferred from the III Army Corps to the IV Army Corps it consisted of the following units:
- Light Aviation Unit "Taurinense", at Turin-Venaria Reale Air Base
1975 Reorganization
With 1975 Italian Army reform the regimental level was abolished and battalions came under direct command of multi-arms brigades. At the same time the army reduced and realigned its forces and therefore the Taurinense saw some changes to its composition: the "Aosta" battalion was once more transferred to the Alpine Formation and Training Center, the Mountain Artillery Group "Susa" was renamed "Pinerolo", while the Mountain Artillery Group "Mondovì" was disbanded. The brigade headquarters and the signal company were merged to form the Command and Signal Unit "Taurinense". An anti-tank company was raised, and the Services Grouping "Taurinense" was reorganized as a logistic battalion. The 2nd Alpini (Recruits Training) Regiment had already left the brigade in 1974 and its four battalions were merged into a single training battalion.
After the reform the brigade's two Alpini battalions had an authorized strength of 950 men, while the two artillery groups had an authorized strength of 610 men and fielded 18 M56 105mm pack howitzers each. The new composition was:
- Army Light Aviation Unit, at Turin-Venaria Reale Air Base (renamed 4th Reconnaissance Helicopter Squadron and transferred to the 4th Army Light Aviation Regiment "Altair" on 31 January 1976)
On 1 June 1978 the Air-transportable Medical Group "Taurinense" was raised as a rapid deployable medical asset. The only such unit in the Italian Army.
Strategic plans in case of war
After the 1975 reform the 4th Alpine Army Corps was responsible to defend the Italian border along the main chain of the alps from the Swiss-Austrian-Italian border tripoint in the west to the Italian-Yugoslavian border in the east. In case of war with Yugoslavia the 4th Alpine Army Corps would remain static in its position guarding the left flank of the 5th Army Corps, which would meet the enemy forces in the plains of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The only brigade which would have seen combat in such a case would have been the Julia.
In case of a war with the Warsaw Pact the 4th Alpine Army Corps had two war planes: one in the case the Soviet Southern Group of Forces and Hungarian Army would march through Yugoslavia and the other in case the Warsaw Pact would violate the Austrian neutrality and march through Austria. In case the enemy forces would come through Yugoslavia, the Julia would cover the mountainous left flank of the 5th Army Corps, which with its four armoured and five mechanized brigades would try to wear down the enemy before it could break out into the North Italian Padan plain. The other alpine brigades would remain static.
In the more likely case the Soviet and Hungarian divisions would invade Austria and march through Southern Styria and through the Drava valley in Carinthia the alpine brigades would have been the first front line units of the Italian Army. The Julia would have defended the Canal valley, the Cadore the Piave valley, the Tridentina the Puster valley, while the Orobica had a special mission. The Taurinense was to be kept in reserve and deployed as needed: either to reinforce the other alpine brigades; or to block with the Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore" and Motorized Brigade "Friuli" the Apennine passes into central Italy if enemy forces would have been able to cross the lower Adige and Po rivers; or to block with the French 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade the French-Italian mountain passes in case Warsaw Pact forces would have conquered all of Northern Italy. If the 5th Army Corps with reinforcement from the 3rd Army Corps would have been able to stop Warsaw Pact forces before the Piave river the Taurinense was would have deployed to Norway to support NATO's Allied Command Europe Mobile Force.
1990s reorganization
On 23 March 1991 the Mountain Artillery Group "Pinerolo" was disbanded. On 1 August 1992 the "Saluzzo" battalion was integrated in the reactivated 2nd Alpini Regiment. The same month the Anti-tank Company was disbanded. On 19 September 1992 the Mountain Artillery Group "Aosta" entered the reactivated 1st Mountain Artillery Regiment. With the entry of the "Susa" battalion into the reactivated 3rd Alpini Regiment on 23 October 1993 the reorganization of the brigade was for the time complete. Both Alpini regiments consisted of one battalion and a support company. The Command and Signal Unit was merged with the Engineer Company into the Command and Tactical Supports Unit. The new composition was:
When the Alpine Brigade "Cadore" was disbanded in 1997, the two remaining regiments of that brigade passed to the Alpine Brigade "Julia", which in turn ceded the 9th Alpini Regiment to the "Taurinense". At the same time the Alpini (Recruits Training) Battalion "Mondovì" was disbanded. The same year the 2nd Alpini Regiment moved from Borgo San Dalmazzo into the base of the disbanded "Mondovì" in Cuneo. In 2002 the Logistic Battalion "Taurinense" was disbanded. On 1 September 2002 the 2nd Battalion of the Railway Engineer Regiment was merged with the Engineer Company of the brigade's Command and Tactical Supports Unit to form the 32nd Engineer Battalion, which joined the Taurinense on the same date. In On 24 September 2004 the 32nd Engineer Battalion was expanded to 32nd Engineer Regiment.[1]
Current structure
(The 9th Alpini Regiment is based in L'Aquila in central Italy)
Today the brigade is part of the Alpine Troops Command and based in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, with the 9th Alpini Regiment based in the central region of Abruzzo. The brigade headquarters is in the city of Turin and the brigade consists of the following units:
- Command and Logistic Support Squadron
- Armored Squadrons Group
Equipment
The Alpini regiments are equipped with Bv 206S tracked all-terrain carriers and Lince light multirole vehicles. The maneuver support companies of the Alpini regiments are equipped with 120mm mortars and Spike anti-tank guided missiles. The cavalry regiment is equipped with Centauro tank destroyers and VTLM Lince vehicles. The brigade's artillery regiment fields 18x FH-70 towed howitzers and an unknown number of M56 105mm pack howitzers in the direct fire role.[2]
Gorget patches
The personnel of the brigade's units wears the following gorget patches:[3]
Command and Tactical Supports Unit "Taurinense" .png)
2nd Alpini, 3rd Alpini, and 9th Alpini Regiment 
References
- "32° Reggimento Genio Guastatori - La Storia". Italian Army. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- "Obice da 155/39 FH-70". Esercito Italiano. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- "Brigata Alpina "Taurinense"". Italian Army. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
Sources
Italian Army Homepage: History of the Alpine Brigade Taurinense
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