__NOTOC__ Giulio Martinat (

Perrero Perrero (Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lo Perrier'', French: Le Perrier) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin. Perrero borders the following mun ...

, 24 February 1891 – 26 January 1943 in Nikolayevka) was a brigadier general in the Italian armed forces 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 ...

. He was killed while leading his men in the

Battle of Nikolayevka The Battle of Nikolayevka was the breakout of Italian forces in January 1943, as a small part of the larger Battle of Stalingrad. The breakout involved the Alpine Army Corps of the Italian 8th Army near the village of Nikolayevka (now Livenka, ...

. Born in a small town of

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, of Waldensian religion, he enrolled in the Italian Army at a young age and fought in the conquest of

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

in 1911. In 1935 he participated in the conquest of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

and in 1939 in that of

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, where he distinguished himself; from 1937 to 1941 he was chief of staff of the

3rd Alpine Division Julia Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * ...

. In 1939 he published the book ''Il grande capo d'una grande impresa militare'', edited by the Società di Studi Valdesi (Society of Waldensian Studies), about the qualities of the

Duke of Aosta Duke of Aosta ( it, Duca d'Aosta; french: Duc d'Aoste) was a title in the Italian nobility. It was established in the 13th century when Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, made the County of Aosta a duchy. The region was part of the Savoyard s ...

in 1690 against the French. In 1940 he participated in the

Greco-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (Greek: Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος, ''Ellinoïtalikós Pólemos''), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian Campaign in Greece, and the War of '40 in Greece, took place between the kingdoms of Italy and G ...

as Chief of Staff of the ''Corpo d'Armata Alpino'' (Alpine Army Corps), and on 17 July 1942, again as Chief of Staff of the ''Corpo d'Armata Alpino'', now part of the

Armata Italiana in Russia The Italian Army in Russia ( it, Armata Italiana in Russia; ARMIR) was an army-sized unit of the Royal Italian Army which fought on the Eastern Front during World War II between July 1942 and April 1943. The ARMIR was also known as the 8th I ...

(ARMIR), he departed for the Eastern Front. In November he was promoted to Brigadier-General. In January 1943 General Martinat led the Italian forces during the

, trying to open an escape route for the surviving Italian troops trying to break out of the Soviet encirclement during

Operation Little Saturn Operation Little Saturn was a Red Army offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in Don and Chir rivers region in German-occupied Soviet Union territory in 16–30 December 1942. The success of Operation Uranus, launc ...

, being killed in action; he was posthumously awarded the

Gold Medal of Military Valor The Gold Medal of Military Valour ( it, Medaglia d'oro al valor militare) is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia for deeds of outstanding gallantry in war by junior officers and soldiers. The fac ...

by the Italian government, and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross by the German government. Upon seeing the Alpini of the ''Edolo'' battalion, Martinat reportedly said "''with the Edolo'' attalion''I started, with the Edolo'' attalion''I want to end''" (the Edolo battalion had been the first unit where he had served); he took up a rifle, led his men in battle, and was killed. His sacrifice opened the road for the Italian breakout at the

. The town of

, where was born, has dedicated a monument to him in May 1950.Perrero monument to Martinat (in Italian)

References

Bibliography

* Bedeschi, Giulio. ''Centomila gavette di ghiaccio''. Mursia editore. Milano, 1994 *

References

Bibliography

See also