page_title: 7th Alpini Regiment
section_title: World War I
hierarchical_section_title: 7th Alpini Regiment / History / World War I
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Positionskarte von Venetien (Italien)English: Location map of Veneto region (Italy)Español: Mapa de localización de la Región de Véneto (Italia). Equirectangular projection, N/S stretching 115&#160;%. Geographic limits of the map: N: 46.7720722° N S: 44.7478472° N W: 10.5250083° E E: 13.1550555° E Topographischer Hintergrund: NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (public domain). SRTM3 v.2.
context_page_description: The 7th Alpini Regiment is a regiment of the Italian Army's mountain infantry speciality, the Alpini, which distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II.
context_section_description: After the outbreak of World War 1 the regiment raised a fourth companies for each of its battalion: 95th Alpini Company for the Feltre, 96th Alpini Company for the Pieve di Cadore, and 106th Alpini Company for the Belluno. With tensions between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire growing the regiment activated its first line reserve units between 5 and 30 January 1915:
   Alpini Battalion Val Cismon, in Feltre (raised from reservists of the Feltre Battalion)
   264th Alpini Company
   265th Alpini Company
   Alpini Battalion Val Piave, in Pieve di Cadore (raised from reservists of the Pieve di Cadore Battalion)
   267th Alpini Company
   268th Alpini Company
   Alpini Battalion Val Cordevole, in Belluno (raised from reservists of the Belluno Battalion)
   206th Alpini Company
   266th Alpini Company
  After the Italian declaration of war against Austria-Hungary the regiment's battalions were immediately employed at the frontline, which ran through the Alps:
  Feltre and Val Cismon, in the Brenta - Cismon Sector
  Belluno and Val Cordevole, in the Cordevole Sector (including Passo Fedaia)
  Pieve di Cadore and Val Piave, in the Ansiei - Padola Sector (including Monte Piana)
  At the end of November 1915, the three reserve battalion received each a third company: 275th Alpini Company for the Val Piave, 276th Alpini Company for the Val Cordevole, and 277th Alpini Company for the Val Cismon. In December the training of the reservists of the third line battalions began, which also received the fourth company originally raised for the first line battalions:
   Alpini Battalion Monte Pavione, in Feltre (raised from reservists of the Feltre Battalion)
   95th Alpini Company (former 4th company of the Feltre Battalion)
   148th Alpini Company
   149th Alpini Company
   Alpini Battalion Monte Antelao, in Pieve di Cadore (raised from reservists of the Pieve di Cadore Battalion)
   96th Alpini Company (former 4th company of the Pieve di Cadore Battalion)
   150th Alpini Company
   151st Alpini Company
   Alpini Battalion Monte Pelmo, in Belluno (raised from reservists of the Belluno Battalion)
   106th Alpini Company (former 4th company of the Belluno Battalion)
   146th Alpini Company
   147th Alpini Company
  All the battalions of the regiment saw heavy fighting in the Alps against Austria's Kaiserjäger and Germany's Alpenkorps. Most of the time the regiment's companies were deployed alone to either capture of defend single mountains peaks or ridges in the Alps.
  On 22 May 1917 the regiment raised the Monte Marmolada battalion with personnel from the disbanded VIII Skiers battalion:
   Alpini Battalion Monte Marmolada, in Cinte Tesino
   284th Alpini Company (newly raised)
   300th Alpini Company (former 5th company of the VIII Skiers Battalion)
   301st Alpini Company (former 6th company of the VIII Skiers Battalion)
  After the Italian defeat in the Battle of Caporetto and during following retreat also the 7th Alpini had to abandon its positions along the main line of the Alps and retreat towards the Piave river. Covering the retreat the Belluno was surrounded and destroyed in Cansiglio on 10 November 1917. The same fate met the Monte Marmolada, which was annihilated during the defense of Monte Castelgomberto on 4–5 December 1917. For this feat of arms the Monte Marmolada was awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valor. Because of the loss of all personnel both battalions were officially disbanded on 9 December 1917.
  At the conclusion of the war the regiment had the following losses: KIA 141 officers and 3,602 troops, WIA 205 officers and 6,578 troops. In 1919 the reserve battalions were disbanded, while on 22 March 1919 the Belluno was reformed with the personnel of the Val Cordevole battalion. In the same year the Feltre was dispatched to Albania to help suppress the Albanian Vlora revolt. Upon its return to Italy in early 1920 the Feltre was assigned to 9th Alpini Regiment until 1926, after which it returned to the 7th Alpini Regiment.
  The following awards were given to the regiment and its units for their conduct during the war:
  7th Alpini Regiment: Croce di Cavaliere dell'O
caption: Depots of the regiment's battalions and regimental HQ in 1910
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