Giovanni Esposito (general)

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Giovanni Esposito
28th Infantry Division "Vespri"
57th Infantry Division "Lombardia"
5th Alpine Division "Pusteria"
Territorial Defense of Trieste

204th Regional Military Command
Battles/wars
Awards

Giovanni Esposito (May 18, 1882 – June 3, 1958) was an Italian general during World War II and a recipient of the Gold Medal of Military Valor. He commanded the 5th Alpine Division "Pusteria" in 1941–1942, and the territorial defense of Trieste from 1943 to 1945, joining the Italian Social Republic.

Biography

Early years

Esposito was born in Loreto Aprutino on May 18, 1882, the son of Giovanni Esposito di Zopito and Apollonia Acerbo.

He enlisted in the Royal Italian Army as a trainee sergeant assigned to the 36th Infantry Regiment.[when?] On October 31, 1904 he entered the Royal Military Academy of Modena and on September 14, 1906 he was appointed second lieutenant, assigned to the 5th Alpini Regiment, where he was promoted to lieutenant in September 1909.

After the outbreak of the

bayonet charge. During a battle on December 27, while marching to re-enter the redoubts, he went back alone to rescue a wounded Alpino who was about to be captured by the enemy. During the battle of March 3, 1912 near the "Lombardia" redoubt, his battalion withstood an assault by superior Turkish-Arab forces; he distinguished himself during this action, keeping fighting even after being wounded in the leg and until he was hit again in the abdomen. For this he was awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor. After recovering from his wounds, in October 1913 he began to attend the Army School of War, and was then promoted to captain and assigned to the 2nd Alpini Regiment.[1]

World War I

After the entry of the Kingdom of Italy into the

War Cross for Military Valor.[2]

Interwar years

After the war he joined the staff officer corps, and after promotion to

28th Infantry Division "Vespri", and in 1939, after a period in command of the Milan Corps of the Guardia alla Frontiera, he transferred to that of the newly formed 57th Infantry Division "Lombardia", stationed in Pola.[2][3]

World War II

In May 1940 he was promoted to

Greek campaign, relieving General Amedeo De Cia. He led the division during the harsh winter spent on the Tomorr, the bloody fighting on Mali Spadarit and Selami, and finally the advance into Greek territory towards Konitsa at the end of the campaign; for this he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Savoy.[1][2][4][3]

In July 1941 the "Pusteria" were transferred to

Muslim) and reprisals in near-by villages, such as killing of 38 people in Crljenice.[7]

Following the victory in Pljevlja, Esposito often sent his troops in interior of region of control, which was uncommon for Italian units, which mostly stayed in garrisons. After killing of collaborationist

Chetnik leader in Krnjača on January 26, Italian Army went to arrest all adult males from the village and steal cattle, however population already fled. Italians still significant inflicted material damage to the village. On January 31 Italian Army raided village Vrulja killing 3 Partisans. Next target was Kruševo which unit attacked with legalized Chetniks from Pljevlja and was razed completely. Following fight with Partisans similar fate happened to Vrbica.[8]

In April 1942, to effectively counter the escalation in attacks carried out by the

Bosnia. During this operation, the "Pusteria" participated in bitter fighting against the partisans in the Drina region. After the end of the operation, Esposito was repatriated with his division, awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valor, and transferred to the Army reserve on May 18, 1942, but appointed Inspector of the Alpine Troops in Rome.[1][2]

In May 1943, with the worsening of the Italian war situation, he was assigned the Territorial Defense Command of Trieste, of which he became commander in July.[1][2][9][3]

At the time of the proclamation of the Armistice of Cassibile on September 8, 1943, the Julian March was defended by the XXIII Army Corps of General Alberto Ferrero, who refused to fight against the Germans, declaring Trieste indefensible. Ferrero transferred his command to Cervignano, leaving Esposito in command of Trieste, which was occupied by German troops without opposition. At 18:00 on September 10, Esposito signed the transfer of civil and military powers to the German Operational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral at his headquarters in Villa Necker. He later joined the Italian Social Republic, retaining command of the territorial defense of Trieste and being appointed regional commander of the National Republican Army (204th Regional Military Command).[1][2][10][3]

Trial, imprisonment and later years

After the war, with the occupation of Trieste by the

Allied Military Government decided to transfer all Italian political prisoners to the Supreme Military Court of Rome. Esposito was therefore transferred to the Civitavecchia prison.[3][1]

In December 1948 the

war criminals wanted by Yugoslavia, but he was never extradited.[3][11][1]

Having been reinstated in his rank in 1956, he died in Rome on June 3, 1958.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Bianchi, Andrea; Cattaneo, Mariolina. "Il Labaro". I Quaderni dell'Associazione Nazionale Alpini (in Italian): 82–83.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Bianchi, Andrea. "Gli Ordini militari di Savoia e d'Italia". I Quaderni dell'Associazione Nazionale Alpini (in Italian): 86–87.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Biography of Major-General Giovanni Esposito (1882–1958), Italy". generals.dk. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  4. ^ Philip S. Jowett and Stephen Andrew, The Italian Army Vol. 1, p. 8
  5. ^ Philip S. Jowett and Stephen Andrew, The Italian Army Vol.1, p. 20
  6. ^ Giacomo Scotti, Luciano Viazzi, Le aquile delle montagne nere. Storia dell'occupazione e della guerra italiana in Montenegro (1941–1943), pp. 389–483
  7. ^ Živković 2017, p. 344.
  8. ^ Živković 2017, p. 516-517.
  9. ^ Gino Bambara, La guerra di liberazione nazionale in Jugoslavia (1941–1943), pp. 140–149
  10. ^ Philip S. Jowett and Stephen Andrew, The Italian Army Vol.3, p. 10
  11. ^ The Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects, Consolidated Wanted Lists (1947), Naval & University Press, Uckfield 2005; Part 2 - Non-Germans only, pp. 60 and 62 (facsimile of the original document at the National Archives in Kew/London).

Sources

  • Živković, Milutin D. (2017). Санџак 1941–1943 [Sandžak 1941–1943] (Doctoral) (in Serbo-Croatian). Belgrade: University of Belgrade.
    OCLC 1242119546
    .
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