Alfredo Guzzoni (12 April 1877 – 15 April 1965) was an Italian military officer who served in both

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 ...

and

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 ...

Early life

Guzzoni was a native of

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Military career

Guzzoni joined the Italian Royal Army ('' Regio Esercito Italiano'') and fought in

. After the

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

, Guzzoni was appointed Governor of Eritrea. He served as governor from May 1936 until April 1937. In 1939, Guzzoni had a prominent role in the

Italian invasion of Albania The Italian invasion of Albania was a brief military campaign which was launched by Fascist Italy, Italy against Albanian Kingdom (1928–1939), Albania in 1939. The conflict was a result of the imperialistic policies of the Italian prime m ...

and was Commander-in-Chief of the Higher Forces Command Albania in 1940. In June 1940, after Italy entered

, Guzzoni commanded the Italian 4th Army during the invasion of France. On 29 November 1940, Guzzoni succeeded Ubaldo Soddu as Under-Secretary of War and Deputy Chief of the Supreme General Staff. In 1943, Guzzoni was General Officer Commanding the Italian 6th Army on

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

and commander of the

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

troops on Sicily during the Allied invasion of the island. The German–Italian resistance lasted 37 days before the evacuation of the island.

Armistice and prosecution

After the Italian armistice of September 1943, Fascist republican soldiers captured general Guzzoni, but he avoided execution thanks to the help of some German officers who appreciated his role during the defense of Sicily.

Notes and references

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guzzoni, Alfredo 1877 births 1965 deaths Military personnel from Mantua Italian Army generals People of Italian Eritrea People of former Italian colonies Italian protectorate of Albania (1939–1943) Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War Italian military personnel of World War II People of the Greco-Italian War

Early life

Military career

Armistice and prosecution

Notes and references

See also

External links