Ferrante Vincenzo Gonzaga, Marquess of Vescovato (6 March 1889 – 8 September 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

Early life and career

Prince Ferrante Vincenzo Gonzaga was born in 1889, the only son of Prince

Maurizio Ferrante Gonzaga Maurizio Ferrante Gonzaga (Venice, 21 September 1861 – Rome, 24 March 1938) was an Italian general from the House of Gonzaga, decorated with the rank of officer in the Military Order of Savoy, with two gold medals, three silver and two bronze me ...

, Marquess of Vescovato, general 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 ...

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 ...

and awarded the

victory title A victory title is an honorific title adopted by a successful military commander to commemorate his defeat of an enemy nation. The practice is first known in Ancient Rome and is still most commonly associated with the Romans, but it was also adop ...

of Marquis of the Vodice in 1932. At the death of his father in 1938, Gonzaga inherited the titles of

Prince of the Holy Roman Empire Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (, , cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors of the princely title bore it as immediate vassal ...

, Marquess of Vescovato, marquess of the Vodice, count of and

Cassolnovo Cassolnovo (''Cassö'' in lombard) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 30 km southwest of Milan and about 35 km northwest of Pavia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a popula ...

, lord of Vescovato and

Venetian patrician The Venetian patriciate (, ) was one of the three social bodies into which the society of the Republic of Venice was divided, together with citizens and foreigners. was the Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble title of the members of the Aris ...

. After graduating in

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

at the

University of Turin The University of Turin (Italian language, Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Torino'', UNITO) is a public university, public research university in the city of Turin, in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region of Italy. It is one of the List ...

, Gonzaga decided to pursue a military career; he participated as a

junior officer Junior officer, company officer or company grade officer refers to the lowest operational commissioned officer category of ranks in a military or paramilitary organization, ranking above non-commissioned officers and below senior officers. D ...

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 ...

, fighting in

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 ...

, and in the First World War. In 1926 he was assigned to the Command of the

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, ...

Army Corps. In 1936, 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 commanded the 1st Artillery Regiment "Cacciatori delle Alpi" in

Foligno Foligno (; Central Italian, Southern Umbrian: ''Fuligno'') is an ancient town of Italy in the province of Perugia in east central Umbria, on the Topino river where it leaves the Apennine Mountains, Apennines and enters the wide plain of the Clit ...

; from December 1938 to June 1940 he was

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the 33rd Infantry Division Acqui. After 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 ...

he commanded the artillery of the XIII Army Corps in

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

, being promoted to brigadier general on 1 July 1940. In March 1942 he was given command of the artillery of the XXV Army Corps in

Elbasan Elbasan ( , ; sq-definite, Elbasani, ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in centr ...

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 ...

, until November, after which he was attached to the Ministry of War for a few months. On 10 February 1943, he was given command of the 222nd Coastal Division, stationed in the

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

area, a severely understaffed unit whose personnel largely consisted of ill-trained and ill-equipped territorial troops.

Death

After 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, German forces launched

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 ...

for the occupation of Italy and the disarmament of all Italian units. General Gonzaga, who had been preparing for such an instance, immediately issued orders to his subordinates instructing them to refuse German requests to hand over their weapons, and to regroup and prepare for resistance. On the same day of the proclamation of the Armistice General Gonzaga was approached in Buccoli, a hamlet of

Eboli Eboli (Neapolitan language, Ebolitano: ) is a town and ''comune'' of Campania, southern Italy, in the province of Salerno. Eboli, an agricultural centre, is renowned for its olive oil and dairy products, most notably the famous buffalo mozzarel ...

, by a German detachment commanded by Major von Alvensleben, who ordered him to surrender. Gonzaga refused to comply, shouting to his men: "A Gonzaga never surrenders"; having drawn his gun, he was immediately killed with a burst of

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine (firearms), magazine-fed automatic firearm, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to descri ...

. Major von Alvensleben expressed admiration for Gonzaga's courage; the general was posthumously awarded the

Gold Medal of Military Valor The Gold Medal of Military Valor () is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia for deeds of outstanding gallantry in war by junior officers and soldiers. The face of the medal displayed the profile o ...

, Italy's highest military decoration.

Family

On 20 October 1937, Ferrante Vincenzo Gonzaga married in

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

Luisa Anguissola-Scotti (1903–2008), daughter of Ranuzio Anguissola-Scotti, count of

Podenzano Podenzano ( ) is a in the Province of Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is bordered by the following municipalities: Gossolengo, Piacenza, Pontenure, Rivergaro, San Giorgio Piacentino, Vigolzone. The patron saint is San Giovanni Bo ...

and Ville. The couple had three children: * Maurizio Ferrante, 15th marquis of Vescovato, 3rd marquis of Vodice, count of Villanova, count of Cassolnovo and patrician of Venice (born in Rome on 4 September 1938) * Corrado Alessandro (born in Rome on 10 July 1941), lord of Vescovato and patrician of Venice * Isabella (born in Rome on 15 November 1942), married Hans Otto Heidkamp

Honours

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzaga, Ferrante Vincenzo 1889 births 1943 deaths Italian Army generals Italian military personnel of World War I Royal Italian Army personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Gold Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor