Luigi Giorgi (soldier)
Encyclopedia
Captain Luigi Giorgi was an Italian soldier of World War II, the only one to receive two Gold Medals
in the Italian Campaign
and one of very few non-Americans to receive the Silver Star
.
, Giorgi volunteered for military service and was admitted as a cadet
to the Palermo
military school in 1935. The following year he was promoted to the rank of Aspirante Ufficiale (Acting 2nd Lieutenant). Assigned to the 21º Reggimento Fanteria, after being commissioned as a Sottotenente (2nd Lieutenant) he was transferred to the Regio Esercito medical school in Florence
until he was demobilized in 1937.
He was recalled to active duty two years later. When Italy entered World War II (1940), he was serving in the 21º Reggimento Fanteria attached to the "Cremona" Division
where he would stay for the duration of hostilities. In the meantime he rose in rank, being promoted to Tenente in January 1940, to Capitano in January 1942 and to leader of the 3rd Compagnia Fucilieri (Rifle Company) in 1943.
On 8 September 1943 he was in Corsica
and he participated in the heavy fighting against the Germans
. Italian troops, led by General Clemente Primieri
, eventually managed to oust their former allies from the island. The "Cremona" Division was later moved to Sardinia
for garrison duties. Giorgi remained a member of it when it was turned into the Gruppo di Combattimento Cremona (part of the Italian Co-Belligerent Army
). He was noted for being an officer with "a strong personality and ascendancy over his men".
In March 1945, Captain Giorgi took part in operations in the Comacchio
area as commander of the 3rd Company of the reformed 21° Reggimento Fanteria, operating on the far right of the British Eighth Army
.
It was here that he earned his first Gold Medal
for two courageous actions: leading two volunteers, he captured a well-defended German stronghold near Chiavica Pedone (on the left bank of the Reno river) and the following night, he rescued a badly wounded partisan (Menotti Conti, 1925–1959) who was lying in a minefield. He was decorated "in the field" on 6 March at Ravenna
, in the presence of the highest Allied military authorities in Italy: Field Marshal
Harold Alexander, General Sir Richard McCreery
and General Charles Keightley
.
During the offensive that would lead to the final breakdown of German
and Fascist
forces in Italy, Giorgi took command of a small group of soldiers and attacked a withdrawing convoy. The action resulted in the capture of 80 Germans and of the materiel
which the trucks were transporting.
He was seriously wounded by shellfire between 26 and 27 April while he was trying to free two fellow servicemen from the rubble of a destroyed emplacement near Croce di Cavarzere
. Admitted to the 66th British Field Hospital in Ferrara
, he died ten days later.
He received a posthumous second Gold Medal and also a US Silver Star
, awarded for "exceptional acts of valor".
Gold Medal of Military Valor
A company commander, he attacked a well-defended enemy stronghold surrounded by barbed wire entanglements
and minefields with the sole escort of two volunteer infantrymen, approaching the enemy installation in full daylight. Leaving the two infantrymen behind, after wading a small creek he single-handedly stormed the fortification
still under fire from our artillery and, throwing numerous hand grenades, he wrought panic among the defenders, 19 of whom surrendered. Joined by his platoon, he completed the occupation of the emplacement and, under raging enemy suppression fire, he disregarded his own safety to free two of his men trapped under the rubble of a bombed-out shelter, saving them from certain death. The following night he learned that a soldier from another unit was seriously wounded and lying in a minefield where no one had dared rescue him before defusing the land mines. Crawling alone and touching the terrain palm by palm, after one hour or more of exhausting effort, he managed to save him. [He was a] splendid example of gallantry and of generous selflessness of the Italian people.
Chiavica Pedone (Ravenna
), 2–3 March 1945.
Gold Medal of Military Valor
During the days of the grand Spring offensive conducted by the Allied Armies in Italy, he repeated with the same daring and in the same fashion more deeds no smaller than those which had earned him a Gold Medal. In the latest, leading a group of bold soldiers, he fiercely attacked a convoy attempting redeployment and dispersed it with several PIAT
shots and hand grenades, capturing 80 prisoners, many vehicles and a large number of arms and ammunition. Again in the lead of his men he received a wound which would later cause his death. He passed away peacefully with his last thoughts aimed at his family and Country, in the bright satisfaction of having accomplished in full consciousness and absolute modesty his duty of soldier and Italian, for whom the first Gold Medal was not a point of arrival, but a point of honor to do more and better, as he in fact did.
Senio
, Santerno
, Po
- Croce di Cavarzere
, 10–26 April 1945.
Silver Star
Italian Co-Belligerent Army
Gothic Line
Gold Medal of Military Valor
The Gold Medal of Military Valor is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia "....per bassi ufficiali e soldati che avevano fatto azioni di segnalato valore in guerra" .The face of the medal displayed the profile of the king, and on its reverse was a flag...
in the Italian Campaign
Italian Campaign (World War II)
The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
and one of very few non-Americans to receive the Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
.
Biography
After qualifying as an accountantAccountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
, Giorgi volunteered for military service and was admitted as a cadet
Cadet
A cadet is a trainee to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. The term comes from the term "cadet" for younger sons of a noble family.- Military context :...
to the Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
military school in 1935. The following year he was promoted to the rank of Aspirante Ufficiale (Acting 2nd Lieutenant). Assigned to the 21º Reggimento Fanteria, after being commissioned as a Sottotenente (2nd Lieutenant) he was transferred to the Regio Esercito medical school in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
until he was demobilized in 1937.
He was recalled to active duty two years later. When Italy entered World War II (1940), he was serving in the 21º Reggimento Fanteria attached to the "Cremona" Division
44 Infantry Division Cremona
The 44 Infantry Division Cremona was a Infantry Division of the Italian Army during World War II. The Cremona Division was part of the Italian XV Corps that took part in the Italian invasion of France in June 1940. It was transferred to Sardinia in March 1941...
where he would stay for the duration of hostilities. In the meantime he rose in rank, being promoted to Tenente in January 1940, to Capitano in January 1942 and to leader of the 3rd Compagnia Fucilieri (Rifle Company) in 1943.
On 8 September 1943 he was in Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
and he participated in the heavy fighting against the Germans
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
. Italian troops, led by General Clemente Primieri
Clemente Primieri
Clemente Primieri was an Italian general, best known for being the leader of Gruppo di Combattimento Cremona, one of the units of the Italian Co-Belligerent Army which fought alongside the Allies in the latter part of World War II.-Biography:He entered the Modena Military Academy at age 18 and at...
, eventually managed to oust their former allies from the island. The "Cremona" Division was later moved to Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
for garrison duties. Giorgi remained a member of it when it was turned into the Gruppo di Combattimento Cremona (part of the Italian Co-Belligerent Army
Italian Co-Belligerent Army
The Italian Co-Belligerent Army , or the Army of the South , was the army of the Italian Royalist forces fighting on the side of the Allies during World War II....
). He was noted for being an officer with "a strong personality and ascendancy over his men".
In March 1945, Captain Giorgi took part in operations in the Comacchio
Comacchio
Comacchio is a town and comune of Emilia Romagna, Italy, in the province of Ferrara, 48 km from the provincial capital Ferrara.-Geography:...
area as commander of the 3rd Company of the reformed 21° Reggimento Fanteria, operating on the far right of the British Eighth Army
Eighth Army (United Kingdom)
The Eighth Army was one of the best-known formations of the British Army during World War II, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns....
.
It was here that he earned his first Gold Medal
Gold Medal of Military Valor
The Gold Medal of Military Valor is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia "....per bassi ufficiali e soldati che avevano fatto azioni di segnalato valore in guerra" .The face of the medal displayed the profile of the king, and on its reverse was a flag...
for two courageous actions: leading two volunteers, he captured a well-defended German stronghold near Chiavica Pedone (on the left bank of the Reno river) and the following night, he rescued a badly wounded partisan (Menotti Conti, 1925–1959) who was lying in a minefield. He was decorated "in the field" on 6 March at Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
, in the presence of the highest Allied military authorities in Italy: Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Harold Alexander, General Sir Richard McCreery
Richard McCreery
General Sir Richard Loudon McCreery GCB, KBE, DSO, MC , was a British career soldier, who was Chief of Staff to Field Marshal Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, at the time of the Second Battle of El Alamein and later commanded the British Eighth Army in Northern Italy during...
and General Charles Keightley
Charles Keightley
General Sir Charles Frederic Keightley, GCB, GBE, DSO was a senior officer in the British Army during and following World War II.-Military career:...
.
During the offensive that would lead to the final breakdown of German
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
and Fascist
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic was a puppet state of Nazi Germany led by the "Duce of the Nation" and "Minister of Foreign Affairs" Benito Mussolini and his Republican Fascist Party. The RSI exercised nominal sovereignty in northern Italy but was largely dependent on the Wehrmacht to maintain control...
forces in Italy, Giorgi took command of a small group of soldiers and attacked a withdrawing convoy. The action resulted in the capture of 80 Germans and of the materiel
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
which the trucks were transporting.
