The 3rd Army () was a

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

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 ...

field army 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 ...

and the only army-level command of the

Italian Army The Italian Army ( []) is the Army, land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China and Italo-Turkish War, Libya. It ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

World War I

At the start of the participation of Italy in World War I (May 1915), the 3rd Army occupied the southern part of the

Isonzo Front The Battles of the Isonzo (also known as the Isonzo Front by historians, or the Soča Front - ) were a series of twelve battles between the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I mostly on the territory of present-day Slovenia, and ...

. It was commanded by

Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta Prince Emanuele Filiberto Vittorio Eugenio Alberto Genova Giuseppe Maria di Savoia, 2nd Duke of Aosta (Spanish: ''Manuel Filiberto''; 13 January 1869 – 4 July 1931) was an Italian general and member of the House of Savoy, as the son of Amadeo ...

and consisted of the * VI Corps (Lieutenant General Carlo Ruelle), * VII Corps (Lieutenant General Vincenzo Garioni), * XI Corps (Lieutenant General Giorgio Cigliana). The 3rd Army participated in all eleven

Battles of the Isonzo The Battles of the Isonzo (also known as the Isonzo Front by historians, or the Soča Front - ) were a series of twelve battles between the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I mostly on the territory of present-d ...

(1914–1917). It withdrew in relative good order during the Caporetto disaster of October 1917 and played a leading role in the final victory offensive a year later. This gave it its name "La Armata Invitta" ("The undefeated Army"). The 3rd Army would go on to participate in the

Second Battle of the Piave River The Second Battle of the Piave River (or Battle of the Solstice), fought between 15 and 23 June 1918, was a decisive victory for the Italian Army against the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I, as Italy was part of the Allied Forces, whi ...

and 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 ...

. There is a museum of the 3rd Army in

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

World War II

On 6 June 1940, the 3rd Army was formed and based in Southern Italy, Sicily and Sardinia. It was disbanded on 20 December 1940. Its commander was General

Carlo Geloso Carlo Geloso (20 August 1879 – 23 July 1957) was an Italian general during the Second World War. In 1939, he assumed command of the Italian forces in Albania. In 1940, he served as commander of the 11th Army during the Greco-Italian War. He w ...

Cold War

As a founding member of NATO Italy was obliged to assign in case of war its military forces to NATO's integrated military command. While the

Italian Air Force The Italian Air Force (; AM, ) is the air force of the Italy, Italian Republic. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, King Victor Emmanuel III as the ("Royal Air Force ...

would have come under Fifth Allied Tactical Air Force (5 ATAF) in

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

, the Italian Army would have come under

Allied Land Forces Southern Europe Allied Land Forces Southern Europe (LANDSOUTH) was a military command of NATO's Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH) command. Based in Verona in Northern Italy LANDSOUTH was tasked with defending Italy north of the Apennine Mountains against ...

(LANDSOUTH) in

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

. However tensions between Italy and

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

over the

Free Territory of Trieste The Free Territory of Trieste was an independent territory in Southern Europe between Italy and SFR Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia, facing the north part of the Adriatic Sea, under United Nations Security Council Resolution 16, direct responsibility of ...

were high and as Yugoslavia was not a

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

member any conflict between the countries would have likely not involved NATO. Therefore on 1 May 1952 the Italian Army re-activated the 3rd Army in

to be able to circumvent NATO's chain of command in case a war would break out between Italy and

. 3rd Army duplicated the functions of LANDSOUTH with a purely Italian staff. To not violate NATO's integrated military command Italy described 3rd Army in all official documents as "the command designated "3rd Army"". On the same date as the command designated "3rd Army" the army also activated two corps commands: the IV Army Corps in

Bolzano Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

and V Army Corps in

Vittorio Veneto Vittorio Veneto is a city and ''comune'' situated in the Province of Treviso, in the region of Veneto, Italy, in the Cardinal direction, northeast of Italy, between the Piave and the Livenza rivers, borders with the following municipalities: Alpa ...

, followed by the VI Army Corps in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

in 1956 and the III Army Corps in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

in 1957. During peacetime the corps' were assigned to the army's General Staff in Rome, while during wartime, depending on who the enemy would have been, the corps would have been assigned either to 3rd Army or LANDSOUTH. However with the easing of tensions between Italy and Yugoslavia, which culminated in the division of the Trieste Free Territory with the

Treaty of Osimo The Treaty of Osimo was signed on 10 November 1975 by Italy and Yugoslavia in Osimo, Italy, to definitively divide the Free Territory of Trieste between the two states: the port city of Trieste with a narrow coastal strip to the north-west (Zon ...

, the army decided to disband the command designated "3rd Army", along with VI Army Corps on 31 March 1972, with all the functions of higher command resting with LANDSOUTH from that date onward.

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 Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1940 Military units and formations established in 1952 Military units and formations disestablished in 1972