Bersaglieri


The Bersaglieri, singular Bersagliere, are a speciality of the Italian Army's infantry corps. They were originally created by General Alessandro La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Army of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which later became the Royal Italian Army. They can be recognized by their distinctive wide-brimmed hats decorated with black capercaillie feathers, which is worn with the dress uniform. The feathers are also applied to their combat helmets.

Description

The Bersaglieri were a high-mobility light infantry at their inception in 1836, with their specific situation evolving with changes in warfare. In the nineteenth century, Bersaglieri acted as skirmishers or shock troops, moving from place to place by running. An elaborate system of bugle calls allowed their units to be deployed and commanded quickly, singly or in combination. The tradition of running continues today in parades and during barracks duty. In World War I, some Bersaglieri served as bicycle troops, better to execute their mission of maneuver warfare. During the Cold War, the Bersaglieri were exclusively employed as mechanized infantry.
Bersaglieri are well-known for their extraordinary performances in parades and military tattoos, always running instead of marching, with hundreds of black capercaillie feathers flowing from their wide-brimmed black hats. These feathers are also worn on Bersaglieri combat helmets. They once served a military purpose, acting as camouflage and as a sunshade for the marksman's shooting eye. Today, they are a badge of honour, attracting new recruits and fostering esprit among their wearers.

Origins and history

The relatively poor Kingdom of Sardinia could not afford large numbers of cavalry, so a quick-moving infantry corps of marksmen were needed. These troops were trained to high physical and marksmanship standards. Like the French chasseurs à pied, a level of independence and initiative was encouraged so that they could operate in looser formations, in which direct command and control was not required. They fired individually and carried 60 rounds instead of the standard 40 rounds of traditional line infantry. The first uniform was black with brimmed hats, called "vaira". These were intended to defend the head from sabre blows.
The first public appearance of the Bersaglieri was on the occasion of a military parade on 1 July 1836. The First Company marched through Turin with the rapid, high-stepping gait still used by the Bersaglieri in World War II and later. The modern Bersaglieri still run both on parade and even during barracks duty - on penalty of punishment if they do not. The new corps impressed King Charles Albert, who immediately had them integrated as part of the Piedmontese regular army. The corps grew rapidly and by 1852 there were already 10 battalions, each with four companies.
Throughout the nineteenth century the Bersaglieri filled the role of skirmishers, screening the slow-moving line and column formations, but acting as special shock troops if required. They were originally intended to serve as mountain troops, as well; the climber Jean-Antoine Carrel was a Bersagliere. When the Alpini Corps were created in 1872 a strong rivalry arose between the two elite corps.

Unified Italy

During the First War of Italian Independence the Bersaglieri distinguished themselves by storming the bridge at Goito. In 1855 the Bersaglieri provided five battalions for the Sardinian Expeditionary Corps in the Crimean War, where they were involved in the Siege of Sevastopol and the Battle of the Cernaia. Most of the casualties were suffered due to a cholera epidemic. Their bravery at the Cernaia was widely recognized and played a key role in gaining Piedmont-Sardinia a seat in the negotiations at the war's end. For their effort in the Crimea, the Bersaglieri were rewarded a red fez with a blue tassel, in honour from the French zouaves troops, with whom they served, as they watched the Bersaglieri's bravery in the battle.
When the Armata Sarda became the Regio Esercito in 1860, the existing 36 battalions were used to create six Bersaglieri regiments, which had administrative and disciplinary duties. The regiments were assigned to the army corps', with the regiment's battalions assigned to the divisions in the corps as reconnaissance units.
The most famous action of the Bersaglieri occurred on 20 September 1870, when the 12th Bersaglieri battalion stormed Rome through a breach created by Italian artillery in the Aurelian Walls near Porta Pia leading to the capture of Rome and end of the temporal power of the Pope, thus completing the unification of Italy. A monument was erected in 1932 in front of Porta Pia to commemorate the event at the same time as the National Museum of the Bersaglieri corps was moved to Porta Pia, where it resides still today.
In 1871, the Bersaglieri corps added another four battalions and the regiments were increased from six to 10 and given also operational command of the battalions. In 1883 a further two regiments were added for a total of 12 Bersaglieri regiments, one for each army corps with three battalions per regiment. Therefore, the four battalions raised in 1871 were disbanded.
During World War I, the 12 Bersaglieri regiments were augmented by nine raised regiments and fought with distinction on the Italian Front. Of the 210,000 members of Bersaglieri regiments, 32,000 were killed and 50,000 wounded during the war. Italy's last surviving World War I veteran, Delfino Borroni, was a member of the 6th Bersaglieri Regiment from Bologna. Another member who served as Bersagliere on the front was Benito Mussolini.
A contingent of Bersaglieri drawn from the autonomous battalions of the 1st Bersaglieri Regiment was sent to participate in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in 1917, where they were attached to the Egyptian Expeditionary Force commanded by General Edmund Allenby. Their "mainly political" role was to assert "hereditary ecclesiastical prerogatives in connection with the Christian churches at Jerusalem and Bethlehem."

Peacetime regiments

At the outbreak of World War 1 in 1914 the Bersaglieri corps consisted of 12 regiments of three battalions on foot, and one cyclist's battalion each. Each regiment also contained a machine gun section with two machine guns. The battalions on foot consisted of three companies of 250 men each, while the cyclist battalions consisted of three companies of 150 men each. Additionally, each cyclist's battalion had its own machine gun section with two machine guns. Between the outbreak of the war and the Italian declaration of war on 23 May 1915 the Italian army was forced to send the 1st Bersaglieri Regiment and five battalions from other Bersaglieri regiments to Libya as the local population fiercely resisted the Italian occupation. On 29 December 1914 the army sent the 10th Bersaglieri Regiment to Albania, which was in turmoil after its freshly installed ruler William, Prince of Albania had fled the country in September 1914. Already since 4 May 1912 two battalions of the 4th Bersaglieri Regiment were in Rhodes to garrison the newly conquered Italian Islands of the Aegean.
With war imminent the army began to raise new Bersaglieri battalions to replace the battalions deployed overseas and on 8 April 1915, the 10th bis Bersaglieri Regiment was formed to replace the 10th deployed in Albania. Starting in January 1915 additional battalions were raised starting, which remained autonomous and were not integrated into an existing regiment. When hostilities commended the Bersaglieri consisted of:
On 10 January 1916 the High Command ordered to increase all Bersaglieri battalions on foot by one company. The battalions deployed to Libya were exempt. Later that spring the Bersaglieri companies of the battalions on foot were reduced from 250 to 225 men, but in turn each battalion received its own machine gun section with two machine guns, a submachine-gun section with two Villar Perosa submachine guns, and a Sapper unit with 88 men. On 3 March 1916 the regimental command of the 1st Bersaglieri Regiment was disbanded and its battalions became autonomous.
At the end of 1916 the Bersaglieri fielded:
Early in 1917 each battalion in Italy received a second submachine-gun section and in May the battalions were thoroughly reorganized: the machine gun sections of each battalion were increased to a machine gun company with six machine guns, while the battalion's 4th companies were group in independent "marching" battalions, which acted as personnel reserve for the armies deployed to the front.
After the defeat at Caporetto the Italian army was forced to retreat from the Isonzo river to the Piave river. During the retreat four Bersaglieri regiments and three autonomous battalions were so badly mauled that they had to be disbanded: besides the wartime regiments 15 and 21, also the peacetime regiments 4 and 9 were disbanded. Thus at the end of 1917 the Bersaglieri corps consisted of:
After the Battle of Caporetto the Chief of Staff of the Italian Army Luigi Cadorna was finally dismissed and replaced by Armando Diaz. Diaz reorganized the army and ordered the Bersaglieri battalions to be reorganized: the companies on foot were reduced to 150 men in three platoons - two of infantry and one of sappers and combat support troops. At the same, the machine-gun companies were increased to eight machine guns, and the submachine-gun sections increased to three and attached to the companies. Each battalion also received a Stokes mortar section, while each regiment received a flamethrower section and a "reparto cannoncini d'accompagnamento", with Italian copies of the Austrian 3.7cm Infantry Gun M.15.
Additionally the command of the 16th Bersaglieri Regiment was disbanded and its battalions became autonomous, six of the autonomous battalions deployed to Libya were ordered to return and reorganized as the other battalions on the Italian front. The cyclist battalions were also reorganized.
At the onset of the last offensive of the war the Bersaglieri consisted of:
At the outbreak of the war the army fielded 13 Bersaglieri regiments: the twelve peacetime regiments and the 10th bis Bersaglieri Regiment, which had been raised with new battalions on 8 April 1915 to replace the 10th Bersaglieri Regiment sent to Vlorë in Albania on 29 December 1914. During 1915 two more regiments were raised; the 1st bis Bersaglieri Regiment with three autonomous battalions and then 13th Bersaglieri Regiment with three new battalions:
On 5 January 1916 the 1st bis Bersaglieri Regiment changed its name and became the 15th Bersaglieri Regiment, while on the same date the 10th bis Bersaglieri Regiment changed its name and became 16th Bersaglieri Regiment. During 1916 only one new regiment was raised: the 14th Bersaglieri Regiment on 11 March with two newly formed and one autonomous battalion.
In 1917 the army raised five new Bersaglieri regiments: the 17th and 18th regiments with newly raised battalions, the 19th regiment with three autonomous battalions, and the 20th and 21st regiments with reserve battalions.
Due to the defeat at the Battle of Caporetto the army was forced to disbanded the 15th and the 21st Bersaglieri regiments with their battalions in November 1917. In 1918 the command of the 16th Bersaglieri Regiment was disbanded and its three battalions became autonomous.
After the war four of the regiments raised for the conflict were disbanded, while the 19th Bersaglieri Regiment was renamed 4th Bersaglieri Regiment, and the 20th Bersaglieri Regiment was renamed 9th Bersaglieri Regiment. Of the nine regiments raised during the war none, except for 18th Bersaglieri Regiment, was ever activated again. The 18th was active again from 1 April 1935 until 31 December 1936, from 1 February 1942 until 8 September 1943, and for the last time from 10 September 1993 until 1 January 2005.

Cyclist Battalions

The twelve cyclist battalions of the peacetime regiments had been raised in 1910. Each consisted of three companies of 150 men, and a machine gun section with two machine guns. For the duration of the war the cyclists battalions operated independently from their regiments and were assigned as needed to higher commands. On various occasions Bersaglieri Cyclist Battalion Groups were formed, but only after the Battle of Caporetto forced the Italian army to retreat from the Isonzo front, during which the cyclist battalions served as rearguard, did the army institute permanent cyclist groups. These four groups were officially instituted on 15 January 1918 and each fielded three cyclist battalions and formed initially the mobile reserve of the Third Army on the lower Piave river:
In April and May 1918 the 1st and 2nd Group were assigned to the 1st, respectively the 7th Army to defend the Western, respectively the Eastern shore of Lake Garda from possible Austro-Hungarian amphibious landings. By June all four groups had returned to the 3rd Army and were assigned to the army's corps as mobile reserve.
On 24 June 1918 the 2nd and 4th group and the II, VI, IX, and X battalions were disbanded and with their troops the Cyclist Assault Reserve Battalion formed. This battalion was assigned to the Assault Army Corps, which consisted of Bersaglieri and Arditi troops. The surviving III and XI cyclist battalions were assigned to 1st, respectively the 2nd Assault Division of the same carmy corps. The two remaining groups, the 1st and 3rd, left the 3rd Army on 16 October 1918 and were assigned for the last offensive of the war to the 1st, respectively 4th Cavalry division.

Autonomous Battalions

During World War 1 the Bersaglieri regiments raised a number of battalions, which were not attached to a regiment and designated as "autonomous battalions". At the same time seven battalions of pre-war regiments, which were deployed to the Italian colonies, became autonomous and were replaced in their regiments by newly raised battalions. The 1st Bersaglieri Regiment was deployed to Italian Libya and its three battalions became autonomous in February 1916 when the regimental command returned to the mainland. Of the autonomous battalions raised during the war only the LII and LV battalions remaining autonomous and active for the entire duration of the conflict.
During the war a number of battalions of existing regiments became autonomous either for geographic reasons or organizational reasons. The following table gives an overview of these battalions:

Machine Gunner Companies

At the outbreak of war each infantry and Bersaglieri battalion of the Italian Army fielded one machine gun section with two Maxim 1911 machine guns carried by horses. After the outbreak of the war this proved quickly to be inadequate and in spring 1916 the army began to raise dedicated machine gunner companies. These companies were attached to brigades, divisions and army corps, which deployed them with tactical units as needed. 2,277 Machine Gunner companies were raised and numbered continuously. The Bersaglieri depots raised 31 companies equipped with six St. Étienne Mle 1907 machine guns each, and 84 companies equipped with six Fiat–Revelli Modello 1914 machine guns each.

Special Bersaglieri Division

At the outbreak of war seven Bersaglieri regiments were assigned to divisions or army corps, while four Bersaglieri regiments formed on 20 May 1915 the Special Bersaglieri Division. The four regiments were joined by IV Mountain Artillery Group of the 1st Mountain Artillery Regiment and minor support units. On 11 February 1916 the four regiments were grouped together in two brigades: the I Bersaglieri Brigade consisted of the 6th and 12th Bersaglieri regiments, while the II Bersaglieri Brigade consisted of the 9th and 11th Bersaglieri regiments. After not even a year of existence the division is transformed on 5 March 1915 into a standard infantry division and the two Bersaglieri brigades are attached like the regiments to divisions and army corps as needed.

Bersaglieri Brigades

After the Special Bersaglieri Division had been disbanded the two Bersaglieri brigades were attached to higher commands as needed. On 6 November 1916 the 7th Bersaglieri Regiment replaced the 9th Bersaglieri Regiment in the II Bersaglieri Brigade, but there were no further changes to the brigades during that year.
In 1917 the army decided to activate a further three Bersaglieri brigades of two regiments each, bringing the Bersaglieri closer in line with the regular infantry, all of whose regiments were grouped together in brigades of two infantry regiments. During the year the III, IV, and V Bersaglieri brigades were raised, with respectively the 17th and 18th, 14th and 20th, and 4th and 21st regiments. However the defeat in the Battle of Caporetto led to the destruction of the V Bersaglieri Brigade, which, together with the 21st Bersaglieri Regiment, was annihilated during the retreat from the Isonzo river to the Piave river.
In 1918 the army raised the V Bersaglieri Brigade again, and added the VI and VII Bersaglieri brigades, which consisted of the 8th and 13th, respectively 2nd and 3rd Bersaglieri regiments. With this all Bersaglieri regiments in Italy were now assigned to one of the seven Bersaglieri brigades.

Assault Divisions

At the end of 1915 each infantry regiment the Italian Army began to create Arditi platoons modeled after the German Stormtroopers. These units remained a regimental asset until 1917 when the 2nd Army on its own initiative an Arditi school in Sdricca di Manzano. The first unit raised from volunteers was officially activated with a live-fire exercise in front of King Victor Emmanuel III on 29 July 1917. Named I Assault Battalion the successful exercise led to the creation of a second battalion, with both units having their baptism of fire during the Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo on the Banjšice Plateau.
After the success of the Arditi during the Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo all armies were ordered to raise Arditi battalions. However each army raised and employed these battalions in different ways and only after the disastrous Battle of Caporetto did the Italian High Command take control of the formation and use of the Arditi units. Each army corps was to receive an Assault Battalion consisting of three Arditi companies, three machine gun sections, six machine pistol section, and six flamethrower sections. The Bersaglieri raised three Assault battalions.
On 10 June 1918 the I Assault Division was created with three groupings of three Arditi battalions each. On 25 June 1918 the II Assault Division was raised and the two division combined the form the Assault Army Corps. Each division consisted of three groupings with two assault battalions and a Bersaglieri battalion. Additionally each division fielded one Bersaglieri cyclists battalion, a cavalry squadron, a mountain artillery group, a sapper battalion, and various support units. The six Bersaglieri battalions in the groupings had been deployed to Libya until 28 May 1918. Additionally the corps fielded the Cyclist Assault Reserve Battalion formed on 24 June 1918 from the remaining men of the II, VI, IX, and X cyclist battalions.
The corps's two divisions had the following structure:

Geographical Distribution

In 1914 the 1st Bersaglieri Regiment moved its deposit from Sanremo to Naples to be closer to its upcoming area of deployment in Libya, while the 5th Bersaglieri Regiment moved from Ancona into the vacant base at Sanremo.

Interwar years

After the war the nine wartime regiments were disbanded and the number of Bersaglieri battalions in the remaining regiments reduced to two per regiment. A new role was seen for the light infantry as part of Italy’s commitment to Mobile Warfare. The post-war Bersaglieri were converted into bicycle troops to fight alongside cavalry in the Celeri divisions. Elite units with high morale and an aggressive spirit were seen as one way to break such tactical stalemates as the trench warfare of 1915-18. The Bersaglieri gave Italy highly trained formations suitable for service with both cavalry and tanks. When the armoured divisions were formed in 1939, the link between the Bersaglieri and mobile warfare continued. Each new armoured and motorised division was allocated one Bersaglieri regiment.

Interwar Period

A single Bersaglieri regiment, the 3rd Bersagleri, took part in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War in October 1935, invading from Eritrea as part of the 30th Infantry Division Sabauda under General Italo Gariboldi. There, they took part in the Christmas Offensive and the Battle of Amba Aradam, among others. The regiment was detached and sent back to Asmara in March 1936 to join a new unit, the East Africa Fast Column under Achille Starace.

World War II

Italy began the Second World War with 12 Bersaglieri regiments of three battalions each. Over the preceding years the Army had resisted suggestions to dilute their quality, and recruits continued to be of above-average size and stamina, endured intense physical training and had to qualify as marksmen. During the war an additional Bersaglieri regiment, the 18th, with three battalions was raised, but only one of its battalions saw actual combat.
The Bersaglieri fought in southern France and then in Greece, later Bersaglieri regiments were also deployed on the Eastern Front. One battalion of Bersaglieri participated in the East African Campaign.
After the Armistice of Cassibile between the Kingdom of Italy and Western Allies on 8 September 1943, Italy split in half. The Republic of Salò continued the war alongside Nazi Germany. Its Army, the fascist National Republican Army, raised the 1st "Italia" Bersaglieri Division, which was attached to the German 14th Army in a sector on the Northern Apennines. The division fought along the Gothic Line, and at the end of the final allied offensive, along with two Wehrmacht and last Italian fascist Army Divisions, surrendered after the Battle of Collecchio.
On the other side of the front the Italian Co-belligerent Army raised a Bersaglieri battalion as part of the Legnano Combat Group from remnants of the 4th Bersaglieri Regiment.

Cold War

During the Cold War the Bersaglieri were exclusively employed as mechanized infantry. The three active Bersaglieri regiments were assigned Army's armored divisions, with the 3rd and 8th regiments fielding two Bersaglieri and one tank battalion, while the 1st Armored Bersaglieri Regiment fielded two tank and one Bersaglieri battalion. Additionally each of the three active tank regiments fielded one Bersaglieri and two tank battalions, while the four armored infantry regiments of the motorized divisions fielded one Bersaglieri and one tank battalion each. Without exception the Bersaglieri battalions were armed with M113 armored personnel carriers.
At the end of 1974 the following Bersaglieri regiments were active:
At the end of 1974 the following tank regiments fielded one Bersaglieri battalion:
Together the three Bersaglieri and three tank regiments formed the army's two armored divisions:
The remaining four active Bersaglieri battalions were assigned to the army's four armored infantry regiments:
During the Italian Army reform of 1975 the regimental level was abolished and battalions became independent units under newly formed brigades. The Army formed the 3rd Mechanized Brigade "Goito" with the regimental command and units of the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment and the 8th Mechanized Brigade "Garibaldi" with the regimental command and units of the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment. Both brigades received one extra Bersaglieri battalion from disbanded armored infantry regiments and both fielded only personnel - with the exception of the tank crews and artillerists - from the Bersaglieri corps.
in 1982
When the battalions became independent they received the flags and traditions of disbanded Bersaglieri regiments and each battalion was given an honorary name commemorating a significant event in which it had participated: e.g. the 3rd Bersaglieri Battalion "Cernaia" received its honorary name to commemorate the conduct of the battalion during the Battle of the Chernaya in Crimea during the Crimean War in 1855. In the following list of Bersaglieri units active in 1977.
Additionally the Bersaglieri fielded five anti-tank companies, one per Bersaglieri and one per Armored Brigade.
With the end of the Cold War, the Italian army began a reduction in personnel and units which also affected the Bersaglieri. On 1 June 1991 the Mechanized Brigade "Goito" was disbanded, while the Mechanized Brigade "Garibaldi" moved to the Southern city of Caserta, as the Army had decided to reduce the number of units in the north of Italy. The Garibaldi arrived in Caserta on 1 July 1991 and changed its name to 8th Bersaglieri Brigade "Garibaldi". Also in 1991, the battalions of the Army were renamed as regiments without changing composition.

Current structure

While in the past the mobility of the Bersaglieri manifested itself in running and the use of bicycles, regiments currently in service are all mechanised with either Dardo or Freccia infantry fighting vehicles. To distinguish them from other infantry units the Bersaglieri collar patches are crimson-red and enlisted troops wear a red fez instead of berets. Officers wear black berets with their standard uniform, but a feathered "vaira" when dressed in ceremonial uniform. They also wear black gloves, while other Italian regiments wear white ones. Originally each Bersaglieri regiment had a band called a "fanfara", who played their instruments at the double while on parade. Today only the Garibaldi Brigade and 7th Bersaglieri Regiment retain a "fanfara", which are technically brass bands.
Since 1982 Bersaglieri have served as peacekeepers with the Multinational Force in Lebanon, and during the Yugoslav and Somali Civil Wars. Bersaglier units also served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and were repeatedly deployed to serve in the war in Afghanistan. As of 2019 the following Bersaglieri units are in active service:
In mid-1800 the Bersaglieri were born as light infantry sharpshooters fighting in loose skirmish formations, and specific bugle calls were used to direct the units in the confusion of the battlefield.
Each battalion had its own specific bugle call played repeatedly to rally the troops or used as a sort of "address" before tactical bugle calls, to identify who the order was intended for.