Luigi Giorgi (soldier)
Luigi Giorgi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 7 September 1913 Italian Campaign |
| Awards | Gold Medal of Military Valor (twice), Silver Star |
Captain Luigi Giorgi (7 September 1913 – 7 May 1945)
Biography
After qualifying as an
On
In March 1945, Captain Giorgi took part in operations in the Comacchio area as commander of the 3rd Company of the reformed 21° Reggimento Fanteria, operating on the far right of the British Eighth Army.
It was here that he earned his first
During the offensive that would lead to the final breakdown of German and Fascist forces in Italy, Giorgi took command of a small group of soldiers and attacked a withdrawing convoy. The action resulted in the capture of 80 Germans and of the materiel which the trucks were transporting.
He was seriously wounded by shellfire between 26 and 27 April while he was trying to free two fellow servicemen from the rubble of a destroyed emplacement near Croce di Cavarzere. Admitted to the 66th British Field Hospital in Ferrara, he died ten days later.
He received a posthumous second Gold Medal and also a US Silver Star, awarded for "exceptional acts of valor".
Honours and awards
A company commander, he attacked a well-defended enemy stronghold surrounded by
Chiavica Pedone (Ravenna), 2–3 March 1945.
During the days of the grand Spring offensive conducted by the Allied Armies in Italy, he repeated with the same daring and in the same fashion more deeds no smaller than those which had earned him a Gold Medal. In the latest, leading a group of bold soldiers, he fiercely attacked a convoy attempting redeployment and dispersed it with several PIAT shots and hand grenades, capturing 80 prisoners, many vehicles and a large number of arms and ammunition. Again in the lead of his men, he received a wound which would later cause his death. He died peacefully with his last thoughts aimed at his family and country, in the bright satisfaction of having accomplished in full consciousness and absolute modesty his duty as a soldier and Italian, for whom the first Gold Medal was not a point of arrival, but a point of honour to do more and better, as he in fact did.
Senio, Santerno, Po – Croce di Cavarzere, 10–26 April 1945.[3]
See also
Military history of Italy during World War II
Gothic Line
References
- ^ Ministero della Difesa – Ricerca notizie sulle sepolture dei Caduti in Guerra Archived 25 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ A. Boldrini, Diario di Bulow, Vangelista, Milano, 1985, p.281.
- ^ "Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana".
Bibliography
- Entry "Luigi Giorgi", in Encyclopedia of anti-fascism and Resistance, pub. by La Pietra, Milan, 1968.
- Arrigo Boldrini, "Diario di Bülow". Pagine di lotta partigiana 1943–1945, Vangelista, Milan, 1985.
- Roberto Roggero, Oneri e onori. Le verità militari e politiche della guerra di liberazione in Italia, Greco e Greco, Milan, 2006.
- Alfonso Magro, 10 aprile 1945. La Liberazione di Alfonsine, in "The second Risorgimento of Italy", n. 2/2007, Year 17, Rome
- Alfonso Magro, 29 aprile 1945. The occupation of Venice, in "The second Risorgimento of Italy", nr. 4/2008, Year 18, Rome [Italian language].