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

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Early life

Guzzoni was a native of

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Italian Army

Guzzoni joined the

Italian Royal Army The Royal Italian Army ( it, Regio Esercito, , Royal Army) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Ma ...

('' 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 which was fought between Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy and Ethiopian Empire, Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethio ...

, Guzzoni was appointed

Governor of Eritrea List of Provincial, Colonial and Federal Heads of Eritrea (Dates in italics indicate ''de facto'' continuation of office.) List of rulers List of Ottoman governors of Egypt (1517–1805) * List of Ottoman governors of Egypt List of mon ...

. 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 (April 7–12, 1939) was a brief military campaign which was launched by the Kingdom of Italy against the Albanian Kingdom in 1939. The conflict was a result of the imperialistic policies of the Italian prime ...

and was Commander-in-Chief of the

Higher Forces Command Albania The XXVI Army Corps ( it, XXVI Corpo d'Armata) was an infantry corps of the Royal Italian Army during World War I, the Italian invasion of Albania, and the Greco-Italian War and the subsequent Italian occupation of Greece during World War II. Histo ...

in 1940. In June 1940, after Italy entered

, Guzzoni commanded the

Italian 4th Army The 4th Army ( it, 4ª Armata) was a World War I and World War II field army of the Royal Italian Army. World War I During World War I, the 4th Army was positioned between the Asiago plateau and the Carnic Alps. During the Caporetto disaster, it ...

during the invasion of France. On 29 November 1940, Guzzoni succeeded

Ubaldo Soddu Ubaldo Soddu (23 July 1883 – 25 July 1949) was an Italian military officer, who commanded the Italian Forces in the Greco-Italian War for a month. Soddu was born in Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an anc ...

as Under-Secretary of War and Deputy Chief of the Supreme General Staff. In 1943, Guzzoni was General Officer Commanding the 6th Army on

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and commander of the Axis 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.

External links

*http://www.generals.dk/general/Guzzoni/Alfredo/Italy.html * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guzzoni, Alfredo 1877 births 1965 deaths Military personnel from Mantua Italian generals History of 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

Early life

Italian Army

Armistice and prosecution

See also

External links