The 10th Army () was a

field army A field army (also known as numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps. It may be subordinate to an army group. Air army, Air armies are the equivalent formations in air forces, and ...

of the

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army () (RE) 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 Manfredo Fanti signed a decree c ...

, which fought in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and in

Italian North Africa Libya (; ) was a colony of Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania, which had been Italian possessions since 1911. Fro ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

World War I

Formation

After the

Battle of Caporetto The Battle of Kobarid (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Caporetto or the Battle of Karfreit) took place on the Italian front of World War I. The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Central P ...

(November 1917) the Italian Army (Regio Esercito) was reorganized by

Armando Diaz Armando Diaz, 1st Duke della Vittoria, (5 December 1861 – 28 February 1928) was an Italian general and a Marshal of Italy. He is mostly known for his role as Chief of Staff of the Regio Esercito during World War I from November 1917. He ...

. In the summer of 1918 (after the Battle of the Solstice) the Command continued to modify these changes and in preparation for the Italian Offensive planned for October 1918, the new 10th Italian Army was formed on 14 October. It was a British–Italian Army under command of the Earl of Cavan.L'Esercito Italiano, Volume V, 1988, p. 142 It consisted of * 1 Italian Army corps, the XI Corps (Italian) (Corpo d'Armata) of Lt. General Giuseppe Paolini. ** 37th division of Maj. General Giovanni Castagnola (Brigata Macerata of Brig. General Florenzio Tagliaferri, 121st and 122nd Infantry Regiments; Brigata Foggia of Brig. General Raffaele Radini Tedeschi, 280th and 281st Infantry Regiments) ** 23rd

Bersaglieri The Bersaglieri, singular Bersagliere, (, "sharpshooter") are a troop of marksmen in the Italian Army's infantry corps. They were originally created by General Alessandro Ferrero La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Royal Sardinian Ar ...

Division of Lt. General Gustavo Fara (VI Brigade of Brig. General Giovanni Deo, 8th and 13th Regiments; VII Brigade of Brig. General

Alessandro Pirzio Biroli Alessandro Pirzio Biroli (23 July 1877 – 20 May 1962) was an Italian fencer and army General. Biography Biroli won a silver medal competing in the team sabre event at the 1908 Summer Olympics. During the First World War Biroli fought in ...

, 2nd and 3rd Regiments) * 2 divisions of the British XIV Corps of the General James Babington. ** 7th Division of Maj. General Thomas Herbert Shoubridge (20th, 22nd and 91st Infantry Brigade, 22nd and 35th Field Artillery Brigade, 2 batteries of trench mortars plus a

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...

battalion). ** 23rd division of the Maj. General H.F. Thuillier (68th, 69th and 70th infantry brigades, a group of cavalry squadrons, the 102nd and 103rd field artillery brigades, 2 batteries of trench mortars and another pioneer battalion). At the same time General

Jean César Graziani Jean César Graziani (; Bastia, Corsica, 15 November 1859 – Paris, 8 February 1932) was a Corsican French Army general who served in World War I. Early years He started his studies at the Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr in October 18 ...

of France was asked to command another new Italian Army (joint), the 12th Army consisting of I Corps (Italy), the 52nd Division –

Alpini The Alpini are the Italian Army's specialist mountain infantry. Part of the army's infantry corps, the speciality distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. Currently the active Alpini units are organized in two operati ...

(Italy) and 23rd Division (France).

The Final Battle

The newly constituted 10th Army participated in the victory of the

Battle of Vittorio Veneto The Battle of Vittorio Veneto was fought from 24 October to 3 November 1918 (with an armistice taking effect 24 hours later) near Vittorio Veneto on the Italian Front during World War I. After having thoroughly defeated Austro-Hungarian troops ...

(October–November 1918). The Army was inserted between the Italian 8th and 3rd Armies at the Piave River. The 8th Army was to cross the Piave River and advance to Vittorio in order to split the Austro-Hungarian Trentino Army from the ones defending Piave. The 10th Army was to protect their right flank. They were also expected to cross the Piave by breaking the Austro-Hungarian defenses at Grave di Papadopoli, a large island in the river. The 10th Army was augmented by the addition of the following Italian troops prior to the battle: * XI Reparto d'Assalto (

Arditi Arditi (from the Italian verb ''ardire'', 'to dare', and translates as "The Daring nes) was the name adopted by a Royal Italian Army elite special force of World War I. They and the opposing German '' Stormtroopers'' were the first modern s ...

). * A squadron of cavalry of the 11th Cavalleggeri di Foggia. * Three battalions of engineers: two bridge building units and one sapper unit. * 10th and 14th armored car squadrons. * Artillery: 2 field artillery regiments and a bomb group. * Fifty Sailors (18th Pontieri Company) The pontieri played an important preparatory role by transporting a contingent of British soldiers by boat to the island to surprise the Austro-Hungarian garrison there and gain control of the island before the commencement of the battle. The 10th Army provided one of the early successes in the Battle as it established a bridgehead on the left bank of the river, despite high and fast waters (floods) in the river. In fact, elements of the 8th Army had to improvise and use the 10th Army's crossings in order to initially get across the river and then achieve the capture of Vittorio. The 10th Army proceeded to speed across the Italian countryside crossing the Tagliamento River towards 1) Tolmezzo (the XIV Corps) and 2) Udine (the XI Corps) as the Austro-Hungarian Army rapidly retreated and then collapsed. The 10th Army was subsequently joined in the Battle by the

332nd Infantry Regiment (United States) The 332nd Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, active during World War I. It was initially part of the 83rd Division, but was detached to serve on the Italian front during the war, taking part in the Battle of V ...

, as part of the British XIV Corps; the American regiment forming the advance guard of the corps. On 4 November, when the Italian armistice came into effect, the line of the 10th Army was Basagliapenta-Meretto di Tomba-Coseano-S. Daniele-Pinzano.

World War II

In 1940, the 10th Army was based in

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika (, , after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between the 16th and 25th meridians east, including the Kufra District. The coastal region, als ...

(eastern

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

) and faced the British in the

Kingdom of Egypt The Kingdom of Egypt () was the legal form of the Egyptian state during the latter period of the Muhammad Ali dynasty's reign, from the United Kingdom's recognition of Egyptian independence in 1922 until the abolition of the monarchy of Eg ...

, a British ally. The 5th Army was based in

Tripolitania Tripolitania (), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province of Libya. The region had been settled since antiquity, first coming to prominence as part of the Carthaginian empire. Following the defeat ...

(western Libya) opposite

French Tunisia The French protectorate of Tunisia (; '), officially the Regency of Tunis () and commonly referred to as simply French Tunisia, was established in 1881, during the French colonial empire era, and lasted until Tunisian independence in 1956. Th ...

. When Italy declared war on 10 June 1940 the 10th Army consisted of five divisions and the 5th Army consisted of nine. After the

Fall of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Net ...

at the end of June, several divisions were transferred from the 5th Army to strengthen the 10th Army, which was increased to ten divisions.

Italian invasion of Egypt

On 13 September 1940, about four divisions of the 10th Army conducted the

Italian invasion of Egypt The Italian invasion of Egypt () was an offensive in the Second World War from Italian Libya, against British, Commonwealth and Free French in the neutral Kingdom of Egypt. The invasion by the Italian 10th Army () ended border skirmishing on th ...

. Four

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

divisions and the

Maletti Group The Maletti Group () was an mechanised unit formed by the Italian Army () in Italian North Africa (, ASI), early in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The Italian army had three armoured divisions in Europe but all were need ...

marched in four days and stopped at

Sidi Barrani Sidi Barrani ( ) is a town in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, about east of the Egypt–Libya border, and around from Tobruk, Libya. Named after Sidi es-Saadi el Barrani, a Senussi sheikh who was a head of its Zawiya, the village ...

. The Maletti Group included most of the M11/39 medium tanks in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

and numerous L3 tankettes. Defensive positions were prepared by the Italians in fortified camps.

British counter-attack

In December 1940 during

Operation Compass Operation Compass (also ) was the first large British military operation of the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) during the Second World War. British metropolitan, Imperial and Commonwealth forces attacked the Italian and Libyan forces of ...

, the British counter-attacked in what initially was to be a five-day raid against the Italian camps in Egypt. The Italian camps were overrun and the rest of the 10th Army was pushed further and further back into

Italian Libya Libya (; ) was a colony of Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Italian Cyrenaica, Cyrenaica and Italian Tripolitan ...

. Many Italian soldiers surrendered once the British troops encircled them in fortified places like

Bardia Bardia, also El Burdi or Bardiyah ( 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''. The name Bardia is deeply rooted in the ancient ...

and

Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclop� ...

Destruction at Beda Fomm

At the

Battle of Beda Fomm The Battle of Beda Fomm took place following the rapid British advance during Operation Compass (9 December 1940 – 9 February 1941). The Italian 10th Army () was forced to evacuate Cyrenaica, the eastern province of Libya. In late January, th ...

(6–7 February 1941), most of the remainder of the retreating 10th Army was isolated by

Combeforce Combeforce or Combe Force was an flying column of the British Army during the Second World War, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel John Combe. It comprised parts of the 7th Armoured Division (Major-General Sir Michael O'Moore Creagh) of the Wes ...

(Lieutenant-Colonel John Combe) a small advance guard of the 7th Armoured Division (Major-General Michael O'Moore Creagh). Combeforce took a shortcut across the desert, to block the Italian army's retreat, while the 6th Australian Division continued the coastal pursuit. The force was delayed by the harsh terrain, so

was divided and the lighter, faster elements were detached to complete the interception, leaving the tracked vehicles to follow. The first elements arrived at

Msus Msus or Zawiyat Msus (), also Masous is a village in eastern Libya located southeast of Benghazi, and from Suluq on the same direction. There is another road linking her with Charruba (about to the north). Msus was a site of several battles ...

late on the afternoon of 4 February and cleared the local garrison. During the following night and day the advance continued and the British artillery and infantry were in position across the coast road by 4:00 p.m. on 5 February. The head of the retreating Italian column arrived 30 minutes later. The Italians were stunned to find the British force blocking them at

Beda Fomm Beda Fomm is a small coastal town in southwestern Cyrenaica, Libya. It is located between the much larger port city Benghazi to its north-west and the larger town of El Agheila further to the south-west. Beda Fomm is known mainly for being the ...

, whose strength they greatly overestimated. With the Australians in pursuit, a desperate battle ensued, in which newly arrived

Fiat M13/40 The Carro Armato M13/40 was an Italian World War II tank designed to replace the M11/39 tank, M11/39 in the Royal Italian Army (1940–1946), Royal Italian Army at the start of World War II. It was the primary tank used by the Italians throughout ...

medium tank battalions were thrown against the British positions, at great loss. In the afternoon of 6 February, the 7th Armoured Division tanks arrived and harassed the Italian eastern flank. On the morning of 7 February, the Italians attempted a final, desperate attempt to break through. By this stage, the British units were almost out of food, petrol and ammunition. Although the British blocking line was almost breached, the encircled Italian units – convinced of the overwhelming size and strength of the blocking force – surrendered. The 10th Army was destroyed.

Commanders

* General Francesco Guidi (October 1939 – Summer 1940) * General

Mario Berti Mario Berti (3 February 1881 – 1964) was an Italian officer during World War I and a general in the Spanish Civil War and World War II.Macksey, p. 35 Personal life Mario Berti was born in La Spezia, which is located in modern-day Liguria. Wor ...

(Summer 1940 – December 1940) * General

Italo Gariboldi Italo Gariboldi (20 April 1879 – 3 February 1970) was an Italian senior officer in the Royal Army (''Regio Esercito'') before and during World War II. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross by German dictator Adolf Hitler for his l ...

(acting) * General

Giuseppe Tellera Giuseppe Tellera (March 14, 1882 – February 7, 1941) was a general in the Italian Army during World War II. Italian Tenth Army On 23 December 1940 General Tellera took over the command of the Italian Tenth Army from Lieutenant General ...

(December 1940 – February 1941 IA

Order of battle

* 10th Army (HQ

) Commander – General

(followed by General

; who was followed by General

from 23 December 1940 until his death at Beda Fomm; who was followed by General

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 ...

who surrendered to the British **

Babini Group The Babini Group (, also known as the Special Armoured Brigade/) was an armoured unit. The group was formed by the Italian Royal Army () in Italian North Africa (Libya) at the start of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. T ...

*** III Tank Battalion "M" (

M13/40 The Carro Armato M13/40 was an Italian World War II tank designed to replace the M11/39 in the Royal Italian Army at the start of World War II. It was the primary tank used by the Italians throughout the war. The design was influenced by the Brit ...

tanks) *** V Tank Battalion "M" (M13/40 tanks) **

10th Bersaglieri Regiment The 10th Bersaglieri Regiment () is an inactive unit of the Italian Army last based in Palermo in Sicily. The regiment is part of the Italian Army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality. The regiment was formed in 1871 by the Royal Italian Army ...

12th Bersaglieri Regiment The 12th Bersaglieri Regiment () is an inactive unit of the Italian Army last based in Trapani in Sicily. The regiment is part of the Italian Army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality and was last operationally assigned to the Mechanized Bri ...

12th Artillery Regiment "Savona" The 12th Artillery Regiment "Savona" () is an inactive field artillery regiment of the Italian Army, which was based in Vacile in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The regiment was formed in 1884 by the Royal Italian Army. During World War I the regiment s ...

** 26th Artillery Regiment "Pavia" ** 55th Artillery Regiment "Brescia" ** various machine gun battalions ** XX Corps, HQ in

Giovanni Berta Giovanni Berta (August 24, 1894 – February 28, 1921) was an Italian fascist militant of the Florentine ''Squadrismo'', later killed by communist militants during the Pignone clashes in Florence. Biography Giovanni Francesco Berta, known as Gian ...

(today Al Qubbah),

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 gene ...

Ferdinando Cona ***

60th Infantry Division "Sabratha" The 60th Infantry Division "Sabratha" () was an infantry Division (military), division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Sabratha was raised in May 1937, in Gharyan in Italian Libya and named after the nearby ancient Roman Empire ...

( Derna) ** Libyan Divisions Group, HQ in

, Generale di Corpo d'Armata Sebastiano Gallina *** 1st Libyan Division ( Al Maktilah) *** 2nd Libyan Division ( Tummar) *** 4th CC.NN. Division "3 Gennaio" (Sidi Barrani) *** 2nd Tank Group, Colonel Antonio Trivioli **** II Tank Battalion "M" (minus one company; M11/39 tanks) **** LXI Tank Battalion "L" (

L3/35 The L3/35, also known as the Carro Veloce CV-35, was an Italian tankette that saw combat before and during World War II. It was one of the smallest tanks that faced combat. Although designated a light tank by the Italian Army, its turretless con ...

tankettes) ***

( Nibeiwa) **** Mixed Tank Battalion (1x M11/39 company, 1x

company) ** XXI Corps, HQ in Sofafi, Generale di Corpo d'Armata Lorenzo Dalmazzo *** 63rd Infantry Division "Cirene" ( Rabia / Sofafi) ***

64th Infantry Division "Catanzaro" The 64th Infantry Division "Catanzaro" () was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The division was activated on 3 June 1940 and named for the Southern Italian city of Catanzaro. The division's regimental depots we ...

(

Buq Buq The labor camp at Buq Buq was a forced labor camp for Libyan Jews, operated by Italy between August and November 1942 at the Egyptian-Libyan border in Buq Buq () in Egypt's Matrouh Governorate. The camp was established in the context of the Axis ...

) *** XX Tank Battalion "L" (

tankettes) *** LX Tank Battalion "L" (minus one company; L3/35 tankettes) *** LXIII Tank Battalion "L" (L3/35 tankettes) ** XXII Corps, HQ in

, Generale di Corpo d'Armata

Enrico Pitassi Mannella Enrico Pitassi Mannella (Cerignola, 31 May 1882 – Rome, 1948) was an Italian general during World War II. An artillery specialist, he was known among his colleagues as the "King of Artillerymen". Biography He was born in Cerignola, in the ...

***

61st Infantry Division "Sirte" The 61st Infantry Division "Sirte" () was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The division was formed on 9 May 1937 in Misrata in Italian Libya and named for the Libyan city of Sirte. The division's regimental dep ...

(Tobruk) *** 1st Tank Group, Colonel Pietro Aresca **** I Tank Battalion "M" ( M11/39 tanks) **** XXI Tank Battalion "L" (

tankettes) **** LXII Tank Battalion "L" (L3/35 tankettes) *** Fortress and artillery troops in Tobruk ** XXIII Corps, HQ in

, Generale di Corpo d'Armata

*** 1st CC.NN. Division "23 Marzo" (along the coast between Buq Buq and Sidi Barrani) *** 2nd CC.NN. Division "28 Ottobre" (

Sollum Sallum ( various transliterations include ''El Salloum'', ''As Sallum'' or ''Sollum'') is a harbourside village or town in Egypt. It is along the Egypt/Libyan short north–south aligned coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the far northwest corner o ...

) *** 62nd Infantry Division "Marmarica" (covering the escarpment between Sofafi and

Halfaya Halfaya (, also spelled Helfaya) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located about 25 kilometers northwest of Hama. Nearby localities include Mahardah and Shaizar to the west, al-Lataminah and Kafr Zita to ...

) *** Frontier Guards and Fortress troops in Bardia **

Regia Aeronautica The Royal Italian Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') (RAI) was the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Regio Esercito, Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was ...

(as of 10 June 1940) *** 5th Squadron General Felip Porro **** 2 Stormo: 60 CR.32, 25 CR.42 **** 10 Stormo: 31 SM.79 **** 14 Stormo: 43 SM.81, 12 SM.79, 1 BR.20 **** 15 Stormo: 21 SM.81, 37 SM.79, 3 BR.20 **** 33 Stormo: 31 SM.79 **** 50 Stormo: 68 Ba.65, 17 Ro.17, 23 Ca.31 **** 10 Gruppo: 27 CR.42 *** Colonial Garrison **** 1 Gruppo: 32 Ghibli **** 2 Gruppo: 27 various models *** Air Observation **** 64 Gruppo: 5 RO 1 Bis, 9 Ro.37 Bis **** 73 Gruppo: 1 Ro.1 Bis, 8 Ro.37 Bis **** 143 (Sea) Squadron: 6 Cant Z.501 (

flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...

References

{{Large formations of Italy in World War II Field armies of Italy in World War I Field armies of Italy in World War II