The Italian Army is the land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China, Libya, Northern Italy against the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I, Abyssinia before World War II and in World War II in Albania, Balkans, North Africa, the Soviet Union, and Italy itself. During the Cold War, the army prepared itself to defend against a Warsaw Pact invasion from the east. Since the end of the Cold War, the army has seen extensive peacekeeping service and combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank and among its aircraft the Mangusta attack helicopter, recently deployed in UN missions. The headquarters of the Army General Staff are located in Rome opposite the Quirinal Palace, where the president of Italy resides. The army is an all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel.
Dardo IFVs on an exercise in Capo Teulada
Alpini of the 7th Alpini Regiment during the Falzarego 2011 exercise
The 1st Field Artillery Regiment (Mountain) on exercise
Italian 8th Alpini Regiment snipers in winter ghillie suits in 2019
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fight primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by possessing an army aviation component. Within a national military force, the word army may also mean a field army.
Azerbaijan Army soldiers at a 2020 parade
Indian Army soldiers on parade in 2014
A bronze crossbow trigger mechanism and butt plate that were mass-produced in the Warring States period (475-221 BCE)
An Ancient Greek warrior in bronze, Riace bronzes, c. 450 BCE.