The VIII Army Corps ( it, VIII Corpo d'Armata) was an infantry corps of the

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army ( it, Regio Esercito, , Royal Army) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfre ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when it participated in the

Italian invasion of Albania The Italian invasion of Albania (April 7–12, 1939) was a brief military campaign which was launched by the Kingdom of Italy against the Albanian Kingdom in 1939. The conflict was a result of the imperialistic policies of the Italian prime m ...

, and the

Greco-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (Greek language, Greek: Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος, ''Ellinoïtalikós Pólemos''), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian Campaign in Greece, and the War of '40 in Greece, took place between the kingdom ...

and the subsequent Italian occupation of Greece.

History

Its origins lie in the 8th Army Corps Command based at

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, formed as a territorial jurisdiction on 22 March 1877. Between 1927 and 1940, it was based in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

as the Rome Army Corps (VIII) (''Corpo d'Armata di Roma (VIII)''). With the Italian entry into

on 10 June 1940, VIII Army Corps was moved to

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

under the Seventh Army. Returning briefly to Rome, it was sent to

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

in early November 1940 to participate in the

under the Eleventh Army. During January and February 1941, the corps held a front sector at Tepeleni. It took part in the failed Italian Spring Offensive in March, and in the Italian advance once the Greek retreat began in mid-April as a result of the

German invasion of Greece The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usu ...

. after the Greek capitulation, the corps was moved into Greece in May. VIII Corps remained in Greece on occupation duties, still under Eleventh Army command, with its headquarters at

Xylokastro Xylokastro ( el, Ξυλόκαστρο) is a seaside town or village and a former municipality in Corinthia in the Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Xylokastro-Evrostina, of which it is a un ...

, until the

Italian armistice The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigad ...

in September 1943, when it was disbanded.

Orders of battle

1926–1940

* 21st ''Rome'' Infantry Division, later renamed ''Granatieri di Sardegna'' * 22nd ''Perugia'' Infantry Division, later renamed ''Cacciatori delle Alpi''

1940–1943

* 29th ''Piemonte'' Infantry Division * 51st ''Siena'' Infantry Division * 56th ''Casale'' Infantry Division * 59th ''Cagliari'' Infantry Division

Commanders (1940–1943)

* '' Generale di divisione'' Emilio Bancale (1940–41) * ''Generale di divisione''

Gastone Gambara Gastone Gambara (10 November 1890 – 27 February 1962) was an Italian General who participated in World War I and World War II. He excelled during the Italian intervention in favor of the nationalists in the Spanish Civil War. During World War I ...

(1941) * ''Generale di divisione''

Matteo Negro Matteo is the Italian form of the given name Matthew. Another form is Mattia. The Hebrew meaning of Matteo is "gift of god". Matteo can also be used as a patronymic surname, often in the forms of de Matteo, De Matteo or DeMatteo, meaning " escenda ...

(1941) * ''

Generale di Corpo d'Armata An army corps general or corps general is a rank held by a General officer who commands an army corps. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. Normally, the rank is above the divisional ge ...

Giuseppe Pafundi Giuseppe Pafundi (born 4 December 1883) was a general in the Royal Italian Army who commanded the XVII Corps during the World War II Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941. Career Promotions 1934-09-05 Brigadier-General 1937-07-01 Maj ...

(1941–42) * ''Generale di Corpo d'Armata''

Mario Marghinotti is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...

(1942–43)

References

{{Greece during World War II Army corps of Italy in World War II Peloponnese in World War II Italian military units and formations of the Greco-Italian War Military units and formations disestablished in 1943 Military units and formations of Italy in Greece in World War II