With British Guns in Italy | Page 8

for its war-time uniform, chosen with a
view to minimising visibility. Thus we wear khaki, the French
horizon-blue, the Germans field-grey. The Italians have adopted an
olive colour, commonly spoken of as "grigio-verde," or grey-green.
The various Italian Corps, Regiments and Brigades wear distinctively
coloured collars on their tunics which, except in the case of the Arditi,
fit closely round the neck. For example, the Granatieri, or Grenadiers,
who both in their high physical standards and military prestige
resemble our own Guards Battalions, wear a collar of crimson and
white. The colour of the Artillery is black with a yellow border, that of
the Engineers black with a red border. Of the Infantry, the Alpini
collars are green and the Bersaglieri crimson, the bands of colour being
shaped in each case like sharp-pointed flames turning outwards. For
this reason the Alpini are often called the "fiamme verdi," or green
flames, and the Bersaglieri "fiamme rosse," or red flames. The Infantry
Brigades of the line, who bear local names,--the Avellino Brigade, the
Como Brigade, the Lecce Brigade and so forth,--have each their
distinctively coloured collars.
These local names mean very little, for, as a matter of policy, men from
all parts of Italy are mixed indiscriminately together in each Brigade.
The Parma Brigade, for example, will contain only a few men from
Parma, and them by chance. One of the objects of this policy is to help
to break down those regional barriers, which still linger owing to
historical causes, between different districts of Italy. It is often
remarked that men from many parts of Italy know more of foreign
countries than of other parts of their own country, and most of the
numerous local dialects are hardly intelligible to men who live far from
the districts where they are spoken. Ordinary Italian, which is in fact
the local dialect of Rome, is, as it were, the lingua franca of the whole
country, but the great majority of Italians speak not only Italian but one,
or sometimes several, local dialects, and the latter are used by all
classes in their own homes. Some of these dialects differ widely from
Italian. In many remote districts some of the peasants cannot speak

Italian at all.
The Alpini and the two Sardinian Brigades, Cagliari and Sassari, are
exceptions to the rule mentioned above. The Alpini are in peace-time
recruited entirely from the men who dwell in the Alps, though I believe
that during the present war a certain number of men from the
Apennines have also been included in Alpini Battalions. The Alpini are
specially used for warfare in the mountains. They wear in their hats a
single long feather. Closely attached to the Alpini are the Mountain
Artillery, armed with light guns of about the same calibre as our own
twelve-pounders. They too are recruited from the mountaineers and
wear the Alpino hat and single feather. The Alpini have a magnificent
regimental spirit and, in my judgment, are the equals of any troops in
the world.
The Cagliari and Sassari Brigades, two of the best in the Italian Army,
are composed entirely of Sardinians. When in the front line they use the
Sardinian dialect on the telephone. Even if the Austrians succeed, by
means of "listening sets," in overhearing them, it hardly matters, for it
is not likely that anyone in the Austrian front line will understand!
The Bersaglieri, another famous Italian Regiment, are recruited from all
parts of Italy, but only from men of high physical fitness. They
correspond roughly to the Light Infantry of other Armies, and always
drill and march to a very quick step, even when carrying machine guns
on their shoulders. Their hats decked with a mass of green cocks'
feathers are familiar in illustrations. The Bersagliere Cyclist Companies,
used for scouting purposes, form part of the Regiment. The Bersagliere
undress cap is a red fez with a blue tassel.
The Arditi, or Assault Detachments, correspond to the German
Sturmtruppen. They were instituted in the Italian Army in 1917. They
also consist of picked men, and undergo a special training to accustom
them to bomb-throwing at close quarters and to other incidents of the
assault. In the course of this training casualties often occur. Only young
unmarried men of exceptionally good physique can become Arditi.
They are only used in actual attacks and never for the purpose of
merely holding trenches. They therefore spend a large part of their time

behind the lines and receive, I believe, extra pay and rations. They are
armed with rifles and pugnali, or small daggers, and wear a low-cut
tunic, with a black knottie and a black fez. On each lapel of their tunic
they wear two black flames, similar to the crimson flames on the
collars of the Bersaglieri. They are, therefore, known