The modern Italian Army is not known for it’s military prowess. This is especially true of forces that Italy sent far beyond it’s borders. There was an idea however to recruit locals from the Italian Alps who would be ready to defend the new territories in the north. The success of this can be seen in the fact that Italy retains all these gained territories. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
On a 100 year anniversary stamp, the stamp designers had the choice to show the Alpini Corps as people imagined it or how it then existed in cold war Italy. The modern troops just have a small extra insignia on their standard uniform, so we collectors are lucky the designers let us see the old Alpine style hats and pack mules so evocative of mountain combat.
Todays stamp is issue A573, a 25 Lira stamp issued by Italy on May 10th, 1972. It was a three stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, all stamps in this set are worth 25 cents whether used or unused.
Prior to the coming together of Italy, the Alpine area was controlled by Austria. It was defended by a network of four large fortifications shaped to form a box shaped defense. This system was called the Quadrilatero and became much more vulnerable with the event of rifled cannons. The land passed to a united Italy in the 1860s. In 1872 A young Captain in the Italian Army wrote an article for a military journal that proposed the forming of an Alpine corps of soldiers recruited in the region to provide a defense of the new regions. The knowledge of the land would provide many advantages to mounting a successful defense. The article came to the attention of the King and was acted upon.
The force was successful in that they were able to prevent a full breakthrough of Italy’s northern defenses when faced with Austrian attacks during World War I. The fighting saw 114,000 casualties suffered by the Alpine Corps. That is a larger number then today’s entire Italian Army. World War II was less successful for the Alpine Corps. The units without a fight surrendered to the Germans when they took control of Northern Italy to continue the fight against the Allied invasion. One Alpine Corp unit, however that was stationed in Montenegro decided to change sides and keep fighting, this time along side Yugoslav partisans. The Germans were able to raise a new division of Italian Alpine troops that fought beside them to the end of the war. They mainly clashed with Brazil’s Expeditionary Force. That may reflect German opinion of their abilities or loyalty.
The force was imagined as defensive but has still been sent far and wide to Eritrea and Libya in Africa and even to China as part of Italy’s response to the Boxer Rebellion. More recently, units have fought in Afghanistan. None of these deployments turned out particularly well.
In today’s Italian Army, the units are still referred to as the Alpini Corps. However, the force is down to two brigades, which is only 2/3rds of one division. In World War Two, before all but one surrendered without a fight, Italy fielded 6 Alpine divisions.
Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast King Victor Emanuel I. The young captain, later General, I am sure could not have imagined the King would read his article and know a good idea when he read it. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.