General Mario Carloni (27 December 1894 – 30 January 1962) was an Italian soldier who fought in

World War I 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 ...

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 started his career in 1912 joining as a volunteer in the 5th Reg. of

Bersaglieri The Bersaglieri, singular Bersagliere, (, "sharpshooter") are a troop of marksmen in the Italian Army's infantry corps. They were originally created by General Alessandro La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Royal Sardinian Army, which ...

Senigallia Senigallia (or Sinigaglia in Old Italian, Romagnol: ''S’nigaja'') is a ''comune'' and port town on Italy's Adriatic coast. It is situated in the province of Ancona in the Marche region and lies approximately 30 kilometers north-west of the pro ...

. In 1940 he reached the rank of colonel. During the Second World War he fought in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and in the Italian Campaign. His son Bruno died on the Russian Front in 1942. Following the Italian Armistice in 1943, after a brief time imprisoned by the Germans, he joined

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 ...

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...

and was appointed as commander of the 4th "Monte Rosa" Alpine Division. In December 1944 he led the German and Italian RSI troops in the

battle of Garfagnana The Battle of Garfagnana ( it, Battaglia della Garfagnana), known to the Germans as Operation Winter Storm (''Unternehmen Wintergewitter'') and nicknamed the "Christmas Offensive" (Italian: ''Offensiva di Natale''), was a successful Axis offensiv ...

defeating the 92nd US " Buffalo" Division. On 1 March 1945 he was promoted to the rank of general of division and assigned to the 1st Division "Italia". On 29 April he surrendered to the

Brazilian Expeditionary Force The Brazilian Expeditionary Force ( pt, Força Expedicionária Brasileira, FEB), nicknamed Cobras Fumantes (literally "the Smoking Snakes"), was a military division of the Brazilian Army and Air Force that fought with Allied forces in the Me ...

after the

battle of Collecchio The Battle of Collecchio-Fornovo (26–29 April 1945) was a battle of the Second World War between the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (''Força Expedicionária Brasileira'' – FEB), along with Italian partisans and units from the American 1st Ar ...

. In 1946, Carloni was prosecuted by the U.S. Army for the murder of Lieutenant Alfred Lyth, an American pilot killed by Monte Rosa soldiers, after his capture. He was acquitted, but was held in Italian custody at Forte Boccea in

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 ...

. Carloni was released without any charges on 19 May 1951, but was demoted in rank to Colonel, and stripped of all his awards given to him by the

between 1943 and 1945.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carloni, Mario 1894 births 1962 deaths Italian generals Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of World War II People of the Italian Social Republic Italian prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war Prisoners and detainees of the United States military Prisoners and detainees of Italy