Complex sentence: The new corps was first subordinated to the Ministry of the Colonies and then to the Ministry of Italian Africa (then resisted by Alexander Lessona), and was this the first case in Italy of an Armed Forces employee coming from a civil ministry.
Split into simpler sentences: The new corps was first subordinated to the Ministry of the Colonies and then to the Ministry of Italian Africa (then resisted by Alexander Lessona). This was the first case in Italy of an Armed Forces employee coming from a civil ministry.