Armando Pescatori (

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

, 11 February 1884 –

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 ...

, 23 August 1957) 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 opposing ...

. Among Italy's most experienced generals in colonial warfare, he is noted for leading the 2nd Libyan Division also known as the "Pescatori Division".

Biography

Pescatori was born in

on 11 February 1884, the son of Francesco Pescatori. On 14 September 1904 he began to attend the Royal Military Academy of Infantry and Cavalry in Modena. He graduated with the rank of infantry second lieutenant on 5 September 1907 and was assigned to the 4th Infantry Regiment "Piemonte". After promotion to

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 ...

on 5 September 1910, he participated in the

Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( tr, Trablusgarp Savaşı, "Tripolitanian War", it, Guerra di Libia, "War of Libya") was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911, to 18 October 1912. As a result o ...

(1911-1912) and in the subsequent counterguerrilla operations in Libya from 1912 to 1915, being decorated with a

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

and two bronze medals of military valor. He then returned to Italy and 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 ...

with the rank of captain (with the 3rd Infantry Regiment "Piemonte") and later major. He distinguished himself at the command of a battalion of the 221st Infantry Regiment "Iono", and was awarded another bronze medal for military valor, subsequently transformed into a silver medal, for an action on the

Tagliamento The Tagliamento () is a braided river in north-east Italy, flowing from the Alps to the Adriatic Sea at a point between Trieste and Venice. The Tagliamento river is considered as the last morphologically intact river in the Alps. (Its c ...

on November 4, 1918, during the

battle of Vittorio Veneto The Battle of Vittorio Veneto was fought from 24 October to 3 November 1918 (with an armistice taking effect 24 hours later) near Vittorio Veneto on the Italian Front during World War I. After having thoroughly defeated Austro-Hungarian troop ...

. Between 1920 and 1921 he attended the Army War School in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

, and during the next decade he served in Italy's African colonies, becoming an officer of the

Royal Corps of Colonial Troops The Royal Corps of Colonial Troops ( it, Regio Corpo Truppe Coloniali or RCTC) was a corps of the Italian Armed Forces, in which all the Italian colonial troops were grouped until the end of World War II in Africa. History Many of the Askaris in ...

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή ��παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...

. In 1923-1924 he was briefly in command of a battalion of the 48th Infantry Regiment "Ferrara" in Bari. On February 5, 1928, he was promoted to staff lieutenant colonel and returned to Italy, where he was assigned to the

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

Army Corps, for special assignments. On 14 September 1931 he 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 o ...

and became teacher of colonial operations at the War School in Turin from 1931 to 1934, after which he commanded the 90th Infantry Regiment "Salerno" from 1934 to 1937. On 20 May 1937 he returned to Cyrenaica as deputy commander of the 62nd Infantry Division Marmarica (under the command of General Angelo Rossi), then stationed in

Tobruk Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near ...

, with the post of deputy commander. He retained this post after his promotion 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 ...

on 1 July 1937 and until 10 April 1939, when he was transferred to the Armed Forces High Command of

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

. On 1 March 1940, due to his deep colonial knowledge, he was given command of the new 2nd Libyan Division, composed of two groups of Libyan infantry (the 3rd and 4th) with three battalions each, a group of Libyan artillery on three batteries of 77/28 mm guns, two batteries of 20/65 Mod. 1935 machine guns, a company of 47/32 anti-tank guns, a battalion of engineers and various divisional services. The officers and specialized cadres were Italian, while the majority of the troops were Libyan. The division was also known as the "Pescatori" Division, after its commander. The commander of the 1st Division was General Luigi Sibille. These troops, which were also known as ''Regio Corpo Truppe Libiche'', were intended to take part in the Italian invasion of Egypt. During 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 opposi ...

, Italy declared war on 10 June 1940, Pescatori was still in command of the 2nd Libyan Division; on 1 July he was promoted to

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

, and on 16 September he participated in the conquest of

Sidi Barrani Sidi Barrani ( ar, سيدي براني ) is a town in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, about east of the Egypt–Libya border, and around from Tobruk, Libya. Named after Sidi es-Saadi el Barrani, a Senussi sheikh who was a head of ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. He then settled in two camps at Tummar with his troops until 10 December 1940, when his division was overwhelmed and defeated by British troops during

Operation Compass Operation Compass (also it, Battaglia della Marmarica) was the first large British military operation of the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) during the Second World War. British, Empire and Commonwealth forces attacked Italian forces of ...

and he was captured and sent to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

, being held in the Dehradun generals'

POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

until 1945. In June 1947, Pescatori was part of the monarchist movement and was associated with Marshal

Giovanni Messe Giovanni Messe (10 December 1883 – 18 December 1968) was an Italian field marshal and politician. In the Second World War, he was captured in Tunisia, but made chief of staff of the Italian Co-belligerent Army after the armistice of Septemb ...

, who was a contender for the movement's leadership. After being repatriated, he was awarded the Officer Cross of the

Military Order of Italy The Military Order of Italy ( it, Ordine Militare d'Italia) 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, Vittor ...

and promoted to

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) 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 ...

; he settled in Rome and became president of the local Officer's Club from 1947 to 1950. He died in the capital on 23 August 1957, at the age of 73.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pescatori, Armando 1884 births 1957 deaths Italian military personnel of World War II Italian military personnel of World War I Italian generals Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor