Army Group East

Army Group East, officially known in Italian as Gruppo d'Armate Est, was a high-level command of the Royal Italian Army during the Second World War. It was not a commercial brand or business, but a military headquarters responsible for coordinating several Italian armies and subordinate commands. Its history falls into two distinct phases: an initial organization created before Italy entered the war, and a later command established during the military and political crisis of 1943. The first Army Group East was formed on 1 September 1939, shortly after the outbreak of the European war. Its headquarters were initially in Rome, and its stated purpose was to direct anticipated military operations in northeastern Italy, particularly in relation to the Yugoslav frontier. Marshal of Italy Rodolfo Graziani served as its first commander. When Graziani became Chief of Staff of the Royal Italian Army on 3 November 1939, General Camillo Grossi succeeded him, and the headquarters moved to Cervignano del Friuli. This first incarnation was organized around the Second Army, the Army of the Po, and the Eighth Army. The Second Army was positioned along the Yugoslav border, the Army of the Po was stationed in Lombardy, and the Eighth Army covered areas between Veneto and Romagna. Italy entered the Second World War on 10 June 1940. Army Group East existed at that moment as a major territorial and operational command, but it did not conduct a distinct campaign. Approximately one month after Italy's entry into the war, the command was dissolved without having participated in combat operations. Its first existence therefore represented preparation and coordination rather than an independent battlefield record. The command was recreated on 15 May 1943 as the unified headquarters for Italian forces deployed across the Balkans and the Aegean. This re-formation reflected the deteriorating Axis strategic situation and the expectation that Allied forces might land in southeastern Europe. General Ezio Rosi became commander, and headquarters were established in Tirana, Albania. The reconstituted Army Group East controlled the Second Army in Dalmatia and Montenegro, the Eleventh Army in Greece, and the Ninth Army in Albania. It also incorporated the Armed Forces Command of the Aegean, based in Rhodes and led by Admiral Inigo Campioni. These forces had responsibilities that combined conventional defense with occupation duties, including operations against local resistance movements. The command's structure changed during the summer of 1943. In August, the Eleventh Army was transferred to German Army Group E, reducing the Italian headquarters' direct control over forces in Greece. The situation became critical after the Armistice of Cassibile, announced in September 1943, which ended Italy's formal military alliance with Germany. During Operation Achse, German forces moved to disarm and neutralize Italian formations throughout the Balkans. On 11 September, General Rosi and the staff of Army Group East were captured at their headquarters in Tirana. The command consequently ceased to function as an effective organization in September 1943. After the armistice, many Italian soldiers in the Balkans were disarmed, captured, and transported to Germany as Italian military internees. Other units and individuals resisted German demands. German suppression included the destruction of the Acqui Division on Kefalonia and other violent actions against Italian personnel. Some soldiers avoided capture by reaching Italy across the Adriatic or by joining Yugoslav, Greek, or Albanian partisan movements. Army Group East thus ended not through a normal administrative transfer, but amid the collapse of the Italian military position and the German occupation of former Italian areas.

Army Group East was a senior command of the Royal Italian Army during the Second World War. Its first formation began on 1 September 1939, when Italy was not yet formally at war. The headquarters was established in Rome under Marshal of Italy Rodolfo Graziani, with responsibility for preparing and directing potential operations in northeastern Italy, especially along the frontier with Yugoslavia. Graziani left the post after being appointed Chief of Staff of the Royal Italian Army on 3 November 1939. General Camillo Grossi replaced him, and the headquarters was transferred to Cervignano del Friuli. At the time of Italy's declaration of war on 10 June 1940, the command included three major formations. The Second Army, led by General Vittorio Ambrosio, was deployed along the Yugoslav border. The Army of the Po, commanded by General Mario Vercellino, was stationed in Lombardy. The Eighth Army, under General Adalberto of Savoy-Genova, covered positions between Veneto and Romagna. Despite this organization, the command did not lead a separate operation before being dissolved roughly one month after Italy entered the war. Army Group East was revived on 15 May 1943 amid the deteriorating Axis position in southeastern Europe. The new headquarters was based in Tirana and commanded by General Ezio Rosi. Its mission was broader and more urgent than that of the original formation: it coordinated Italian forces in the Balkans, supported the suppression of local resistance movements, and prepared for possible Allied landings. The re-formed command included the Second Army in Dalmatia and Montenegro, the Eleventh Army in Greece, and the Ninth Army in Albania. The Armed Forces Command of the Aegean, headquartered in Rhodes and led by Admiral Inigo Campioni, was also part of the command structure. The organization was weakened in August 1943 when the Eleventh Army was transferred to German Army Group E. Following the Armistice of Cassibile in September, German forces initiated Operation Achse to disarm Italian formations and occupy strategic areas formerly controlled by Italy. Rosi and the Army Group East staff were captured at Tirana on 11 September. The headquarters ceased to exist during the same month. Many Italian soldiers were deported to Germany as military internees, while others resisted, escaped across the Adriatic, or joined partisan groups. The German response included severe reprisals, most notably the massacre of personnel from the Acqui Division. Army Group East's final history is therefore inseparable from the disintegration of Italy's wartime alliance with Germany and the collapse of Italian military authority in the Balkans.

• 1943

  Re-formed as Balkan command

  [1]Army Group East (Italy)en.wikipedia.org

  On 15 May, Army Group East was recreated in Tirana to coordinate Italian forces in Albania, Greece, Dalmatia, Montenegro, and the Aegean.

• 1943

  Eleventh Army transferred

  [1]Army Group East (Italy)en.wikipedia.org

  In August, the Eleventh Army was transferred to German Army Group E, reducing the re-formed command's responsibilities in Greece.

• 1943

  Final dissolution

  [1]Army Group East (Italy)en.wikipedia.org

  The command ceased to function in September after the Italian armistice, the German seizure of its headquarters, and the capture of General Ezio Rosi and his staff.

• 1940

  First formation dissolved

  [1]Army Group East (Italy)en.wikipedia.org

  The initial Army Group East was dissolved approximately one month after Italy entered the war, without conducting a separate war operation.

• 1939

  First formation

  [1]Army Group East (Italy)en.wikipedia.org

  The Royal Italian Army established Army Group East on 1 September with headquarters in Rome to prepare for operations in northeastern Italy.

• 1939

  Command transferred to Camillo Grossi

  [1]Army Group East (Italy)en.wikipedia.org

  After Rodolfo Graziani became army chief of staff on 3 November, General Camillo Grossi assumed command and the headquarters moved to Cervignano del Friuli.

A strategic military headquarters rather than a commercial brand. Its role was to coordinate Italian army formations and territorial commands in northeastern Italy and later across the Balkans and the Aegean.

• 1943

  Reorganization for Balkan defense and occupation dutiesStrategy

  Background

  The command was re-established as Allied pressure and resistance activity threatened Axis control in southeastern Europe.

  Action taken

  The Royal Italian Army placed its principal Balkan formations and the Aegean command under a unified headquarters in Tirana.

  Aftermath

  The Eleventh Army was transferred to German Army Group E in August, and the command collapsed after the September armistice and German disarmament operations.

  Source

1. 1Army Group East (Italy)en.wikipedia.org