The role of military corps (Carabineers) during World War I.

The first duty : they were considered as military corps with civil police duties not as army in a battle. They had to execute death sentence for deserters if they tried to run away and they had to stab the Italian foot soldier’s back if they refused to move in to attack. But…we are talking about past events when there were other laws and values.

They were men of great values and a lot of privations and efforts that are very popular nowadays. At the end of the war the killed “carabineers” were 1423 while the wounded ones were 5245 (information taken from the Carabineers’ calendar 2004).

The first military flag band and the first gold campaign medal were given to military corps in 1920 bacause they weren’t only behind the enemy lines but in front lines, too…forward troops. They helped to take care of soldiers or they were where troops were obliged to stop,along the roads and on march.

They wore a hat, a red tie, trousers and a jacket. They wore knee lengt-socks to ride a horse while they wore short-lenght socks and boots to go to war. In winter, they wore a wool hat, because it was comfortable during the fight.

They used to wear a wool mantle with a loose coat to ride a horse and the capitains had wear a double breasted suit.

On 24th May 1915 Italy entered war against Austria. The Carabineers arrived there with men. They began to fight on 19th May in the morning, to settle the enemy area on the Podgora Mount 240 m. high. 53 of them died, 143 were wounded and 10 missing. In the conflict went the 1st 2nd 3rd military divisions to offer help to Infantry. They began to fight at the sunrise on 18th May. Some platoons put some explosive to destroy Austrian borders.

The captain of Pistoia Brigade told that the carabineers stayed fearless even if the bombing attacks continued. They used weapons like bayonets and machine guns. They fought by airplanes too. The captain Ernesto Cabruna, in Conegliano, defeated 11 enemy planes.