Alberto Ferrero (

Bricherasio Bricherasio (French: Briqueras) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin. Bricherasio borders the following municipalities: Angrogna, San Secondo di Pinerol ...

, 27 October 1885 –

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 ...

, 9 March 1969) 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

After entering the

Military Academy of Modena The Military Academy of Modena () is a military university in Modena, northern Italy. Located in the Ducal Palace of Modena in the historic center of the city, it was the first such military institution to be created in the world. The academy i ...

on 3 November 1905, he graduated as second lieutenant on 5 September 1907, assigned to the

3rd Alpini Regiment The 3rd Alpini Regiment () is a mountain warfare regiment of the Italian Army based in Pinerolo in Piedmont. The regiment belongs to the Italian Army's Alpini infantry speciality and is assigned to the Alpine Brigade "Taurinense". On 1 November 1 ...

. As a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

he participated 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 ...

with the "Fenestrelle" Alpini Battalion in

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika (, , after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between the 16th and 25th meridians east, including the Kufra District. The coastal region, als ...

in 1911-1912, and later in the

Dodecanese The Dodecanese (, ; , ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger and 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited. This island group generally define ...

, participating in the capture of Rhodes where he earned a

Bronze Medal of Military Valor The Bronze Medal of Military Valor () is an Italian medal for gallantry. It was established by Charles Albert of Sardinia on 26 March 1833, along with the higher ranking Gold Medal of Military Valor and Silver Medal of Military Valor, which were ...

. He then participated in the

Great 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 ...

with the

5th Alpini Regiment The 5th Alpini Regiment () is a mountain warfare regiment of the Italian Army based in Sterzing in South Tyrol. The regiment belongs to the Italian Army's Alpini infantry speciality and is assigned to the Alpine Brigade "Julia". On 1 November 18 ...

, as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and later

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 ...

(from 1917); in 1919-1920 he served in the 1st Alpini Regiment before being assigned to the Army Staff in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. After a long period of illness, he resumed service at the headquarters of the Army Corps of

in 1924; in 1926 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and then transferred to the War School, where he became a teacher. As a

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 ...

he commanded the 1st Alpini Regiment in 1933, and from 20 October 1936 he was the Head of the Services Office of the General Staff in Rome. After promotion to brigadier general in 1937 he became acting commander of the 4th Alpine Division "Cuneense" until 9 December 1938, when he was assigned to the Ministry of War. Following his promotion to major general on 10 June 1940, he returned to the command of the "Cuneense", participating in operations against France after Italy's entry into the

Second World War 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 ...

and then on the Greek-Albanian front from December 1940 to 16 March 1941, when he left this command to take on the post of Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces High Command of

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, receiving the surrender of the

Greek Army The Hellenic Army (, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term '' Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the largest of the three branches of the Hellenic Armed F ...

on the following 23 April, along with General

Alfred Jodl Alfred Josef Ferdinand Jodl (; born Alfred Josef Baumgärtler; 10 May 1890 – 16 October 1946) was a German Wehrmacht Heer, Army ''Generaloberst'' (the rank was equal to a four-star full general) and War crime, war criminal, who served as th ...

, after the German intervention. From 5 June 1941 he commanded the Higher Institute of War, and from 18 June 1942 he assumed command of the newly established XXIII Army Corps, stationed in

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

and the

Julian March The Julian March ( Croatian and ), also called Julian Venetia (; ; ; ), is an area of southern Central Europe which is currently divided among Croatia, Italy, and Slovenia.

(being promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

for war merit on 7 December 1942), until the proclamation of 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 ...

on 8 September 1943. After the proclamation of the armistice, he rejected offers local anti-Fascist volunteers to fight against the Germans (he claimed that he would have armed them, provided that they fought in uniform, but that both the uniforms and the weapons for them were kept in depots whose keys had been lost), entered into negotiations with the Germans and relocated his headquarters from

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

, which he deemed indefensible, to Cervignano and later to

San Donà di Piave San Donà di Piave (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Venice, Veneto, northern Italy. It is one of the historical main towns of the ''Eastern Veneto'' territory, although it was totally reconstructed in the early 1920s aft ...

. Trieste was then occupied without resistance, and Ferrero's 55,000 troops, left without orders, were disarmed and deported to Germany.L'Arena di Pola
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrero, Alberto 1885 births 1969 deaths Italian military personnel of World War II Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of the Italo-Turkish War Italian Army generals Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor