5th Army Corps (Italy)

5º Corpo d'armata 5th Army Corps
Active	1 April 1860 - 2013
Country	Italy
Branch	Italian Army
Role	Corps Command
Garrison/HQ	Vittorio Veneto

The 5th Army Corps was one of three corps the Italian Army fielded during the Cold War. Based in the regions of Veneto and Friuli-Venezia-Giulia the corps was the army's main combat force. The 5th Army Corps was arrayed close to the Yugoslavian border and tasked with meeting any Warsaw Pact forces that crossed the border. On the left flank of the corps the 4th Alpine Army Corps was tasked with blocking the Alpine passes and in the rear of the corps the 3rd Army Corps served as operational reserve. After the end of the Cold War the corps was reduced in size and on 1 October 1997 it became the 1st Defence Forces Command (COMFOD 1°). In 2013 the COMFOD 1° was disbanded and its function and brigades taken over by the 20th Infantry Division Friuli in Florence.

The history of the 5th Army Corps begins with Garibaldis Expedition of the Thousand. After Garibaldi scored victory after victory in his conquest of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia decided to march south to secure the conquered territory for himself and thus unite Italy. The V Army Corps was raised and marched south with the main Army were it fought in the battles of San Giuliano on 26 October 1860 and Garigliano on 29 October 1860 and participated in the siege of Gaeta.

After the war the corps was garrisoned in Florence, the capital of the newly united Italy. It commanded two elite divisions: the 1st Division of the Line in Florence and the 15th Division of the Line in Perugia. Both divisions were made up by Grenadier regiments.

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