Francesco Antonio Arena (27 March 1889 – 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 ...

, most notable for having commanded the 132nd Armoured Division Ariete during the

second battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...

Biography

He was born in

Pizzoni Pizzoni ( Calabrian: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Vibo Valentia in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about southeast of Vibo Valentia. Pizzoni borders the following municipalities: Sim ...

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 ...

, on March 27, 1889, the son of Vincenzo Arena and Clementina Scandale. In 1909 he enlisted 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 ...

as a volunteer officer cadet in the 20th Infantry Regiment "Brescia", and in 1910 he was commissioned as infantry second lieutenant. In 1911 he fought in

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika (, , after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between the 16th and 25th meridians east, including the Kufra District. The coastal region, als ...

with the 79th Infantry Regiment during 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 ...

, earning a

Silver Medal of Military Valour The Silver Medal of Military Valor () is an Italian medal for gallantry. Italian medals for valor were first instituted by Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia on 21 May 1793, with a gold medal, and, below it, a silver medal. These were intended for j ...

for his behaviour during the Battle of the Two Palms in March 1912. In 1914, after promotion to

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 was stationed in

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

, assigned to the Royal Corps of Colonial Troops, and in 1915 he was promoted 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 ...

. In April 1916 he was repatriated and assigned to the 2nd Infantry Regiment, fighting on the Italian Front during

World War I 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 ...

. On 24 May 1917 he was wounded on Mount San Marco, near

Gorizia Gorizia (; ; , ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, Region ...

, during the

Tenth Battle of the Isonzo The Tenth Battle of the Isonzo was an Italian offensive against Austria-Hungary during World War I. Background With nine largely unsuccessful Isonzo battles conducted within an eighteen-month period to date, Italian Chief of Staff Luigi Cadorn ...

, and awarded another Silver Medal for Military Valor. He was later 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 in late October 1918 participated in the

battle of Vittorio Veneto The Battle of Vittorio Veneto was fought from 24 October to 3 November 1918 (with an armistice taking effect 24 hours later) near Vittorio Veneto on the Italian Front during World War I. After having thoroughly defeated Austro-Hungarian troops ...

; for the taking of the heavily defended village of

Alano di Piave Alano di Piave is a former ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Province of Belluno, Belluno in the Italy, Italian region of Veneto, located about northwest of Venice and about southwest of Belluno. As of 31 December 2021, it had a popul ...

he was awarded the

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 ...

. After attending a two-year course at the

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 ...

Army School of War between 1920 and 1921, Arena was assigned to the command of the Staff Officer Corps; in 1926 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. In January 1933 he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Military Command of

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. The following year he was transferred to the Army Command of

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, where he remained until 1935; after promotion 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 ...

in 1936, he assumed command of the 51st Infantry Regiment "Alpi". At the end of 1937 he was assigned 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 ...

, and in April 1939 he was appointed commander of the base set up in

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

, in preparation of the

invasion of Albania The Italian invasion of Albania was a brief military campaign which was launched by Italy against Albania in 1939. The conflict was a result of the imperialistic policies of the Italian prime minister and dictator Benito Mussolini. Albania ...

. In June 1939 he assumed command of the services of the Armed Forces Command 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 ...

till October, when he returned to Bari as Chief of Staff of the IX Army Corps, a post he was still holding when Italy entered

on 10 June 1940. On 1 January 1942 he was promoted to brigadier general and the next month he became deputy commander of the 132nd Armoured Division Ariete (General Giuseppe De Stefanis), fighting 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 ...

. In June 1942 he was awarded another Silver Medal of Military Valour for his role in 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 ...

. On 28 June 1942 Arena replaced De Stefanis (who had been promoted to the commando of the XX Corps following the death of General Ettore Baldassarre) at the command of the "Ariete" until 25 July, when General Adolfo Infante was given command of the division. After Infante left command of the division, on 17 September 1942, Arena assumed command once again and was thus its commander during the

, in which the division was annihilated. In early 1943 he was repatriated and placed at the disposal of the Ministry of War until, in March of the same year, he became commander of the 36th Infantry Division Forlì stationed near

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. 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 ...

, in September 1943, he was captured by the Germans and, having refused to collaborate, was imprisoned in 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 ...

. In late January 1945, in the face of the advancing

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 ...

, the prisoners were evacuated westwards with a forced march through the snow. During the march Arena, along with Air Force General Alberto Briganti and Colonel Carlo Unia, managed to escape and was hidden by a Polish farmer near

Wieleń Wieleń is a town in Czarnków-Trzcianka County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland. It is situated on the river Noteć. History Part of Poland since the Middle Ages, Duke Władysław Odonic of Greater Poland brought the Cistercians to Wie ...

. On the following day, while Unia and the farmer were away, two

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

soldiers entered the house and mistook Arena and Briganti for

Fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

collaborators of the Germans; the two generals were lined up against a wall and shot. Briganti miraculously survived with non-fatal wounds, but Arena was killed. His remains were returned to Italy in 1960, and buried in the Verano Cemetery in

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, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arena, Francesco Antonio 1889 births 1945 deaths Italian Army generals Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of the Italo-Turkish War Italian people executed abroad Royal Italian Army personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor People executed by the Soviet Union by firing squad Deaths by firearm in Poland