Luigi Reverberi ( Cavriago, 12 September 1892 –

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 ...

, 22 June 1954) 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

Reverberi attended the

Military Academy of Modena The Military Academy of Modena () is a military university in Modena, northern Italy. Located in the Ducal Palace of Modena in the historic center of the city, it was the first such military institution to be created in the world. The academy i ...

and graduated as second lieutenant; with this rank he fought in Libya in 1913. During the First World War he fought with the

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 ...

on the

Tofane Tofane is a mountain group in the Dolomites of northern Italy, west of Cortina d'Ampezzo in the province of Belluno, Veneto. Most of the Tofane lie within the Ampezzo Dolomites Natural Park. Peaks The highest peaks of the Tofane group are ''To ...

, the

Banjšice Plateau The Banjšice Plateau (, also or , ) is a karst plateau in western Slovenia, in the traditional region of Goriška. It is a widely settled area, distinguished by its history and biodiversity. Geographically, it belongs to the Dinaric Alps. Geogr ...

, Škabrijel, Monte Solarolo, and on the mountains near

Fiera di Primiero Fiera di Primiero (''La Fiera'' in local dialect) was a ''Communes of Trentino, comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italy, Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about east of Trento. It was merged with Siror, Tonad ...

, and was awarded three Silver Medals for Military Valor, two War Crosses for Military Valor and 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 ...

. After the war he served in the II Alpine Brigade and in 1926 he became lieutenant colonel; in 1935 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 67th Infantry Regiment. In 1939 he was Chief of Staff of the Truckborne Army Corps (''Corpo d'Armata Autotrasportabile''), and in July of the same year he was promoted to brigadier general. In 1941 he was assigned to the command of the XXVI Army Corps in

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 ...

. In 1942 he was given command of the

2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" The 2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" () was a Division (military), division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II, which specialized in mountain warfare. The Alpini that formed the divisions are a highly decorated and elite mountain corp ...

and sent to the Eastern Front, deployed on the

Don river The Don () is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its basin is betwee ...

. Following the Soviet success in

Operation Little Saturn Operation Little Saturn () was a Red Army offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in Don and Chir rivers region in German-occupied Soviet Union territory in 16–30 December 1942. The success of Operation Uranus, lau ...

, in January 1943 the Alpine Corps of which the "Tridentina" was part was forced to retreat through the steppe in order to avoid being encircled and destroyed. Reverberi led his men during the battle of Nikolayevka, in which they managed to break out of the Soviet encirclement and reach Axis lines; one-third of the "Tridentina" was thus saved, along with the remnants of other units that had joined it, altogether some 18,000 men. Other columns, including the majority of the 3rd Alpine Division "Julia" and 4th Alpine Division "Cuneense", were unable to break out and were annihilated. For his behaviour at Nikolayevka, Reverberi was awarded the

Gold Medal of Military Valour 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 ...

. After his return to Italy, Reverberi was captured by German troops in

Brixen Brixen (; , ; or , ) is a town and communes of Italy, commune in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography Brixen is the third-largest city and oldest town in the province, with a population of nearly twenty-three t ...

on 8 September 1943, following 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 ...

, and interned in a

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

in Posen. By declaring that he wanted to join the

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic (, ; RSI; , ), known prior to December 1943 as the National Republican State of Italy (; SNRI), but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò (, ), was a List of World War II puppet states#Germany, German puppe ...

, he obtained to be released and sent to

Vittel Vittel (; archaic ) is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Mineral water is bottled and sold here by Nestlé Waters France, under the '' Vittel'' brand. A series of negotiations involving Nestlé, local agr ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, for training; once there, however, he soon made contact with the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

. When the Germans found out, he was sent to a punishment camp in

Wietzendorf Wietzendorf ( Eastphalian: ''Witzendörp'') is a municipality in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, in northern Germany. It is situated approximately 14 km southeast of Soltau, and 50 km southwest of Lüneburg. The population as ...

and then back to Posen, where he was briefly held by the Soviets following the arrival of 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 ...

. In September 1945 he was finally allowed to return to Italy, and in 1947 he was 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 ...

. In 1946 he was denounced by

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

senator Edoardo D'Onofrio for collaboration with the

Fascist regime 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 social hie ...

and forced to retire. After leaving the Army, Reverberi became managing director of a soap and cosmetics company, and a leading figure of the National Alpini Association. He was the author of several memoirs on the Italian campaign in Russia. He died on 22 June 1954, following a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

, in his home in

, and was buried in his family tomb in

Montecchio Emilia Montecchio Emilia ( Reggiano: or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Emilia in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about west of Reggio Emilia. Montecchio Emilia borders the follow ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reverberi, Luigi 1892 births 1954 deaths Italian Army generals Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Gold Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor