Lorenzo "Renzo" Dalmazzo (January 23, 1886 – December 12, 1959) was an Italian

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 ...

and

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

and

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

commander 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 ...

Military career

On 3 June 1918, he received the Knight's

Military Order of Italy The Military Order of Italy () is the highest military order of the Italian Republic and the former Kingdom of Italy. It was founded as the Military Order of Savoy, a national order by the King of Sardinia, Vittorio Emanuele I, Duke of Savoy in ...

(5th Class). He served in the colony of

Italian Somaliland Italian Somaliland (; ; ) was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia, which was ruled in the 19th century by the Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate in the north, and by the Hiraab Imamate and ...

in 1925–1926 and in

Italian East Africa Italian East Africa (, A.O.I.) was a short-lived colonial possession of Fascist Italy from 1936 to 1941 in the Horn of Africa. It was established following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, which led to the military occupation of the Ethiopian ...

in 1936, where he led the Italian 2nd Eritrean Division during the

Second Italo-Ethiopian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression waged by Fascist Italy, Italy against Ethiopian Empire, Ethiopia, which lasted from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is oft ...

. On 24 May 1937, he received the Officer's Military Order of Italy (4th Class). He returned to Italy and became commander of the 2nd Cavalry Division "Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro". After the outbreak of

he commanded the XXI Corps in the

Western Desert Campaign The Western Desert campaign (Desert War) took place in the Sahara Desert, deserts of Egypt and Libya and was the main Theater (warfare), theatre in the North African campaign of the Second World War. Military operations began in June 1940 with ...

in 1939–1940. He commanded the VI Corps in occupied Yugoslavia in 1940–1942, where he was instrumental in negotiating collaboration agreements with the

Chetniks The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...

. On 24 December 1942, he received the Commander's Military Order of Italy (3rd Class). He then served in Albania in 1943 as commander of the 9th Army. In March 1943 he negotiated an agreement with

Ali Këlcyra Ali Bey Këlcyra (May 28, 1891 – September 24, 1963) born Ali Klissura, was an Albanian lord and a member of the Albanian parliament in the 1920s. He was co-founder with Mid'hat Frashëri of the Balli Kombëtar organization in 1942, and the ...

of the

Balli Kombëtar The Balli Kombëtar (literally ''National Front'') was an Albanian nationalist, Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, collaborationist, and anti-communist resistance movement during the Second World War. It was led by Ali Këlcyra a ...

for their assistance in suppressing the communist resistance. The Dalmazzo–Këlcyra Agreement has been controversial in Albanian historiography. He was taken prisoner of war by the Germans in 1943 when Italy capitulated to the Allies. He died in 1959.

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References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalmazzo, Lorenzo 1886 births 1959 deaths Military personnel from Turin Italian Army generals Italian fascists Italian military personnel of World War II Italian prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Recipients of the Military Order of Italy