2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina"

The 2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" (2ª Divisione alpina "Tridentina") was a division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II, which specialized in mountain warfare. The Alpini that formed the divisions are a highly decorated and elite mountain corps of the Italian Army comprising both infantry and artillery units. The name Tridentina was chosen as the division was based in the Trentino-South Tyrol region, for which the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini had created the neologism Venezia Tridentina. After World War II, the traditions and name of the 2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" were carried on by the Alpine Brigade "Tridentina".

History
The division's lineage begins with the II Alpine Brigade formed on 11 March 1926 in Verona with the 5th Alpini Regiment in Milan, 6th Alpini Regiment in Brixen, and 7th Alpini Regiment in Belluno and the 2nd Mountain Artillery Regiment in Bergamo. On 27 October 1934 the brigade changed its name to II Superior Alpine Command, which received the name Tridentino in December of the same year (II Comando Superiore Alpino "Tridentino").

On 10 September 1935 the II Superior Alpine Command "Tridentino" was reformed as 2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" with the 5th and 6th Alpini regiments and the 2nd Alpine Artillery Regiment, while the 7th Alpini Regiment was transferred to the 3rd Alpine Division "Julia". On 25 December 1935 the Tridentina temporarily transferred its Alpini Battalion "Trento" and one battery from its alpine artillery regiment to the 5th Alpine Division "Pusteria" for the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.

Invasion of France
The division participated in the Italian invasion of France in June 1940. On 21-23 June it participated in the attack on the Little St Bernard Pass.

Greco-Italian War
In November 1940 the division was transferred to Albania for the Greco-Italian War. By 23 November the division had entered the front in the upper Devoll valley, but by December it was in retreat during the Greek counter-offensive. During the Battle of Greece the division pursued the retreating Greek forces to Leskovik and Ersekë. After the war's conclusion the division returned to Italy.

Soviet Union
The Tridentina was one of the ten Italian divisions of the Italian Army in Russia, which fought on the Eastern Front. In July 1942 the division, together with the 3rd Alpine Division "Julia" and the 4th Alpine Division "Cuneense" formed the Alpine Army Corps, which was transferred to Eastern Ukraine. From there the Tridentina marched to Millerovo and then onward to the Don river, where it took up positions near Podgornoye by October 1942.

On 12 December 1942 the Red Army's Operation Little Saturn commenced, which in its first stage attacked and encircled the Italian Army in Russia's II Army Corps and XXXV Army Corps. On 13 January 1943, the Red Army launched the second stage of Operation Little Saturn: four armies of General Filipp Golikov's Voronezh Front attacked, encircled, and destroyed the Hungarian Second Army near Svoboda on the Don to the northwest of the Alpine Army Corps and pushed back the remaining units of the German XXIV Army Corps on the Alpine Army Corps' left flank, thus encircling the Alpine Army Corps.

On the evening of 17 January, the Alpine Army Corps commander, General Gabriele Nasci, ordered a full retreat. At this point only the Tridentina division was still capable of conducting effective combat operations. The 40,000-strong mass of stragglers — Alpini and Italians from other commands, plus German and Hungarian Hussars — formed two columns that followed the Tridentina division which, supported by a handful of German armored vehicles, led the way westwards to the Axis lines.

On the morning of 26 January, the spearheads of the Tridentina reached the hamlet of Nikolayevka, occupied by the 48th Guards Rifle Division. The Soviets had fortified the railway embankment on both sides of the village. General Nasci ordered a frontal assault and at 9:30 am the Battle of Nikolayevka began with the 6th Alpini Regiment with the battalions "Verona", "Val Chiese", and "Vestone", the Tridentina division's II Mixed Alpine Engineer Battalion, the Alpine Artillery Group "Bergamo" of the 2nd Alpine Artillery Regiment, and three German Sturmgeschütz III leading the attack. By noon the Italian forces had reached the outskirts of the village and the Alpine Army Corps' Chief of Staff General Giulio Martinat brought up reinforcements: the 5th Alpini Regiment with the battalions "Edolo", "Morbegno" and "Tirano", and the remaining alpine artillery groups "Vicenza" and "Val Camonica" of the 2nd Alpine Artillery Regiment, as well as the remnants of the Alpini Battalion "L’Aquila" of the "Julia" division. General Martinat fell during this assault.

By sunset the Alpini battalions were still struggling to break the reinforced Soviet lines and in a last effort to decide the battle before nightfall General Luigi Reverberi, commander of the Tridentina, ordered the remaining troops and stragglers, which had arrived over the course of the afternoon, to assault the Soviet positions in a human wave attack. The assault managed to break open the Soviet lines and the Italian survivors managed to continue their retreat, which was no longer contested by Soviet forces. On 1 February 1943 the remnants of the Alpine Army Corps reached Axis lines. Only one third of the Tridentina had survived the battle on the Don and the retreat (approximately 4,250 survivors of 18,000 troops deployed).

Return to Italy
The remnants of the division were repatriated in April 1943 and the division was reformed on 1 May 1943 with the 102nd Marching Alpini Regiment of the 8th Marching Division. After the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943 the invading German forces disbanded the division.

Organization
When the division was deployed to the Soviet Union it consisted of the following units:


 * 2a Divisione Alpina Tridentina.png 2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina", in Merano
 * CoA mil ITA rgt alpini 005.png 5th Alpini Regiment, in Merano
 * Nappina blu.png Command and Command Company
 * Nappina bianca.png Alpini Battalion "Morbegno"
 * Nappina bianca.png Command Company
 * Nappina bianca.png 44th, 45th, and 47th Alpini companies
 * Nappina bianca.png 107th Support Weapons Company (Breda M37 machine guns, 45mm Mod. 35 and 81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
 * Nappina rossa.png Alpini Battalion "Tirano"
 * Nappina rossa.png Command Company
 * Nappina rossa.png 46th, 48th, and 49th Alpini companies
 * Nappina rossa.png 109th Support Weapons Company (Breda M37 machine guns, 45mm Mod. 35 and 81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
 * Nappina verde.png Alpini Battalion "Edolo"
 * Nappina verde.png Command Company
 * Nappina verde.png 50th, 51st, and 52nd Alpini companies
 * Nappina verde.png 110th Support Weapons Company (Breda M37 machine guns, 45mm Mod. 35 and 81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
 * Nappina blu.png 82nd Anti-tank Company (47/32 anti-tank guns)
 * Nappina viola.png 5th Supply Squad
 * Nappina viola.png 25th Train Section (Logistic Support)
 * 5th Medical Section
 * 618th Field Hospital
 * CoA mil ITA rgt alpini 006.png 6th Alpini Regiment, in Sterzing
 * Nappina blu.png Command and Command Company
 * Nappina blu.png Alpini Battalion "Vestone"
 * Nappina blu.png Command Company
 * Nappina blu.png 53rd, 54th, and 55th Alpini companies
 * Nappina blu.png 111th Support Weapons Company (Breda M37 machine guns, 45mm Mod. 35 and 81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
 * Nappina bianca.png Alpini Battalion "Verona"
 * Nappina bianca.png Command Company
 * Nappina bianca.png 56th, 57th, and 58th Alpini companies
 * Nappina bianca.png 113th Support Weapons Company (Breda M37 machine guns, 45mm Mod. 35 and 81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
 * Nappina verde.png Alpini Battalion "Val Chiese"
 * Nappina verde.png Command Company
 * Nappina verde.png 253rd, 254th, and 255th Alpini companies
 * Nappina verde.png 112th Support Weapons Company (Breda M37 machine guns, 45mm Mod. 35 and 81mm Mod. 35 mortars)
 * Nappina blu.png 216th Anti-tank Company (47/32 anti-tank guns)
 * Nappina viola.png 6th Supply Squad
 * Nappina viola.png 26th Train Section (Logistic Support)
 * 6th Medical Section
 * 621st Field Hospital
 * CoA 2 Artimon Rgt.png 2nd Alpine Artillery Regiment, in Merano
 * Nappina artiglieria - Reparto Comando.png Command and Command Unit
 * Nappina artiglieria.png Alpine Artillery Group "Vicenza" (75/13 mountain guns)
 * Nappina artiglieria 19 btr.png 19th Battery
 * Nappina artiglieria 20 btr.png 20th Battery
 * Nappina artiglieria 45 btr.png 45th Battery
 * Nappina artiglieria Reparto Munizioni e Viveri.png Ammunition and Supply Unit
 * Nappina artiglieria.png Alpine Artillery Group "Bergamo" (75/13 mountain guns)
 * Nappina artiglieria 31 btr.png 31st Battery
 * Nappina artiglieria 32 btr.png 32nd Battery
 * Nappina artiglieria 33 btr.png 33rd Battery
 * Nappina artiglieria Reparto Munizioni e Viveri.png Ammunition and Supply Unit
 * Nappina artiglieria.png Alpine Artillery Group "Val Camonica" (reserve unit raised in 1942 for the campaign in the Soviet Union, 105/11 mountain guns)
 * Nappina artiglieria 28 btr.png 28th Battery
 * Nappina artiglieria 29 btr.png 29th Battery
 * Nappina artiglieria Reparto Munizioni e Viveri.png Ammunition and Supply Unit
 * Nappina artiglieria 56 btr.png 56th Anti-aircraft Battery (20/65 Mod. 35 anti-aircraft guns)
 * Nappina artiglieria 59 btr.png 59th Anti-aircraft Battery (20/65 Mod. 35 anti-aircraft guns)
 * Nappina artiglieria 76 btr.png 76th Anti-tank Battery (75/39 anti-tank guns)
 * Nappina amarante.png II Mixed Alpine Engineer Battalion
 * Nappina amarante.png Command Platoon
 * Nappina amarante.png 102nd Searchlight Section
 * Nappina amarante.png 112th Telegraph and Radio Operators Company
 * Nappina amarante.png 122nd Engineer Company
 * Nappina viola.png 5th Train Unit
 * Nappina viola.png 2nd Alpine Division Command Transport Squad
 * Nappina viola.png 61st Bakers Section
 * Nappina viola.png 110th Supply Section
 * 206th Transport Section
 * 126th Mixed Transport Platoon
 * 721st Heavy Transport Platoon
 * 722nd Heavy Transport Platoon
 * 946th Heavy Transport Platoon
 * 302nd Medical Section
 * 619th Field Hospital
 * 620th Field Hospital
 * 622nd Field Hospital
 * 623rd Field Hospital
 * 402nd Carabinieri Section
 * 417th Carabinieri Section
 * 201st Field Post Office

The division strength was 573 officers and 16,887 NCOs and soldiers for a total strength of 17,460 men. The division also had 176 horses, 4,698 mules and 584 transport vehicles at its disposal.

Military honors
For their conduct during the Italian campaign in the Soviet Union the President of Italy awarded on 31 December 1947 to the three regiments of the 2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" Italy's highest military honor, the Gold Medal of Military Valor. The 5th Alpini Regiment was also decorated for its conduct during the Greco-Italian War.


 * Valor militare gold medal BAR.svg 5th Alpini Regiment on 9 June 1948
 * Valor militare gold medal BAR.svg 5th Alpini Regiment on 31 December 1947
 * Valor militare gold medal BAR.svg 6th Alpini Regiment on 31 December 1947
 * Valor militare gold medal BAR.svg 2nd Alpine Artillery Regiment on 31 December 1947

Commanding officers
The division's commanding officers were:


 * Generale di Divisione Gabriele Nasci (31 October 1935 - 31 August 1938)
 * Generale di Divisione Ugo Santovito (1 September 1938 - 1 April 1941)
 * Generale di Brigata Luigi Reverberi (acting, 2-13 April 1941)
 * Generale di Divisione Ugo Santovito (14 April 1941 - 2 August 1941)
 * Generale di Divisione Luigi Reverberi (3 August 1941 - 8 September 1943)

Today
In 2002 the Italian Army decided to raise three division commands, with one of the three always readily deployable for NATO missions. The army decided that each of the three should carry on the traditions of one of the divisions that served with distinction in World War II. Therefore, on 1 January 2003 the Division Command "Tridentina" was activated in Bolzano which carries on the traditions of the 2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" and the Alpine Brigade "Tridentina".