The Uniform used by Italian soldiers during the "Great War" was the result of experiments in the early twentieth century with the first grey-green uniforms.
The idea of a new combat uniform, more suitable for a modern war, was launched by a civilian. Luigi Brioschi, President of the Milan section of the Italian Alpine Club, after having been struck by the reports on the Russo-Japanese war and by the number of the losses caused by the new combat techniques, he thought it was time to replace the dark blue uniform with something less flashy.
He came into contact with the Commander of the "Morbegno" Alpine Battalion of the 5th Regiment, the Lieutenant Colonel Donato Etna, who was interested in the issue and introduced Brioschi to Colonel Stazza (Regiment Commander); Stazza offered the funds necessary to the experimentation.
The trio got the loan for the project after having demonstrated the validity of their theories through a demonstration: wooden shapes painted with the colours of the uniforms in use were hit almost a hundred per cent by riflemen at a distance of 600 meters, while the grey uniforms were much less hit.
In that way the Grey-Green Uniform was born and it has been the uniform of the Italian soldiers for about forty years.