Bolt Action | Italian Alpini Mountain Troope | 28mm Plastic Unit

Known as Le Penne Nere (the black feathers) after the distinctive raven feather in their headgear, the Alpini are the Italian Army’s elite specialists in mountain warfare. Created by Royal decree in 1872, they are the oldest mountain specialists in the world.

In 1935, the Italian fascist government under Mussolini reorganised the Alpini into six divisions and sent three to fight on the Eastern Front alongside the Germans against the Soviet Union. Despite being deployed on the flat plains of the Don River, a challenging environment for troops trained for mountain combat, the tenacious Alpini were able to escape encirclement and survive. Throughout the war, Alpini divisions saw combat across multiple fronts, including Albania, France, Greece, Yugoslavia, and even East Africa.