2nd Alpini Regiment The 2nd Alpini Regiment ( ) is a light Infantry regiment of the Italian Army , specializing in mountain combat . The Alpini are a mountain infantry corps of the Italian Army , that distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II . The regiment was disbanded in 1943 due to losses on the Eastern Front , however one of its component battalions , the Saluzzo Battalion , was reformed in November 1945 after the end of hostilities in Europe . The regiment itself was reformed in 1963 as a training unit , however , following a restructuring of the Italian Army in 1974 it was disbanded once again . In 1992 the regiment was raised once again and today it consists of only the Saluzzo Battalion , based at Borgo San Dalmazzo as part of the Taurinense Brigade . History . Formation . The 2nd Alpini Regiment was formed on 1 November 1882 . It consisted of the three battalions : Col Tenda , Val Schio and Val Pesio , named after the valleys and localities from which their soldiers were recruited . In 1886 the Battalions were renamed , taking their new names from the location of their main logistic depot : Borgo San Dalmazzo , Vinadio ( later renamed Saluzzo ) and Dronero . The " Saluzzo " battalion saw the regiment ' s first action in the Italo - Turkish War of 1911 , fighting Ottoman forces in the Libyan desert . World War I . During World War I the regiment consisted of 10 battalions and saw heavy fighting in the Alps against Austria ’ s Kaiserjäger and Germany ’ s Alpenkorps . The battalions of the regiment in these days were ( pre - war raised units in bold , followed by their first and second line reserve battalions ) : Interwar Period . On 31 October 1935 the 4th Alpine Division “ Cuneense ” was formed and was composed of the 1st Alpini and 2nd Alpini Regiments and the 4th Mountain Artillery Regiment . As part of the 5 Alpine Division Pusteria the " Saluzzo " battalion fought in 1936 in the Second Italo - Abyssinian War . At the time the regiment consisted of 160 officers and 5 , 046 NCOs and soldiers for a total strength of 5 , 206 men . The regiment also had 23 horses , 1 , 242 mules and 109 transport vehicles at its disposal . The order of Battle was as follows : World War II . On 21 June 1940 ( one day before the French surrender ) the “ Cuneense ” division began to advance with other Italian units into Southern France . The division was then sent to Albania , where it participated in the Italian attack on Greece . As the German Wehrmacht came to the aid of the beaten Italian armies in Albania in April 1941 through an invasion of Yugoslavia the “ Cuneense ” was sent north to aid the rapidly advancing German divisions , advancing through Montenegro and reaching Dubrovnik at the end of the campaign . In September 1942 the “ Cuneense ” was sent together with the Alpini divisions Julia and Tridentina and other Italian units to the Soviet Union to form the ARMIR ( Armata Italiana in Russia or Italian Army in Russia ) and fight alongside the Germans against the Red Army . Taking up positions along the Don River the Italian units covered part of the left flank of the German Sixth Army , which spearheaded the German summer offensive of 1942 into the city of Stalingrad . After successfully encircling the German Sixth army in Stalingrad the Red Army ’ s attention turned to the Italian units along the river Don . On 14 January 1943 , the Soviet offensive Operation Little Saturn began and the three Alpini division found themselves quickly encircled by the rapidly advancing armoured Soviet Forces . The Alpinis held the front on the Don , but within three days the Soviets advanced 200 km to the left and right of the Alpini . On the evening of 17 January the commanding officer of the Italian Mountain corps General Gabriele Nasci finally ordered a full retreat . At this point the Julia and Cuneense divisions were already heavily decimated and only the Tridentina division was still capable of conducting combat operations . As the Soviets had already occupied every village bitter battles had to be fought to clear the way . On the morning of 28 January the last men of the 2nd Alpini Regiment had walked 200 km , fought in 20 battles and spent 11 nights camped out in the middle of the Russian Steppe . Temperatures during the nights were between - 30°C and - 40°C . During the 28th the last remnants of the regiment were annihilated by Cossack forces . On 11 February 1943 , the survivors were counted and out of 5 , 206 men of the 1st Alpini Regiment just 208 had survived ; none of the soldiers of the battalions " Borgo San Dalmazzo " and " Saluzzo " had survived . The survivors were repatriated and after the signing of the Italian armistice with the Allies on 8 September 1943 the regiment dissolved . The Cold War . After World War II the " Saluzzo " battalion was reformed on 23 November 1945 as part of the 4th Alpini regiment and it carried on the traditions and regimental colours of the 2nd Alpini . The regiment itself was reformed on 1 July 1963 as a training unit with four battalions , which were named for the four Alpini Brigades to which the conscripts were sent after training : Tridentina , Orobica , Cadore and Taurinense battalions . On 31 October 1974 the regiment was disbanded in the 1974 restructuring of the Italian Army and the colours passed again to the " Saluzzo " battalion . After the disbandment of the regimental level in the Italian Army , the " Saluzzo " battalion came under direct control of the " Taurinense " brigade . Today . On 28 August 1992 , the 2nd Alpini Regiment was recreated again and the " Saluzzo " became its single battalion . Today the 2nd Regiment consists of the “ Saluzzo ” battalion , the regimental command and a logistic support company . The regiment is based in Borgo San Dalmazzo in the province of Cuneo and part of the Taurinense Brigade . Equipment . The Alpini companies are equipped with Bv 206S tracked all - terrain carriers , Puma 6x6 wheeled armored personnel carriers and Lince light multirole vehicles . The mortar company is equipped with 120mm mortars , while the anti - tank company fields Spike anti - tank guided missile systems .