Giorgio Calvi di Bergolo

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Giorgio Carlo Calvi di Bergolo
Born(1887-03-15)15 March 1887
Athens, Greece
Died25 February 1977(1977-02-25) (aged 89)
Rome, Italy
Allegiance Kingdom of Italy
Service/branch Royal Italian Army
RankMajor general
Commands heldRegiment "Nizza Cavalleria" (1st)
Libyan Cavalry Group
131st Armored Division "Centauro"
136th Armored Legionary Division "Centauro"
Open City of Rome
Battles/wars
Awards

Giorgio Carlo Calvi, Count of Bergolo (Athens, 15 March 1887 – Rome, 25 February 1977) was an Italian general during World War II and the husband of Princess Yolanda of Savoy, the eldest daughter of King Victor Emmanuel III.

Biography

He was born into a family of the

horse riding (of which he had been a champion in his youth) at the Royal Cavalry School in Pinerolo.[3][4]

On 9 July 1923 he married Princess Yolanda of Savoy, eldest daughter of King Victor Emmanuel III, against the wishes of old Queen Mother Margherita, who would have preferred arrange a higher match for her granddaughter (Queen Margherita had hoped to marry her to Edward, Prince of Wales). The marriage was held in the Pauline Chapel; they had four children, Maria Ludovica (born in 1924), Vittoria Francesca (born in 1930), Guja Anna (born in 1930) and Pier Francesco (born in 1933).[3][5][4]

In 1935 he was appointed inspector of cavalry in Libya, and from 1937 to 1940 he commanded the Regiment "Nizza Cavalleria" (1st). In June 1940, after Italy's entry into World War II, he was given command of the Libyan Cavalry Group; he was promoted to brigadier general on 1 October 1940, and in February 1941 he became chief of staff of the liaison office with Panzer Army Africa, a post he held for a year. On 1 March 1942 he replaced General Gavino Pizzolato at the command of the 131st Armored Division "Centauro" (then stationed in Piedmont), which he led during the Tunisian campaign from late 1942 (when he was promoted to major general) to April 1943, earning success at the battle of Kasserine Pass in February 1943; in a later incident he temporarily assumed command of a German battalion who had been left without commander and was awarded the Iron Cross. On 7 April 1943, after the division had suffered heavy casualties in the battle of El Guettar and most of its surviving units had been attached to other Italian and German divisions, Calvi di Bergolo was repatriated.[3][6]

After the

Badoglio government. Nevertheless, when on 2 September 1943 he was summoned by General Giacomo Carboni and asked about the reliability of his unit in the event of a change of sides, he replied that it was unlikely that his men would accept it. Disappointed with the response, Carboni decided to prepare for the replacement of Calvi di Bergolo with his deputy, General Oscar Gritti. On 7 September, when the Armistice of Cassibile had already been secretly signed, Carboni again asked the same question to Calvi di Bergolo, who decided to ask his officers directly; they confirmed that they would never take up arms against the Germans. At that point Bergolo was replaced with Gritti.[3][6][7]

After the proclamation of the Armistice on 8 September, the start of

PAI General Riccardo Maraffa (who had been appointed commander of all police forces of the open city of Rome), General Umberto di Giorgio (former commander of the territorial defence of Rome), General Ugo Tabellini (commander of the Piave) and Count Vittorio Cini, and transferred to northern Italy. He was then imprisoned in a hotel in Hirschegg, Austria, along with some members of the royal family and former Prime Minister Francesco Saverio Nitti, but was later allowed to return to Italy and placed under house arrest in Casale Monferrato, enjoying better treatment than the other arrested generals, apparently due to the respect he had earned from the Germans during his service in North Africa. From there he escaped to Switzerland, where he rejoined his wife and children, who had fled there after the Armistice.[8][9][10][11][12]

He returned to Italy in May 1945, after the end of the war, and left active service in the Army. In 1946, following the

Monferrato and later in a villa in Capocotta. He died in Rome 1977.[3][5]

References

  1. ^ https://gw.geneanet.org/djoseph?lang=en&iz=14384&p=giorgio+carlo&n=calvi+di+bergolo
  2. ^ https://gw.geneanet.org/djoseph?lang=en&iz=14384&p=matilda+emilia+francesca+maria&n=calvi+di+bergolo
  3. ^ a b c d e http://www.tricolore-italia.com/pdf/spec/tricolore-n152-calvi-bergolo.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  4. ^ a b "Calvi di Bèrgolo, Carlo, conte nell'Enciclopedia Treccani". www.treccani.it.
  5. ^ a b http://www.consulta.altervista.org/cc_3.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  6. ^ a b "Biography of Major-General Giorgio Carlo Calvi di Bergolo (1887 – 1977), Italy". generals.dk.
  7. ^ Pietro Cappellari, La guardia della rivoluzione, La Milizia fascista nel 1943: crisi militare-25 luglio-8 settembre-Repubblica Sociale, pp. 140–141
  8. ^ ""Eccellenza, andatevene subito perché stanno venendo i tedeschi"". lastampa.it. May 4, 2015.
  9. ^ "Storie Il Montezemolo partigiano". Moked. September 27, 2016.
  10. ^ "Roma Settembre 1943". www.storiaxxisecolo.it.
  11. ISBN 9788833131863
    – via Google Books.
  12. ^ Ruggero Zangrandi, 1943: 25 luglio-8 settembre, p. 512
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Giorgio_Calvi_di_Bergolo&oldid=1216891064"