Gavino Pizzolato (26 February 1884 – 27 March 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

He was born in Sorso, in the

province of Sassari The province of Sassari (; ; ; ; ) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia, Italy. Its capital was the city of Sassari. On 1 April 2025, the province was suppressed in favor of the new Metropolitan City of Sassari, which corres ...

, on February 26, 1884. In 1903 he entered the Royal Military Academy of Artillery and Engineers 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 ...

, graduating as artillery second lieutenant on 7 September 1905, and being assigned to the 21st Field Artillery Regiment 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 ...

. 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 ...

on 11 February 1915, and after Italy’s entry into

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 ...

he served with the 9th Artillery Regiment until December, when he was seriously wounded. He returned to the frontline in April 1916, with the 37th Artillery Regiment, and was 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 field and seriously wounded a second time in August 1916 on the

Isonzo Front The Battles of the Isonzo (also known as the Isonzo Front by historians, or the Soča Front - ) were a series of twelve battles between the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I mostly on the territory of present-day Slovenia, and ...

. In June 1918 he fought in the

Second Battle of the Piave River The Second Battle of the Piave River (or Battle of the Solstice), fought between 15 and 23 June 1918, was a decisive victory for the Italian Army against the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I, as Italy was part of the Allied Forces, whi ...

, 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 ...

; altogether, over the course of the war he was awarded two Silver and two Bronze Medals of Military Valor. After the end of the war he served in various artillery commands, including the 4th 75/27 Mod. 1912 Group of the Horse Artillery Regiment in

Venaria Reale Venaria Reale () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northwest of Turin. Venaria Reale borders the municipalities of Robassomero, Caselle Torinese, Druento, Borgaro T ...

, and later in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. In October 1925 he was a member of the Italian military mission in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and in May 1927 he was sent to

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

, serving with the

Royal Corps of Colonial Troops The Royal Corps of Colonial Troops ( or RCTC) was a corps of the Royal Italian Army, in which all the Italian colonial troops were grouped until the end of World War II in North Africa campaign. History Many of the Askaris in Eritrea were drawn ...

. In 1929 he was transferred to

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 ...

, again serving with the Royal Corps of Colonial Troops, distinguishing himself in colonial police operations. In 1932, after returning to Italy, he attended the School of War, and from 19 October 1933 he was 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 ...

for war merit, becoming commander of the 1st Motorized Artillery Regiment "Eugenio di Savoia" in

Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...

. Between 1937 and 1938 he served in the Army Corps of

Udine Udine ( ; ; ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Carnic Alps. It is the capital of the Province of Udine, Regional decentralization entity ...

; after promotion to brigadier general on 30 June 1938, he was appointed deputy commander of the

102nd Motorised Division Trento 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 ...

, a post he left in the following March to assume that of deputy commander of the 2nd Cavalry Division Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro, in

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

. On 10 June 1940 he became commander of the 2nd Cavalry Division Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro, and on 23 February 1941 he was transferred to

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 ...

and given command of the 131st Armoured Division Centauro, participating in the

invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a Nazi Germany, German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put fo ...

in April 1941. For his role in that offensive, on 1 August 1941 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the

Military Order of Savoy The Military Order of Savoy was a military honorary order of the Kingdom of Sardinia first, and of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946), Kingdom of Italy later. Following the abolition of the Italian monarchy, the order became the Military Order of ...

.Ian W. Walker, Iron Hulls, Iron Hearts: Mussolini's Elite Armoured Divisions in North Africa, p. 48 He was then repatriated with his division and stationed in

Pordenone Pordenone (; Venetian language, Venetian and ) is a city and (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the capital of the Province of Pordenone, Regional decentralization entity of Pordenone. The name comes from Lati ...

from September 1941, for reorganization and re-equipping with the new M14/41 medium tanks. During this period the "Centauro" Division was placed under the command of the rapid army corps of

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, General

Federico Ferrari Orsi Federico Ferrari Orsi (Rivoli, Piedmont, Italy, 18 December 1886 – Egypt, 18 October 1942) was a general in the Royal Italian Army during World War II. He was one of the founders of Torino Football Club and played as a defender in the 1907 s ...

, an older officer with whom Pizzolato had already clashed in the past. When relations between him and Ferrari Orsi became very tense, he was relieved of command on February 28, 1942, replaced by General

Giorgio Calvi di Bergolo Giorgio Carlo Calvi, Count of Bergolo (Athens, 15 March 1887 – Rome, 25 February 1977) was an Italian general during World War II and the husband of Princess Yolanda of Savoy, the eldest daughter of King Victor Emmanuel III. Biography He ...

and 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 ...

. In the meantime Pizzolato had been promoted to major general in January 1942, and from 15 May he was appointed commander of the new 80th Infantry Division La Spezia, an airborne unit, initially intended for use in the planned assault on Malta, but then sent to

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 ...

in October 1942. He commanded this unit during the

Tunisian campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. Th ...

until he was killed by British aerial strafing near Gabes, on March 27, 1943.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pizzolato, Gavino 1884 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 Silver Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor Deaths by British airstrikes during World War II