WWI ITALIAN ARTILLERY CREW

The land forces of the Kingdom of Italy, i.e. the Army of the Kingdom of Italy Royal Italian Army, owned by Regio Esercito), was formed shortly after the unification of Italy - in 1861 and functioned until 1946. It was on the Italian land forces that the main burden of World War I rested, that is, first of all, the fights with the Austro-Hungarian troops, which were supported by German troops. It is worth adding that in 1914 Italy was formally an ally of Berlin and Vienna, but at the outbreak of the war it remained neutral, and in 1915 joined the Entente states. After the mobilization was announced in 1915, the Italian army was able to send over 1 million soldiers to the line. However, the artillery equipment was not the best. It is true that there were about 1750 guns in the line of light and mountain guns, but the number of medium and heavy guns fluctuated around 320 items. Stocks of ammunition were also insufficient, and domestic production barely met the demand. It is worth noting, however, that at the end of the war (1918), the condition of the Italian artillery improved, including heavy and very heavy equipment. Italian artillery was an organic part of the infantry division, which includes an artillery regiment of mostly 5-8 batteries. In addition, at the level of the corps, a single light or mountain artillery regiment (mostly composed of 8 batteries) and - sometimes - a heavy artillery unit with a battery strength of 2 were most often assigned.