Sniper Elite Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Advertisement
Register
Sniper Elite Wiki
Sniper Elite Wiki
385
pages
in: Orginizations, Factions, Enemies,
and 3 more

Royal Italian Army

Edit
Royal Italian Army

The Royal Italian Army was the Army of the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 to the formation of the Italian Republic in 1946.

It was part of the Axis powers during the Second World War, and was allied with Germany and Japan, forming the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis (ROBERTO); which became a military alliance in 1939 under the so-called "Pact of Steel", with the Tripartite Pact of 1940 leading to the integration of the military aims of Germany, Italy and Japan.

After the Armistice of Cassibile, the Italian army fractured into the Italian Co-belligerent Army (Esercito Cobelligerante Italiano, the Royal Army) and the National Republican Army (Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano, ENR) of the puppet state of Salò, the Italian Social Republic, allied with Nazi Germany.

Karl Fairburne had to engage Italian forces in combat several times whilst he was in Africa in 1942 to 1943 , and again in Italy in 1943 to 1944. They fought alongside the Afrika Korps in Africa and with the Heer in Italy.

Weaponry[]

Vehicles[]

*Supplied by Germany

Members[]

Mission Appearances[]

Sniper Elite III[]

The Italian Army makes their first appearance in Sniper Elite III in Mission 02: Gaberoun, where their officers carry information about a top-secret German project, Project Seuche. The Italians fight alongside the German Afrikakorps, using a mixture of Italian and German weapons. Their only Italian weapon is the Carcano rifle, with the rest being German weapons: MP40 submachine guns, Luger 08 pistols and MG42 emplacements. Three types of Italian soldiers are found, these being Grunt, Officer and Elites. They often fight alongside the Afrika Korps.

Italian soldiers are almost exclusive to the campaign, their only DLC appearance is In Shadows.

Grunts[]

Italian Grunts wear yellow uniforms with the round M33 steel helmets, and rarely bustina caps. Grunts use either Carcano rifles or MP40 SMGs. Grunts are much more common than all the other Italian soldiers. An Italian soldier can be found in the level "Siwa Oasis" talking to an Afrika Korps soldier, the Italian soldier speaks english in the cutscene with the German and is the only Italian Soldier in the game to wear the bustina cap. He disappears when the cutscene is done.

Officers[]

Italian Officers wear tan uniforms, wearing some Italian and German decorations and carrying Luger P08 pistols or MP40 submachine guns. They are usually escorted by groups of Grunts, more rarely by Elites. They are objectives in the missions "Gaberoun", "Fort Rifugio" and "In Shadows" where they need to be looted for information in order to complete main or optional objectives.

Italian Officers are also almost exclusive to the campaign, their only DLC appearance is In Shadows where they can be seen talking with Afrika Korps Officers.

Elites[]


Italian Elites are Folgore Paratroopers that see better, have more health and deal more damage by having better accuracy than regular Grunts. They use weapons such as the MP40 and, rarely, the Carcano rifles. The Italian Elites only appear in the mission "Fort Rifugio". They are seen outside the fort defending it with Grunts and Officers. When Karl frees Brauer, many Grunts and Elites try to kill him.

They are not found in any DLC.

Panzerjäger[]

An Italian PanzerJäger wears the same uniform as the Infantry and use a powerful Panzerschreck rocket launcher only appears in Halfaya Pass.

Sniper Elite 4[]

The Italian Army returns in Sniper Elite 4 as Black Brigades (Brigade Nere) in base game, and as the Italian National Republican Army (ENR) in Deathstorm. In this game they come with larger variety of models and with land and sea vehicles. Four types of Italian soldiers are found, these being Infantry, Officer, Elites and Snipers. They often fight alongside the Heer.

Infantry[]

Italian Privates wear dark grey uniforms with with either ammo pouches or bandoliers while Sergeants wear black shirts with rolled sleeves and brown pants. They can wear helmets Berets or Bustina caps. They appear in Bitanti Village, Lorino Dockyard and Abrunza Monastery as well as Deathstorm: Inception and Deathstorm: Infiltration. In Deathstorm: Infiltration, Italian Bersaglieris can be seen with cockerel feathers tied to their helmets appear. Also, soldiers in Deathstorm wear uniforms lighter in colour, and rarely wear berets, instead wearing Bustina caps. Also, soldiers wearing just black shirts (Sergeants) are much rarer in DLC-s.

Infantry use MAB-38 and FNAB 43 submachine guns and Carcano rifles, they are less commonly seen with Mannlicher M1895 rifles. In the missions Lorino Dockyard and Abrunza Monastery, Italian soldiers are seen using Autoblinda AB41 armoured cars.

Italian soldiers don't appear as commonly as their German allies. Except for the Deathstorm Infiltration mission where Italians are much more common, and have more variants of infantry, like mentioned above Bersaglieri (elite mountain infantry unit). In the Deathstorm 2 DLC mission, Italian soldiers are seen piloting a MAS Boats.

Officers[]

Italian officers wear black shirts with ties under black uniforms, greenish pants with black and red stripes and black caps.

Officers can command their forces and use whistles to attract nearby soldiers, they use handguns and don't usually take part in any fighting. They only carry M1934 pistols. They appear in Bitanti Village, Lorino Dockyard and Abrunza Monastery. Piero Capo is the only officer to use an SMG. Gino Laterza is not a member of the Royal Italian Army but does have command of Italian unit guarding one of the Flakvierlings.

They also appear in both Deathstorm: Inception and Deathstorm: Infiltration.

Elites[]

RSI Paracadutisti (Paratroopers) wear camouflage paratrooper uniforms with covered helmets and ammo vests (the same as in Sniper Elite 3), but rarely they are seen without helmets. Italian Paratroopers only appear in the second episode of the Deathstorm DLC and the Survival Map, Urban. They use MAB-38 Submachine Guns, M1897 Trench Gun Shotguns and Carcano M1891/41 Bolt-Action Rifles. Their sidearms are only the M1934 pistols. They can take much more damage than normal infantry before dying, being a bit stronger than German Jagers. Interestingly, in kill stats they are noted as Jagers.

Snipers[]

Italian Snipers wear camouflaged uniforms, often paired with bandana or net cover worn on head. They are basically the same as the German Snipers but don't have semi automatic sniper rifles like the Geweher 43, also they are much more relaxed than German counterparts.

Italian Snipers only appear in Deathstorm Infiltration and survival map Urban. They carry Carcano M1891/41 and Mosin Nagant M1891/30 Bolt-Action Sniper Rifles and both MAB 38 and FNAB-43 Submachine Guns as backup weapon. One specific sniper seen in university tower uses German MP40 instead of the MAB 38. They are manning sniper positions in towers, on city walls and even in parts of University.

They're also slightly more casual than the German snipers. When passive, they simply walk to their next sniping spot, instead of crouching.

Multiplayer[]

The Italian Private and Sergeant can be played in Multiplayer. The Bersaglieri can be unlocked by getting a kill over 400m in Deathstorm: Obliteration, The RSI Paracadutisti can be unlocked by completing all challenges in the same mission.

Zombie Army 4: Dead War[]

Dead Italian officers can be found with other dead Waffen SS and Heer soldiers in Deeper Than Hell, some can also be seen wearing Occult masks. The wrecks of Italian AB41 armoured cars can be found in many levels such as Meat Locker.

Sniper Elite 5[]

German Officers often berate their Infantry in combat, claiming them to "Behave like Italians".

Descriptions[]

Sniper Elite 3[]

  • Italian: Natural Italian flamboyance and style is presented here. Make no mistake, this guy shoots for hearts only.
  • Italian Officer: Ready to lead the charge into battle, the Italian officer fearlessly at the front lines.
  • Italian Elite: The best that the Royal Italian Army has to offer. Few may survive long enough, but those that make it are deadly.

Sniper Elite 4[]

  • Italian Private: An experienced soldier, newly returned from North Africa, willing to fight to the death for his homeland and his beloved Il Duce.
  • Italian Sergeant: Brings the skills he learnt in Mussolini's Ethiopia campaign to the terrain of his homeland. Rugged, fearsome.
  • Bersaglieri: An Italian light infantry unit trained to high physical and marksmanship standards. Their helmets are adorned with black capercaillie feathers.
  • RSI Paracadutisti: Italian paratroopers. The Folgore Division earned the respect and admiration of the enemy for their bravery during the Second battle of El Alamein.

Gallery[]

Sniper Elite 3[]

Multiplayer skins

Headgear

Models

Sniper Elite 4[]

Multiplayer skins

Headgear

Models

Trivia[]

General[]

  • In both games, more Sniper Elite 3 than 4, the Italians are seen using German weapons and vehicles, this is somewhat inaccurate as while the Italians did sometimes use German equipment (especially the National Republican Army), they never used them to the extent seen in game and some weapons like the MP40 were never used by the Italians at all.
  • While most accounts of the war portrays the Italians as the weak link of the Axis or "Larry of the Three Stooges"; in actuality they had made considerable contributions to the Axis. General Rommel was remembered for his saying "The German solider has impressed the world, and the Italian soldier has impressed the Germans".

Sniper Elite 3[]

  • The Carcano is the only Italian weapon used, the other weapons they use are German small arms weapons and rocket launchers. The MAB-38 is in the game but is DLC content from the Axis Weapons Pack.
  • Some Italian Officers wear German medals, mixed with Italian ones.
  • An Italian soldier appears in the level "Siwa Oasis" in a cutscene speaking to a German soldier in English. He is the only Italian Grunt to wear a Bustina cap and unlike the Officers cap, the cap is yellow rather than brown and has a different symbol on it.
  • In the concept art for the Italian Elite, they are seen holding MAB 38 submachine guns however they are not seen using them in game.
  • Also in the same concept art, the soldiers are seen standing in front of a Junkers Ju-52 that never appears with the Italians in game.
  • In the concept art for the Grunt, a destroyed Kubelwagen is seen however it does not appear in game, although it is in the Official trailer for Sniper Elite 3.
  • The Italians do not have any Snipers or Engineers in game.
  • Some Italian Officers have patches on them that say Afrika Korps, which would mean these officers are associated with Project Seuche. It is inaccurate as the Italians were part of their own army, separate from the Afrika Korps.

Sniper Elite 4[]

  • Soldiers met in Sniper Elite 4 are actually members of Black Brigades as evidenced by their uniforms, especially those worn by officers and sergeants. Also concept art bluntly names them Brigate Nere, with means Black Brigades. Also, in mission to assasinate Piero Capo game mentions multiple times Italians as Black Brigades members.
  • Soldiers met in Sniper Elite 4 Deathstorm DLC-s are members of ENR (Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano / National Republican Army). This can be evidenced by different uniforms and presence of Paratroopers and Bersaglieri's. Despite this, officers still use Black Brigade models from base game, most likely due to development issues and not wanting to create separate variant just for DLC.
  • Since soldiers in Sniper Elite 4 are Black Brigades, then their appearance in the game is inaccurate as the Black Brigades were not active until 30th June 1944, while game takes place in 1943, making their appearance anachronistic. They should be replaced by the Blackshirt Militia instead who were a very similar unit, with similar uniforms and by June 1944 were mostly converted into Black Brigades.
  • Piero Capo wears the same uniforms as the Italian officer but he has no Aiguillette or medals. Other officers wear red aiguillette, while he, as brigade commander (Comandante di Brigata, Black Brigades counterpart of Colonel/Brigadier) should wear golden aiguillette.
  • Gino Laterza wears unique Officer uniform, similar to ones worn by the Italian Officers but with navy blue jacket and cap, dark blue pants, white shirt and black tie.
  • The Italian Paratroopers concept shows them as commandos from elite navy unit Decima Flottiglia MA, also known as 10th Assault Vehicle Flotilla rather than paratroopers wearing unique uniforms in italian Marine camo and berets instead of helmets. However they were cut from game, and returned only in Deathstorm DLC as Paratroopers reusing Elite's models from Sniper Elite 3, albeit with different head models shared with regular infantry.
  • Italian paratroopers appear as Jäger in the kill feed.
  • The Italians do not have any Spotters, Radio Operators, Support Jagers, Engineers or Rocketeers in game.
  • The Italian Sniper models are reused assets from the Allied Sniper model from Sniper Elite 3.
  • Italian Officers in Sniper Elite 4 and DLC-s wear Red fourragère (variant of Aiguillette) on their shoulders. Interestingly Red fourragere's denoted a rank of "Comandante di Squadra" or Squad Leader. This rank was often described as Black Brigades counterpart of Sergeant, while all Italian officers in game are Lieutenants, with would be more fitting for "Comandante di Plotone" / Platoon Leader or "Comandante di Compagnia" / Company Commander ranks, wearing Red and Silver and Silver fourragères respectively.
  • German soldiers are often seen using FNAB SMGs given to them by the Italians.
  • The Italians and Germans using the FNAB in early levels is inaccurate as it was only used by German and RSI units after the Armistice of Cassibile, not before it.
  • Italian torpedo boats (MAS) are often encountered, yet, only once they are operated by Italians, namely in Deathstorm: Infiltration, while in other missions boats are driven by Germans.
  • German soldiers are also seen using the Italian AB41 armoured car in "Giovi Fiorini Mansion" and are seen using the Italian MAS boat in "Bitanti Village", "Lorino Dockyard", "Magazzeno Facility" and "Giovi Fiorini Mansion".
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
Advertisement

Fan Feed

More Sniper Elite Wiki