Mario Girotti (2 September 1885 – 3 November 1957) was an Italian

Alpini The Alpini are the Italian Army's specialist mountain infantry. Part of the army's infantry corps, the speciality distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. Currently the active Alpini units are organized in two operati ...

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

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 ...

on 2 September 1885, the son of Luigi Girotti and Cristina Lussiatti. After becoming officer on September 14, 1906, he served 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 ...

in 1914 and then took part in 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 ...

with the rank of

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 ...

and later

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 ...

, earning a

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

(for an action in the

Carnic Alps The Carnic Alps (; ; ; ) are a range of the Southern Limestone Alps in Austria and northeastern Italy. They are within Austrian East Tyrol and Carinthia, and Italian Friuli (Province of Udine) and marginally in Veneto. Etymology They are ...

in June 1916) and a bronze medal for military valor (for his behaviour during the First Battle of Monte Grappa in December 1917). From December 1918 to April 1919, as major in the "Monte Antelao"

Battalion, he worked on the restoration of the embankments of the

Piave river The Piave (; ) is a river in Northeast Italy. It begins in the Alps and flows southeast for into the Adriatic Sea near the city of Venice. One of its tributaries is the Boite. In 1809 it was the scene of a battle during the Napoleonic Wars, in ...

. In 1922 he became commander of the "Susa" Alpini Battalion, then of the 74th Infantry Regiment "Lombardia" and later of the 4th Alpini Regiment. In January 1931 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 appointed Head of Office at the Inspectorate of Alpine Troops, replacing Colonel Vincenzo Paolini, a post he held until 1939. He was promoted to brigadier general and on 10 June 1940, following Italy's entry into

, he assumed command of the "Levanna" Alpini Groupment, composed of three Alpini battalions and deployed in the

Orco The Orco (, that is lit. ''Water of gold''; ) is an Italian river. It originates in the Piedmontese slopes of Gran Paradiso and after about reaches the Po river near Chivasso, in the Metropolitan City of Turin. Its drainage basin is home to th ...

- Baltea-

Stura Stura () was a department of the French First Republic and of the First French Empire in present-day Italy. It was named after the river Stura di Demonte. It was formed in 1801, when the Subalpine Republic (formerly the mainland portion of th ...

sector during the attack on France. In September 1940 he assumed command of the

3rd Alpine Division Julia Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

, which he led in the bitter fighting in the mountains of the

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

during the

Greco-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian campaign in Greece, Italian invasion of Greece, and War of '40 in Greece, took place between Italy and Greece from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. This conflict began the Balk ...

, participating in the

battle of Pindus The Battle of Pindus (, , ) took place in the Pindus Mountains in Epirus and West Macedonia, Greece, from 28 October – 13 November 1940. The battle was fought between the Greek and the Italian armies during the first stages of the Greco-Itali ...

and in the battle of Klisura Pass between October 1940 and January 1941. At the start of the campaign the Julia Division spearheaded the Italian advance into Greece, but was surrounded and cut off by the Greek counterattack in the battle of the Pindus; Girotti managed to break the encirclement and save most of the division from certain destruction, and for this on February 15 he was promoted to the rank of major general for war merit. In late February the division repelled a Greek offensive aimed at capturing

Tepelenë Tepelenë ( sq-definite, Tepelena) is a city and a municipality in Gjirokastër County, in the south of Albania. The town is on the left bank of the Vjosa River, about three kilometres downstream from its union with the Drino. Until the abolition ...

, for which Girotti was awarded a Silver medal for military valor. On 15 November of the same year he assumed command of the newly established

6th Alpine Division Alpi Graie Sixth is the ordinal number, ordinal form of the number Six (number), six. * The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Sixth Amendment, to the U.S. Constitution * A keg of beer, equal to 5 U.S. gallons or barrel * The fraction Mus ...

, which starting from March 1942 was transferred to

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

and employed in anti-partisan operations between

Danilovgrad Danilovgrad (Cyrillic: Даниловград) is a town in central Montenegro. It has a population of 6,852, according to the 2011 census. It is situated in the Danilovgrad Municipality which lies along the main route between Montenegro's two la ...

(where the divisional headquarters were established) and

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

and in the

Nikšić Nikšić (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Никшић, ), is the second largest city in Montenegro, with a total population of 32,046 (2023 census) located in the west of the country, in the centre of the spacious Nikšić field at the foot of Trebjesa ...

area of

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

; for his leadership during these operations Girotti 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 ...

. He was later included by

in the CROWCASS list of wanted criminals for

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

committed by his troops in Montenegro. The division was repatriated in January 1943 and redeployed in southern

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

, with the task of defending the naval base of La Spezia, and on 15 August 1943 Girotti was replaced by General Mario Gorlier and was assigned to the Ministry of War 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, ...

, where he was at the time of the proclamation of 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 ...

on 8 September. Having joined the Clandestine Military Front following the German occupation of Rome, Girotti carried out Resistance activities until he was arrested by the Nazis, imprisoned and finally

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

firing squad Firing may refer to: * Dismissal (employment), sudden loss of employment by termination * Firemaking, the act of starting a fire * Burning; see combustion * Shooting, specifically the discharge of firearms * Execution by firing squad, a method of ...

after being harshly and fruitlessly interrogated, but Rome was liberated before the sentence could be carried out. He was, thus, freed and on 17 July 1944 he was made commander of the Clandestine Front Department of 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 ...

, tasked with collecting and studying the material relating to the activities of the Clandestine Military Front during the German occupation of Rome. On 21 February 1945 he drafted a document entitled Summary of the activities of the Clandestine Front Department. For his Resistance activities during the occupation of Rome, he was awarded another Silver medal of military valor. He was later transferred to the Army reserve and held various associative positions, including that of Vice-President of the National Union of Retired Officers of Italy, enrolling in the Roman section of the

National Alpini Association The National Alpini Association () is an Italian association representing the "Alpini in congedo" (Alpini on leave) of the Italian Army. The Alpini are a mountain infantry corps of the Italian Army, that distinguished itself in combat during World ...

, and collaborating with numerous magazines. He died in Rome on November 3, 1957, and his funeral was attended by Marshal of Italy

Giovanni Messe Giovanni Messe (10 December 1883 – 18 December 1968) was an Italian field marshal and politician. In the Second World War, he was captured in Tunisia but made chief of staff of the Italian Co-belligerent Army after the armistice of September ...

, while a battalion of the 4th Alpini Regiment rendered the

military honors A military funeral is a memorial or burial rite given by a country's military for a soldier, sailor, marine or airman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures or heads of state. A military funeral may feature guards ...

during the burial.Andrea Bianchi, Gli ordini militari di Savoia e d'Italia. Vol. 3, p. 124

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Girotti, Mario 1885 births 1957 deaths Italian Army generals Italian military personnel of World War I Italian prisoners sentenced to death Italian war criminals Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Royal Italian Army personnel of World War II People of the Greco-Italian War People condemned by Nazi courts