Carlo Spatocco (31 May 1883 – 28 January 1945) 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

Spatocco was born in

Chieti Chieti (, ; , , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Southern Italy, east of Rome. It is the capital of the province of Chieti, in the Abruzzo, Abruzzo region. In Italian, the adjectival form is ''teatino'' and inhabitants of Chieti ar ...

on 31 May 1883, the son of Francesco Spatocco, 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 ...

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 ...

. He distinguished himself in the battle of Zanzur (8 June 1912), for which he was decorated with a

Bronze Medal of Military Valour 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 e ...

. 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 ...

he distinguished himself in October 1916 on the Veliki Kribak, receiving another Bronze Medal of Military Valour. After the war he commanded the 17th Infantry Regiment "Acqui" with the rank of

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 ...

. He participated in the

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

, fighting in the

battle of Amba Aradam The Battle of Amba Aradam (also known as the Battle of Enderta) was fought on the northern front of what was known as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. This battle consisted of attacks and counter-attacks by Italian forces under Marshal of Italy ...

, and after promotion to brigadier general, on 16 June 1936, he assumed command of the "Sila" Infantry Brigade. In 1937 he was briefly appointed Administrative Director at the Personnel Office of 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 ...

in Rome. After promotion to major general on 1 September 1937, he assumed command of the

63rd Infantry Division Cirene 63rd may refer to: ;Metro stations *Ashland/63rd (CTA station), on the Green Line * East 63rd-Cottage Grove (CTA), on the Green Line * 63rd (CTA Red Line), on the Red Line * 63rd Street station (SEPTA Market–Frankford Line) on the Market-Frankfor ...

, stationed 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 ...

, which he kept until 19 September 1940, when he was replaced by General Alessandro de Guidi and took command of the

XXI Army Corps 21 (twenty-one) is the natural number following 20 and preceding 22. The current century is the 21st century AD, under the Gregorian calendar. Mathematics Twenty-one is the fifth distinct semiprime, and the second of the form 3 \times q whe ...

for a brief period.
In 1941 he assumed command of the

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

Fortress Area, later renamed XX Army Corps, and on 1 July of the same year he was 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 November 29, he assumed command of the IV Army Corps stationed 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 ...

, replacing General

Camillo Mercalli Camillo Mercalli (Savona, 18 July 1882 – Turin, 13 November 1974) was an Italian general during World War II. Biography He was born in Savona on 18 July 1882, the son of Antonio Mercalli and Gabriella Marchesi Massimino, and after enlisti ...

. When 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 ...

was announced, on 8 September 1943, the corps under his command, operating within the 9th Army of General Renzo Dalmazzo, was deployed in Albania, with headquarters in

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...

, and consisted of three infantry divisions (

11th Infantry Division Brennero In music theory, an eleventh is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a fourth. A perfect eleventh spans 17 and the augmented eleventh 18 semitones, or 10 steps in a diatonic scale. Since there are only seven degrees in a diaton ...

49th Infantry Division Parma 49 (forty-nine) is the natural number following 48 and preceding 50. In mathematics Forty-nine is the square of the prime number seven and hence the fourth non-unitary square prime of the form ''p''2. Both of its digits are square numbers, 4 b ...

and 151st Infantry Division Perugia) in addition to various smaller units. The IV Corps was overrun by German forces during

Operation Achse Operation Achse (), originally called Operation Alaric (), was the codename for the German operation to forcibly disarm the Italian armed forces after Italy's armistice with the Allies on 3 September 1943. Several German divisions had en ...

, and on 21 September Spatocco was captured and transferred first to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and then to officer

POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, an ...

64Z in Schokken (now

Skoki Skoki () is a town in Poland, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Wągrowiec County, with 4,003 inhabitants (2010). It is located about 40 km north of Poznań. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Skoki. History Establ ...

) in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, where most Italian generals and admirals captured during Operation Achse had been imprisoned. In January 1945, with the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

approaching, the camp was evacuated with a forced march through the snow. Spatocco, unable to keep pace with the other prisoners, was murdered by the SS on 28 January 1945, along with Generals Alberto Trionfi, Emanuele Balbo Bertone, Giuseppe Andreoli, Ugo Ferrero and Alessandro Vaccaneo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spatocco, Carlo 1883 births 1945 deaths Italian Army generals Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel killed in World War II Italian military personnel of the Italo-Turkish War Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor Italian people executed by Nazi Germany People executed by Nazi Germany by firearm Deaths by firearm in Poland Italian prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Italian military personnel of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War Italian people executed abroad People executed by Nazi Germany occupation forces Executed military leaders