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Alpine Brigade "Cadore"

April 15, 2024

The Alpine Brigade "Cadore" 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 brigade was based in the Italian provinces of Belluno and Vicenza with its headquarters Belluno. The brigade was disbanded in 1997.

Brigata Alpina "Cadore"
Coat of Arms of the Alpine Brigade "Cadore"
Active1 July 1953 - 10 January 1997
CountryItaly
BranchItalian Army
TypeAlpini
RoleMountain Infantry
Part ofIV Army Corps
1953 - 1997
Garrison/HQBelluno

Based in the Cadore Alps of Northern Italy the brigade's coat of arms was modeled after the area's traditional coat of arms.

Constitution edit

The Cadore was constituted on 1 July 1953 in the city of Belluno. The brigade’s name alludes to the Cadore Alps in the northernmost part of the province of Belluno. Most of the brigade's recruits came from the north-eastern Veneto Region. The brigade was tasked with defending the Piave valley against an attack by forces of the Warsaw Pact. The brigade’s strength was around 3,600 men and initially it was composed of the:

In the following years the brigade was augmented with further units:

  •   Alpini Battalion "Feltre", in Feltre and Strigno (transferred from the Alpine Brigade "Julia" on 1 June 1956)
  •   Alpini Paratroopers [1] Platoon, in Belluno (formed in 1956)
  • XIX Alpini Fortification Battalion, in Santo Stefano di Cadore (constituted on 1 January 1957; renamed   Alpini Battalion "Val Cismon" on 1 July 1963)
  •   Services Grouping "Cadore" (formed from the brigade's supply, maintenance, and logistic units in 1957)
  • Light Aircraft Section "Cadore", in Belluno (formed in 1957 and expanded to Light Aircraft Unit "Cadore" in 1966)

The Alpini Paratroopers [2] 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 7th Mortar Company was disbanded and its mortars and troops divided among the brigade's three Alpini battalions.

1975 Reorganization edit

class=notpageimage|
Cadore locations 1989

With the 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 Cadore saw some changes to its composition: the 7th Alpini Regiment, 6th Mountain Artillery Regiment, and Mountain Artillery Group "Pieve di Cadore" were disbanded, while the brigade headquarters and the signal company were merged to form the Command and Signal Unit "Cadore". Additionally an anti-tank company was raised, the Light Aircraft Unit "Cadore" was transferred to the newly formed 4th Army Light Aviation Regiment "Altair" of the 4th Army Corps, the Services Grouping "Cadore" was reorganized as a logistic battalion, the Alpini Battalion "Belluno" became a training unit, and the Alpini Battalion "Val Cismon" was reduced to 264th Alpini Company "Val Cismon".

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:

Strategic plans in case of war edit

 
Alpine wall bunker on the Kreuzbergpass

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 and the Tridentina the Puster valley, while the Orobica had a special mission and the Taurinense would remain in reserve. The Cadore was stationed between the Julia and the Tridentina brigades and tasked with defending the Piave valley. If the Soviet forces would have advanced along the Drava Valley they would have reached the Italian border at Winnebach in the Puster valley which was defended by the Alpini Battalion "Bassano" of the Tridentina. The Tridentina was tasked to defend the Puster valley, however if Soviet forces would turn south after crossing the border they would have been able to reach the Piave valley through the Sexten valley and over the Kreuzbergpass or through the Höhlensteintal and over the Cimabanche Pass. Therefore the Cadore's Alpini Battalion "Pieve di Cadore" based in Tai di Cadore was tasked with holding the Kreuzbergpass and Cimabanche pass. The "Pieve di Cadore" was supported by the Mountain Artillery Group "Lanzo" based in Belluno. The second battalion of the brigade, the Alpini Battalion "Feltre" based in Feltre along with the Mountain Artillery Group "Agordo" based in Bassano del Grappa was tasked to cover the many Dolomite mountain passes on the left flank of the "Pieve di Cadore" battalion.

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 Cadore the 264th Alpini Company "Val Cismon" based in Santo Stefano di Cadore was tasked with maintaining the Alpine Wall fortifications on the Kreuzbergpass, in the Höhlensteintal and near Prags. In wartime the fortifications would have been manned as follows:

  • Kreuzbergpass: 7 bunker, 247 men from the 264th Company (Italian Wikipedia: Sbarramento Passo Monte Croce Comelico)
  • Val Frison: 3 bunker, ? men from the 265th (Reserve) Company (Italian Wikipedia: Sbarramento Val Frison)
  • Landro Nord: 3 bunker, 150 men from the 277th (Reserve) Company (Italian Wikipedia: Sbarramento della Val di Landro)
  • Prags: 2 bunkers, 116 men from the 347th (Reserve) Company (Italian Wikipedia: Sbarramento di Braies)

Administratively the 264th Alpini Company "Val Cismon" fell under the Alpini Battalion "Val Brenta" of the Tridentina brigade. On 23 August 1986 the company was disbanded and the bunkers stripped of their equipment.

1991 Reorganization edit

In 1991 the Mountain Artillery Group "Agordo" was disbanded and the remaining battalions took the names of historical Alpini regiments to carry on their traditions. Each regiment consisted of one of the brigade's Alpini battalions and an additional support company. Furthermore, the brigade's Anti-tank Company was disbanded and the Command and Signal Unit merged with the Engineer Company to form the Command and Tactical Supports Unit "Cadore". The new composition was:

Today edit

The brigade was disbanded on 10 January 1997 and the remaining units (7th and 16th Alpini regiments) passed to the Alpine Brigade "Julia".

References edit

  1. ^ "Paratrooper", Wikipedia, 2023-10-17, retrieved 2023-10-23
  2. ^ "Paratrooper".

April 15, 2024
alpine, brigade, cadore, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, oc. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Alpine Brigade Cadore news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Alpine Brigade Cadore 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 brigade was based in the Italian provinces of Belluno and Vicenza with its headquarters Belluno The brigade was disbanded in 1997 Brigata Alpina Cadore Coat of Arms of the Alpine Brigade Cadore Active1 July 1953 10 January 1997CountryItalyBranchItalian ArmyTypeAlpiniRoleMountain InfantryPart ofIV Army Corps1953 1997Garrison HQBelluno Based in the Cadore Alps of Northern Italy the brigade s coat of arms was modeled after the area s traditional coat of arms Contents 1 Constitution 2 1975 Reorganization 2 1 Strategic plans in case of war 3 1991 Reorganization 4 Today 5 ReferencesConstitution editThe Cadore was constituted on 1 July 1953 in the city of Belluno The brigade s name alludes to the Cadore Alps in the northernmost part of the province of Belluno Most of the brigade s recruits came from the north eastern Veneto Region The brigade was tasked with defending the Piave valley against an attack by forces of the Warsaw Pact The brigade s strength was around 3 600 men and initially it was composed of the nbsp Alpine Brigade Cadore in Belluno Brigade Headquarters in Belluno nbsp 7th Alpini Regiment in Belluno nbsp Command Company in Belluno nbsp Alpini Battalion Pieve di Cadore in Pieve di Cadore nbsp Alpini Battalion Belluno in Belluno and Agordo nbsp 7th Mortar Company in Belluno nbsp 6th Mountain Artillery Regiment in Belluno nbsp Command Battery in Belluno nbsp Mountain Artillery Group Lanzo in Belluno nbsp Mountain Artillery Group Pieve di Cadore in Bassano nbsp Mountain Artillery Group Agordo in Feltre nbsp Anti aircraft Artillery Group in Belluno disbanded in 1957 nbsp Engineer Company Cadore in Belluno nbsp Signal Company Cadore in BellunoIn the following years the brigade was augmented with further units nbsp Alpini Battalion Feltre in Feltre and Strigno transferred from the Alpine Brigade Julia on 1 June 1956 nbsp Alpini Paratroopers 1 Platoon in Belluno formed in 1956 XIX Alpini Fortification Battalion in Santo Stefano di Cadore constituted on 1 January 1957 renamed nbsp Alpini Battalion Val Cismon on 1 July 1963 nbsp Services Grouping Cadore formed from the brigade s supply maintenance and logistic units in 1957 Light Aircraft Section Cadore in Belluno formed in 1957 and expanded to Light Aircraft Unit Cadore in 1966 The Alpini Paratroopers 2 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 7th Mortar Company was disbanded and its mortars and troops divided among the brigade s three Alpini battalions 1975 Reorganization edit nbsp nbsp Cadore nbsp Pieve di Cadore nbsp Feltre nbsp Agordo nbsp nbsp nbsp BellunoLanzoclass notpageimage Cadore locations 1989 With the 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 Cadore saw some changes to its composition the 7th Alpini Regiment 6th Mountain Artillery Regiment and Mountain Artillery Group Pieve di Cadore were disbanded while the brigade headquarters and the signal company were merged to form the Command and Signal Unit Cadore Additionally an anti tank company was raised the Light Aircraft Unit Cadore was transferred to the newly formed 4th Army Light Aviation Regiment Altair of the 4th Army Corps the Services Grouping Cadore was reorganized as a logistic battalion the Alpini Battalion Belluno became a training unit and the Alpini Battalion Val Cismon was reduced to 264th Alpini Company Val Cismon 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 nbsp Alpine Brigade Cadore in Belluno nbsp Command and Signal Unit Cadore in Belluno nbsp Alpini Battalion Feltre in Feltre nbsp Headquarters and Service Company nbsp 64th Alpini Company nbsp 65th Alpini Company nbsp 66th Alpini Company nbsp 125th Heavy Mortar Company nbsp Alpini Battalion Pieve di Cadore in Tai di Cadore nbsp Headquarters and Service Company nbsp 67th Alpini Company nbsp 68th Alpini Company nbsp 75th Alpini Company in Santo Stefano di Cadore nbsp 167th Heavy Mortar Company nbsp Alpini Recruits Training Battalion Belluno in Belluno nbsp Headquarters and Service Company nbsp 92nd Alpini Training Company nbsp 127th Alpini Training Company nbsp 141st Alpini Training Company nbsp 142nd Alpini Training Company nbsp Mountain Artillery Group Lanzo in Belluno nbsp Headquarters and Service Battery nbsp 16th Mountain Artillery Battery nbsp 44th Mountain Artillery Battery nbsp 47th Mountain Artillery Battery nbsp Mountain Artillery Group Agordo in Bassano del Grappa nbsp Headquarters and Service Battery nbsp 41st Mountain Artillery Battery nbsp 42nd Mountain Artillery Battery nbsp 43rd Mountain Artillery Battery nbsp Logistic Battalion Cadore in Belluno nbsp Command and Services Platoon nbsp 1st Light Logistic Unit nbsp 2nd Light Logistic Unit nbsp Medium Logistic Unit nbsp 264th Alpini Company Val Cismon in Santo Stefano di Cadore transferred on 1 November 1976 to the Alpini Battalion Val Brenta of the Alpine Brigade Tridentina nbsp Anti tank Company Cadore in Belluno nbsp Engineer Company Cadore in BellunoStrategic plans in case of war edit nbsp Alpine wall bunker on the KreuzbergpassAfter 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 and the Tridentina the Puster valley while the Orobica had a special mission and the Taurinense would remain in reserve The Cadore was stationed between the Julia and the Tridentina brigades and tasked with defending the Piave valley If the Soviet forces would have advanced along the Drava Valley they would have reached the Italian border at Winnebach in the Puster valley which was defended by the Alpini Battalion Bassano of the Tridentina The Tridentina was tasked to defend the Puster valley however if Soviet forces would turn south after crossing the border they would have been able to reach the Piave valley through the Sexten valley and over the Kreuzbergpass or through the Hohlensteintal and over the Cimabanche Pass Therefore the Cadore s Alpini Battalion Pieve di Cadore based in Tai di Cadore was tasked with holding the Kreuzbergpass and Cimabanche pass The Pieve di Cadore was supported by the Mountain Artillery Group Lanzo based in Belluno The second battalion of the brigade the Alpini Battalion Feltre based in Feltre along with the Mountain Artillery Group Agordo based in Bassano del Grappa was tasked to cover the many Dolomite mountain passes on the left flank of the Pieve di Cadore battalion 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 Cadore the 264th Alpini Company Val Cismon based in Santo Stefano di Cadore was tasked with maintaining the Alpine Wall fortifications on the Kreuzbergpass in the Hohlensteintal and near Prags In wartime the fortifications would have been manned as follows Kreuzbergpass 7 bunker 247 men from the 264th Company Italian Wikipedia Sbarramento Passo Monte Croce Comelico Val Frison 3 bunker men from the 265th Reserve Company Italian Wikipedia Sbarramento Val Frison Landro Nord 3 bunker 150 men from the 277th Reserve Company Italian Wikipedia Sbarramento della Val di Landro Prags 2 bunkers 116 men from the 347th Reserve Company Italian Wikipedia Sbarramento di Braies Administratively the 264th Alpini Company Val Cismon fell under the Alpini Battalion Val Brenta of the Tridentina brigade On 23 August 1986 the company was disbanded and the bunkers stripped of their equipment 1991 Reorganization editIn 1991 the Mountain Artillery Group Agordo was disbanded and the remaining battalions took the names of historical Alpini regiments to carry on their traditions Each regiment consisted of one of the brigade s Alpini battalions and an additional support company Furthermore the brigade s Anti tank Company was disbanded and the Command and Signal Unit merged with the Engineer Company to form the Command and Tactical Supports Unit Cadore The new composition was nbsp Alpine Brigade Cadore in Belluno nbsp Command and Tactical Supports Unit Cadore in Belluno nbsp 7th Alpini Regiment nbsp Alpini Battalion Feltre in Feltre nbsp 12th Alpini Regiment nbsp Alpini Battalion Pieve di Cadore in Pieve di Cadore disbanded in 1997 nbsp 16th Alpini Regiment nbsp Alpini Recruits Training Battalion Belluno in Belluno nbsp 6th Mountain Artillery Regiment nbsp Mountain Artillery Group Lanzo in Bassano del Grappa disbanded on July 15 1995 nbsp nbsp Logistic Battalion Cadore in BellunoToday editThe brigade was disbanded on 10 January 1997 and the remaining units 7th and 16th Alpini regiments passed to the Alpine Brigade Julia References edit Paratrooper Wikipedia 2023 10 17 retrieved 2023 10 23 Paratrooper Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alpine Brigade 22Cadore 22 amp oldid 1186222221, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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