Sebastiano Visconti Prasca (23 January 1883,

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 ...

– 25 February 1961) was an Italian general. He led the initial offensive of 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 ...

, but was relieved of his command after two weeks for incompetence and substituted with General

Ubaldo Soddu Ubaldo Soddu (23 July 1883 – 25 July 1949) was an Italian military officer, who commanded the Italian Forces in the Greco-Italian War for a month. Soddu was born in Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an anc ...

Biography

Sebastiano Visconti Prasca was a member of the

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Grea ...

family of the

House of Visconti Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia fr ...

. He took part in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, receiving two commemorative medals and a Merit Cross. Starting from 1924, he served as military attache at Belgrade in

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

. In 1934 he commanded the Italian corps in

Saar Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name *Saar Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player *Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist *Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname * Ain Saar (born 1968), Esto ...

. Later he was military attaché at

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

and

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

, and, in 1938, he became commander of the 2nd Cavalry Division Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro. In 1940 he was commander-in-chief of the lackluster

Italian invasion of Greece Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

. Visconti Prasca's personal propaganda in convincing

Benito 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 ...

that the initial forces under his command would prove sufficient, and that the Italian invasion would meet a feeble resistance, was one of the factors leading to the disaster. Visconti Prasca was replaced on 13 November, only two weeks after the beginning of the invasion, by

. In September 1943 he joined the

Italian resistance movement The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Socia ...

. Captured by the Germans, he was sentenced to death, subsequently commuted to life imprisonment in Germany. Visconti Prasca escaped and fought with the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

in the final stages of

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, participating in the

battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula– ...

. In 1946 he published a memoir, ''Io ho aggredito la Grecia'', in which he tried to justify his personal errors in the War of Greece.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Visconti Prasca 1883 births 1961 deaths Military personnel from Rome Sebastiano Prasca Nobility from Rome Italian generals Italian military personnel of World War II Greco-Italian War Italian resistance movement members Italian prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners sentenced to death by Germany Italian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Germany