After the defeat at the Battle of Sidi Barrani, XXII Corps took up defensive positions at Tobruk.
On 21 January 1941, the British attacked Tobruk and by the afternoon of the 23rd, the last Italian nuclei of resistance surrendered.
On 10 May 1942, a new XXII Corps was formed in Veneto to control the border with Yugoslavia.
In September 1942, the Corps was transferred to Piedmont and on 11 November, following the Anglo-American landing in French North Africa, the XXII Corps crossed the Italian-French armistice line and occupied Nice.
It remained as an occupation force in a large part of the Provence, until the Armistice of Cassibile of 10 September 1943, when the Corps was disarmed by the Germans and disbanded.