Guardia alla Frontiera

Guardia alla Frontiera
Guardia alla Frontiera emblem
Active1934 – 1953
CountryItaly
AllegianceKingdom of Italy
Republic of Italy
BranchRoyal Italian Army
TypeBorder Guard
RoleMountain Warfare
Size8 Corps areas with 27 Sectors
Regimental CentreVallo Alpino
Nickname(s)Vidoa
Motto(s)Dei sacri confini guardia sicura
ColorsGreen
EngagementsWorld War II

The Guardia alla Frontiera (GaF) (transl. "border guard"), was an Regio Esercito border guard created in 1937[1] who defended the 1,851 km of northern Italian frontiers with the "Vallo Alpino Occidentale" (487 km with France), "Vallo Alpino Settentrionale" (724 km with Switzerland and 420 km with Austria) and "Vallo Alpino Orientale" (220 km with Yugoslavia).

In 1940, the GaF had 21,000 military personnel, deployed in eight commands, 27 sectors, and seven regiments of artillery. It manned 1,000 fortifications, 6,000 machine guns, 1,000 mortars, 100 Cannone da 47/32 M35, and another thousand other medium and small-caliber cannons (75/27 and 149/35).

By 10 June 1940 (Italy's entry into the war) the GaF (not counting colonies in Libya and Albania) contained 23 sectors, 50,000 men, 28 battalions "Vallo Alpino", and 22 battalions of fascist militia.

  1. ^ "History of the "Guardia alla Frontiera" (in Italian)". Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2014-12-29.