page_title: Arditi
section_title: Early experiments
hierarchical_section_title: Arditi / World War I / Early experiments
caption_attribution_description: English: Arditi militar Italian army poster, First World War Italiano: Manifesto di propaganda del corpo militare degli Arditi, prima guerra mondiale
context_page_description: Arditi was the name adopted by Royal Italian Army elite special force of World War I. They were the first modern shock troops and have been defined "the most feared corps by opposing armies".
  Reparti d'assalto were formed in the summer of 1917 by Colonel Bassi, and were assigned the tactical role of shock troops, breaching enemy defenses in order to prepare the way for a broad infantry advance. The Arditi were not units within infantry divisions, but were considered a separate combat arm.
  The Reparti d'assalto were successful in bringing in a degree of movement to what had previously been a war of entrenched positions. They won numerous engagements armed mainly with daggers and hand grenades, which proved very effective in the confined space of a trench. Their exploits on the battlefield were exemplary and they gained an illustrious place in Italian military history. They were demobilized by 1920.
  The name Arditi was later used in 1919–20 by the Italian occupiers of Fiume who were led by Gabriele D'Annunzio, most of whom had been members of the Royal Italian Army.
context_section_description: The ardito concept can be traced back to 1914 when every regiment of the Royal Army was ordered to create a group of explorers trained to act behind enemy lines. The first Arditi units were formed and trained in Sdricca di Manzano, in the province of Udine, where the event is still celebrated  on the last Sunday in July.
  Others argue that the so-called "Companies of death", special patrols of infantry and engineers engaged in cutting or blasting enemy barbed wire, should be considered as precursors of the Arditi. They were easily recognizable by their use of armor and "Farina" helmets.
  The task of Arditi units was not to clear the way for regular infantry to attack enemy lines, but to completely overrun enemy positions. The most daring volunteers were chosen, particularly those who were not bothered by loud incoming artillery fire close by. The men also studied fencing and were masters of hand-to-hand combat. Once ready, they were sent to the front armed with light assault weapons such as carbines, pistols, daggers and hand grenades. Many did not carry rifles and carbines because they would be cumbersome to fire in the confined spaces of a trench. The Arditi approached enemy trenches while they were being shelled by Italian artillery. Just as the barrage was lifted they would jump inside the trench while the enemy was huddling down, and use their daggers at close quarters to suppress enemy resistance. These primitive tactics were surprisingly effective. Arditi had to hold the positions they conquered for 24 hours and then would be replaced by the regular infantry. Arditi might lose 25% to 30% of their numbers during such an attack.  Their motto was O la vittoria, o tutti accoppati meaning "Either victory, or everyone dies". The typical unit had 13 officers and 400 soldiers  selected on a voluntary basis. One such unit was completely wiped out while attacking Monte Osvaldo in April 1916.
  In 1916 the supreme command decided to award special status to Arditi units but was reluctant to create new units. The Arditi badge, to be carried on the left arm, included the monogram VE (for Victor Emmanuel III of Italy), and was designed exclusively as a symbol of distinction for these soldiers. This was the first official use of the word "Ardito" by the Italian army.
caption: Arditi propaganda poster
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "3264", "Image ImageLength": "2448", "Image Make": "SAMSUNG", "Image Model": "GT-I9300", "Image Orientation": "Rotated 90 CW", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "I9300XXUGND5", "Image DateTime": "2017:03:25 11:21:42", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "226", "Thumbnail ImageWidth": "160", "Thumbnail ImageLength": "120", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Rotated 90 CW", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "5056", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "9892", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/17", "EXIF FNumber": "13/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "320", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2017:03:25 11:21:42", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2017:03:25 11:21:42", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "1039/256", "EXIF ApertureValue": "69/25", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "13/256", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "69/25", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "37/10", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3264", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2448", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "4896", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "ZDFI02"}