This is how the local press refers to the country's elite highly mobile infantry units. The name "bersagliera" comes from the Italian word bersaglio ("target"), for shooting training in this unit has always had a special place. The Bersaglier's accuracy (as well as their courage) is praised in poetry and prose. Thousands of Italian youths dream of serving in an elite unit. Those who get this lucky ticket are proud to the end of their days that they were bersagliers.
Miracle on wheels
Benito Mussolini, who fought in the Bersaglier regiment during the First World War, called this unit “the pride of Italy” and, at the time of his greatness, constantly took care of his fellow soldiers and paid special attention to them.
According to a long tradition, these gallant guys regularly take part in military parades. Their distinctive feature is that they do not march, striking a step, but run lightly jogging, clubfoot and raising their leg high after pushing. Their somewhat comical run is always accompanied by a brass band playing a march called Flik Flok, which is considered the musical signature of the Bersaglier.
They are distinguished from other units by their exotic form. That only there is a hat with a long and lush side plume of capercaillie or pheasant feathers (it is called "vaira"). Moreover, feathers are an indispensable attribute of not only ceremonial, but also field uniforms. During exercises and during hostilities, the hat is replaced by a kevlar (made of special high-strength fabric) helmet, to which feathers are also attached. The commanders who introduced this expensive element believed that a bushy tail of feathers could protect the bersaglier's neck from an insidious saber strike. Despite the fact that sabers as an element of military equipment have long sunk into oblivion, feathers as a tribute to tradition continue to adorn the headdresses of modern bersagliers, which causes admiring and fiery glances of the fair sex, who are certainly present at the parades.
And the bearers of feathers themselves are well-built, tall (no less than 180 centimeters), disciplined, well-trained guys who are not a sin to admire.
Vairu is certainly adorned with a gold cockade, which is a sign of the elite of the unit. Bersagliers wear a dapper vire, sideways to completely cover the right earlobe.
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The second original headdress of the bersaglier is a burgundy col-pak-fez with a blue tassel on the lace. The history of the appearance of the fez is as follows: in 1855, during the Crimean War, the Moroccan Zouaves from the French corps presented their hats to the Sardinian bersagliers in recognition of their bravery shown in the battle on the Black River on August 4, 1855.
The dress gloves of the bersaglier are always black, while the other Italian units are outfitted in white.
To give the elite parts dynamics, the Bersaglier were the first in Italy to receive light and reliable bicycles. This happened in March 1898. The vehicle was promoted in every possible way by the progressive young lieutenant Luigi Camillo Natali. He managed to convince the high authorities that the miracle on wheels would dramatically improve not only the mobility, but also the combat capability of the elite units. The officer's arguments persuaded senior military officials, and the bicycles were given the green light.
In 1911, the famous bicycle manufacturer Edoardo Bianchi delighted the Bersaglier with a novelty - a folding bicycle. Spinning the pedals, the gallant feather carriers quickly covered long distances, thanks to which they more than once caught the enemy by surprise.
King's decree
The bersagliers owe their appearance to officer Alessandro della Marmore. In the 20s of the XIX century, having carefully studied the military experience of European armies, he planned to strengthen the country's defensive power by creating mobile infantry units that could solve the tasks assigned to them both on the plain and in mountainous terrain. The Bersagliers have been trained from the start as sharp marksmen and tough soldiers. The relatively poor kingdom of Sardinia and Piedmont could not afford to have an expensive cavalry, so its functions were partially performed by highly mobile units of the Bersaglier.
The indefatigable Alessandro walked around his superiors, wrote memoranda in which he argued the need to create a "new mobile infantry", and even achieved an audience with the then Minister of the Army and Navy Matteo de Geney. As a result, at the beginning of June 1836, by decree of the King of Sardinia Charles Albert, a new corps of riflemen was established, who were called the Bersagliers, and Alessandro was appointed commander. He took this appointment very seriously and, in an effort to justify high confidence, personally trained subordinates, ran crosses with them, took them to the shooting range and was engaged in equipment.
