11th Army (Italy)

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11th Army
11ª Armata
Active9 November 1940 – September 1943
Country 
Italian occupation of Greece

The 11th Army (

Greco-Italian War, and after the German invasion of Greece and the capitulation of that country in April 1941, assumed occupation duties in the Greek mainland. It remained on station in Greece until the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943, when it was forcibly disbanded
by the Germans.

History

It was formed on 9 November 1940 out of the 11th Army Corps, then based in

fall of Greece
in April 1941.

Occupation of Greece

Thereafter, the Eleventh Army assumed duties of occupation in Greece, headquartered in

Lasithi Prefecture on Crete and the bulk of the Cyclades came under the Higher Armed Forces Command of the Italian Islands of the Aegean at Rhodes.[1] Apart from the units of the Eleventh Army, the Higher Armed Forces Command Greece also included the Air Force Command Greece (Comando Aeronautica Grecia), and the Western Greece Naval Military Command (Comando Militare Marittimo della Grecia Occidentale) at Patras.[2]

In April 1943, an assessment of the combat readiness of the Eleventh Army's eight remaining divisions in terms of armament and means of transport found only one—the

33rd Infantry Division Acqui were classed as "complete", with the remainder as "effective".[4] The situation remained largely the same during another review of their combat readiness in June.[5]

It was

Italian capitulation
.

Orders of battle

August 1941

11th Army (Italy) is located in Greece
VIII
VIII
29
29
51
51
59
59
3
3
XXVI
XXVI
33
33
56
56
37
37
III
III
11
11
24
24
36
36
class=notpageimage|
Order of battle of the Eleventh Army in August 1941, coloured by Army Corps. The distribution of units would remain essentially unchanged for the duration of the Italian occupation, except for the departure of the 3rd Julia Alpine Division in 1942 and 51st Siena Division's transfer to Crete.[6]

During the first months of its occupation of Greece, Eleventh Army comprised the following units:[7]

Spring 1943

In spring 1943, Eleventh Army comprised the following units:[10]

  • III Army Corps (Volos)
    • 24th Pinerolo Infantry Division
      (Trikala)
    • 36th Forlì Infantry Division
      (Larissa)
  • VIII Army Corps (Xylokastro)
    • 29th Piemonte Infantry Division
      (Patras)
    • 59th Cagliari Infantry Division
      (Tripoli)
  • XXVI Army Corps (Ioannina)
    • 37th Modena Infantry Division
      (Ioannina)
    • 56th Casale Infantry Division
      (Agrinion)
  • 11th Brennero Infantry Division (Athens), as general reserve under direct command of Eleventh Army[6]
  • 33rd Acqui Infantry Division (Corfu), as garrison of the Ionian Islands[6]

Commanders

References

  1. ^ a b Bregantin 2010, p. 97.
  2. ^ Bregantin 2010, pp. 111–113.
  3. ^ Bregantin 2010, pp. 266–267.
  4. ^ Bregantin 2010, p. 267.
  5. ^ Bregantin 2010, pp. 267–268.
  6. ^ a b c d Bregantin 2010, p. 266 (note 351).
  7. ^ Bregantin 2010, pp. 108–109, 118.
  8. ^ Bregantin 2010, p. 108.
  9. ^ Bregantin 2010, pp. 108–109.
  10. ^ Bregantin 2010, p. 266.

Sources

  • Bregantin, Lisa (2010). L'occupazione dimenticata. Gli italiani in Grecia 1941-1943 (PhD) (in Italian). Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia.
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