Origins The history of the 3rd Army Corps begins after the
second Italian war of independence. Following the Italian-
French victory over the
Austrian Empire, the
Kingdom of Sardinia annexed the
Papal Legations in present-day
Emilia Romagna. Thus on 1 April 1860 the 3rd Higher Military Command was activated as a territorial command in
Parma and tasked to defend the newly acquired territory between the
Trebbia and
Panaro rivers, an area roughly corresponding with the historic
Emilia region. The command consisted of the 5th, 8th and 12th division of the Line. At the outbreak of the
third Italian war of independence the command was renamed as III Army Corps and participated under command of
Enrico Morozzo Della Rocca in the Italian
Mincio campaign aimed at the Austrian
Quadrilatero fortresses with the 7th, 8th, 9th and 16th divisions of the line. On 24 June 1866 the corps was one of two engaged in the
Battle of Custoza. In August 1867 the III Army Corps was disbanded. However, on 14 June 1869 the III Army Corps was raised again in
Naples and given territorial duties. Until the outbreak of
World War I the corps remained as a territorial command in Italy.
World War I After the
Italian declaration of war against the
Austrian Empire on 23 May 1915 the III Army Corps under Lieutenant General
Vittorio Camerana advanced on the extreme left flank of the Italian Army through the
Valtellina,
Camonica Trompia and
Chiese valleys and along the Western shore of
Lake Garda into
Trentino. Although numerically superior the corps failed to cross the
Stelvio and
Tonale pass and advanced only until
Riva del Garda and
Tione, but failed to take either of the two cities. The corps consisted of the 5th and 6th Division of the Line (Infantry), the 35th Territorial Division, the 7th
Bersaglieri Regiment and the
5th Alpini Regiment. All soldiers of the 5th Alpini Regiment had been recruited in the aforementioned valleys and thus fought in a territory they knew perfectly well. However the 5th Alpini Regiment was never employed as a whole, but single companies or battalions were given specific mountain summits, ridges or passes to conquer and hold. •
III Army Corps (Lieutenant General Vittorio Camerana) •
5th Division of the Line (Major General Druetti) • Brigade of the Line
Cuneo • 7th Line Infantry Regiment • 8th Line Infantry Regiment • Brigade of the Line
Palermo • 67th Line Infantry Regiment • 68th Line Infantry Regiment • 27th Territorial Field Artillery Regiment (5x batteries) • 10th Sapper Company / 2nd Engineer Regiment • Divisional Service units •
6th Division of the Line (Major General Roffi) • Brigade of the Line
Sicilia • 61st Line Infantry Regiment • 62nd Line Infantry Regiment • Brigade of the Line
Toscana • 77th Line Infantry Regiment • 78th Line Infantry Regiment • 16th Field Artillery Regiment (8x batteries) • 11th Sapper Company / 2nd Engineer Regiment • Divisional Service units •
35th Territorial Division (Major General De Chaurand de Saint Eustache) • Brigade of the Line
Parma • 49th Line Infantry Regiment • 50th Line Infantry Regiment • Brigade of the Line
Milano • 159th Line Infantry Regiment • 160th Line Infantry Regiment • 2x squadrons of the 27th
Cavalleggeri di Aquila Cavalry Regiment • 42nd Territorial Field Artillery Regiment (8x batteries) • 15th Sapper Company / 2nd Engineer Regiment • Divisional Service units •
5th Alpini Regiment (
Morbegno,
Tirano,
Edolo,
Vestone, ''Val d'Intelvi
, Valtellina
, Val Camonica
, Val Chiese''
Alpini battalions) • 7th
Bersaglieri Regiment (VIII, X, XI, XLV Bersaglieri battalions) • 27th
Cavalleggeri di Aquila Cavalry Regiment • III
Guardia di Finanza Frontier Battalion • 6th Field Artillery Regiment (8x batteries) • II Group / 1st Heavy Field Artillery Regiment (2x batteries) • 1st Tunnelling Engineers Battalion • 18th Sapper Company / 2nd Engineer Regiment • 4th Telegraph Engineers Company • Army Corps Service units After the initial advance had been brought to a halt by the
Austro-Hungarian Army the corps dug in and, although fierce fighting continued - especially on the
Adamello glaciers - the front in the corps' sector remained almost unchanged until the end of the war. The front became so static that the 35th Territorial Division was sent to participate in the Allied war effort in
Macedonia. After the Italian defeat in the
Battle of Caporetto the III Corps was taken out of the front and became the Army's reserve corps, tasked with countering any enemy breakthrough on the
Piave front during the winter of 1917/18. In spring of 1918 the corps returned to its original area of deployment. After Austria signed the
Armistice of Villa Giusti the III corps finally advanced into
Trentino.
Interbellum After the war the III Army Corps returned to its garrison in
Milan. After the drawdown of forces in the early 1920s the corps consisted of the 6th Infantry Division
Legnano in Milan, the 7th Infantry Division
Leonessa in
Brescia and the 8th Infantry Division
Po in
Piacenza. In spring of 1936 the corps was sent to
Eritrea to reinforce the Italian troops that faced stiffer than expected resistance during the Italian
invasion of Abyssinia. The corps was led by
Ettore Bastico and commanded the
27th Infantry Division Sila,
2nd Blackshirt Division 28 Ottobre and a brigade sized formation with light tanks. The corps fought in the
First Battle of Tembien,
Battle of Amba Aradam and
Second Battle of Tembien.
World War II After the return to Milan the corps was given the task to defend Italy along the Swiss-Italian border. To aid in its task the corps was given command of the
Alpine Wall fortifications in its area of operation. When Italy declared war on France on 10 June 1940 the corps was near the French-Italian border in
Limone Piemonte. The Italian Army only performed limited patrols and remained in its positions until
after France had asked for an armistice on 20 June 1940. The next day the Italian divisions
crossed the border in force, but stiff French resistance stopped them along the entire front after a few kilometres. During the campaign the corps commanded the
3rd Mountain Infantry Division Ravenna,
6th Infantry Division Cuneo and a mixed unit of four
Alpini and two Mountain Artillery battalions. After the Italian
invasion of Greece in October 1940 bogged down under stiff Greek resistance the III Army Corps was dispatched to
Albania to augment the Italian forces along the
Macedonian front. The corps commanded the
19th Infantry Division Venezia,
36th Mountain Infantry Division Forlì,
48th Infantry Division Taro and
53rd Infantry Division Arezzo and the 4th Bersaglieri regiment as Corps reserve. All Italian attacks were repulsed by the Greeks until
German forces invaded Greece through Bulgaria and cut the Greek Armies on the Albanian front off. Afterwards the III Army Corps advanced to
Thebes where it remained on garrison duty until September 1943 when it surrendered to German forces after the
Italian-Allied armistice.
World War II commanders • Lieutenant-General
Mario Arisio (10 June 1940 - 20 August 1941) • Lieutenant-General
Angelo Rossi (20 August 1941 - 4 April 1943) • Lieutenant-General
Luigi Manzi (4 April - 10 September 1943 : POW)
Cold War (click to enlarge) On 15 June 1945 the III Territorial Military Command was activated in Milan which at the time controlled only the
Infantry Division Legnano in
Bergamo. The
Legnano was a unit of the
Italian Co-Belligerent Army and had served on the Allied side during the
Italian campaign. Following service with the
American 5th Army, the
Legnano served with the
Polish II Corps on the extreme left of the
British 8th Army. When the corps regained its historic name on 1 July 1957 it included besides the
Legnano the
Armoured Division Centauro in
Novara, the
Infantry Division Cremona and
Alpine Brigade Taurinense both in
Turin. In 1972 the
Taurinense was transferred to the
IV Alpine Army Corps. The corps - along with the
4th Alpine Army Corps and
5th Army Corps was part of
NATOs
Allied Land Forces Southern Europe Command (LANDSOUTH) in
Verona. In 1975 the
Italian Army undertook a major reorganisation: the regimental level was abolished and battalions came under direct command of brigades, which combined units from different combat arms. In the same year the spelling of the name of the corps was changed from III Army Corps to 3rd Army Corps. Furthermore, the
Cremona and
Legnano divisions were reduced to brigades and therefore the 3rd Army Corps' new structure on 21 October 1975 was as follows: •
3rd Army Corps in
Milan: •
Armoured Division Centauro in
Novara •
Armoured Brigade Curtatone in
Bellinzago Novarese •
Mechanized Brigade Goito in Milan •
Mechanized Brigade Legnano in
Bergamo •
Motorized Brigade Cremona in
Turin In 1986 the Italian Army abolished the divisional level and realigned its forces to counter a possible
Warsaw Pact attack better. The 3rd Army Corps was to either act as last line of defence along the
Adige and
Po rivers or to counter-attack broken through enemy forces in the
Venetian plains. The corps was augmented by two mechanized brigades and as the
Centauro division carried a
historically significant name, the division ceased to exist on 31 October in Novara, but the next day in the same location the
Armoured Brigade Centauro was activated and took command of the units of the
Curtatone: •
3rd Army Corps in
Milan: •
Armored Brigade Centauro (
Novara) •
Mechanized Brigade Goito (Milan) •
Mechanized Brigade Legnano (
Bergamo) •
Mechanized Brigade Brescia (
Brescia) •
Mechanized Brigade Trieste (
Bologna) •
Motorized Brigade Cremona (
Turin) Each brigade, with the exception of the
Centauro, fielded about 4,700 men. The Centauro fielded about 3,400 men and together with the corps' support units the entire corps fielded over 40,000 men. In 1982
Bersaglieri of the
Legnano brigade were deployed in Italys first operation outside its soil since World War II as part of the
Multinational Force in Lebanon.
After the Cold War With the end of the Cold War the Italian Army began a decade long reduction of its forces. The first brigade to disband was the
Goito on 1 June 1991, followed by the
Brescia on 27 July 1991. Also on 1 June 1991 the
Trieste ceased its colours in
Bologna and in its stead the
Mechanized Brigade Friuli arrived from
Florence. The
Friuli took command of some units of the disbanded
Trieste and entered the ranks of the 3rd Army Corps. In September 1993 the
Legnano brigade deployed to Somalia in support of United Nations
Unified Task Force mission. In spring 1997 the Corps assumed responsibility for
Operation Alba, the first multinational mission led by Italy, in the wake of the
Albanian Rebellion of 1997. In 1997 the army undertook the next big reform process. The 3rd Army Corps saw its
Cremona and
Legnano brigades disbanded. It also had to cede the
Centauro to the
5th Army Corps. On 1 October 1997 the 3rd Army Corps changed its name and became the Projection Forces Command (
Comando Forze di Proiezione or COMFOP) and gained the
Parachute Brigade Folgore, the
Bersaglieri Brigade Garibaldi and the amphibious
Lagunari Regiment
Serenissima, thus the corps commanded all rapidly deployable units of the Italian Army. The new structure of the corps was: •
COMFOP in
Milan •
Parachute Brigade Folgore in
Livorno •
Mechanized Brigade Friuli in
Bologna •
Bersaglieri Brigade Garibaldi in
Caserta •
Lagunari Regiment
Serenissima in
Venice-Lido • 1st Signal Regiment (3rd Signal Battalion
Spluga) in Milano • 10th Engineer Regiment (3rd Engineer Battalion
Lario) in
Cremona • 26th Infantry Regiment
Bergamo (1x training battalion) in
Diano Castello • 33rd Logistic Regiment
Ambrosiano (1x battalion) in
Solbiate Olona • 121st Infantry Regiment
Macerata (1x training battalion) in
Fano However already on 1 December 2000 it ceded its last brigades to the
1st Defence Forces Command (COMFOD 1°). The personnel of the 3rd Army Corps was used to raise the
NATO Rapid Deployable Italian Corps in January 2001. == External links ==