Giovanni Marciani (22 May 1886 in Mercato San Severino – 1964) 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

Giovanni Marciani was born in 1886 in Mercato San Severino, in the

province of Salerno The province of Salerno () is a province in the Campania region of Italy. It has 1,054,766 inhabitants as of 2025. Geography The largest towns in the province are: Salerno, the capital, which has a population of 131,950; Cava de' Tirreni, Bat ...

, into a

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

family. In 1905 he entered the Royal Military Academy of Artillery and Engineers of

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 with the rank of artillery second lieutenant on September 5, 1907, and attended the Branch Application School before being promoted 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 ...

and assigned to the 24th Field Artillery Regiment, in

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 ...

. In 1911 he was part of the expeditionary force 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 ...

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 ...

, in the ranks of the 2nd Special Field Artillery Regiment, participating in the battle of the Two Palms (for which 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 ...

) and remaining in Libya until October 1912, when he returned to the 24th Field Artillery Regiment in Naples, as deputy

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 ...

of the regimental commander. After being 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 December 1914, in February 1915 he assumed the position of commander of the 2nd Battery of the 22nd Field Artillery Regiment in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

and, for almost a year, of interim command of the 1st Artillery Group. He then left for the front 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 ...

, earning a

War Cross of Military Valor The War Cross for Military Valor () is an Italian Order (decoration), order for military valor. Established in 1922, the cross may be awarded only in time of war. Appearance The medal is a Greek cross made of copper. Inscribed on the horizon ...

for an action on during the Fourth Battle of the Isonzo. In August 1917 he 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 ...

for war merit and took command of the 1st Group of the 2nd Field Artillery Regiment of

Pesaro Pesaro (; ) is a (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the ...

; in August 1918 he was given command of the 4th 102 mm battery group of the 23rd Heavy Field Artillery Regiment.

Interwar years

Starting from 1919 he was assigned to serve in Cologna Veneta at the command of the 3rd Group of the Truck-Borne Mixed Field Artillery Regiment of

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 ...

until 5 July 1920. On 30 September he established his headquarters at the Visconti Castle of

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

and on 30 October he was posted to the "Renzo da Ceri" barracks in Crema. On 18 June 1922, Major Marciani left the command of the 3rd Group to Major Bartolomeo Pedrotti and was transferred to

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 ...

at the ''Autocentro'' (Army motor vehicle depot), where he remained until 2 March 1924. He was then assigned to the horse artillery regiment of

from March 1924 to November 1925, and from November 1925 to June 1926, after promotion to lieutenant colonel, he became commander of the 4th Truckborne Group of the Voloire Regiment. From 20 June 1926, he was commander of the cadet battalion at the Royal Academy of Artillery and Engineers in Turin until August 1931, when he attended the 7th application course for senior officers at the War School of Turin and in November 1933 he returned to the horse artillery regiment of Milan, as commander of the regimental depot. In this period Marciani married poet Maria Antonietta De Carolis, sister of lieutenant colonel Ugo de Carolis. In October 1934 he was placed in charge of raising the 2nd Motorized Artillery Regiment of the 2nd Cavalry Division Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, and in the following December he assumed command of the regiment after promotion to 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 ...

. In September 1936 he transferred his regiment from Bologna to

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 ...

. From 1 October 1936, having left the regiment to Colonel Mario Martorelli, Marciani was assigned as head of office to the command of the army corps of

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, ...

, and from 1 September 1939 he obtained promotion to brigadier general and became commander of the artillery of the 8th Army Corps of Rome.

World War II and later years

He was still holding this post when the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

entered

, on 10 June 1940; on the following 4 September, he was appointed head of the third directorate of the Undersecretariat of State for War Production (later Ministry of War Industry), headed by the General Carlo Favagrossa. He remained in office until November 17, 1942, when he fell out with Favagrossa, who had him transferred to

southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...

. Having been meanwhile promoted to major general in January 1942, he was given command of the 58th Infantry Division Legnano (stationed in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionRoberto Olmi, before returning to Rome at the disposal of the Ministry of War. On 28 April 1943, after a brief period in command of the artillery of the First Army in

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

, Marciani assumed command of the 208th Coastal Division, with headquarters in

, replacing general Gaetano Binacchi. On 10 July 1943, the Allies landed in southeastern Sicily; the area garrisoned by the 208th Coastal Division was unaffected by the initial landings. On 17 July Armed Forces Command Sicily, in an attempt to stop the American drive towards Palermo, established the Coastal Troops Command of the XII Army Corps, gathering all static units of the XII Army Corps under its command, and appointed Marciani as its commander. His troops, low in morale and crippled by rising

desertion Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...

s, were overwhelmed by Allied superiority of armament and air power, and on 22 July Marciani was captured in a

coup de main A ''coup de main'' (, : , ) is a swift attack that relies on speed and surprise to accomplish its objectives in a single blow. Definition The United States Department of Defense defines it as "An offensive operation that capitalizes on surprise ...

by American troops of the

82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion The 82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion was a part of the 2nd Armored Division (United States), 2nd Armored Division, and was activated July 15, 1940, at Fort Benning, Georgia, for World War II. The organization was made up of trained men, from ...

, at his headquarters in the Royal Palace of Palermo. On the same day General Giuseppe Molinero, military commander of Palermo and subordinated to Marciani, surrendered the city to General

Geoffrey Keyes Geoffrey Keyes (October 30, 1888 – September 17, 1967) was a highly decorated senior United States Army Officer (armed forces), officer who served with distinction in Allied invasion of Sicily, Sicily and Italian campaign (World War II), Italy ...

, overriding his absent superior. Marciani was then imprisoned in a

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

Saint-Cloud Saint-Cloud () is a French commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Like other communes of Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine and Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of France's wealthie ...

, near

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

, where he remained until December 1944. After his release and return to Italy, he learned of the death of his wife, killed in Bellona on 13 October 1943 (according to different sources, by a stray shot during the fighting between German and American troops, or by German soldiers for having sheltered Italian partisans). He remained at the disposal of the Ministry of War until 1945, when he was discharged from active duty and 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 ...

of the reserve. After the war, General Marciani was president of a center of

military history Military history is the study of War, armed conflict in the Human history, history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to Politics, local and international relationship ...

studies. He died in 1964.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marciani, Giovanni 1886 births 1964 deaths People from Mercato San Severino Italian military personnel of World War II Italian military personnel of World War I Italian Army generals Italian military personnel of the Italo-Turkish War Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor