The Italian XXIII Army Corps ( it, XXIII Corpo d'Armata) was a formation of the

Italian army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

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 ...

History

There was a XXIII Corps in World War I, formed in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, which existed between 10 April 1917 and 15 July 1919. The Corps was reformed in

Al-Khums Al-Khums or Khoms ( ar, الخمس) is a city, port and the de jure capital of the Murqub District on the Mediterranean coast of Libya with an estimated population of around 202,000. The population at the 1984 census was 38,174. Between 1983 and 19 ...

in Libya on 15 October 1939 and participated in the Italian Invasion of Egypt.
Like the rest of the

Italian 10th Army The 10th Army ( it, 10ª Armata) was a field army of the Royal Italian Army, which fought in World War I and in Italian North Africa during World War II. World War I Formation After the Battle of Caporetto (November 1917) the Royal Italian Army, ...

, it had to retreat and took up defensive positions in the major Italian fortification of

Bardia Bardia, also El Burdi or Barydiyah ( ar, البردية, lit=, translit=al-Bardiyya or ) is a Mediterranean seaport in the Butnan District of eastern Libya, located near the border with Egypt. It is also occasionally called ''Bórdi Slemán''. ...

.
During the

Battle of Bardia The Battle of Bardia was fought between 3 and 5 January 1941, as part of Operation Compass, the first British military operation of the Western Desert campaign of the Second World War. It was the first battle of the war in which an Australian ...

, the town was overrun by the

6th Australian Division The 6th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. It was raised briefly in 1917 during World War I, but was broken up to provide reinforcements before seeing action. It was not re-raised until the outbreak of World War II, when ...

, and despite its numerical superiority, the entire XXIII Corps was taken prisoner on 5 January 1941 and disbanded. On 15 June 1942, a new XXIII Corps was formed in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

to defend the coast and the Trieste. On 10 September 1943, the Corps was disarmed by the Germans and disbanded.

Composition

in 1940

* 1st CC.NN. Division "23 Marzo" * 2nd CC.NN. Division "28 Ottobre" * 2nd Libyan Division

1942-1943

* 2nd Infantry Division "Sforzesca" * 23rd Border Guard Command

Commanders

* Gen. C.A.

Annibale Bergonzoli Annibale Bergonzoli (1 November 1884 – 31 July 1973), nicknamed ''"barba elettrica"'', " Electric Whiskers", was an Italian Lieutenant General who served during World War I, the Spanish Civil War and World War II. In 1940 he commanded the de ...

(15 October 1939 - 5 January 1941) POW * Gen. C.A. Alberto Ferrero (15 June 1942 - 10 September 1943)

Sources

Regio Esercito
{{DEFAULTSORT:Army Corps 23 Italian Army corps of Italy in World War II Western Desert campaign