Alessandro Vaccaneo (14 July 1883 – 28 January 1945) 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 Garlasco,

province of Pavia The province of Pavia () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is Pavia. , the province has a population of 548,722 inhabitants and an area of ; the town of Pavia has a population of 72,205. History T ...

, on July 14, 1883, the son of Ruperto Vaccaneo and Maria Magnaghi. Having been initiated to a military career, he attended the Royal Military Academy of Infantry and Cavalry in

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

, graduating on 7 September 1903 with the rank of cavalry second lieutenant, assigned to the "Cavalleggeri di Piacenza" Regiment. After promotion to

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 was transferred to the 22nd "Cavalleggeri di Catania" Regiment on 10 September 1908. From March 16, 1911 he was transferred to the 16th "Cavalleggeri di Lucca" Regiment, while also becoming

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

of General Roberto Brusati, commander of the 1st Army Corps. After promotion to

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 ...

on March 31, 1915, he was transferred to the 24th "Cavalleggeri di Vicenza" Regiment with which he took part 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 ...

, being wounded in the battles on the

Karst plateau The Karst Plateau or the Karst region (, ), also locally called Karst, is a karst plateau region extending across the border of southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It lies between the Vipava Valley, the low hills surrounding the val ...

. At the end of the war, in 1919, he remained on leave for six months due to infirmities arising from service causes, after which he was assigned to the 16th "Cavalleggeri di Lucca" Regiment in

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, then to the 19th "Cavalleggeri Guide" Regiment and finally, from 24 October 1920 to the Army motor vehicle corps, initially in the depot of

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

then in the central direction of

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 ...

. Having become a

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 ...

in the 12th "Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo" Regiment, he was transferred to the 2nd Transport Group from 10 February 1924, and appointed judge at the Territorial Military Court of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, where he remained after promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel. On 1 November he was transferred 1926 to the 3rd Automobile Center. From May 22, 1927 he returned to the 14th "Cavalleggeri di Alessandria" Regiment, and from January 1, 1933, after passing briefly to the 5th "Lancieri di Novara" Regiment, he was transferred to an auxiliary position at the 1st Military Division of

. He then passed into service at the headquarters of the military zone of Turin and was then placed on leave starting from 10 May 1937. Having become

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 ...

on June 4, 1934, and definitively passed to the automobile corps on 1 January 1940 and remained in Turin, being promoted to brigadier general of the reserve on January 1, 1942. From May 1941 to January 1942 he was in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, in charge of motorized transport services, earning 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 ...

. From 10 January 1943 he became head of the motorized transport services of the intendency of the Armed Forces High Command of Greece ( 11th Army), with headquarters in Athens. There, after 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, he was captured by the Germans on 16 September and sent to Offizierlager 64 /Z of 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 ...

. When the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

reached the

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

in mid-January 1945, the Nazi command decided to evacuate the camp and transfer the internees to

Luckenwalde Luckenwalde (; Upper Sorbian language, Upper and , , ) is the capital of the Teltow-Fläming district in the state of Brandenburg in eastern Germany. It is situated on the Nuthe river north of the Fläming Heath, at the eastern rim of the Nuthe-Ni ...

, a town south of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Along with sixteen other prisoners (the weakest of the column, who were too exhausted to continue the march and made a stop with the permission of the German commander, who however refused to write a statement that they had been left behind with his consent rather than escaped), Vaccaneo stopped on the way, in

Kuźnica Żelichowska Kuźnica Żelichowska () is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Krzyż Wielkopolski, within Czarnków-Trzcianka County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It lies approximately north-east of Krzyż Wielkopolski, wes ...

, looking for food in a tavern; the group was however noticed by a

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

of the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

and reported to the SS. The latter rounded up the prisoners and forced them to resume the march, shooting those who were unable to keep pace with the main group; Vaccaneo was shot after slipping on ice, as he was trying to get back on his feet. Generals

Carlo Spatocco Carlo Spatocco (31 May 1883 – 28 January 1945) was an Italian general during World War II. Biography Spatocco was born in Chieti on 31 May 1883, the son of Francesco Spatocco, and after enlisting in the Royal Italian Army he participated i ...

, Emanuele Balbo Bertone, Alberto Trionfi, Giuseppe Andreoli and Ugo Ferrero were likewise executed nearby. Vaccaneo was buried by the locals in the village cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaccaneo, Alessandro 1883 births 1945 deaths Italian Army generals Italian military personnel of World War I Italian people executed abroad Italian people executed by Nazi Germany Italian prisoners of war in World War II Royal Italian Army personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Executed military leaders People executed by Nazi Germany occupation forces People executed by Nazi Germany by firearm Deaths by firearm in Poland World War II prisoners of war held by Germany