Alpine Brigade Cadore
| Brigata Alpina Cadore | |
|---|---|
 Coat of Arms of the Alpine Brigade Cadore | |
| Active | 1 July 1953 - 10 January 1997 |
| Country | Italy |
| Branch | Italian Army |
| Type | Alpini |
| Role | Mountain Infantry |
| Part of |
IV Army Corps 1953 - 1997 |
| Garrison/HQ | Belluno |
The Alpini Brigade Cadore was a light Infantry brigade of the Italian Army, specializing in mountain warfare. Its core units were the Alpini, the mountain infantry corps of the Italian Army, that distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. The brigade was based in the Italian provinces of Belluno and Vicenza. The headquarters was in the city of Belluno. It was disbanded in 1997.
Based in the Cadore Alps of Northern Italy the brigade's coat of arms was modeled after the area's traditional coat of arms.
Constitution
The Cadore was constituted on 1 July 1953 in the city of Belluno. The brigade’s name Cadore alludes to the Cadore Alps in the northernmost part of the province of Belluno. Most of the brigades recruits came from the north-eastern Veneto Region. The brigade was tasked with defending the Piave valley against an attack by forces of the Warsaw Pact. The brigade’s strength was around 3,600 men and initially it was composed of the:
- Brigade Headquarters, in Belluno
In the following years the brigade was augmented with further units:
- XIX Alpini Position Battalion, in Santo Stefano di Cadore (constituted on 1 January 1957; renamed
- Cadore Light Aircraft Section, in Belluno (formed in 1957 and expanded to Light Aircraft Department in 1966)
The Alpini Parachutist Platoon merged with the other four Alpini brigades' parachutist platoons on 1 April 1964 to form an Alpini Parachutist Company in Bolzano under direct command of the 4th Army Corps, and the 7th Mortar Company was disbanded in the same year and its mortars and troops split among the brigade's three Alpini battalions.
1975 Reorganization
In 1975 the Italian Army abolished the regimental level and battalions came under direct command of newly formed multi-arms brigades. At the same the army reduced and realigned its forces and therefore the Cadore saw some changes to its composition: the 7th Alpini Regiment, 6th Mountain Artillery Regiment, and Mountain Artillery Group Pieve di Cadore were disbanded, while the brigade headquarters and the signal company were merged to form the Cadore Command and Signal Battalion. Aadditionaly an anti-tank company was raised, the Light Aircraft Department was transferred to the newly formed 4th Light Army Aviation Regiment Altair of the 4th Army Corps, the Cadore Services Groupement was reorganized as a Logistic Battalion, the Alpini Battalion Belluno became a training unit, and the Alpini Battalion Val Cismon was reduced to 264th Alpini Company.
After the reform the new composition of the brigade was:
Strategic plans in case of war
After the 1976 reform the 4th Alpine Army Corps was responsible to defend the Italian border along the main chain of the alps from the Swiss-Austrian-Italian border tripoint in the west to the Italian-Yugoslavian border in the east. In case of war with Yugoslavia the 4th Alpine Army Corps would remain static in its position guarding the left flank of the Italian V Corps, which would meet the enemy forces in the plains of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The only brigade which would have seen combat in such a case would have been the Julia.
In case of a war with the Warsaw Pact the 4th Alpine Army Corps had two war planes: one in the case the Soviet Southern Group of Forces and Hungarian Army would march through Yugoslavia and the other in case the Warsaw Pact would violate the Austrian neutrality and march through Austria. In case the enemy forces would come through Yugoslavia, the Julia would cover the mountainous left flank of the 5th Corps, which with its four armoured and five mechanized brigades would try to wear down the enemy before it could break out into the North Italian Padan plain. The other Alpini brigades would remain static.
In the more likely case the Soviet and Hungarian divisions would invade Austria and march through Southern Styria and through the Drava valley in Carinthia the Alpini brigades would have been the first front line units of the Italian Army. The Julia would have defended the Canal valley and the Tridentina the Puster valley, while the Orobica had a special mission and the Taurinense would remain in reserve. The Cadore was stationed between the Julia and the Tridentina brigades and tasked with defending the Piave valley. If the Soviet forces would have advanced along the Drava Valley they would have reached the Italian border at Winnebach in the Puster valley which was defended by the Bassano Alpini Battalion of the Tridentina brigade. The Tridentina was tasked to defend the Puster valley, however if Soviet forces would turn south after crossing the border they would have been able to reach the Piave valley through the Sexten valley and over the Kreuzbergpass or through the Höhlensteintal and over the Cimabanche Pass. Therefore, the Pieve di Cadore Alpini Battalion was based in Tai di Cadore and tasked with holding the Kreuzbergpass and Cimabanche pass. The Pieve di Cadore was supported by the Lanzo Mountain Artillery Group in Belluno. The second battalion of the brigade, the Feltre Alpini Battalion in Feltre along with the Agordo Mountain Artillery Group in Bassano del Grappa was tasked to cover the many Dolomite mountain passes on the left flank of the Pieve di Cadore Alpini Battalion.
To aid in the defence of the narrow mountain valleys the 4th Army Corps re-activated some fortifications of the World War II era Alpine Wall. In the area of operation of the Cadore the 264th Alpini Company Val Cismon of the Val Brenta Alpini Battalion was deployed to Santo Stefano di Cadore and tasked with manning the Alpine Wall fortifications on the Kreuzbergpass, in the Höhlensteintal and near Prags:
- Kreuzbergpass: 7 bunker, 247 men (Italian Wikipedia: Sbarramento Passo Monte Croce Comelico)
- Landro Nord: 3 bunker, 150 men (Italian Wikipedia: Sbarramento della Val di Landro)
- Prags: 2 bunker, 116 men (Italian Wikipedia: Sbarramento di Braies)
Administratively the 264th Alpini Company fell under the Tridentina brigade. On 23 August 1986 the company was disbanded and the bunkers stripped of their equipment.
1991 Reorganization
In 1991 the Mountain Artillery Group Agordo was dissolved and the remaining battalions took the names of historical Alpini regiments to carry on their traditions. Each regiment consisted of one of the Brigades Alpini battalions and an additional support company. Furthermore, the Anti-tank Company was dissolved and the Command and Signal Battalion was merged with the Engineer Company to form the Command and Tactical Support Battalion. The new composition was:
Today
The brigade was disbanded on 10 January 1997 and the remaining units (7th and 16th Alpini regiments) passed to the Alpine Brigade Julia.