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

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

, who was Chief of Staff of the

Italian army The Italian Army ( []) is the Army, land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China and Italo-Turkish War, Libya. It ...

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. An important agricultural, commercial, and industrial ''comune'' and city, Caserta is located 36 kilometres north of Naples on the edge of the Campanian p ...

, son of Michele and Maria Oberty; at a young age he enrolled into the Nunziatella military school, then he attended the Military Academy of Modena, becoming in 1870 an artillery officer. In 1887 he was named aide de camp of King Umberto I, then from 1893 to 1897 military attache to the Italian embassy in

Wien Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, 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 Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

and his

Waterloo campaign The Waterloo campaign, also known as the Belgian campaign (15 June – 8 July 1815) was fought between the French Army of the North (France), Army of the North and two War of the Seventh Coalition, Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied arm ...

, and one on the Battle of Custoza (1866), which drew praise even from abroad.

Chief of Staff

Pollio entered the Military academy in Naples (now the military high school) at the age of eight and became an officer in the artillery troop in April 1870. As a general staff officer, he distinguished himself through above-average performance. He wrote a number of books on previous European campaigns, which have been translated into several languages. In 1908 he became Chief of the General Staff. Due to the Italian obligations in the Triple Alliance and the simultaneous tensions with

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

in the wake of irredentism and the opposing Balkan policies of both states, Pollio was forced to plan a war on the side of Germany and Austria against France, as well as a war against Austria in the Alps. The same applied to his Austrian counterpart Conrad von Hötzendorf. Under Pollio, in cooperation with the German General Staff, plans were drawn up according to which, in the event of a war with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, several Italian divisions would be transferred by rail through Austrian territory to southern Baden, in order to advance towards

Besançon Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland. Capi ...

from there. An attack through the western Alps was classified as least successful. General Alberto Pollio died unexpectedly in July 1914. His successor was General

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

. He died on 1 July 1914, just as

World War I 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 ...

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 to Eleonora Gormasz, an Austrian noblewoman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollio, Alberto 1852 births 1914 deaths Chiefs of staff of the Italian Army Italian Army generals Italian military personnel of the Italo-Turkish War Members of the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy People from Caserta Nunziatella Military School alumni 20th-century Italian military personnel