Brigata alpina "Julia"

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Coat of arms of the Alpini Brigade "Julia"

The Brigata alpina “Julia” ( German  Alpini Brigade Julia ) is one of the two remaining mountain troop brigades of the Italian army . The staff of the brigade is in Udine , the subordinate units are stationed in the Italian Eastern Alps. The name "Julia" ("Julian Brigade") refers to the Julian Alps , where the brigade is located.

assignment

The Alpini Brigade Julia is subordinate to the COMALP mountain troop command in Bolzano . It trains mountain troops and makes them available for peace missions within the framework of the EU , NATO and the UN , to fulfill NATO alliance obligations or for national defense . If necessary, the brigade also takes on support and security tasks on behalf of civil authorities .

The Julia is a so-called framework brigade and as such forms the backbone of the Multinational Land Force (MLF) in Udine, which consists of Hungarian, Slovenian and Italian associations.

structure

Coat of arms of the 8th Alpine Regiment
Coat of arms of the 3rd Mountain Artillery Regiment

All regiments of the brigade have battalion strength . The Julia is now a collection of the remains of the four Alpini brigades that were stationed in the Italian Eastern Alps during the Cold War . The 5th Alpini Regiment belonged to the Alpini Brigade Tridentina in Brixen until 2002 , the 7th to 1997 to the Alpini Brigade Cadore in Belluno . From the formerly up to 10,000 men strong Julia Alpini Brigade , practically only the 8th regiment (battalion) is left today.

equipment

The Alpini regiments have multi-purpose vehicles of the type VTLM "Lince" , light armored vehicles of the type "Puma" (6 × 6) and tracked vehicles of the type Bv206S suitable for mountain use . The cavalry regiment has, among other things, armored vehicles of the “ Centauro ” type. The mountain artillery is equipped with the field howitzer FH-70 (155 mm), in addition, some reactivated 105 mm mountain howitzer ( mountain howitzer model 56 ) have been used again since 2018 .

history

The brigade was set up on March 7, 1923 as the 3rd Alpini Group, which from 1926 was called the 3rd Alpini Brigade and consisted of the 8th and 9th Alpini Regiments and the 3rd Mountain Artillery Regiment. In 1935, the 3rd Alpini Division "Julia" emerged from the brigade, which, however, essentially continued to consist of the regiments mentioned above.

During the Second World War, the division fought in the Soviet Union , among other places , where it was cut off from its own lines in 1942/1943 in a massive Soviet tank attack on the Don (" Operation Little Saturn ") together with other Alpini units, and then two in severe frost Fought for weeks behind enemy lines until they were able to rejoin their own troops, severely decimated.

In 1949 the "Julia" was re-established as a brigade with the 8th Alpini Regiment and the 3rd Mountain Artillery Regiment in Udine. In the 1950s and 1960s, the brigade also led a number of blocking, anti-tank and anti-aircraft units and, with a peace target of 1,000 men per Alpini battalion, temporarily achieved a total target strength of 10,000 men. During the Cold War, the brigade had the task of defending Italy's northeast border in the area of Tarvis , Pontebba , Tolmezzo , Gemona ( Carnic Alps , Julian Alps ) in the event of an attack by the Warsaw Pact . After 1990 it became known that the Warsaw Pact had planned an attack on Italy exactly in the area of ​​the "Julia" ( Canal Valley ). In particular, the Hungarian army , with almost ten own and allied division equivalents, was to advance within a few days from the Kaposvár area via Graz , Klagenfurt and Villach (in south-east Austria ) to Udine and then on to Milan and Genoa , with parts also to Bologna . In addition, an attack through the Drau Valley to the South Tyrolean Puster Valley was planned from Villach ( Alpini Brigade "Tridentina" ) in order to bring the most important Alpine crossings under control and to advance south along the Adige .

With the army reform of 1975, the regimental level was abolished in the Italian army. Therefore, from 1976 to 1990 the Alpini Brigade "Julia" consisted of the Alpini battalions "Gemona", "Cividale", "Tolmezzo", "L'Aquila" and "Vicenza", from the blocking association "Val Tagliamento" , from the mountain artillery battalions "Conegliano", "Belluno" and "Udine", from the logistics battalion "Julia" and some disposition and supply units. In 1976 the brigade provided valuable help after a severe earthquake in Friuli .

In 1990/91 the Italian army dissolved a large number of units, including several battalions of the "Julia". In 1992 the remaining battalions took on the designation regiment. In 1997 the brigade took over the 7th Alpini regiment (at that time in Feltre ) of the disbanded “Cadore” brigade, and in 2002 the relatively distant 5th Alpini regiment ( Sterzing ) of the disbanded “Tridentina” brigade . The 9th Regiment stationed in Abruzzo (Btl. "L'Aquila") went to the Alpini Brigade Taurinense . After the dissolution of the 14th Alpini Regiment in Venzone, the "Julia" between South Tyrol and the Julian Alps only has three battalions of mountain hunters.

In the past three decades, the brigade or individual subordinate units have participated in numerous missions abroad, including in Mozambique , the former Yugoslavia and Afghanistan .

photos

  • Two Alpini of the 8th regiment in 2019

  • Alpini of the 7th regiment with a light mortar 2020 near the Mauria Pass

  • Alpini of the 5th regiment at the international Edelweiss Raid 2017 in Austria

  • 3rd Mountain Artillery Regiment 2019 in Hohenfels

See also

Web links