Alberto Pollio (21 April 1852 – 1 July 1914) was an Italian

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

, who was Chief of Staff of the

Italian army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

from 1908 to his death.

Life and early career

Pollio was born in

Caserta Caserta () is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial, and industrial ''comune'' and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Camp ...

, son of Michele and Maria Oberty; at a young age he enrolled into the

Nunziatella military school The Nunziatella Military School of Naples, Italy, founded November 18, 1787 under the name of ''Royal Military Academy'' (it.: ''Reale Accademia Militare''), is the oldest Italian institution of military education among those still operating. Its b ...

, then he attended the

Military Academy of Modena The Military Academy of Modena ( it, Accademia militare di Modena) is a military university in Modena, northern Italy. Located in the Palazzo Ducale in the historic center of the city, it was the first such military institution to be created in ...

, becoming in 1870 an artillery officer. In 1887 he was named aide de camp of King

Umberto I Umberto I ( it, Umberto Rainerio Carlo Emanuele Giovanni Maria Ferdinando Eugenio di Savoia; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) was King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination on 29 July 1900. Umberto's reign saw Italy attempt colo ...

, then from 1893 to 1897 military attache to the Italian embassy in

Wien en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, then he was appointed commander of the ''Siena'' brigade and then of two different divisions of the Italian army. He wrote an essay on Napoleon and his

Waterloo campaign The Waterloo campaign (15 June – 8 July 1815) was fought between the French Army of the North and two Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied army and a Prussian army. Initially the French army was commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte, but he ...

, and one on the

Battle of Custoza (1866) The Battle of Custoza took place on the 24 June 1866 during the Third Italian War of Independence in the Italian unification process. The Austrian Imperial army, joined by the Venetian Army, jointly commanded by Archduke Albrecht of Habsbu ...

, which drew praise even from abroad.

Chief of Staff

In 1908, when the

Chief of Staff of the Italian Army The Chief of Staff of the Italian Army refers to the Chiefs of Staffs of the Royal Italian Army from 1882 to 1946 and the Italian Army from 1946 to the present. List of chiefs of staff Chiefs of Staff of the Royal Italian Army (1882–1946) ...

Tancredi Saletta Tancredi Saletta ( Turin, 27 June 1840 - Rome, 21 January 1909) was an Italian soldier, notable for his service in the early days of the Italian colony in Eritrea and for being Chief of Staff of the Italian Army from 1896 to 1908. Life Born i ...

retired, the position was offered to General

Luigi Cadorna Marshal of Italy Luigi Cadorna, (4 September 1850 – 21 December 1928) was an Italian general, Marshal of Italy and Count most famous for being the Chief of Staff of the Italian Army from 1914-1917 of World War I. Early career Luigi C ...

; however, he requested that his supreme authority be affirmed in peacetime as well as in wartime, and the leeway to appoint and release high officers at his discretion. This conditions proved unacceptable to the government and the First Adjutant of the King Roberto Brusati, and Pollio was named in his stead.Ibidem During his tenure he oversaw the Italian expedition in Libya; considered a supporter of the Triple Alliance, he was held in high esteem by his German and Austro-Hungarian counterparts, Helmut Von Moltke and

Conrad von Hötzendorf Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washingto ...

. Despite this, he also ordered new plans for mobilisation to be drawn in case of war against

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. He died on 1 July 1914, just as

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

was about to begin; the circumstances of his death have led some authors to claim that the apparently austrophile general was actually murdered, to make way for Cadorna, who succeeded him as Chief of Staff.

Personal life

Pollio was married with Eleonora Gormasz, an Austrian noblewoman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollio, Alberto 1852 births 1914 deaths Chiefs of Staff of the Italian Army Italian generals Italian military personnel of the Italo-Turkish War Members of the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy People from Caserta