Benvenuto Gioda (16 February 1886 – 25 February 1943) 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

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 ...

on February 16, 1886, the son of Carlo Gioda and Carolina Sanchioli. After enlisting in the

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army () (RE) 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 Manfredo Fanti signed a decree c ...

on November 3, 1904, he entered the Royal

Military Academy of Modena The Military Academy of Modena () is a military university in Modena, northern Italy. Located in the Ducal Palace of Modena in the historic center of the city, it was the first such military institution to be created in the world. The academy i ...

as an

officer cadet Officer cadet is a rank held by military personnel during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by personnel of University Service Units such as the University Officers' Training Corps. Th ...

, graduating with the rank of second lieutenant in the

Alpini The Alpini are the Italian Army's specialist mountain infantry. Part of the army's infantry corps, the speciality distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. Currently the active Alpini units are organized in two operati ...

Corps on September 14, 1906. With the rank of

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 ...

and later of

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 ...

he took part in the

Italian-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 ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

(participating in the battles of Ain Zara in December 1911 and of Sidi Said in June 1912), with the

3rd Alpini Regiment The 3rd Alpini Regiment () is a mountain warfare regiment of the Italian Army based in Pinerolo in Piedmont. The regiment belongs to the Italian Army's Alpini infantry speciality and is assigned to the Alpine Brigade "Taurinense". On 1 November 1 ...

, being awarded 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 bronze medal for military valor. He then 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

5th Alpini Regiment The 5th Alpini Regiment () is a mountain warfare regiment of the Italian Army based in Sterzing in South Tyrol. The regiment belongs to the Italian Army's Alpini infantry speciality and is assigned to the Alpine Brigade "Julia". On 1 November 18 ...

, being promoted to

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 ...

and then to lieutenant colonel; after the end of the war, in November 1919, he was assigned to the General Staff. From 10 March 1922 to September 1923, he was a teacher at the Military School of Modena, and from 21 October 1923, he was transferred to the 4th Alpini Regiment. After promotion to colonel on 5 October 1928, he was given command of the 24th Infantry Regiment "Como" in 1930 and then of the

8th Alpini Regiment The 8th Alpini Regiment () is a mountain warfare regiment of the Italian Army based in Venzone in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The regiment belongs to the Italian Army's Alpini infantry speciality and is assigned to the Alpine Brigade "Julia". On 1 ...

. On 4 January 1934, he was placed at the disposal of 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, and from 1 May 1934 to 1 August 1935 he was deputy commander of the Infantry Application School in

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, ...

. He was then appointed deputy commander of the 5th CC.NN. Division "1 Febbraio", with which he left for

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

on November 3, 1935, participating in the conquest of Ethiopia, where he earned a second Silver Medal for Military Valor and the Knight's Cross of the

Military Order of Savoy The Military Order of Savoy was a military honorary order of the Kingdom of Sardinia first, and of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946), Kingdom of Italy later. Following the abolition of the Italian monarchy, the order became the Military Order of ...

. On 1 January 1937, he was promoted to brigadier general for exceptional merits, and in the following July, he returned to Italy, becoming commander of the Royal Military Academy of Modena from 23 September 1937 to 15 December 1939. He was promoted to major general on June 30, 1939, and from 1 January 1940, he assumed command of the

4th Infantry Division Livorno Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

, which after Italy’s entrance into

on 10 June of the same year, fought against French troops on the western Alpine front. From 1 November 1941, after having left the command of the "Livorno" Division to General

Domenico Chirieleison Domenico Chirieleison (Asti, 26 December 1888 – Rome, 1972) was an Italian general during World War II. Biography He was born in Asti on December 26, 1888, from a family hailing from Messina. He enlisted in the Royal Italian Army in 1905, ...

, he was assigned to the High Command of the Italian Armed Forces 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 ...

, and on 12 December he assumed the Command of the X Army Corps, participating in

Operation Crusader Operation Crusader (18 November – 30 December 1941) was a military operation of the Western Desert campaign during World War II by the British Eighth Army (with Commonwealth, Indian and Allied contingents) against the Axis forces (German and ...

, the

battle of Gazala The Battle of Gazala, also the Gazala Offensive (Italian language, Italian: ''Battaglia di Ain el-Gazala'') was fought near the village of Gazala during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, f ...

, the

battle of Mersa Matruh The Battle of Mersa Matruh was fought from 26 to 29 June 1942, following the defeat of the Eighth Army (United Kingdom), Eighth Army (General Sir Claude Auchinleck) at the Battle of Gazala and was part of the Western Desert Campaign of the Secon ...

and the

First Battle of El Alamein The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert campaign of World War II, fought in Egypt between Axis (German and Italian) forces of the Panzer Army Africa—which included the under Field Marshal Erwin ...

. On 16 August 1942, after some disagreements with German general

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (; 15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944), popularly known as The Desert Fox (, ), was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal) during World War II. He served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of ...

, he left the command of the X Corps (being replaced by General

Federico Ferrari Orsi Federico Ferrari Orsi (Rivoli, Piedmont, Italy, 18 December 1886 – Egypt, 18 October 1942) was a general in the Royal Italian Army during World War II. He was one of the founders of Torino Football Club and played as a defender in the 1907 s ...

) and was attached to Delease for special assignments until 5 September 1942, when he was repatriated. He was then assigned to the headquarters of the newly established

XIX Army Corps The XIX Army Corps (German language, German: ''XIX. Armeekorps'') was an Panzer corps, armored corps of the Nazi Germany, German Wehrmacht between 1 July 1939 and 16 November 1940, when the unit was renamed Panzer Group 2 (German: ''Panzergrupp ...

(stationed in

South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...

), located in

Bolzano Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

, becoming its commander on the following 29 October, after promotion 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 suddenly died in Bolzano on 25 February 1943, at the age of 57.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gioda, Benvenuto 1886 births 1943 deaths Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of World War II Italian Army generals Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor