Royal Italian Army

The Royal Italian Army, in Italian the Regio Esercito, was the land warfare branch of the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 until 1946. It was established after the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy during Italian unification and largely absorbed the military forces of the Kingdom of Sardinia and the annexed Italian states. After the monarchy was abolished following the 1946 referendum, the army was reorganized as the modern Italian Army. The Royal Italian Army played a major role in the political, colonial and military history of modern Italy. It took part in the final campaigns of Italian unification, in colonial conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, in both world wars and in numerous overseas expeditions. It also contained several elite formations, including the Alpini, the Bersaglieri and the Folgore, many of which continue within the modern Italian Armed Forces.