The Alpini's name comes from their inceptive association with the Alps, the mountain range that Italy shares with France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia.

During World War II, the Alpini fought alongside the Axis forces primarily in the Balkans Campaigns and on the Eastern Front.

In the study, he proposed to assign the defence of mountain borders of the recently established Kingdom of Italy to soldiers recruited locally.

Austria's surrender in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 resulted in Italy annexing the province of Venetia, the northern borders of which coincided in large part with the Alpine Arch.

At the beginning, the mountain regions were divided into seven military districts, each commanded by an Officer and home to at least two Alpini companies, each consisting of 120 personnel.

In order to distinguish the battalions, soldiers and non-commissioned officers were issued thread tufts of various colors (the Nappina), which were added to the Cappello Alpino: white for the First Bn., red for the Second Bn., and Green for the Third Bn.

The distinctive headdress quickly led the Alpini to be nicknamed "The Black feathers" (Italian: "Le Penne Nere").

When grey-green service uniforms were trialled by the Alpini in 1906, before being adopted by the entire army in 1909, the distinctive green collar patches and typical headdress were retained.

The materials, weapons, and equipment of each battalion were stored in the major village of a specific area they were required to defend in case of war.

soldiers were recruited in the vicinity of that village Edolo - where the battalion's arsenal, training ground, and officer's housing were also located.

The battalion returned on April 27, 1888, to Naples, having lost its commanding officer and 13 men due to tropical diseases.

Four batteries of the 1st Mountain Artillery Regiment were also sent to Eritrea to augment the four deployed brigades under command of Oreste Baratieri.

After the battle, the first Gold Medal for Military Valor (Italian: Medaglia d'oro al valor militare) was awarded to a member of the Alpini Corps: Capitan Pietro Cella and his Alpini from the 4th company occupied and held the Amba Rajo (English: Rajo Mountain) until March 2, thus allowing the rest of defeated Italian Army forces to flee.

After such a defeat, an Alpini expeditionary regiment with 5 battalions was formed and sent to Eritrea on March 7, 1896, but it saw little combat and was repatriated in June of the same year.

After a heavy earthquake on September 8, 1905, in the Calabria region (Southern Italy), the Alpini deployed to the area for three months to assist in the clearance of debris and reconstruction efforts.

When Italy declared war on Turkey in 1911 in an attempt to conquer Libya, the Alpini units were once again deployed on desert combat.

When the unexpected Turkish resistance caused an embarrassingly slow advance of the Italian forces, reinforcements were sent to Libya.

Italy, however, had now to face a full-scale rebellion by the local population, and required more troops than those deployed in combat to suppress it.

The Alpini, as well as their Austrian counterparts: Kaiserschützen, Standschützen and Landeschützen occupied every hill and mountain top around the whole year.

In this kind of warfare, whoever occupied the higher ground first was almost impossible to dislodge, so both sides turned to drilling tunnels under mountain peaks, filling them up with explosives and then detonated the summits, including its defenders, to pieces: i.e. Col di Lana, Monte Pasubio, Lagazuoi, etc.

At the war's end the Alpini counted 114,948 casualties: 14,175 KIA, 61,620 WIA, 39,153 MIA (most lost in avalanches or to mine warfare).

In Russia, instead of being deployed in the Caucasus mountains as expected, the Alpini were tasked with holding a front on the plains of the Don River.

The Alpini were able to break the encirclement in Battle of Nikolayevka and fight their way towards the new line of the front established after the Axis retreat.

After suffering heavy casualties the divisions troops were given the choice to either surrender or to retreat into the Durmitor mountains and continue the fight.

In the north a fascist regime under dictator Benito Mussolini, known as the Republic of Salò continued the war alongside the Germans.

Each brigade recruited its soldiers from specific parts of the mountainous areas of Italy thus creating a strong bond with the local populations.

After the end of the Cold War, all but the Julia and Taurinense Brigades were dissolved, thus leaving the following Alpini units, that still carry the "fiamme verdi" collar insignia: Currently an Alpino is equipped with a Beretta ARX 160 assault rifle, usually fitted with an Aimpoint M3 Reddot, a Beretta 92 FS pistol, OD/82SE hand grenades, a Type III AP/98 (they are now slowly being provided with the newest NC4/09 bulletproof vest, phasing out the AP/98) bullet-proof vest and a 3rd generation night vision device.

This has led to a great increase in firepower compared to the previously used OTO Melara Mod 56 pack howitzer, but also reduced their versatility.

Dai fidi tetti del villaggio i bravi alpini son partiti,mostran la forza ed il coraggio della lor salda gioventù.

Son dell'Alpe i bei cadetti, nella robusta giovinezzadai loro baldi e forti petti spira un'indomita fierezza.