The 2nd alpine Artillery Regiment it, 2° Reggimento Artiglieria Alpina) is an inactive

field artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the early 20t ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

of the

Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

, specializing in mountain combat. Since their formation the Mountain Artillery Regiments have served alongside the

Alpini 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 operatio ...

, the mountain infantry speciality of the Italian Army, which distinguished itself in combat during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Besides their close history, the Alpini and Mountain Artillery regiments share the distinctive

Cappello Alpino The Cappello Alpino is the most distinctive feature of the Italian Army's Alpini troops uniform. The ''Alpini'' are light Infantry troops, specializing in mountain combat. Initially the Cappello was only issued to the Alpini, but soon the Cappell ...

. The regiment was disbanded in 2013 and its

FH-70 The FH70 (field howitzer for the 1970s) is a towed howitzer in use with several nations. History In 1963, NATO agreed a NATO Basic Military Requirement 39 for close support artillery, either towed or tracked. Subsequently, Germany and UK sta ...

towed howitzers were transferred to the re-raised 185th Parachute Artillery Regiment ''Folgore'' of the

Folgore Parachute Brigade Folgore is the Italian word for ''lightning''. It may refer to: Military * Macchi C.202 ''Folgore'', an Italian fighter of World War II * Breda Folgore, an Italian anti-armor weapon *Traditional name for parachute units of the Italian Army ** 185t ...

Bracciano Bracciano is a small town in the Italian region of Lazio, northwest of Rome. The town is famous for its volcanic lake ( Lago di Bracciano or "Sabatino", the eighth largest lake in Italy) and for a particularly well-preserved medieval castle Cast ...

History

The unit was raised as 3rd Mountain Artillery Regiment in the city of

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

on 15 February 1915. On the same date it received the Mountain Artillery Group ''Oneglia'' from the 1st Mountain Artillery Regiment and the Mountain Artillery Group ''Bergamo'' from the 2nd Mountain Artillery Regiment. To bring the regiment to full strength on the same date the mountain artillery groups ''Genova'' and ''Como'' were raised. The regiment was tasked to provide artillery support to the 1st and 5th Alpini regiments and recruited in

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

and

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

World War 1

During the war the regiment's depots raised and trained the commands of one mountain artillery grouping (''Raggruppamento Artiglieria Montagna''), the commands of 17 mountain artillery groups (''Gruppo Artiglieria Montagna''), and 44 mountain artillery batteries, which were each equipped with four 65/17 mod. 13 cannons. Furthermore, two commands of siege groups (''Gruppo d'Assedio''), and 19 siege batteries were raised and trained by the regiment. * The regiment raised the following mountain artillery grouping: 7°. * The regiment raised the following mountain artillery groups: XVII (72nd, 73rd, 74th bty.), XVIII (75th, 76th, 77th bty.), XXIV (56th, 60th, 62nd bty.), XXVII (88th, 89th, 90th bty.), XXXI (97th, 98th, 99th bty.), XXXII, XL, XLV, XLVI, XLVII, XLVIII, LV, LVI, LVII, LIX, LX, and LXVI. Note 3: The ''Genova'' group's 60th Mountain Artillery Battery and the ''Como'' group's 62nd Mountain Artillery Battery were not raised until November 1916 for lack of available 65/17 mod. 13 cannons.

Interwar Years - New Numbering

Traditionally Alpini units had been numbered from West to East with the 1st Alpini Regiment being the most westward and the

8th Alpini Regiment The 8th Alpini Regiment ( it, 8° Reggimento Alpini) is a regiment of the Italian Army's mountain infantry speciality, the Alpini, which distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. As of 2022 the regiment is assigned to ...

being the most eastward. However as the 3rd Mountain Artillery Regiment had been raised last it found itself now in the middle between the 1st Mountain Artillery Regiment in the West and the 2nd Mountain Artillery Regiment in the East. To rectify this on 11 March 1926 the 2nd and 3rd mountain artillery regiments swapped numbers.

Current Structure

The regiment was part of the Army's Artillery Command and was equipped with

towed howitzers. * Regimental Command ** Nappina artiglieria CG

Command and Logistic Support Battery ** Nappina artiglieria 21 btr

21st Target Acquisition and Surveillance Battery ** Nappina artiglieria

Artillery Group ''

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...

'' ***

19th Howitzer Battery *** Nappina artiglieria 20 btr

20th Howitzer Battery *** Nappina artiglieria 41 btr

41st Technical Support Battery

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alpine Artillery Regiment 02 Alpini Regiments of Italy in World War I Regiments of Italy in World War II Artillery regiments of Italy