After a month of intense preparation, the Bersaglier first appeared before King Carl Albert at a parade in Turin. To show the high mobility of the bersagliers, their commander ordered them not just to walk, but to run, swaying and clubfoot. The king liked this maneuver, and since then such an active movement in parades has become mandatory for bersagliers. But they not only shone at solemn events, but also proved themselves worthy in military affairs.
Here it is necessary to dwell on the political situation in the country at that time. The fact is that until 1861 there was no single state on the territory of Italy. Several independent Italian states existed on the Apennine Peninsula, its northeastern part was ruled by the Habsburg Austrian Empire, and Rome was controlled by the French.
At the beginning of the 19th century, bloody wars began for the unification of Italy under the banner of the Sardinian Kingdom. The term Risorgimento was born (from the Italian il Risorgimento - "rebirth", "renewal"). Under the slogan "Risorgimento" a national liberation movement of the Italian people arose against foreign domination, for the unification of fragmented Italy. In the battles with the Austrians and the French, there was a gradual unification of the Sardinian kingdom with other regions of Italy. On March 17, 1861, the Parliament of Sardinia proclaimed the independent Kingdom of Italy with its capital in Turin, and King Victor Emmanuel II became its head. In 1866, during the Austro-Prussian War, Italy sided with Prussia and managed to annex the Venetian region. In September 1870, Italian troops entered Rome with battles, knocking out the French from the Eternal City. In 1870, Rome was declared the capital of the united Italian kingdom, and the kingdom of Italy itself became the first state to control almost the entire Apennine Peninsula.
In this struggle, an important role was played by the bersagliers, who showed themselves in battles as brave and mobile warriors.
Complete rout
With the formation of a unified Italian kingdom, the number of bersaglier regiments was brought to seven. By the end of the 80s of the XIX century, there were already 10 of them with a total number of almost 17 thousand. In the 20th century, the Bersaglier corps continued to strengthen.
In the First World War, the bersagliers demonstrated miracles of courage and showed themselves very worthy. Of the 200 thousand bersagliers, 35 thousand died a heroic death, 50 thousand were wounded. The church was especially distinguished by the Italian regiments, which in Sinai, as part of the English expeditionary force, defended the Christian values of Jerusalem and the Sacred Land.
Benito Mussolini, who came to power in Italy, contributed to the further strengthening of the Bersaglier regiments. On his initiative, a monument to the Bersaglier was erected in 1932. According to the dictator, this monument should have contributed to the strengthening of patriotic sentiments in the general population. In his speeches, Mussolini paid tribute to the feats of the Bersagliers in the battles for the unification of Italy. He did his best to support poets, prose writers and composers who glorified bersagliers in their works.
The monument to them was not accidentally installed near the Roman gate, now called Porta Pia. It was through them that on September 20, 1870, the Bersaglier entered the city in battle. This was the last battle that victoriously ended the movement for the unification of Italy.
During the Second World War, Mussolini, who entered into an alliance with Hitler, threw Italian divisions (including the Bersaglier) on the Eastern Front. During the offensive operations of the Soviet troops, they were completely defeated. According to military experts, 30 thousand Italians laid down their heads on Russian soil and almost 100 thousand were captured.
The defeat of the Italians on the Eastern Front hit Mussolini's reputation hard. Miraculously, the surviving military personnel accused the Italian political elite and generals of short-sightedness, which was expressed in sending units to the front, poorly prepared for the harsh natural conditions of Russia and poorly equipped. Many complaints were also addressed to the German commanders, who saved their troops, while sacrificing the Italian ones.
After the end of World War II, the Bersaglier units were revived. There are currently six bersaglier regiments operating in the Italian armed forces.
Many works of art and documentary films are dedicated to them in Italy. In 1968, the Italian musical comedy Women and the Bersagliers was released on the screens of the USSR.
Vladimir BARSOV