He was seriously wounded by shellfire between 26 and 27 April while he was trying to free two fellow servicemen from the rubble of a destroyed emplacement near Croce di Cavarzere
Cavarzere
Cavarzere is a comune in the Province of Venice in the Italian region Veneto, located about 35 km southwest of Venice....
. Admitted to the 66th British Field Hospital in Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
, he died ten days later.
He received a posthumous second Gold Medal and also a US Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
, awarded for "exceptional acts of valor".
Honors and awards
Gold Medal of Military Valor
Gold Medal of Military Valor
The Gold Medal of Military Valor is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia "....per bassi ufficiali e soldati che avevano fatto azioni di segnalato valore in guerra" .The face of the medal displayed the profile of the king, and on its reverse was a flag...
A company commander, he attacked a well-defended enemy stronghold surrounded by barbed wire entanglements
Wire obstacle
In the military science of fortification, wire obstacles are defensive obstacles made from barbed wire, barbed tape or concertina wire. They are designed to disrupt, delay and generally slow down an attacking enemy...
and minefields with the sole escort of two volunteer infantrymen, approaching the enemy installation in full daylight. Leaving the two infantrymen behind, after wading a small creek he single-handedly stormed the fortification
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
still under fire from our artillery and, throwing numerous hand grenades, he wrought panic among the defenders, 19 of whom surrendered. Joined by his platoon, he completed the occupation of the emplacement and, under raging enemy suppression fire, he disregarded his own safety to free two of his men trapped under the rubble of a bombed-out shelter, saving them from certain death. The following night he learned that a soldier from another unit was seriously wounded and lying in a minefield where no one had dared rescue him before defusing the land mines. Crawling alone and touching the terrain palm by palm, after one hour or more of exhausting effort, he managed to save him. [He was a] splendid example of gallantry and of generous selflessness of the Italian people.
Chiavica Pedone (Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
), 2–3 March 1945.
Gold Medal of Military Valor
Gold Medal of Military Valor
The Gold Medal of Military Valor is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia "....per bassi ufficiali e soldati che avevano fatto azioni di segnalato valore in guerra" .The face of the medal displayed the profile of the king, and on its reverse was a flag...
During the days of the grand Spring offensive conducted by the Allied Armies in Italy, he repeated with the same daring and in the same fashion more deeds no smaller than those which had earned him a Gold Medal. In the latest, leading a group of bold soldiers, he fiercely attacked a convoy attempting redeployment and dispersed it with several PIAT
PIAT
The Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank was a British hand-held anti-tank weapon developed during the Second World War. The PIAT was designed in 1942 in response to the British Army's need for a more effective infantry anti-tank weapon, and entered service in 1943.The PIAT was based on the spigot...
shots and hand grenades, capturing 80 prisoners, many vehicles and a large number of arms and ammunition. Again in the lead of his men he received a wound which would later cause his death. He passed away peacefully with his last thoughts aimed at his family and Country, in the bright satisfaction of having accomplished in full consciousness and absolute modesty his duty of soldier and Italian, for whom the first Gold Medal was not a point of arrival, but a point of honor to do more and better, as he in fact did.
Senio
Senio
The Senio is a 92 km river of Romagna in Italy, the final right-sided tributary of the river Reno. The mean discharge at its mouth is about 10 m³/s; however this can vary from a minimum of 0.3 m³/s to a maximum of 500 m³/s....
, Santerno
Santerno
The Santerno is a river of Romagna, in northern Italy, the major tributary of the Reno River. In Roman times, it was known as the Vatrenus , although, in the Tabula Peutingeriana, it was already identified as the Santernus....
, Po
Po
-Places:* Po , a major Italian river* Pô , the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Italy* Potha, the name of two villages in Pakistan* Po, Wiang Kaen, a village in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand...
- Croce di Cavarzere
Cavarzere
Cavarzere is a comune in the Province of Venice in the Italian region Veneto, located about 35 km southwest of Venice....
, 10–26 April 1945.
Silver StarSilver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
See also
Military history of Italy during World War IIMilitary history of Italy during World War II
During World War II , the Kingdom of Italy had a varied and tumultuous military history. Defeated in Greece, France, East Africa and North Africa, the Italian invasion of British Somaliland was one of the only successful Italian campaigns of World War II accomplished without German support.In...
Italian Co-Belligerent Army
Italian Co-Belligerent Army
The Italian Co-Belligerent Army , or the Army of the South , was the army of the Italian Royalist forces fighting on the side of the Allies during World War II....
Gothic Line
Gothic Line
The Gothic Line formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence in the final stages of World War II along the summits of the Apennines during the fighting retreat of German forces in Italy against the Allied Armies in Italy commanded by General Sir Harold Alexander.Adolf Hitler...