Armando Pescatori (

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

, 11 February 1884 –

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, ...

, 23 August 1957) 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 ...

. Among Italy's most experienced generals in colonial warfare, he is noted for leading the 2nd Libyan Division also known as the "Pescatori Division".

Biography

Pescatori was born in

on 11 February 1884, the son of Francesco Pescatori. On 14 September 1904 he began to attend 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 ...

. He graduated with the rank of infantry second lieutenant on 5 September 1907 and was assigned to the 4th Infantry Regiment "Piemonte". 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 ...

on 5 September 1910, 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 ...

(1911-1912) and in the subsequent counterguerrilla operations in Libya from 1912 to 1915, being decorated with a

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

and two bronze medals of military valor. He then returned to Italy and participated 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 ...

with the rank of captain (with the 3rd Infantry Regiment "Piemonte") 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 ...

. He distinguished himself at the command of a battalion of the 221st Infantry Regiment "Iono", and was awarded another bronze medal for military valor, subsequently transformed into a silver medal, for an action on the Tagliamento on November 4, 1918, during the battle of Vittorio Veneto. Between 1920 and 1921 he attended the Army War School in

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 ...

, and during the next decade he served in Italy's African colonies, becoming an officer of the Royal Corps of Colonial Troops of Cyrenaica. In 1923-1924 he was briefly in command of a battalion of the 48th Infantry Regiment "Ferrara" in

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

. On February 5, 1928, he was promoted to staff lieutenant colonel and returned to Italy, where he was assigned to the

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

Army Corps, for special assignments. On 14 September 1931 he was promoted to

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 ...

and became teacher of colonial operations at the War School in Turin from 1931 to 1934, after which he commanded the 90th Infantry Regiment "Salerno" from 1934 to 1937. On 20 May 1937 he returned to Cyrenaica as deputy commander of the 62nd Infantry Division Marmarica (under the command of General Angelo Rossi), then stationed in

Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclop� ...

, with the post of deputy commander. He retained this post after his promotion to brigadier general on 1 July 1937 and until 10 April 1939, when he was transferred to the Armed Forces High Command of

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 Tripoli. On 1 March 1940, due to his deep colonial knowledge, he was given command of the new 2nd Libyan Division, composed of two groups of Libyan infantry (the 3rd and 4th) with three battalions each, a group of Libyan artillery on three batteries of 77/28 mm guns, two batteries of 20/65 Mod. 1935 machine guns, a company of 47/32 anti-tank guns, a battalion of engineers and various divisional services. The officers and specialized cadres were Italian, while the majority of the troops were Libyan. The division was also known as the "Pescatori" Division, after its commander. The commander of the 1st Division was General Luigi Sibille. These troops, which were also known as ''Regio Corpo Truppe Libiche'', were intended to take part in the Italian invasion of Egypt. During 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 ...

, Italy declared war on 10 June 1940, Pescatori was still in command of the 2nd Libyan Division; on 1 July he was promoted to Major General, and on 16 September he participated in the conquest of Sidi Barrani in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. He then settled in two camps at Tummar with his troops until 10 December 1940, when his division was overwhelmed and defeated by British troops during

Operation Compass Operation Compass (also ) was the first large British military operation of the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) during the Second World War. British metropolitan, Imperial and Commonwealth forces attacked the Italian and Libyan forces of ...

and he was captured and sent to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

, being held in the Dehradun generals' POW camp until 1945. In June 1947, Pescatori was part of the monarchist movement and was associated with Marshal Giovanni Messe, who was a contender for the movement's leadership. After being repatriated, he was awarded the Officer Cross of the Military Order of Italy and 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 ...

; he settled in Rome and became president of the local Officer's Club from 1947 to 1950. He died in the capital on 23 August 1957, at the age of 73.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pescatori, Armando 1884 births 1957 deaths Italian military personnel of World War II Italian military personnel of World War I Italian Army generals Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor