Origins

The Regio Esercito dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, following the unification of Italy in 1861 after most of the Papal States were seized. On 4 May 1861, Manfredo Fanti signed the creation decree, by which the new army was to replace the previous Royal Sardinian Army and the Army of the Two Sicilies.

The first two tasks of the new organization were the repression of brigandage in southern Italy against irregular and hit and run forces (mixed with bands of various criminals), who refused to accept the suppression of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, and the Third War of Italian Independence. On 20 September 1870, the IV Corps captured Rome, which had remained under Papal control up until then.

On 8 February 1885, a corps of fewer than 1,000 soldiers landed at Massaua, Eritrea, starting the creation of an Italian colonial empire. The Italian advance of the First Italo-Ethiopian War was halted at the Battle of Adwa by overwhelming Ethiopian forces. The following year, as part of the Italian collaboration with the international pacification program after the revolt against the Turkish domination in Cyprus, another corps disembarked at Candia. On 14 July 1900, another expeditionary force was constituted to suppress the Boxer Rebellion in China in defense of the European protectorates.

On 3 October 1911, Italy invaded Libya as part of the Italo-Turkish War. The war against the Ottoman Empire ended with the signing of the First Treaty of Lausanne in Ouchy, near Lausanne, Switzerland.^[3][4]

Military Justice in the Royal Italian Army

In the Italian Royal Army, military justice was applied on the based on the 1870 Military Penal Code regulations. This regulation structure was very similar to the 1859 version which was inspired by the Royal Sardinian Army penal code of 1840 which preceded the Albertine Statute of 1848. These regulations and factors were determined to be inadequate in the face of direct war violence. In total, 4,028 death sentences were passed in the Royal Italian Army whereas 2,967 were issued absentia where 750 were followed through and completed and 311 were not.^[5]

World War I

The Royal Italian Army's first experience with modern warfare was in World War I, from 1915–1918. The war was fought mostly on the Italian Front in Northern Italy, costing the Italian Army serious casualties, including about 600,000 dead.

The Italian 35th Division served on the Macedonian Front as part of the Allied Army of the Orient.

Interwar period

During the Interwar period, the army was initially focused on border security in the Alps and on the Italian-Yugoslav border. It supported Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime because of its expansionist ideology and reversal of previous governments' defense cuts.^[6] In the 1930s, the army participated in the final subjugation of Libya, participated in the invasion of Ethiopia, provided troops and materials for the Corps of Volunteer Troops (Corpo Truppe Volontarie) to fight in the Spanish Civil War, and participated in the Italian invasion of Albania.

World War II

The Regio Esercito (Royal Army) was one of the largest ground forces in World War II, during which it was one of the pioneers of the use of paratroopers. Many Italian divisions were reinforced by a MVSN Gruppo di Assalto of two battalions due to the small size of the divisions.

In 1943, Italy surrendered and split into the Italian Social Republic, which fielded its own army, the Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano (National Republican Army). On the other side was the Esercito Cobelligerante del Sud (Italian Co-Belligerent Army), the army of the Italian Royalist forces, fighting on the side of the Allies in southern Italy after the Allied armistice with Italy in September 1943.

The Kingdom was ultimately replaced by the Italian Republic in the 1946 Italian institutional referendum, and the Royal Army accordingly changed its name to become the Esercito Italiano (Italian Army).

Timeline

• 1861 – The Regio Esercito dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, following the unification of Italy in 1861 after the Papal States were seized. On 4 May 1861, Manfredo Fanti signed the creation decree, by which the new army was to replace the previous Royal Sardinian Army and the Army of the Two Sicilies. The first two tasks of the new organization were the repression of brigandage in southern Italy against irregular and hit and run forces (mixed with bands of various criminals), who refused to accept the suppression of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, and the Third War of Italian Independence.
• 1870 – On 20 September the IV Corps capture Rome, which had remained under Papal control up until then.
• 1885 – On 8 February fewer than 1,000 soldiers landed at Massaua, Eritrea, starting the creation of an Italian colonial empire. The Italian advance was halted at the Battle of Adwa by overwhelming Ethiopian forces. The following year, as part of the Italian collaboration with the international pacification program after the revolt against the Turkish domination in Cyprus, another corps disembarked at Candia.
• 1900 – On 14 July another expeditionary force was constituted to suppress the Boxer Rebellion in China in defense of the European protectorates.
• 1911 – On 3 October Italy invaded Libya as part of the Italo-Turkish War. The war against the Ottoman Empire ended with the signing of the First Treaty of Lausanne in Ouchy, near Lausanne, Switzerland.
• 1915–1918 – The Royal Italian Army's first experience with modern warfare was in World War I. The war was fought mostly on the Italian Front in Northern Italy, costing the Italian Army serious casualties, including about 600,000 dead.
• 1918–1939 – During the Interwar period, the army participated in the final subjugation of Libya, participated in the invasion of Ethiopia, provided troops and materials for the Corps of Volunteer Troops (Corpo Truppe Volontarie) to fight in the Spanish Civil War, and participated in the Italian invasion of Albania.
• 1940 – The Italian Royal Army had 1,630,000 men divided into 73 separate divisions. Out of these 73, there are 59 infantry divisions, six Alpini divisions, three Celere divisions, three armored divisions plus numerous Frontier Guard and coastal sector. The main cause of the Italian army's suffering was due to inadequate equipment, weaponry and leadership. This deficiency ultimately led to numerous defeats in the year 1940.^[7]
• The Regio Esercito (Royal Army) was one of the largest ground forces in World War II, during which it was one of the pioneers of the use of paratroopers. Many Italian divisions were reinforced by a MVSN Gruppo di Assalto of two battalions due to the small size of the divisions.
• 1943 – Italy surrendered and split into the Italian Social Republic, which fielded its own army, the Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano (National Republican Army). On the other side was the Esercito Cobelligerante del Sud (Italian Co-Belligerent Army), the army of the Italian Royalist forces, fighting on the side of the Allies in southern Italy after the Allied armistice with Italy in September 1943.
• 1946 – The Kingdom was ultimately replaced by the Italian Republic in 1946, and the Royal Army accordingly changed its name to become the Esercito Italiano (Italian Army).

19th century

• Italian War of Independence (1866)
• Mahdist War (1881–1899)
• Italo-Ethiopian War (1895–1896)

20th century

• Boxer Rebellion (1900)
• Italo-Turkish War (1911–1912)
• World War I (1915–1918)
• Pacification of Libya (1923–1932)
• Italo-Ethiopian War (1935–1936)
• Intervention in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)
• Italian invasion of Albania (1939)
• World War II (1940–1945)
  • Regio Esercito (World War II)
  • Italian Co-Belligerent Army (1943–1945)
  • Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano