Origins The history of the 5th Army Corps begins with
Garibaldis Expedition of the Thousand. After Garibaldi scored victory after victory in his conquest of the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the
Victor Emmanuel II of
Sardinia decided to march south to secure the conquered territory for himself and thus
unite Italy. The V Army Corps was raised and marched south with the main Army where it fought in the battles of San Giuliano on 26 October 1860 and Garigliano on 29 October 1860 and participated in the
siege of Gaeta. After the war the corps was garrisoned in
Florence, the capital of the newly united Italy. It commanded two elite divisions: the 1st Division of the Line in Florence and the 15th Division of the Line in
Perugia. Both divisions were made up by
Grenadier regiments. At the outbreak of the
third Italian war of independence the V Army Corps remained at first in Florence, but when the main Italian army failed to break through the Austrian
Quadrilatero fortress system south of
Lake Garda in the
Battle of Custoza, the corps marched six divisions over the
Apennine mountains, joined up with General
Enrico Cialdinis eight divisions of the
IV Army Corps in the
Romagna and crossed the lower
Po and
Adige rivers in force on 11 July 1866. Bypassing the Austrian fortresses and main army on his left flank Cialdini marched his army all through the
Veneto, dispatching one division under
Giacomo Medici to invade
Trentino and cut the Austrian line of retreat and three divisions under
Raffaele Cadorna to march at speed to the city of
Trieste. Cialdinis army reached the
Isonzo river on 24 July 1866.
World War I plateau after the
Battle of Asiago After the
Italian declaration of war against the
Austrian Empire on 23 May 1915 the V Army Corps under Lieutenant General
Florenzio Aliprandi as part of the 1st Army advanced into
Trentino. On the corps left flank the
III Army Corps advanced through the
Valtellina,
Camonica Trompia and
Chiese valleys and along the Western shore of
Lake Garda. The ultimate goal of the 1st Army was to reach the city of
Trento. Although numerically superior the corps failed to reach the city of Trento and its advance through the
Adige and
Valsugana valleys and over the
Asiago plateau soon bogged down in determined Austrian resistance. The corps consisted of the 9th and 15th Division of the Line (Infantry), the 34th Territorial Division, the 2nd, 4th and 8th
Bersaglieri regiments and the
6th Alpini Regiment. All soldiers of the 6th Alpini Regiment had been recruited from valleys in the area of operations and thus fought in a territory they knew perfectly well. However the 6th 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. •
V Army Corps (Lieutenant General Florenzio Aliprandi) •
9th Division of the Line (Major General Ferri) • Brigade of the Line "Puglie" • 71st Line Infantry Regiment • 72nd Line Infantry Regiment • Brigade of the Line "Roma" • 79th Line Infantry Regiment • 80th Line Infantry Regiment • 29th Territorial Field Artillery Regiment (8x batteries) • 12th Sapper Company / 1st Engineer Regiment • Divisional Service units •
15th Division of the Line (Major General Lenchanti) • Brigade of the Line "Abruzzi" • 57th Line Infantry Regiment • 58th Line Infantry Regiment • Brigade of the Line "Venezia" • 83rd Line Infantry Regiment • 84th Line Infantry Regiment •
19th Field Artillery Regiment (6x batteries) • 1st Sapper Company / 2nd Engineer Regiment • Divisional Service units •
34th Territorial Division (Major General Oro) • Brigade of the Line "Treviso" • 115th Line Infantry Regiment • 116th Line Infantry Regiment • Brigade of the Line "Ivrea" • 161st Line Infantry Regiment • 162nd Line Infantry Regiment • 2x squadrons of the 22nd "Cavalleggeri di Catania" Cavalry Regiment • 41st Territorial Field Artillery Regiment (6x batteries) • 9th Sapper Company / 2nd Engineer Regiment • Divisional Service units • 2nd
Bersaglieri Regiment (II, IV, XVII, XLI Bersaglieri battalions) • 4th Bersaglieri Regiment (XXIX, XXXI, XXXVII, XLII Bersaglieri battalions) • 8th Bersaglieri Regiment (V, XII, XXXVIII, XLVIII Bersaglieri battalions) •
6th Alpini Regiment ("Verona", "Vicenza", "Bassano", "Val d'Adige", "Val Leogra", "Val Brenta"
Alpini battalions) • "Feltre" and "Val Cismon"
Alpini battalions from the
7th Alpini Regiment • 22nd "Cavalleggeri di Catania" Cavalry Regiment • I
Guardia di Finanza Frontier Battalion • V, VII, IX, XVII, XVIII Guardia di Finanza Coastal Battalion •
5th Field Artillery Regiment (8x batteries) • II Group "Torino-Aosta" /
1st Mountain Artillery Regiment • VII Group "Vicenza" /
2nd Mountain Artillery Regiment • IX Group "Oneglia" /
3rd Mountain Artillery Regiment • X Group "Genova" / 3rd Mountain Artillery Regiment • 3x tunnelling engineer companies • 16th Sapper Company / 1st Engineer Regiment • 16th Sapper Company / 2nd Engineer Regiment • 11th 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 the front in the corps' sector remained almost unchanged until 15 May 1916 when Austria unleashed its
first major offensive on the Italian front on the
Asiago plateau. The V Corps was badly mauled by the Austrian superiority in men and material but did not break. As the Russians began the
Brusilov Offensive, on 4 June the Austro-Hungarian High Command decided do end its offensive operations in Italy before its strategic goal - a breakthrough into the
Venetian plains behind the main Italian Army - had been achieved. After the end of the Austrian offensive the corps remained in the same area of operation until the end of the war.
World War II After the war the V Army Corps was garrisoned in
Trieste and consisted of the
12th Infantry Division "Timavo" in Trieste and the
15th Infantry Division "Bergamo" in
Pula. At the outbreak of
World War II the corps was guarding the border with
Yugoslavia. Headquartered in
Pivka it consisted of the
12th Infantry Division "Sassari",
15th Infantry Division "Bergamo" and
57th Infantry Division "Lombardia". On 6 April 1941, under command of
Riccardo Balocco, it participated in the
Axis invasion of Yugoslavia. After the end of combat operations the corps took up garrison duties along the
Dalmatian coast, but found itself quickly fighting
Yugoslav partisans. The corps (commanded by General
Renato Coturri, General
Alessandro Gloria from January 1943 and by General
Antonio Scuero from May 1943) was garrisoned in
Crikvenica at the time and consisted of the
153rd Infantry Division "Macerata" in
Delnice,
154th Infantry Division "Murge" in
Sinj and the XIV Coastal Brigade in Crikvenica. After Germany invaded Italy following the
Italian-Allied armistice in September 1943 the corps was disbanded by the Germans.
WWII Commanders •
Italo Gariboldi (01.07.1938 – 01.09.1939) •
Carlo Geloso (01.09.1939 – 01.12.1939) •
Carlo Vecchiarelli (01.12.1939 – 09.04.1940) •
Riccardo Balocco (05.06.1940 – 18.02.1942) •
Renato Coturri (18.02.1942 – 09.01.1943) •
Alessandro Gloria (09.01.1943 – 05.05.1943) •
Antonio Scuero (05.05.1943 – 08.09.1943 : POW)
Cold War In 1945 the V Territorial Military Command was activated in
Padua which at the time controlled only the
5th Alpini Regiment. But already by 1947 the command had grown to include the
Infantry Division "Folgore" in
Treviso and the
Infantry Division "Mantova" in
Gorizia. Both divisions were units of the
Italian Co-Belligerent Army and had served on the Allied side during the
Italian campaign. In 1948 the command was augmented with the
Armored Brigade "Ariete" in
Pordenone and in 1949 with the
Alpine Brigade "Julia" in
Cividale del Friuli. The command was tasked with defending the Italian Eastern borders: the Mantova was to defend the city of Gorizia, while the Julia covered the commands left flank in the
Carnic Alps. The motorized Folgore was tasked to advance to the
Free Territory of Trieste and support the
Trieste United States Troops, while the Ariete with its
M4 Sherman tanks,
M3 Half-tracks and
M7 Priests served as the commands mobile reserve. To cover its right flank against enemy amphibious landings the command raised the
Lagunari troops in Venice on 15 January 1951. On 1 May 1952 the V Territorial Military Command was renamed as V Army Corps and as the
West-East confrontation became more dire the Ariete tripled in size and became the
Armored Division "Ariete" on 1 October 1952. division also exchanged its Sherman tanks for more powerful
M26 Pershings. On 30 September the corps 1953 moved to
Vittorio Veneto and ceded command of the Julia to the new Carnia-Cadore Troops Command, which covered the V Army Corps left flank. Over the next years the corps added further units to keep up with the geopolitical situation of the
Cold War: the Ariete was further increased and received
M47 Patton tanks and
M113 armored personnel carriers, as well as one artillery group armed with
M44 self-propelled howitzers and one artillery group armed with
M110 self-propelled howitzers. The Mantova and Folgore infantry divisions were each increased by one infantry regiment and both received a tank battalion with M47 Patton tanks. In
Trieste the
151st Infantry Regiment "Sassari" and the
14th Field Artillery Regiment formed the
Trieste Troops Command tasked with defending the city. At the same time the Lagunari regiment in Venice grew to three amphibious battalions and one tank battalion with M47 Patton tanks. In Gorizia on 1 January 1959 the mechanized
Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli" activated with two mechanized, one tank battalion and one self-propelled artillery group, to replace the Mantova, which had moved its headquarters to
Udine. The most significant addition to the corps was the
III Missile Brigade. The brigade activated on 1 October 1959 in
Vicenza and initially consisted of one missile artillery regiment with two missile groups, each of which was armed with eight
Honest John missile launchers. The
MGR-1 Honest John was a
nuclear-capable
surface-to-surface missile intended to destroy the large Warsaw Pact armored formations. By the 1963, when the brigades headquarters was moved to
Portogruaro, the brigade contained four missile groups and one group with
M115 howitzers. The corps - along with the
3rd Army Corps and
4th Army Corps was part of
NATOs
Allied Land Forces Southern Europe Command (LANDSOUTH) in
Verona.
5th Army Corps In
1975 the Italian Army undertook a major reorganisation: the regiment 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 V Army Corps to 5th Army Corps. Therefore, the 5th Army Corps' new structure at the end of 1975 was as follows: •
5th Army Corps, in
Vittorio Veneto •
Armored Division "Ariete", in
Pordenone •
8th Mechanized Brigade "Garibaldi", in Pordenone •
32nd Armored Brigade "Mameli", in
Tauriano •
132nd Armored Brigade "Manin", in
Aviano •
Mechanized Division "Folgore", in
Treviso •
Mechanized Brigade "Gorizia", in
Gorizia •
Mechanized Brigade "Trieste", in
Bologna •
Armored Brigade "Vittorio Veneto", in
Villa Opicina • Amphibious Troops Command (
Lagunari), in
Venice-Lido •
Mechanized Division "Mantova", in
Udine •
Mechanized Brigade "Brescia", in
Brescia •
Mechanized Brigade "Isonzo", in
Cividale del Friuli •
Armored Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli", in
Palmanova •
3rd Missile Brigade "Aquileia", in
Portogruaro •
Trieste Troops Command, in
Trieste In 1976 the entire corps was heavily involved in the rescue and cleanup efforts after the
1976 Friuli earthquake. (click to enlarge) In 1986 the Italian Army abolished the divisional level and realigned its forces to counter a possible
Warsaw Pact attack better. The 5th Army Corps was to destroy enemy forces within the region of
Friuli-Venezia Giulia, while the
4th Alpine Army Corps covered the V Army Corps' left flank and the
3rd Army Corps was the operational reserve. As two of the V Army Corps' mechanized brigades were based outside its area of operation, the V Corps lost these two brigades to the 3rd Army Corps: the
Mechanized Brigade "Brescia" in
Brescia and the
Mechanized Brigade "Trieste" in
Bologna. As the Ariete and Mantova divisions carried historically significant names - the Ariete having fought bravely in the
Siege of Tobruk and
Battle of Gazala and fought to annihilation in the
Second Battle of El Alamein, and the Mantova as one of the divisions that fought in the
Italian Co-Belligerent Army to liberate Italy from
Nazi-occupation - the army decided to rename the 132nd Armored Brigade "Manin" as 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete" and the Mechanized Brigade "Isonzo" as Mechanized Brigade "Mantova". Although the Folgore divisions carried and equally significant name the army decided to transfer the traditions of the Folgore division to the existing
Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore". After the reform of 1986 the V Corps was structured as follows: •
5th Army Corps, in
Vittorio Veneto •
32nd Armored Brigade "Mameli", in
Tauriano •
132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete", in
Aviano •
Armored Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli", in
Palmanova •
Mechanized Brigade "Vittorio Veneto", in
Villa Opicina •
8th Mechanized Brigade "Garibaldi", in Pordenone •
Mechanized Brigade "Gorizia", in
Gorizia •
Mechanized Brigade "Mantova", in
Udine •
3rd Missile Brigade "Aquileia", in
Portogruaro • Amphibious Troops Command (
Lagunari), in
Venice-Lido Each mechanized brigade fielded about 4,700 men, while the armored brigades fielded about 3,400 men. Together with the corps' support units the entire corps fielded over 60,000 men.
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
Mameli on 1 April 1991, followed by the
Vittorio Veneto on 31 July 1991. The units subordinated to these brigades were mostly disbanded, with a few units joining other brigades. The
Garibaldi completed its move to
Caserta in the South of Italy on 1 July 1991 and left the 5th Army Corps on that day. Finally on 1 December 1991 the
Aquileia was reduced to 3rd Artillery Regiment
Aquileia, which was then disbanded in September 1992. Over the next few years the Trieste Troops Command and the Amphibious Troops Command were disbanded. In 1997 the army undertook the next big reform process and the 5th Army Corps saw its
Gorizia and
Mantova brigades disbanded on 30 August 1997, but it received the
Mechanized Brigade Centauro from the
3rd Army Corps. On 1 October 1997 the 5th Army Corps changed its name and became the 1st Defence Forces Command (
1° Comando Forze di Difesa or COMFOD 1°). The new structure of the corps was: •
COMFOD 1°, in
Vittorio Veneto •
132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete", in
Pordenone •
Mechanized Brigade "Centauro", in
Novara •
Cavalry Brigade "Pozzuolo del Friuli", in
Gorizia •
1st Infantry Regiment "San Giusto" (1x training battalion), in
Trieste •
7th Infantry Regiment "Cuneo" (1x training battalion), in Udine •
11th Infantry Regiment "Casale" (1x training battalion), in
Casale Monferrato •
3rd Engineer Regiment (1x battalion), in
Udine •
7th Signal Regiment (1x battalion), in
Sacile On 1 December 2000 the
Projection Forces Command (COMFOP) ceded two of its brigades - the
Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore" and
Airmobile Brigade "Friuli" to the 1st Defence Forces Command. In 2002 the command changed composition for the last time: the Centauro was disbanded on 5 October 2002 and all support units were either disbanded or transferred to other commands. However, in the same year the command began to build up a deployable division-level headquarters. Said headquarters became operational in October 2005 and was given the name Division Command "Mantova". == Today ==