Azzo Passalacqua (2 July 1885 – 7 September 1967) was an Italian general during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Biography

He was born in 1885 in the province of Rieti, the son of Anastasio Passalacqua. He attended the

Military Academy of Modena The Military Academy of Modena ( it, Accademia militare di Modena) is a military university in Modena, northern Italy. Located in the Palazzo Ducale in the historic center of the city, it was the first such military institution to be created in ...

in 1907-1908, graduating with the rank of

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

, assigned to the

2nd Bersaglieri Regiment The 2nd Bersaglieri Regiment ( it, 2° Reggimento Bersaglieri) is an inactive unit of the Italian Army last based in Legnano in Lombardy. The regiment is part of the army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality and was last operationally assign ...

. He participated in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

fighting in the Carnic Alps, on the Karst Plateau, on the

Piave river The Piave ( la, Plavis, German: ''Ploden'') is a river in northern Italy. It begins in the Alps and flows southeast for into the Adriatic Sea near the city of Venice. One of its tributaries is the Boite. In 1809 it was the scene of a battle du ...

and on

Monte Grappa Monte Grappa ( vec, Mónte Grapa) (1,775 m) is a mountain of the Venetian Prealps in Veneto, Italy. It lies between the Venetian plain to the south and the central alpine areas to the North. To the west, it is parted from the Asiago upland by t ...

, earning a Silver Medal of Military Valor and reaching the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. On June 16, 1934, Passalacqua was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military 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 colonel was typically in charge of ...

and assigned to the headquarters of the

21st Infantry Division Granatieri di Sardegna First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. In October 1939 he was briefly attached to the Fast Army Corps. After the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he held the command of the 4th Coastal Brigade Sector in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

from 1 April to 31 July 1941 and then of the 8th Coastal Brigade Sector in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

from 1 August to 14 November 1941. From 15 November he was transferred to the headquarters of the XII Army Corps in

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

. On 1 December 1941 he was transferred to the Army reserve and promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

, being then given command of ''Difesa Porto E'', the ad hoc unit (consisting of two coastal

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

battalions, a coastal

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

group and a mortar company) tasked with the defense of the port of

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

from 16 April 1942. By decree of 18 September 1942 he was made Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( it, Ordine della Corona d'Italia, italic=no or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for civi ...

. After the

Allied landings in Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It bega ...

, on 10 July 1943, Catania became one of the main targets of the British Eighth Army. After the rapid fall of nearby Augusta and

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, Passalacqua took harsh measures to quell the growing

desertion Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ar ...

s among his men; he set up roadblocks, ordered to carry out roll calls four times a day in order to quickly find out if anyone had gone AWOL, and instructed his subordinates to immediately hunt down and execute deserters with summary judgment. On 15 July he personally presided over a

drumhead court-martial A drumhead court-martial is a court-martial held in the field to hear urgent charges of offences committed in action. The term sometimes has connotations of summary justice. The term is said to originate from the use of a drum as an improvised ...

that sentenced to death by

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...

a MILMART officer, ''capomanipolo'' (

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

) Giuseppe Catanzaro, for having abandoned the battery under his command, located near the Simeto river, along with all his men. Catanzaro claimed that he had been ordered to destroy the guns and retreat towards

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

by a superior; after the war, in 1955, he was rehabilitated and acquitted with a sentence of the Court of Cassation. During the battle for Catania, Passalacqua was repeatedly called by telephone by

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

(until 22 July), worried by the nonarrival of the reinforcements that were expected to hold the city. On 5 August, a few hours before Catania fell to the British, he was ordered to withdraw from Catania with his surviving troops. Passalacqua died in 1967 in Rome and was buried at the Verano cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Passalacqua, Azzo 1885 births 1967 deaths Italian military personnel of World War II Italian military personnel of World War I Italian Army generals Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor