Alberto De Agazio (

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

, 5 September 1888 – Schokken, 1 October 1943) was an Italian general during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Biography

He was born in Messina on 5 September 1888, the son of Alfonso De Agazio. In 1907 he enrolled at the Royal Military Academy of Artillery and Engineers in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, graduating on 4 September 1908 with the rank of artillery second lieutenant, assigned to the 7th Field Artillery Regiment. In 1912 he took part in the

Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...

, and from 1915 to 1918 he fought in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, reaching the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

of the 19th Field Artillery Regiment in 1918 and distinguishing himself during the fighting on Monte Asolone and

Monte Grappa Monte Grappa () (1,775 m) is a mountain of the Venetian Prealps in Veneto, Italy. It lies between the Venetian plain to the south and the central alpine areas to the north. To the west, it is parted from the Asiago upland by the Brenta river, a ...

between December 18, 1917 and on June 15, 1918, for which he was awarded a

Silver Medal of Military Valor The Silver Medal of Military Valor () is an Italian medal for gallantry. Italian medals for valor were first instituted by Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia on 21 May 1793, with a gold medal, and, below it, a silver medal. These were intended for j ...

. After the end of the war he continued service with the 19th Field Artillery Regiment until 7 November 1920, when he was transferred to the 3rd Heavy Field Artillery Regiment. From 22 April 1922 he was transferred to the Central Artillery School of

Bracciano Bracciano is a small town in the Italian region of Lazio, northwest of Rome. The town is famous for its volcanic lake (Lake Bracciano, Lago di Bracciano or "Sabatino", the eighth largest lake in Italy) and for a particularly well-preserved medie ...

. After promotion to lieutenant colonel on 1 December 1926, he was assigned to the Artillery Inspectorate in Rome, staying there for several years He participated in the

Second Italo-Ethiopian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression waged by Fascist Italy, Italy against Ethiopian Empire, Ethiopia, which lasted from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is oft ...

, commanding the 1st Mobile Artillery Group and distinguishing himself during the battle of the Endertà, for which he obtained promotion to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

for merits of war, which took place on February 16, 1936, and the title of Knight of the

Colonial Order of the Star of Italy The Colonial Order of the Star of Italy ( ) was founded as a colonial order of chivalry on 18 June 1914 by Italian King Victor Emmanuel III, to reward soldiers deployed to the colony of Libya. The order had fallen into abeyance by 1943, when Al ...

. He then became commander of the 7th Army Corps Artillery Regiment in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

until 1 September 1938, when he was assigned to the headquarters of the VII Army Corps. On 1 December of the same year he returned to the Artillery Inspectorate in Rome. He remained there until the occupation of Albania when, in April 1939, he was assigned as commander of the artillery of the XXVI Army Corps in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

. On 1 July 1940 he was promoted to brigadier general, and in the following three years he became commander of the artillery of the Albania Armed Forces High Command and later (in 1943) commander of the artillery of the Ninth Army. On August 2, 1943, he was promoted to the rank of major general. On 12 September 1943 he was captured by the Germans following the

Armistice of Cassibile The Armistice of Cassibile ( Italian: ''Armistizio di Cassibile'') was an armistice that was signed on 3 September 1943 by Italy and the Allies, marking the end of hostilities between Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was made public ...

and transferred to Oflag 64/Z in Schokken,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, where he suddenly died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on the night of his arrival, on 1 October 1943. He was buried in the cemetery of Salka, near a small church and the wood next to the camp, after a solemn funeral ceremony which was also attended by the German command of the prisoner-of-war camp.I militari italiani nei campi di concentramento del Terzo Reich
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Agazio, Alberto 1888 births 1943 deaths Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel killed in World War II Italian Army generals Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Italian prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany