The history of the 3rd Army Corps begins after the second Italian war of independence. Following the Italian-French victory over the Austrian Empire, the Kingdom of Sardinia annexed the Papal Legations in present-day Emilia Romagna. Thus on 1 April 1860 the 3rd Higher Military Command was activated as a territorial command in Parma and tasked to defend the newly acquired territory between the Trebbia and Panaro rivers, an area roughly corresponding with the historic Emilia region. The command consisted of the 5th, 8th and 12th division of the Line.