Romolo Lastrucci (15 July 1889 – 29 September 1976) 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 opposin ...

. Engineer-in-Chief of the Tenth Army, he was captured in

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 ...

six days after Italy's entry into the war, thus becoming the first Axis general captured in World War II.

Biography

A veteran of the Italo-Turkish War, 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 ...

and the Second Italo-Senussi War, he participated in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

with the rank of

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 ...

, as Engineer-in-Chief of the

Corps of Volunteer Troops The Corps of Volunteer Troops ( it, Corpo Truppe Volontarie, CTV) was a Fascist Italian expeditionary force of military volunteers, which was sent to Spain to support the Nationalist forces under General Francisco Franco against the Spanish Re ...

(CTV), taking part in the battle of Santander (where he received a War Cross for Military Valor), and subsequently in the battle of the Ebro and the Aragon Offensive, where he earned a Silver Medal of Military Valor. In 1939 he was promoted 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 ...

for war merit, and after commanding the engineers of the

Udine Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with t ...

Army Corps from September 1939 to February 1940 he was given command of the Engineering troops of the XXI Corps, stationed in Cyrenaica as part of the Tenth Army, and later of the Tenth Army itself. In the morning of 16 June 1940, six days after Italy had entered 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 opposin ...

, Lastrucci left

Benghazi Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη (''Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghazi ...

to inspect fortification works in the Bardia area, near the border with

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 Mediter ...

; near Marsa Luch his two-car convoy was attacked by five British armored cars on the Via Balbia, and while the other car managed to escape, his car suffered an engine breakdown and was surrounded. After a brief exchange of fire in which Captain Francesco Valvo was killed, Lastrucci was captured; he was carrying the defense plans of Bardia, which were later used in the planning of the

Battle of Bardia The Battle of Bardia was fought between 3 and 5 January 1941, as part of Operation Compass, the first British military operation of the Western Desert campaign of the Second World War. It was the first battle of the war in which an Australian ...

. He was initially held in a newly built

prisoner-of-war 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. P ...

in Geneifa, near the

Great Bitter Lake The Great Bitter Lake ( ar, البحيرة المرة الكبرى; Arabic transliteration, transliterated: ''al-Buḥayrah al-Murra al-Kubrā'') is a large saltwater lake in Egypt that is part of the Suez Canal. Before the canal was built in ...

, until in August 1940 he was transferred to the

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

"general's camp" in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. Having become sick, he was repatriated in late 1944. From 23 January 1958 to 18 October 1959 he was national vice president of the National Association of Engineers and Transmitters of Italy (ANGET).Storia dell’Arma del Genio, Volume VI
/ref> On 2 June 1959 he was awarded the honor of knight of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...

, which was however revoked on 21 December 1961. He died in 1976.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lastrucci, Romolo 1889 births 1976 deaths Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of World War II Italian Army generals Corpo Truppe Volontarie personnel Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic