Camillo Mercalli (

Savona Savona (; ) is a seaport and (municipality) in the west part of the northern Italian region of Liguria, and the capital of the Province of Savona. Facing the Ligurian Sea, Savona is the main center of the Riviera di Ponente (the western se ...

, 18 July 1882 –

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 ...

, 13 November 1974) 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

on 18 July 1882, the son of Antonio Mercalli and Gabriella Marchesi Massimino, and 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 ...

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 ...

, where he was awarded 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 ...

for having distinguished himself during the battle of Psitos, in

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

, on May 16, 1912. He then fought during 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 ...

, where he was decorated with a

War Cross for Military Valor The War Cross for Military Valor () is an Italian order for military valor. Established in 1922, the cross may be awarded only in time of war. Appearance The medal is a Greek cross made of copper. Inscribed on the horizontal arms is ''Al Val ...

. Between 1919 and 1923 he was a tactical instructor at the Army War School in

. On 5 September 1934 he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, and became commander of the "Superga" Infantry Brigade. In 1937 he became Chief of Staff of the 1st Infantry Division "Superga", being promoted to Major General on 1 July of the same year; in 1938 he assumed command of the 26th Infantry Division Assietta. On 21 December 1939 he assumed command of the

IV Corps 4 Corps, 4th Corps, Fourth Corps, or IV Corps may refer to: France * 4th Army Corps (France) * IV Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * IV Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperi ...

, being 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 ...

on 1 January 1940. He was at the head of the IV Corps, part of the 4th Army of General

Alfredo Guzzoni Alfredo Guzzoni (12 April 1877 – 15 April 1965) was an Italian military officer who served in both World War I and World War II. Early life Guzzoni was a native of Mantua, Italy. Military career Guzzoni joined the Italian Royal Army ('' Re ...

, when Italy entered 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 ...

. With the IV Corps, Mercalli participated in the campaign against France, and then in the war against Greece, earning two Silver Medals of Military Valor for his behaviour during the Greek offensive in January and during the final Italian offensive in April 1941. He was then replaced by General Carlo Spatocco at the head of the IV Corps, and between 29 November 1941 and 30 September 1942 he held the position of commander-in-chief of the Italian Armed Forces in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, with headquarters in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

. From 1 October 1942 he was replaced by General Lorenzo Dalmazzo and returned to Italy, where in December he assumed the post of commander of the XXXI Army Corps with headquarters in Soveria Mannelli, operating within the 7th Army of General

Mario Arisio Mario Arisio (5 July 1885 – 7 July 1950) was an Italian general who served in the Italo-Turkish War, World War I, the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and World War II. Biography Arisio was born in Turin on July 5, 1885, and attending the Royal ...

. The XXXI Corps was tasked with the defense of

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

and was composed of the

104th Infantry Division Mantova 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

and of four coastal divisions ( 211th, 212th, 213th and 214th). On 5 September 1943, after the British landings in Calabria, Mercalli studied a

counterattack A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "Military exercise, war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objecti ...

aimed at repelling the Allied forces and maintain possession of the

Aspromonte The Aspromonte is a mountain massif in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria (Calabria, southern Italy). In Italian aspro means "rough" whereas in Greek it means "white" (wikt:άσπρος, Άσπρος), therefore the name literally translat ...

, but this could not be carried out due to the order issued by Field Marshal

Albert Kesselring Albert Kesselring (30 November 1885 – 16 July 1960) was a German military officer and convicted war crime, war criminal who served in the ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. In a career which spanned both world wars, Kesselring reached the ra ...

to the

15th Panzergrenadier Division 15th Panzergrenadier Division was a mobile division of the German Army in World War II. Combat History Sicily In July 1943 a new 15th Panzergrenadier Division, commanded by ''Generalleutnant'' Eberhard Rodt, was formed by redesignating the Sic ...

to withdraw to

Castrovillari Castrovillari ( Calabrian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. Geography Castrovillari lies in the north of Calabria, close to the border with Basilicata and within the Pollino Nationa ...

in order to counter an expected allied landing in the

Gulf of Taranto The Gulf of Taranto (; Tarantino: ; ) is a gulf of the Ionian Sea, in Southern Italy. The Gulf of Taranto is almost square, long and wide, making it the largest gulf in Italy, and it is delimited by the capes Santa Maria di Leuca (to the eas ...

. 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 ...

three days later, Mercalli remained loyal to the royalist government and made contact with the advancing Allied forces in Calabria; from December 1943 he became president of the Supreme Military Tribunal for liberated territories, and from July 1944, he was attached to the

Ministry of War Ministry of War may refer to: * Ministry of War (imperial China) ( 600–1912) * Chinese Republic Ministry of War (1912–1946) * Ministry of War (Kingdom of Bavaria) (1808–1919) * Ministry of War (Brazil) (1815–1999) * Ministry of War (Esto ...

, remaining there until July 18, 1955, when he was discharged from the Army.Sandro Bassetti, Terni. Tre lager per Fascisti, p. 108 He died in Turin on November 13, 1974.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercalli, Camillo 1882 births 1974 deaths Italian military personnel of World War II Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of the Italo-Turkish War Italian Army generals Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor