Along with the other Corps formations of the Hellenic Army, V Army Corps was formed in December 1913, following the
Balkan Wars. It was headquartered in
Ioannina and comprised the
8th (Ioannina) and
9th (
Preveza) infantry divisions, covering the Greco-
Albanian border in
Epirus. At the time of its establishment, the Corps's zone also included
Northern Epirus, which had come under Greek control during the
First Balkan War. The Corps withdrew its units from there in February 1914, which led to an
uprising of the local Greek population. In October 1914, following the outbreak of
World War I, the region was reoccupied with the assent of the
Entente powers. Following the Greek mobilization in September 1915, V Corps expanded to include the 8th, 9th,
15th, and
16th Infantry Divisions. The corps was demobilized and disbanded as a result of the
National Schism and the Greek demobilization in late 1916. It was re-established with the July 1926 Army reorganization, but disbanded again a year later. It was re-established again in 1935, this time based in
Alexandroupoli, covering
Western Thrace with the
12th Infantry Division at
Komotini, and the islands of the eastern Aegean with the
13th Infantry Division. However, with the outbreak of the
Greco-Italian War on 28 October 1940, all available forces were switched to Epirus, and on 15 December 1940, V Corps was disbanded and its name transferred to the "K" Group of Divisions on the Albanian front. The latter was a corps-sized
battle group, formed on 11 November to facilitate the Greek counter-attack against the Italians. It came under the operational control of
Western Macedonia Army Section (TSDM) and was named after its commander, Lt. Gen.
Georgios Kosmas. On 10 March 1941, when Kosmas was transferred to command of
I Army Corps, V Army Corps was finally disbanded and its component units directly subordinated to TSDM. == Sources ==