Vittorio Sogno (

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome. History Spolet ...

, 24 July 1885 – 1971) 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 opposing ...

Biography

He was born in

on July 24, 1885. After attending the Royal Academy of Artillery and Engineers in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

, he graduated with the rank of second lieutenant of the Engineers in 1904, assigned to the 3rd Engineers Regiment. In 1912 he was transferred to the 2nd Engineer Regiment and participated in the

Italian-Turkish war The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( tr, Trablusgarp Savaşı, "Tripolitanian War", it, Guerra di Libia, "War of Libya") was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911, to 18 October 1912. As a result o ...

and in 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 ...

as a

staff officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military ...

, assigned to the command of the First Corps of Turin. On 7 October 1917 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and later made section head of the central staff until 1 May 1924. On 30 June 1924 he was transferred to the 7th Engineering Group, and on 20 October 1926 to the 8th Engineering Regiment. On 8 May 1927 he was promoted to

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 o ...

, and from 1 January 1928 he was appointed commander of the 11th Engineer Regiment. He was later transferred to the

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be des ...

service of the Royal Italian Army, heading the

Servizio Informazioni Militare The Italian Military Information Service ( it, Servizio Informazioni Militare, or SIM) was the military intelligence organization for the Royal Army (''Regio Esercito'') of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1925 until 1946, and of th ...

between 1932 and 1934. He was then commander of the engineers of the Army Corps of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

and later, after promotion 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 ...

on June 16, 1935, he was deputy commander of the 126th Infantry Division "Assietta II", participating in the

Second Italo-Ethiopian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Itali ...

. He was promoted to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

on November 21, 1937 and on the following year he became commander of the 20th Infantry Division "Curtatone and Montanara", later renamed 20th Infantry Division "Friuli" in 1939; under his leadership the division participated in the first war operations after the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...

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 opposi ...

on 10 June 1940. After leaving the command of the division on 31 August of the same year, on the following day he became acting commander of the VII Army Corps of Florence until 14 April 1941, after which he was transferred to the Ministry of War and given command of the XVII Army Corps 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 ...

; on 3 November 1941 he was again given command of the VII Army Corps, which he maintained until June 9, 1942, when it was renamed XXX Corps. On 1 January 1942 he was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

, while his XXX Corps trained for the planned invasion of Malta, for which Sogno was scheduled to be overall commander of the invasion force; this operation was however cancelled and in November 1942 the Corps was transferred to

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, where it fought under Sogno’s command until May 1943. On 8 May 1943, five days before the final surrender of all Axis forces in Africa, Sogno was repatriated with one of the last flights to

Castelvetrano Castelvetrano ( scn, Castiḍḍuvitranu) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Trapani, Sicily, southern Italy. The archeological site of Selinunte is located within the municipal territory. The municipality borders with Campobello d ...

, thus escaping capture. From 5 July to 1 September 1943 he commanded the II Army Corps in

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

, being then replaced by General Gervasio Bitossi. He was then designated to replace General

Lorenzo Dalmazzo Lorenzo "Renzo" Dalmazzo was an Italian lieutenant general and corps and army commander during World War II. Military career On 3 June 1918, he received the Knight's Military Order of Italy (5th Class). He served in the colony of Italian Somalil ...

as commander of the Ninth Army in

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 ...

from 9 September 1943, but a few hours before leaving Rome for

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

he was stopped by the proclamation of the Armistice of Cassibile. There he participated in an unsuccessful attempt, along with Generals

Giacomo Carboni Giacomo Carboni (29 April 1889 – 2 December 1973) was an Italian general who was the commander of ''Corpo d'armata motocorazzato'' deployed around Rome in the early days of September 1943. Life and career Born in Reggio Emilia he joined the ...

and

Antonio Sorice Antonio Sorice (Nola, 3 November 1897 – Rome, 14 January 1971) was an Italian general during World War II, Undersecretary for War from February to July 1943 and Minister of War from July 1943 to February 1944. Biography He was born in N ...

, to replace Marshal of Italy

Pietro Badoglio Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino (, ; 28 September 1871 – 1 November 1956), was an Italian general during both World Wars and the first viceroy of Italian East Africa. With the fall of the Fascist regime ...

with the Marshal

Enrico Caviglia Enrico Caviglia (4 May 1862 – 22 March 1945) was a distinguished officer in the Italian Army. Victorious on the bloody battlefields of the Great War, he rose in time to the highest rank in his country, Marshal of Italy; he was also a Senato ...

as head of the Italian government. He was designated by Caviglia as provisional Chief of Staff of the Army during the attempt to organize the defense of the capital against the invading Germans; he started negotiations with the latter, which ended on 10 September with the surrender of the capital. He then evaded capture, joining the

Clandestine Military Front The Clandestine Military Front (Italian: Fronte Militare Clandestino) was an organization of the Italian Resistance that operated in German-occupied Rome between September 1943 and June 1944. It consisted of some 2,300 men, largely Army officers wh ...

and after the

liberation of Rome The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign of World War II that took place from January 22, 1944 (beginning with the Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle) to June 5, 1944 (ending with the capture of Rome). The op ...

, in 1944, he became president of the Supreme Military Tribunal for Liberated Lands. He retired from the Army in 1947, and died in 1971.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sogno, Vittorio 1885 births 1971 deaths Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of World War II Italian generals People from Spoleto