The Esercito Italiano, 1945-1991

The Alpini

The Alpini are units of the Italian Army who specialise in mountain combat. Throughout the Cold War, they guarded both their homeland in the Alps and Apennines and the Norwegian frontier. Steeped in tradition, and with a strong esprit de corps, they had various items of specialised equipment compared to regular infantry, not least of which was the BM 59 TA rifle. Consisting primarily of Infantry Regiments, with supporting Artillery and Logistics units, they practised movement and combat in adverse terrain, and were highly regarded by their NATO allies in joint exercises. This section aims to recreate the general look of an Alpino [the singular term for a soldier of the Alpini] throughout the Cold War. 

Alpino, Summer, c. 1960s-1970s:

In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, the Italian Army was equipped with wool serge uniforms, similar in cut and concept to British battledress. As time went by, though, it became apparent that camouflage uniforms would be the best in the field. To this end, the Army revisited the pre-war M1929 pattern (already in use to make shelter sections [Telo Tenda]) and devised a reasonably simple uniform, consisting of a smock with detachable hood/helmet cover, trousers and a seldom-seen baseball cap.  These began to be issued at the end of the 1950s, and continued in use into the 1980s.

In cold conditions, the smock could be worn over the top of the woollen uniforms, or, if the weather was warmer, simply over a T-shirt or vest (as seen here). The smock has epaulettes, two chest pockets, and an elasticated waistband around the bottom. From original photos, this appears to have been worn tucked up under itself. The trousers have two thigh pockets, fastened with poppers. As with the later NATO Green uniform, the post-war camouflage uniforms have large, padded sections on the elbows and knees - a welcome feature!

It's worth noting that the collar stars are, as is often the case on Italian surplus, missing from this set. As they're a designated symbol of the Army, they can only be worn by currently serving members of the Armed Forces. Consequently, they're generally removed prior to clothing being sold to the general public.

On the feet, low mountain boots (please note, these are not original items in the photos) are worn, with lace-up gaiters to provide a degree of waterproofing on the ankles. They were often not worn, though, and sometimes the thick woollen socks of the Alpini were rolled over to create an impromptu gaiter instead.

For webbing, British 1937 Pattern equipment was used. The impression here represents what would be worn in barracks rather than in the field, and thus only the belt is worn, with the bayonet left off. This belt is an Italian-made copy, but British- and Canadian-made examples were also used, interchangeably, in very large numbers.

The rifle carried here is the standard issue for Alpini infantry: the Beretta BM 59 Ital TA. This was a development of the WW2-era US M1 Rifle [the Garand], created by Beretta in the late-1950s. They featured a number of improvements over the originals: they have a detachable 20-round magazine, a folding bipod, revised gas system, grenade launcher sights, gas cutoff and muzzle brake, and select-fire capability. In addition to these improvements, the TA (Truppe Alpine, mountain troops) model features a pistol grip and folding stock, which shortens the weapon to make it easier to carry in mountainous terrain. They are very similar to the TP (Truppe Paracadutiste, parachutist troops) variant, but those also have a quick-detach muzzle device to shorten the weapon even further. BM 59 rifles were made both from scratch and, in the case of this example, converting original US-made M1 receivers. All BM 59s fired 7.62x51mm NATO ammunition. 

The rifle has a khaki canvas sling, and has a compartment inside the pistol grip to store cleaning materials. Ammunition could be supplied in spare magazines, but, more commonly, only one magazine would be issued, to be resupplied from clips.

BM 59s began to be issued from, unsurprisingly, 1959, replacing both M1 Rifles and M1/M2 Carbines. The former soldiered on, being relegated to second-line service (being very common to see in the hands of artillerymen), but the Carbines are not often seen after the 1960s. Full replacement of the M1 Rifle with BM 59s never took place, with M1s still being issued out when the adoption of the AR-70/90 took place. This coincided with the post-Cold War downsizing of the Army, which rendered both the BM 59 and M1 obsolete at the same time. 

The final item to go over is the iconic Cappello Alpino [Alpino Cap], a traditional item of headgear made from grey-green wool felt. The cap features leather sweatbands on both the inside and outside, and is lined with cotton and fitted with four metal vents for comfort. The most distinctive aspect of the hat is, of course, the penne - the black raven's feather. The feather is the source of a common nickname for the Alpini - le penne nere [the black feathers]. It is is held on by the nappina - a pompom made from a piece of wood wrapped in coloured thread and secured by way of a metal hook to a leather loop on the outer sweatband. The colour of the nappina signifies which Battalion within a Regiment the alpino belongs to: white for I battalion, red for II, green for III and blue for IV. Additionally, nappina with inset roundels are used for troops outside of the traditional battalion structure: blue nappina with roundels represent various support units including headquarters, anti-tank companies and supply troops; green nappina with roundels signify artillery troops. Finally, alternate colours are worn by some units: amaranth red nappina (with or without roundels) are worn by engineers and signals; and violet nappina (with or without roundels) are worn by logistics troops. 

At the front of the cap, there is the fregio - the crest. Traditionally, these were embroidered and stitched onto the front of the cap, but post-war examples generally have a moulded plastic fregio, which has thread-holes to affix it with. All crests feature an eagle with spread wings, below which will be a symbol to signify the alpino's specialisation. The example seen in these photos has a winged wheel with lightning bolts, meaning Materials and Transport troops.

Alpino, Summer, c. 1980s:

Although the Italian Army had used camouflage uniforms from 1929 onward, by the 1970s a new olive green uniform (colloquially known as the NATO uniform) had come into usage, which is seen here. This uniform features a jacket and trousers, with two chest pockets, two hip pockets and an elastic waistband. A green T-shirt is worn underneath the jacket. Both the knees and and elbows feature large padded reinforcements, which make the uniform far more comfortable to use while prone - a very practical feature!

The jacket would, in service, have two small five-pointed star patches on the collar, a symbol of the Italian Army dating back to the 13th of December, 1871. As a symbol of the Army, many jackets have these removed when they're sold as surplus, but I do have another jacket which still has them (which I really should have worn here).

The helmet seen here is the Modello 1933, which continued to be issued and used into the 1990s. This is a post-war example, although it is almost identical in design to the Second World War-era examples (the main changes were to the liner, plus a switch from a leather chinstrap on wartime examples to the canvas seen here. The shape of the bales on this particular helmet suggest that it could be a refurbished wartime M33). This one has been fitted with a camouflage net, which takes on a rather odd and floppy shape, due to its square shape being totally different to the curvature of the helmet. This, however, is correct for the period. These helmets were also occasionally issued with M1929 'Telo Mimetico'-pattern covers, although this was more common in earlier times and for regular infantry and paratroops than for the Alpini. 

For times when helmets were unsuitable or unnecessary, both the iconic, feathered, felt 'Cappello Alpino' [Alpino Cap] and a later, more practical cap called the 'Cappello Norvegese' [Norwegian Cap] were issued, although neither is seen in this impression.

As with the 60s/70s impression, the weapon carried here is a BM 59 TA select-fire rifle. 

Alpini support units, such as artillery, were not issued with the BM 59, but received M1 Rifles (typically converted to 7.62x51mm NATO) instead, at least into the early 1990s. It is not at all uncommon to see these used with the NATO Green uniform. Where an M1 was issued, three-pocket clip pouches (which are frequently mistaken for genuine British examples, despite the fact that 1908 Pattern pouches have four pockets, and 1937 Pattern ones have only two) would be worn instead of the basic pouches.

The green scabbard makes it hard to see against the trousers, but the bayonet for the rifle is also worn here. This is a standard model, which will also fit onto an AR-70 or AR70/90 rifle, and is dated 1959. These bayonets are very similar to American examples from the same era, but are not compatible with each other.

The webbing seen here is British 1937 Pattern equipment. In the immediate post-war period, the Italian Army received large quantities of this gear from British and Canadian stocks, and supplemented these stocks with domestically-produced gear. The belt here is an Italian-made example, whereas the basic pouches and braces are British-made. The only really distinctive items of P37 webbing manufactured in Italy are the ammunition pouches, which featured leather buckles to close them rather than the British-style poppers, but no distinctions were made between the various types in Italian stocks, and so British-made pouches were issued at least as late as 1993, according to testimony from one former Alpino.

While the ammunition pouches are large enough to fit a BM 59 magazine, troops were typically not issued with more than a single magazine, which stayed in the weapon. Rather, large numbers of five-round stripper clips would be carried instead, with which the magazine could be topped up.

The main inaccuracy of this impression lies in the area of footwear - lacking some suitable Italian-issue mountain boots, I have worn a pair of Austrian KAZ 75 lightweight boots instead, and tried to hide this fact with a pair of lace-up gaiters, which were typically not worn beyond the late-1970s, although they are original Italian issue (as are the socks, which cannot be seen here). Correct boots are black ranger-style boots, with a two-buckle ankle flap.

If you spot any errors in this article, please do get in touch! I aim to take some more photographs to correct a few issues that I've already mentioned at some point in the future.

All photos Copyright ©Walter of Forgotten Forces Living History Association