Count Emanuele Balbo Bertone di Sambuy, Marquess of

Breme Breme () is a (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about southwest of Milan and about west of Pavia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 889 and an area of .All demographics and other stat ...

(9 August 1886 – 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

He was born into an aristocratic family, the son of Raimondo Balbo Bertone, Count of Sambuy, who died before his birth. He was initiated into a military career starting to attend the Royal Academy of Infantry and Cavalry in Modena graduating on 19 September 1909 with the rank of cavalry second lieutenant, under the cavalry weapon, assigned to the "Piemonte Reale" Cavalry Regiment. He participated with this regiment 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 in the battles

Ain Zara Ain Zara is a town and oasis in western Libya, located in the region of Tripoli. History In ancient times it was an important agricultural center. Located in the surroundings of Ain Zara are the remnants of a fourth-century Christian necropolis. ...

and of Zanzur. On 17 October 1912, 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 became the

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

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 ...

Pietro Frugoni Pietro Frugoni (Brescia, 21 January 1851 – Brescia, 10 July 1940) was an Italian general of the Kingdom of Italy who actively participated in World War I, especially in the first four Battles of the Isonzo. Appointed lieutenant general in 1 ...

. After promotion to

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

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 ...

, commanding his regiment’s 240 mm bombard battery and earning a second bronze medal for military valor. At the end of the war he was made redundant and placed on leave at his request from 1 July 1920, returning to his residence 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 ...

. Having been 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 ...

in the Army reserve on 31 March 1926 and to lieutenant colonel in December 1929, he was recalled into active service on 5 October 1935 and was assigned to the military zone of Turin. He was then again placed on leave and 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 ...

on 1 January 1938; following Italy’s entry into 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 ...

, on 12 June 1940 he was recalled into active service and assigned to the staff of Umberto of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont. He remained with the Prince after his promotion to brigadier general of the reserve, which took place on 1 January 1942, and from the following 31 October he was given command of the 4th Coastal Brigade in

Tempio Pausania Tempio Pausania (; ) is a town of about 14,000 inhabitants in the Gallura region of northern Sardinia, Italy, in the province of Sassari. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). History Cultural and de ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

. He remained in Sardinia until 24 March 1943, when he returned to Turin, where he was attached to the local territorial defense command for special assignments; he later became president of the

military tribunal Military justice (or military law) is the body of laws and procedures governing members of the armed forces. Many nation-states have separate and distinct bodies of law that govern the conduct of members of their armed forces. Some states us ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, where he was at the time 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 ...

. On 22 September 1943 he was captured by German troops and sent to Oflag 64/Z in Schokken,

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 he remained until early 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 ...

reaching the

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

in mid-January 1945, the Nazis decided to evacuate the camp and transfer the prisoners to

Luckenwalde Luckenwalde (; Upper Sorbian language, Upper and , , ) is the capital of the Teltow-Fläming district in the state of Brandenburg in eastern Germany. It is situated on the Nuthe river north of the Fläming Heath, at the eastern rim of the Nuthe-Ni ...

, south of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, with a forced march. Along with other sixteen prisoners, Balbo Bertone stopped on the way in

Kuźnica Żelichowska Kuźnica Żelichowska () is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Krzyż Wielkopolski, within Czarnków-Trzcianka County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It lies approximately north-east of Krzyż Wielkopolski, wes ...

along with some companions, looking for food in a tavern, but they were noticed by a

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

of the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

and reported to the SS. As the march resumed, the SS started shooting the prisoners who were unable to walk fast enough to keep pace with the main group; Balbo Bertone was the second to be killed, after General

Carlo Spatocco Carlo Spatocco (31 May 1883 – 28 January 1945) was an Italian general during World War II. Biography Spatocco was born in Chieti on 31 May 1883, the son of Francesco Spatocco, and after enlisting in the Royal Italian Army he participated i ...

. After him generals Alberto Trionfi, Alessandro Vaccaneo, Giuseppe Andreoli and Ugo Ferrero were likewise murdered. Balbo Bertone was buried by the locals in the village cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balbo Bertone, Emanuele 1886 births 1945 deaths Italian military personnel of World War I Royal Italian Army personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Italian Army generals Executed military leaders Italian people executed by Nazi Germany Lists of stolpersteine in Italy People executed by Nazi Germany by firearm People executed by Nazi Germany occupation forces Deaths by firearm in Poland Italian prisoners of war in World War II Italian people executed abroad World War II prisoners of war held by Germany