TheXXVI Army Corps (Italian:XXVI Corpo d'Armata) was an infantry corps of theRoyal Italian Army duringWorld War I, theItalian invasion of Albania, and theGreco-Italian War and the subsequentItalian occupation of Greece duringWorld War II.
The XXV Corps was first established inCastelfranco Veneto on 23 May 1916, until its disbandment on 10 January 1920.[1]
In March 1939, in preparation for theItalian invasion of Albania, theTirana Overseas Expeditionary Corps (Corpo di Spedizione Oltre Mare Tirana, O.M.T.) was formed, comprising the154th Infantry Division "Murge", fourBersaglieri regiments and aGrenadier regiment. The invasion took place on 7 April, and after weak resistance, by 15 April the entire country wasoccupied and annexed to Italy.[1] On the same day, the corps was renamed theAlbania Army Corps Command (Comando Corpo d'Armata Albania), comprising the3rd Alpine Division "Julia",7th Infantry Division "Lupi di Toscana",19th Infantry Division "Venezia", and131st Armored Division "Centauro". On 23 July, aHigher Forces Command Albania (Comando Superiore Truppe Albania) with a status of afield army was established as a higher instance, but on 1 December 1939 the two commands were merged as theHigher Forces Command Albania (XXVI Army Corps).[1]
On 24 October 1940, in preparation for theItalian invasion of Greece on the 28th, the Higher Forces Command Albania—which soon after became the11th Army—was divided into the XXVI Corps and the newly createdArmy Corps of the Ciamuria. The XXVI Army Corps occupied the eastern (left) half of the Italian front with Greece, between thePrespa Lakes and MountGobellit.[1] It comprised the49th Infantry Division "Parma",29th Infantry Division "Piemonte", 19th Infantry Division "Venezia", and53rd Infantry Division "Arezzo".[1] The Corps' role during the early days of the Italian offensive was to mount diversionary attacks on the Greek front, but from 1 November the Greek troops of theWestern Macedonia Army Section (TSDM) launched a counteroffensive,beginning an advance into Albania that was only halted at theLake Ohrid–Tepeleni line. The front remained relatively stable thereafter, despite the attempt of theItalian Spring Offensive in March 1941 to achieve a breakthrough.[1] Following theGerman invasion of Greece on 6 April, on 10 April the Italian forces in the Albanian front began their own advance against the retreating Greeks, arriving at the old Greco-Albanian border on 23 April, the day of the capitulation of the Greek army to the Germans.[1]
On 4 May, the corps was redesignated as theAlpine Army Corps Command (XXVI) (Comando Corpo d'Armata Alpino (XXVI)) with the2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" and5th Alpine Division "Pusteria", until its dissolution on 15 June.[1]
XXVI Corps was reconstituted on 1 August 1941, inheriting the units of the disbanded XXV Corps, the divisions33rd Infantry Division "Acqui",37th Infantry Division "Modena", 3rd Alpine Division "Julia", and 5th Alpine Division "Pusteria". Based atIoannina, it assumed occupation duties in western Greece (Epirus and theIonian Islands), in a coastal defence and anti-partisan role. In 1942,Julia was repatriated, but in spring 1943, it received operational control over the1st German Mountain Division. The corps remained in place until theItalian armistice of September 1943, when it was disbanded.[1]
