Hunters of the Alps

The Cacciatori delle Alpi ( German: Alpenjäger ) was an Italian volunteer force in the Second Italian War of Independence.

History

The Cacciatori delle Alpi were founded on 20 February 1859 by Giuseppe Garibaldi in Cuneo. This force consisted of Italian volunteers whose job it was to help the regular Sardinian troops associations in a Sardinian war against the Austrians. Their battle area was, as the name says, the Alps and its goal is the liberation of northern Italy. They fought in May 1859 others at Varese and San Fermo and then covered up Solferino at the foot of the Alps, the left flank of Piedmontese and French. Two regiments of the Cacciatori delle Alpi in 1860 adopted as the 51st and 52nd Infantry Regiment in the Piedmontese and Italian army, in which they together formed the brigade Alpi.

1866 fought in the third Italian War of Independence around 40,000 Italian volunteer under Garibaldi again against the Austrians, especially in Bezzecca. These volunteers are sometimes also referred to as Cacciatori delle Alpi.

Founded in 1872 Alpini have no direct connections to the Cacciatori delle Alpi, as the latter were transferred to the Italian Line Infantry in 1860 or 1861. However, in a broader sense it can be regarded as the predecessor of the Alpini.