- First Army (Italy)
The Italian First Army was an Italian army formation, in
World War I , facingAustro-Hungarian and German forces, and inWorld War II , fighting on the North African front.World War I
During World War I, the First Army participated in the defense of
Caporetto , against combined Austro-Hungarian and German divisions in October 1917. It faced several defeats before being pushed back several dozen miles.World War II
At the beginning of World War II, the Italian First Army was one of two armies that made up Army Group West commanded by Prince General
Umberto di Savoia . Together with theItalian Fourth Army , the First Army attacked French forces during theItalian invasion of France . At this time, the First Army was commanded by GeneralPietro Pintor and included three army corps: the 2nd Corps commanded by GeneralFrancesco Bettini , the 3rd Corps - GeneralMario Arisio , and the 15th Corps commanded by GeneralGastone Gambara . (See order of battle, below.)By
1942 , after the defeat ofPanzer Army Africa at theSecond Battle of El Alamein and after theOperation Torch landings,Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was forced to make one of the longest retreats in history. He withdrew from the "Western Desert" ofEgypt andLibya and established a defence on the French-builtMareth Line in southernTunisia . After occupyinging the Mareth Line, Rommel took command of the newly createdArmy Group Africa and turned over the "German-Italian Panzer Army" (formerly "Panzer Army Africa") to ItalianGeneral Giovanni Messe . The army was once again renamed and onFebruary 23 1943 , Messe took command of the "Italian First Army."The First Army, with Messe in command, took part in Rommel's attempt to break through the
Kasserine Pass . As part ofArmy Group Africa commanded byGeneral Hans-Jürgen von Arnim , the First Army attackedField Marshal Bernard Montgomery'sBritish Eighth Army at Medenine, just west of theMareth Line . However, the First Army was crushingly defeated. In addition, the attempt by Rommel and Arnim to breakthrough in Tunisia failed.By the end of May,
Allied troops had captured all ofNorth Africa , and the First Army was part of the 270,000Axis troops taken prisoner.
=Order of Battle at 10th June 1940 [cite web
last = Mulholland
first = John
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Axis History Factbook
work =
publisher =
date = 18 July 2005
url = http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=6466
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-09-03 ] =2nd Corps
Commanded by General
Francesco Bettini
* 4th Mountain Infantry Division, "Livorno" (Gen.Benvenuto Gioda )
* 33rd Mountain Infantry Division, "Acqui" (Gen.Francesco Sartoris )
* 36th Mountain Infantry Division, "Forli' " (Gen.Giulio Perugi )
* 4th Alpine Division, "Cuneense" (Gen.Alberto Ferrero )Corps Reserves:
* 3rd Guardia alla Frontiera (Frontier Guards) Sector
* 2nd Corps Artillery Group
* 2nd Engineer Group
* 7th Guardia alla Frontiera Artillery Group
* 14th Guardia alla Frontiera Artillery Group
* 22nd Guardia alla Frontiera Artillery Group
* "Valle Stura" Alpini Btl.
* "Val Maira" Alpini Btl.
* 6th MMG. Btl.
* 102nd MMG. Btl.
* 109th Positional MMG. Btl.
* 114th Positional MMG. Btl.
* 5th "Artieri" (Construction Engineers) Btl.
* 2nd Tank Company
* 84th Telegraph Company
* 152nd Workers Company
* 1st Chemical Company
* 72nd Searchlights Section
* 6th Mobile Pigeon-Messengers Unit3rd Corps
Commanded by General
Mario Arisio
* 3rd Infantry Division, "Ravenna" (Gen.Edoardo Nebbia )
* 6th Infantry Division "Cuneo" (Gen.Carlo Melotti )Corps Reserves :
* 2nd Guardia alla Frontiera Sector
* 3rd Corps Art.Grp.
* 3rd Eng Grp.
* 16th Guardia alla Frontiera Art.Grp.
* "Val Venosta" Alpini Btl.
* 3rd MMG. Btl.
* 103rd MMG. Btl.
* 112th Positional MMG. Btl.
* 10th "Artieri" (Construction Eng) Btl.
* 7th Telegraph Coy.
* 72nd Telegraph Coy.
* 3rd Blackshirts Btl.
* 4th Blackshirts Btl.
* 8th Mobile Pigeon-Messengers Unit15th Corps
Commanded by General
Gastone Gambara
* 5th Infantry Division, "Cosseria" (Gen.Alberto Vassari )
*37th Mountain Infantry Division , "Modena" (Gen.Alessandro Gloria )
*44th Infantry Division , "Cremona" (Gen.Umberto Mondino )
* Alpini Grp. (4 x Alpini Btl.s - 2 x Alpini Art. Btl.s - 1 x Blackshirts Btl.)Corps Reserves:
* 1st Guardia alla Frontiera Sector
* 5th Guardia alla Frontiera Sector
* 15th Corps Art.Grp.
* 11th Guardia alla Frontiera Art.Grp.
* 24th Guardia alla Frontiera Art.Grp.
* 15th MMG. Btl.
* 108th Positional MMG. Btl.
* 111th Positional MMG. Btl.
* 9th "Artieri" (Construction Eng) Btl.
* 71st Telegraph Coy.
* 76th Telegraph Coy.
* 100th Radio Coy.
* 33rd Blackshirts Btl.
* 34th Blackshirts Btl.Army Reserves
* 4th AA Art. Rgt
* 2nd Army Art.Grp.
* 4th Army Art.Grp.
* 7th Army Art.Grp.
* 8th Army Art.Grp.
* 1st Signal Btl.
* 2nd Cableways Btl.
* 2nd Miners (Mountain Eng) Btl.
* 5th Miners Btl.
* 69th Air Force Sqn. (recon)
* 7th Infantry Division, "Lupi di Toscana" (Gen.Ottavio Priore )
* 16th Infantry Division, "Pistoia" (Gen.Mario Priore )
* 22nd Infantry Division, "Cacciatori delle Alpi" (Gen.Dante Lorenzelli )
* 5th Alpine Division, "Pusteria" (Gen.Amedeo de Cia )
* "Celere" (fast - motor) Grp.
* 1st Bersaglieri Rgt
* 3rd Tank Rgt
* "Cavalleggeri di Monferrato" Cav. RgtCommanders
* General
Pietro Pintor - at June 10, 1940
* GeneralGiovanni Messe -February 23 1943 -May 13 1943 References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.