Camillo Grossi (

Grosseto Grosseto () is a city and ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the Ombrone river. It is the m ...

, 30 September 1876 –

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, 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 ...

, 16 June 1941) was an Italian general during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

and

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 ...

. He was also a member of the

Italian Senate The Senate of the Republic ( it, Senato della Repubblica), or simply the Senate ( it, Senato), is the upper house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Chamber of Deputies). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral sy ...

from 5 April 1939 until his

death in office A death in office is the death of a person who was incumbent of an office-position until the time of death. Such deaths have been usually due to natural causes, but they are also caused by accidents, suicides, disease and assassinations. The death ...

in 1941.

Biography

Born in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, he entered 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 1894 and began his career in the

Alpini The Alpini are the Italian Army's specialist mountain infantry. Part of the army's infantry corps, the speciality distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. Currently the active Alpini units are organized in two operatio ...

Corps. 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 ...

with 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 ...

and later

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 ...

(from 1917), serving as Chief of Staff of the Third Army and later as head of the press office at the Supreme Command. Between 1921 and 1923 he headed the operations office of the General Staff, and was later commander of the

2nd Alpini Regiment The 2nd Alpini Regiment ( it, 2° Reggimento Alpini) is a regiment of the Italian Army's mountain infantry speciality, the Alpini, which distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. The regiment was disbanded in 1943 due t ...

. In 1925 he joined the staff of the Ministry of War, where he established the inter-force coordination office and served as the minister's chief of staff from 14 December 1925 to 13 June 1932, being 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 a ...

on 1 October 1931. From 1933 to 1935 he commanded the territorial military division of

Cuneo Cuneo (; pms, Coni ; oc, Coni/Couni ; french: Coni ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in ...

, being 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 ...

on 28 February 1935, after which he assumed command of the Army Corps of

. In 1938-1939 he was commander of the Fourth Army. On 5 April 1939, he was appointed

senator for life A senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , six Italian senators out of 206, two out of the 41 Burundian senators, one Congolese senator out of 109, and all members of the Bri ...

in the

Senate of the Kingdom of Italy The Senate of the Kingdom of Italy () was the upper house of the bicameral parliament of the Kingdom of Italy, officially created on 4 March 1848, acting as an evolution of the original Subalpine Senate. It was replaced on 1 January 1948 by the ...

, becoming a member of the Senate Commission for the Armed Forces. On 3 November 1939 he was appointed commander of Army Group East, stationed in

northeastern Italy Northeast Italy ( it, Italia nord-orientale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency. Northeast ...

with headquarters in

Cervignano del Friuli Cervignano del Friuli ( fur, Çarvignan or locally , lat, Cervenianum) is a ''comune'' in the province of Udine, Italy. It is the most important town of Bassa Friulana. It lies at about from the Laguna di Grado and at about from the Adriatic Se ...

and comprising the Second Army (deployed along the border with

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

), the

Army of the Po The Army of the Po (Italian ''Armata del Po''), numbered the Sixth Army (''6a Armata''), was a field army of the Royal Italian Army (''Regio Esercito'') during World War II (1939–45). History When it was initially formed on 10 November 1938 u ...

(stationed in

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

) and the 8th Army (stationed between

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

and

Romagna Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to t ...

). Army Group East was dissolved on 10 July 1940, one month after Italy's entry into

, an on 8 December 1940 Grossi became president of the Italian Armistice Commission with France (replacing General

Pietro Pintor Pietro Pintor (20 May 1880 – 7 December 1940) was an Italian general during World War II. Pintor was the uncle of the antifascist journalist Giaime Pintor. During the Italian invasion of France (11–25 June), he commanded the First Army, whi ...

, who had been killed in an

air crash An aviation accident is defined by the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any p ...

) until 16 June 1941, when he suddenly died in

from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

.Italian Army General Staff, Bollettino dell'archivio storico dell'Ufficio Storico, n. 3-4, Rome, Ufficio Storico SME, January–December 2002

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grossi, Camillo 1876 births 1941 deaths Italian military personnel of World War II Italian military personnel of World War I Italian generals Members of the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy