Mario Gorlier (

Nizza Monferrato Nizza Monferrato () is a (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Asti. Nizza Monferrato borders the following municipalities: Calamandrana, Castel Bogli ...

, 11 February 1892 – 18 July 1956) 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

Born in

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

, he entered the Royal Military Academy of

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

at age sixteen in 1908, graduating as infantry second lieutenant, he was assigned to the

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 ...

corps on 19 May 1912. He fought 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

3rd Alpini Regiment The 3rd Alpini Regiment () is a mountain warfare regiment of the Italian Army based in Pinerolo in Piedmont. The regiment belongs to the Italian Army's Alpini infantry speciality and is assigned to the Alpine Brigade "Taurinense". On 1 November 1 ...

, participating in the conquest of Mount Krn and earning two

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. ...

and one

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 ...

. After promotion to lieutenant colonel on 1 December 1926, he was assigned to the general staff; on 16 March 1936, he was promoted 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 ...

and given command of the

2nd Alpini Regiment The 2nd Alpini Regiment () is a mountain warfare regiment of the Italian Army based in Cuneo in Piedmont. The regiment belongs to the Italian Army's Alpini infantry speciality and is assigned to the Alpine Brigade "Taurinense". On 1 November 188 ...

, and from 8 September 1939, he was transferred to the command of the Motorized Army Corps for special assignments, as a trusted collaborator of General

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 ...

. Following 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 the

Second World War 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 ...

on 10 June 1940, Gorlier was promoted to brigadier general and assigned to the command of the Special Army Corps (later XXX 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 ...

, together with Messe, participating in the campaign against Greece. On 10 July 1941, he became head of the 1st department at the staff officer corps 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, ...

(later head of the operations office at the

Comando Supremo ''Comando Supremo'' (Supreme Command) was the highest command echelon of the Italian Armed Forces between June 1941 and May 1945. Its predecessor, the ''Stato Maggiore Generale'' (General Staff), was a purely advisory body with no direct control ...

), a post he held until 5 July 1943. On 2 March 1942, he was awarded the honor of knight of the

Military Order Military order may refer to: Orders * Military order (religious society), confraternity of knights originally established as religious societies during the medieval Crusades for protection of Christianity and the Catholic Church Military organ ...

of Italy and with the Royal Decree of 8 August 1942 he was appointed officer of the

Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus () (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the world, tracing its lineage to AD 1098, a ...

. Having been promoted to major general on 1 January 1943, in July 1943, after the Allied landings in Sicily, he was sent to Sicily as an envoy of General

Mario Roatta Mario Roatta (2 February 1887 – 7 January 1968) was an Italian general. After serving in World War I he rose to command the Corpo Truppe Volontarie which assisted Francisco Franco's nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War. He was the d ...

to the headquarters of General

Alfredo Guzzoni Alfredo Guzzoni (12 April 1877 – 15 April 1965) was an Italian military officer who served in both World War I and World War II. Early life Guzzoni was a native of Mantua, Italy. Military career Guzzoni joined the Italian Royal Army ('' Re ...

, commander of the Sixth Army, later taking on the task of organizing a defensive line on the mountains of

Cefalù Cefalù (; ), classically known as (), is a city and comune in the Italian Metropolitan City of Palermo, located on the Tyrrhenian coast of Sicily about east of the provincial capital and west of Messina. The town, with its population of jus ...

. On 15 August 1943, he was appointed commander of the 6th Alpine Division "Alpi Graie", stationed in

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 ...

. After 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 ...

in September 1943, his troops defended

La Spezia La Spezia (, or ; ; , in the local ) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second-largest city in the Liguria ...

and delayed the German forces enough to allow the Italian fleet to set sail for

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

; he then evaded capture by the Germans and lived in hiding until the end of the war. On the proposal of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, on 2 June 1956 he was awarded as Grand Officer of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

, just a month before his death.Generals.dk
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorlier, Mario 1892 births 1956 deaths Italian Army generals Italian military personnel of World War II Italian military personnel of World War I Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic