Davide Dusmet de Smours ( Naples, 17 June 1881 –

Schokken Skoki (german: Schokken) is a town in Poland, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Wągrowiec County, with 3,779 inhabitants (December 2004). It is located about 40 km north of Poznań. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called G ...

, 24 November 1943) was an Italian general during World War II.

Biography

He was born in Naples in 1881, the son of Duke Giustino Dusmet,

Marquis A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

of Smours, and of Anna d'Evoli, Marquise of Trignano; his was an aristocratic family closely linked to the

Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanish ...

. After enlisting in the

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army ( it, Regio Esercito, , Royal Army) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfre ...

, in 1904 he began to attend the Royal Academy of Modena as a cadet officer, graduating on 4 September 1905 as cavalry

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 ...

and being assigned to the 11th Light Cavalry Regiment of

Foggia Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known ...

(Cavalleggeri di Foggia). He was promoted to lieutenant on 12 October 1908; from 2 April 1911 he was placed on leave for family reasons for six months. In 1912 he took part in the Italo-Turkish war, and on 31 December 1914 he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, serving with the 13th Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Monferrato". He participated in the First World War with the 20th Regiment "Cavalleggeri di Roma", distinguishing himself on the Karst Plateau in 1916. On November 18, 1917 he was transferred to the infantry and assigned to the 32nd Infantry Regiment, Marche Infantry Brigade. After the war he continued serving in the 32nd Infantry Regiment 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 was also an alternate judge at the territorial military court of Naples from 1 May 1924. From 10 June 1932, after promotion to colonel, he commanded the 1st Infantry Regiment "Re", then the military district of Siena and, from 20 May 1937, the

military prison A military prison is a prison operated by a military. Military prisons are used variously to house prisoners of war, unlawful combatants, those whose freedom is deemed a national security risk by the military or national authorities, and members of ...

s of the Royal Italian Army until the beginning of 1938. He was promoted to brigadier general on 20 April 1938 and assigned to the Army Corps of Rome for special assignments until early 1939, when he was transferred to the reserve. He was recalled into service on 10 February 1942, in the middle of World War II, and given command of the garrison of Dubrovnik. After the

Armistice of Cassibile The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brig ...

in September 1943 he was captured by German troops in Dubrovnik and sent as a prisoner of war to Poland, in Oflag 64/Z of

, where he arrived on the following 2 October. During his captivity he came down with bronchitis, which became pneumonia due to the lack of medical care, and died in the night of 24 November 1943. He was buried in the

Salka Salka ( hu, Ipolyszalka) is a village and municipality in the Nové Zámky District in the Nitra Region of south-west Slovakia. History In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1156. Geography The municipality lies at an altitude ...

cemetery, near the church and the woods adjacent to the camp.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dusmet, Davide 1881 births 1943 deaths Italian military personnel of World War II Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel killed in World War II Italian generals Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Deaths from pneumonia in Poland Italian prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany