Giuseppe Andreoli (11 June 1892 – 28 January 1945) was an Italian military officer 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
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 ...
on 11 June 1892, the son of Guglielmo Androni, and in 1909 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 on February 23, 1913 with the rank of artillery second lieutenant, assigned to the 10th Field Artillery Regiment. 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 ...
he was 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 then 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 ...
for war merit in the battles on the Karst plateau. After the war he served with the 6th Heavy Field Artillery Regiment and attended the courses of the Army School of War in 1922-1923, after which he was attached to the staff of the Military Division of
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 ...
and later of that of
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
.
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 ...
in 1926 and to lieutenant colonel in 1927, serving for the next ten years in the General Staff Corps; on 1 January 1937 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 ...
and given command of the 30th Artillery Regiment, part of the
7th Infantry Division Lupi di Toscana
Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven.
Seventh may refer to:
* Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution
* A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts
Film and television
*"The Seventh", a second-season ep ...
, with which he was sent to Albania in April 1939 when Italy invaded that country. In the following August he was called to direct the Information Office of the Armed Forces High Command Albania and on the following year he was given the same assignment at the Command of the
Army of the Po
The Army of the Po (Italian ''Armata del Po''), numbered the Sixth Army (''6a Armata''), was a field army of the Royal Italian Army during World War II, Royal Italian Army (''Regio Esercito'') during World War II (1939–45).
History
When it was ...
on the eve of the entry of 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 ...
into
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 ...
, which took place on 10 June 1940.
In June 1940, he participated in the operations on the western frontier against France. He was later made Chief of Staff of the 4th Army Corps, and then of the 9th Army, deployed on the Greek-Albanian front, until 29 June 1941. On 1 July 1941, he was promoted to brigadier general, being then given command of the artillery of the 1st Army Corps in Turin. From 12 January 1943, he was assigned to the headquarters of the 4th Army in
Provence
Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...
and given command of the "
Argens
The Argens (; ) is a 116 km long river of the French Riviera. Its drainage basin is fully included in the Var department.7th Alpini Regiment
The 7th Alpini Regiment () is a mountain warfare regiment of the Italian Army based in Belluno in Veneto. The regiment belongs to the Italian Army's Alpini infantry speciality and is assigned to the Alpine Brigade "Julia". On 1 August 1887, the R ...
, the
18th Bersaglieri Regiment
The 18th Bersaglieri Regiment () is an inactive unit of the Italian Army last based in Cosenza in Calabria. The regiment is part of the Italian Army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality and was last operationally assigned to the Bersaglieri ...
, two artillery groups and smaller units), which was then dissolved on 4 April. On 26 April 1943, having been temporarily elevated to the rank of major general, he assumed command of the 224th Coastal Division 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 millionLuigi Mazzini, and on 6 August he replaced General Mario Badino Rossi as commander of the 2nd Cavalry Division Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro, garrisoning the area between
Menton
Menton (; in classical norm or in Mistralian norm, , ; ; or depending on the orthography) is a Commune in France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italia ...
,
Antibes
Antibes (, , ; ) is a seaside city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in Southeastern France. It is located on the French Riviera between Cannes and Nice; its cape, the Cap d'Antibes, along with Cap Ferrat in Saint-Jean-Ca ...
,
Saint Tropez
Saint-Tropez ( , ; ) is a commune in the Var department and the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southern France. It is west of Nice and east of Marseille, on the French Riviera, of which it is one of the best-known towns. In 2018 ...
and the Italian border.
When 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, the Division was in the process of being repatriated, and was ordered to take up position between
Cuneo
Cuneo (; ; ; ) is a city and in Piedmont, Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area.
It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in the south-west of Piedmont, at the confluence of the ri ...
and the French border in order to slow down the German advance and allow other Italian units that were still in France to cross the border. On 18 September, Andreoli was captured by German troops in Cuneo, being then 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. In mid-January, 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 ...
, the Nazi command decided to evacuate the camp and transfer its internees 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 sixteen other prisoners (the weakest of the column, who were too exhausted to continue the march and made a stop with the permission of the German commander, who however refused to write a statement that they had been left behind with his consent rather than escaped), Andreoli 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 ...
, looking for food in a tavern; the group was however 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. The latter rounded up the prisoners and forced them to resume the march, shooting those who were unable to keep pace with the main group; Andreoli, who walked too slowly, was among those thus murdered, along with generals
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 ...