From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The
Corps of Carabineers[1][2][3] (or
Corps of Carabiniers[4] Italian:
Arma dei carabinieri) is the national
gendarmerie of
Italy, policing both military and civilian populations. The
Carabinieri is now a branch of the armed forces (alongside the
Army,
Navy and
Air Force), thus ending their long-standing role as the first corps of the Italian army.
[edit] Early history
The corps was created by King
Victor Emmanuel I of
Savoy with the aim of providing the
Kingdom of Sardinia with a police corps. Previously, police duties were managed by the
Dragoni di Sardegna corps, created in 1726 and composed of volunteers. After French soldiers had occupied
Turin at the end of the 18th century and later abandoned it to the
Kingdom of Piedmont, the corps of Royal Carabinieri was instituted under the Royal Patents of July 13, 1814.
[5]
The new force was divided into divisions on the scale of one division for each province. The divisions were further divided into companies and subdivided into lieutenancies, which commanded and coordinated the local police stations and were distributed throughout the national territory in direct contact with the public.
[5]
In 1868, the
Corazzieri mounted division was formed – initially as an escort of honour for the sovereign, and since 1946 for the President of the Republic.
[5] The Union of Italy saw the number of divisions increased,
[5] and on 24 January 1861 the
Carabinieri were appointed the "First Force" of the new national military organization.
[5]
[edit] 1930s and 1940s
During the
fascist regime of
Benito Mussolini (1922–1943), the Carabinieri were one of the police forces entrusted with suppressing opposition in Italy.
[6] During the same period, while part of the
Italian Africa Police (mainly in the late 1930s), they were involved in atrocities
[7][8][9][9][10][11] in colonial
Italian East Africa during the
Second Italo-Abyssinian War. During
World War II they fought in their function as military police against the Allied forces, and against
Yugoslav partisans as part of the Italian occupation force in
Yugoslavia.
After
Benito Mussolini's fall on July 25, 1943, he was arrested by the Carabinieri as he left the
king's private residence in Rome and subsequently imprisoned on
Campo Imperatore by Carabinieri forces. After the
armistice between Italy and the Allies on 3 September 1943 and the country's split into the fascist
Italian Social Republic in the north and the
Kingdom of Italy in the south, the Carabinieri split into two groups. In southern Italy the Carabinieri Command for Liberated Italy was founded in Bari, mobilizing new units for the Italian war of liberation. These units were attached to the Italian Liberation Corps and the six Italian Combat Groups of the
Italian Co-Belligerent Army, fighting with the Allied forces. In northern Italy the fascist regime organized the
Black Brigades (composed of Carabinieri, military personnel and
Blackshirt militia), and employed them extensively in anti-partisan operations. Although called "
brigades" the units were more the size of
companies, and in total all 49 brigades never exceeded a total strength of 12,000.
Due to the role the Carabinieri had played in the downfall of Mussolini, and since the only two units which fought the German occupation of Rome were the
Granatieri di Sardegna regiments and the II Carabinieri cadet battalion, the Germans did not view the Carabinieri as loyal to the fascist cause
[citation needed] and ordered the disbanding of all Carabinieri units in Axis-controlled territory on October 7, 1943. As German forces subsequently began to arrest and deport members of the Carabinieri to Germany for
forced labour, large numbers of Carabinieri joined the
Italian resistance movement. After the war the Carabinieri counted at least 2,735 fallen and 6,500 wounded, out of approximately 14,000 who had joined the Resistance in northern and central Italy. In Yugoslavia the Carabinieri formed a battalion of the Italian partisan
Garibaldi Division, which fought alongside the Yugoslav partisans against
German and
Croatian Ustaše Forces. The battalion lost over 80% of its members in combat and was awarded the
Silver Medal of Military Valor to commemorate the fallen.
[12][13]
Photo of a Carabiniere around 1875. The 'Medal of Italian Independence' is worn, indicating a veteran of the
Risorgimento (The Wars for Italian Unification).
[edit] Present day
The Carabinieri increased in status and joined the Armed Forces on 31 March 2000.
[5] They are today particularly proud of the memory of Vice
Brigadiere Salvo D'Acquisto, who was executed by the
Germans in Palidoro (near
Rome) during World War II. D'Acquisto exchanged his life for the lives of citizens due to be executed in retaliation for the killing of a German soldier; instead, he claimed responsibility and was executed for the offence.
In recent years Carabinieri units have been dispatched on
peacekeeping missions, including
Kosovo,
Afghanistan, and
Iraq. In 2003 twelve Carabinieri
were killed in a suicide bombing on their base in
Nasiriyah, near
Basra in southern Iraq, in the largest Italian military loss of life in a single action since the
Second World War.
[citation needed]
At the Sea Island Conference of the
G8 in 2004, Carabinieri were given a mandate to establish a
Center of Excellence for Stability Police Units to spearhead the development of training and doctrinal standards for civilian police units attached to international peacekeeping missions.
[14]
[edit] Organization
Senior Carabinieri General in VM 90 during the 2007 army parade in Italy.
Structure Specialist & Mobile Unit Command
The corps is headed by the
Comando, consisting of the
Comandante Generale (a
General), the
Vice-Comandante Generale ( a
Lieutenant General) and the Chief of Staff, all located in
Rome. The Chief of Staff directs, coordinates and supervises all activities of the force. It directly supervises the Directors of Administration, Health, Engineering, the motor pool and the Veterinary Commission. On the Deputy Chiefs of Staff depend the National Center for Recruitment and Selection, the Administration National Center and the Legislation Office.
[15]
The Carabinieri are organised on a territorial basis for law-enforcement missions. The territorial organization represents the core of the institution; it contains 80 percent of the force and is organized hierarchically in five inter-regional, 19 regional and 102 provincial commands. Outside the territorial organisation, the Specialist Mobile Unit Command
Palidoro (based in Rome) controls the Mobile Unit Division, the Specialist Unit Division and the
ROS.
[edit] The Mobile Unit Division
The Mobile Unit Division is located in
Treviso and has two brigades tasked with mass manoeuvres during emergencies, defending the nation and participating in military operations abroad. It supports
public order and territorial control in urban areas, and contributes to the operations of civil authorities in terms of public safety.
The ROS (
Raggruppamento Operativo Speciale or Special Operational Group) is an elite unit founded in 1990 to deal with
organised crime (
Mafia and others), subversive activities,
terrorism and more complex types of crime. An anti-crime section is found in every city and district public prosecutor's office.
[edit] Special Tasks Departments
Special Tasks Departments are outside the ordinary organisational framework and are used for special missions:
Corazzieri (Cuirassiers) are an elite corps and honour guard of the
President of the Italian Republic, located in the
Quirinal Palace. They are distinguished by their uniforms and height (the minimum height for admission is 190 cm, or 6 feet 3 inches). They have almost no other everyday duties, although they may be seen patrolling occasionally. Other departments are in service to constitutional bodies such as the Presidency of the Republic, the Senate, Parliament, the Judiciary, the
Prime Minister and the National Council of Economy and Labour. Carabinieri also perform
military police and security duties for the Ministry of Defence, military high commands, the offices of the military judiciary and allied military organisations in Italy and abroad. They also have personnel attached to the
Department of Public Security in various departments, as well as anti-Mafia and anti-drug investigative task forces.
Carabinieri officers are charged with surveillance and security at Italian embassies and consulates abroad, performing the same services entrusted to the
United States Marine Corps in US diplomatic and consular offices.
[edit] War service
The main battles in which the Carabinieri took part before World War I are:
For its contributions during the First World War, the Corps was awarded its first
Gold Medal of Military Valor
In World War II, Carabinieri distinguished themselves in the following battles:
[13]
- Battle of Klisoura on the Greek-Albanian front from 16 to 30 December 1940 Bronze Medal of Military Valor
- Battle at Cafe Struga on the Albanian-Yugoslav front on 18 April 1941
- Battle of Culqualber (Ethiopia), 6 August-21 November 1941 – Corps was awarded its second Gold Medal of Military Valor
From 1943 to 1945, the Carabinieri were accountable to the Control Commission of the
Allied Military Government (AMGOT). Their reorganization and reform was organized by Colonel
Arthur Young, a British
police officer seconded as Director of Public Safety and Director of Security.
[edit] Uniforms
They were issued a distinctive uniform in dark blue with silver braid around the collar and cuffs, edges trimmed in scarlet and epaulettes in silver. The mounted division had white fringes, and the infantry had light blue. Their headgear was a distinctive hat with two points, popularly called the
lucerna.
[5] They still use a version of the historic uniform today for ceremonies.
[5]
The full set of different Carabinieri uniforms today is presented here (in Italian):
[16]
[edit] Weapons
A Carabiniere in everyday uniform
In response to the many and diverse needs of the Carabinieri, the service provides for the use of various types of weapons that are divided into "ordinary" and "special" weapons and supplied to all staff as follows:
[edit] Ordinary
[edit] Special weapons
Used only by certain departments and under certain circumstances:
[edit] Vehicles and equipment
Until very recently the Italian police (including the
Carabinieri) operated only Italian-made vehicles, but that changed with the introduction of
Land Rover Defenders and
Subarus into service. Normal
Carabinieri patrol vehicles are dark blue with a white roof, with a red stripe along the side. Carabinieri license plates begin with "CC" (Corpo dei Carabinieri, Carabinieri Corps) or EI (formerly Esercito Italiano, Italian Army), and a Carabinieri car is traditionally called a
Gazzella (
gazelle). Small or medium-sized cars are used for ordinary patrol work, with larger and more powerful vehicles being used for emergency response, traffic patrol and special services. The vehicles of the
Carabinieri military police and mobile units are painted Italian military green and have license plates beginning with "EI," as do other Italian Army vehicles.
[edit] Motorcycles
[edit] Helicopters
[edit] Tactical vehicles
Carabinieri Mercedes Unimog 3000 – 5000 mobile labs for NBCR (nuclear, bacteriologic, chemical & radiologic) activity
[edit] Motorboats
[edit] Special Vehicles
An Italian Carabinieri GEM e2 (called the
Ovetti – "little eggs") in Carabinieri service. Used for patrolling urban areas.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Ciro Paoletti, A Military History of Italy. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008
- ^ Peter G. Stone, Joanne Farchakh Bajjaly, Robert Fisk. The destruction of cultural heritage in Iraq. Boydell & Brewer Ltd, 2008
- ^ [ Richard Heber Wrightson, A History of Modern Italy, from the First French Revolution to the Year 1850. Elibron.com, 2005]
- ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica: a new survey of universal knowledge, Volume 4. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1952.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "The ancient Corps of the Royal Carabinieri". Carabinieri. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
- ^ The Oxford illustrated history of Italy - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ "Massacres and Atrocities of WWII in the Axis Countries". Members.iinet.net.au. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ "Pétros, Ethiopia, Orthodox". Dacb.org. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ a b The history of Ethiopia - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ Haile Selassie's war - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ "The Pankhurst History Library". Link Ethiopia. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ "Arma dei Carabinieri - Home - L'Arma - Curiosità - Non tutti sanno che... - R". Carabinieri.it. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ a b "Arma dei Carabinieri - Home - > - EN - Military Operations". Carabinieri.it. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ Formed Police Units Workshop and Seminar, [1] Issue Paper No. 2006-04, US Army Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute, January 2007.
- ^ http://www.carabinieri.it/Internet/Arma/Oggi/Reparti/Organizzazione+Centrale/
- ^ "Arma dei Carabinieri - Home - L'Arma - Oggi - Uniformi". Carabinieri.it. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
[edit] External links