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| Brigata Alpina Orobica | |
|---|---|
 Coat of Arms of the Alpine Brigade "Orobica" | |
| Active | 1 January 1953 – 27 July 1991 |
| Country | Italy |
| Branch | Italian Army |
| Type | Alpini |
| Role | Mountain Infantry |
| Part of | IV Army Corps 1953–1991 |
| Garrison/HQ | Meran |
The Alpine Brigade "Orobica" was a light Infantry brigade of the Italian Army, specializing in mountain warfare. Its core units were Alpini, the mountain infantry corps of the Italian Army, that distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II.
The "Orobica" was constituted on 1 January 1953 in the city of Meran. The brigade's name alludes to the Bergamo Alps, which are called Alpi Orobie in Italian, and where most units of the brigade initially originated. The Brigade also drew the majority of its recruits from this region. Accordingly, the brigade's coat of arms was modeled after the coat of arms of the Province of Bergamo. During its existence the brigade's units were all based in the western and northern half of the province of South Tyrol. The brigade was tasked with the defence of the vital Brenner and Reschen mountain passes. The brigade's strength was around 3000 men and initially its composition was:
Alpine Brigade "Orobica", in Meran 
5th Alpini Regiment , in Meran 
Command Company, in Meran
Alpini Battalion "Tirano", in Mals and Glurns 
Alpini Battalion "Edolo", in Meran 5th Mortar Company, in Meran
5th Mountain Artillery Regiment , Meran 
Command Battery, in Meran
Mountain Artillery Group "Bergamo", in Schlanders Mountain Artillery Group "Sondrio", in Sterzing Mountain Artillery Group "Vestone", in Meran
Signal Company "Orobica", in MeranIn the following years the brigade was augmented with further units:
Engineer Company "Orobica", in Meran (raised in 1954)
Alpini Battalion "Val Chiese" on 1 July 1963) Alpini Battalion "Val Camonica" on 1 July 1963, disbanded in 1964)
Alpini Battalion "Morbegno" (raised in 1956) in Sterzing 
Alpini Paratroopers Platoon (raised in 1956)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 5th Mortar Company was disbanded and its mortars and troops divided among the brigade's three Alpini battalions.
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 Orobica saw some changes to its composition: the 5th Alpini Regiment, 5th Mountain Artillery Regiment, and Mountain Artillery Group "Vestone" were disbanded, while the brigade headquarters and the signal company were merged to form the Command and Signal Unit "Orobica". An anti-tank company was raised, the Light Aircraft Unit "Orobica" was transferred to the newly formed 4th Army Light Aviation Regiment "Altair" of the 4th Army Corps, the Services Grouping "Orobica" was reorganized as a logistic battalion, and the Alpini Battalion "Edolo" became a training unit.
After the reform the brigade's two Alpini battalions had an authorized strength of 950 men, with the exception of the "Val Chiese" Battalion, which was tasked to man fortifications in the Wipptal, Passeier and Vinschgau valleys. The "Val Chiese" fielded three active and three reserve companies with a wartime strength of more than 1,000 men. The two artillery groups had an authorized strength of 610 men and fielded 18 M56 105mm pack howitzers each. The new composition was:
Alpine Brigade "Orobica", in Meran Command and Signal Unit "Orobica", in Meran Alpini Battalion "Morbegno", in Sterzing Headquarters and Service Company 44th Alpini Company 45th Alpini Company 47th Alpini Company 107th Heavy Mortar Company
Alpini Battalion "Tirano", in Mals and Glurns Headquarters and Service Company 46th Alpini Company 48th Alpini Company 49th Alpini Company 109th Heavy Mortar Company
Alpini (Recruits Training) Battalion "Edolo", in Meran Headquarters and Service Company 50th Alpini (Training) Company 51st Alpini (Training) Company 52nd Alpini (Training) Company 110th Alpini (Training) Company
Alpini Battalion "Val Chiese", in Sterzing (reduced to reserve unit on 30 June 1979) Headquarters and Service Company 250th Alpini Company, in Saltaus (Type C*, ex "Val Camonica") 251st Alpini Company, in Reschen (Type A*, ex "Val Camonica") 253rd Alpini Company, in Brenner (Type A, remained active after 1979) 254th Alpini Company, in Gossensaß (Type A) 255th Alpini Company, in Pfitsch (Type C) 364th Alpini Company, in Franzensfeste (Type C) Mountain Artillery Group "Bergamo", in Schlanders 
Headquarters and Service Battery
31st Mountain Artillery Battery
32nd Mountain Artillery Battery
33rd Mountain Artillery Battery
Mountain Artillery Group "Sondrio", in Sterzing Headquarters and Service Battery
51st Mountain Artillery Battery
52nd Mountain Artillery Battery
53rd Mountain Artillery Battery
Logistic Battalion "Orobica", in Meran 
Command and Services Platoon 1st Light Logistic Unit 2nd Light Logistic Unit Medium Logistic Unit
Anti-tank Company "Orobica", in Meran Engineer Company "Orobica", in Meran
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, and the Tridentina the Puster valley, while the Taurinense would remain in reserve. Officially the Orobica, with its two Alpini battalions and two Mountain Artillery groups, was tasked with defending the vital Reschen and Brenner passes. However, the true mission of the Orobica was to advance into neutral Austria and link up with the German 23rd Gebirgsjäger Brigade of NATO's Central Army Group in Southern Germany. It was considered vital to establish a line of communication between the Italian Army and the allied armies fighting in Germany. Therefore, the Alpini Battalion "Morbegno" and the Mountain Artillery Group "Sondrio" based in Sterzing would have advanced over the Brenner Pass and through the Wipp valley until Innsbruck, where they would have linked up with German and American forces coming from Mittenwald and through the lower Inn valley, while the Alpini Battalion "Tirano" in Mals supported by the Mountain Artillery Group "Bergamo" in Schlanders would have crossed the Reschen pass and advanced until Landeck, where they would have linked up with German units coming over the Fern pass. Although Austrian military defence plans envisioned a strong defence around Innsbruck to deny an invading force the use of the many important roads crossing the city, there was a tacit understanding that NATO forces would not be opposed if Warsaw Pact forces had invaded Austria first.
To aid in the defence of the narrow mountain valleys, the 4th Army Corps re-activated some fortifications of the World War II era Alpine Wall. In the area of operation of the Orobica the following fortified lines of defence were re-activated during the Cold War:
In the Vinschgau and Passeier valleys:
In the Eisack valley:
The defences were to be manned by the troops of the Alpini Battalion "Val Chiese" headquartered in Sterzing which had six companies dislocated throughout South Tyrol. However, in 1979 the battalion was put into reserve status with only the 253rd Alpini Company remaining on active duty and tasked to maintain and service all the bunker within the Orobica's area of operation.
In 1989 the Mountain Artillery Group "Sondrio" was disbanded, followed by the Alpini Battalion "Tirano" on 26 March 1991. The brigade was disbanded on 27 July 1991 and the remaining units (Alpini battalions "Morbegno" and "Edolo", Mountain Artillery Group "Bergamo" and the Anti-tank Company) passed to the Alpine Brigade "Tridentina". The Logistic Battalion "Orobica" was disbanded and parts of it absorbed by the 24th Maneuver Logistic Battalion "Dolomiti".
The Italian Army is the land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China, Libya, Northern Italy against the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I, Abyssinia before World War II and in World War II in Albania, Balkans, North Africa, the Soviet Union, and Italy itself. During the Cold War, the army prepared itself to defend against a Warsaw Pact invasion from the east. Since the end of the Cold War, the army has seen extensive peacekeeping service and combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank and among its aircraft the Mangusta attack helicopter, recently deployed in UN missions. The headquarters of the Army General Staff are located in Rome opposite the Quirinal Palace, where the president of Italy resides. The army is an all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel.
The Alpini are the Italian Army's specialist mountain infantry. Part of the army's infantry corps, the speciality distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. Currently the active Alpini units are organized in two operational brigades, which are subordinate to the Alpine Troops Headquarters. The Alpini's name comes from their inceptive association with the Alps, the mountain range that Italy shares with France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia. An individual soldier of the Alpini is called Alpino.
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The 5th Mountain Artillery Regiment is an inactive mountain artillery regiment of the Italian Army, which was based in Meran in South Tyrol. The regiment was formed in 1935 by the Royal Italian Army with batteries that had served in World War I. The regiment was assigned to the 5th Alpine Division "Pusteria", with which it served in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and during World War II in the invasion of France and the Greco-Italian War. After the invasion of Yugoslavia the regiment served as occupation force in Montenegro. In 1943 the regiment was transferred to the South of occupied France. After the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943 the regiment was disbanded by invading German forces.
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The 2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" was a division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II, which specialized in mountain warfare. The Alpini that formed the divisions are a highly decorated and elite mountain corps of the Italian Army comprising both infantry and artillery units. The name Tridentina was chosen as the division was based in the Trentino-South Tyrol region, for which the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini had created the neologism Venezia Tridentina. After World War II, the traditions and name of the 2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" were carried on by the Alpine Brigade "Tridentina".
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The following is a hierarchical outline for the Italian Army at the end of the Cold War. It is intended to convey the connections and relationships between units and formations.
The Alpini are a specialised mountain warfare infantry corps of the Italian Army, which distinguished itself in World War I fighting in the Alps against Austro-Hungarian Kaiserjäger and the German Alpenkorps. The Alpini were supported by the Mountain Artillery, which both share the Cappello Alpino as identifying symbol. Below follow tables listing the regiments, battalions and groups, companies and batteries of the Alpini and Mountain Artillery active in World War I.
With the 1975 reforms the Italian Army abolished the regimental level and replaced it with brigades made up of multiple arms. During the reform the army disbanded 48 regimental commands and reduced its force by 87 battalions. A further ten regimental commands were used to raise ten new brigade commands. Ten training centers, which for traditional reasons had carried the names of regiments, were also disbanded. The reduction in units also allowed to mechanize most of the remaining units in Northern Italy and Italy's defense strategy changed from a hold-at-all-costs territorial defense to one of mobile warfare.
The Alpini Battalion "Tirano" is an inactive battalion of the Italian Army's mountain infantry speciality, the Alpini, which distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II.
The Alpini Battalion "Val Chiese" is an inactive battalion of the Italian Army's mountain infantry speciality, the Alpini, which distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II.
The Mountain Artillery Group "Sondrio" is an inactive mountain artillery group of the Italian Army, which was based in Sterzing in South Tyrol. The group consisted of batteries formed in 1915, which had served in World War I on the Italian front. During World War II the batteries were assigned to the Alpine Artillery Group "Val d'Orco" of the 6th Alpine Artillery Regiment (Italy). The Mountain Artillery Group "Sondrio" was formed in 1953 and assigned to the 5th Mountain Artillery Regiment of the Alpine Brigade "Orobica". In 1975 the group became an autonomous unit and was granted a flag and coat of arms. After the end of the Cold War the group was disbanded in 1989.
