, February 2, 1881 – Island of Nisida

Nisida

Nisida is a volcanic islet of the Flegrean Islands archipelago, in southern Italy. It lies at a very short distance from Cape Posillipo, just north of Naples; it is now connected to the mainland by a stone bridge. The islet is almost circular, with a flooded crater forming the bay of Porto Paone on...

, Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

, Italy September 11, 1945) was a general in the Italian Army during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. He was tried for war crimes at a courts martial for the murder of a British prisoner of war

Prisoner of war

A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...

, and was found responsible. He was one of the few Italian commissioned officers prosecuted for a war crime, and the only one to be executed by a British-controlled court.

Military service

As a career officer in the Italian Army

Italian Army

The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...

, Bellomo came from the regular class of the Italian Military Academy of Modena

Modena

Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....

. At the outbreak of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, he held the rank of Artillery Captain. During that war, he was awarded the Italian Military Order for gallantry in action. He left active duty in 1936, and was reactivated in 1941, when he was assigned as commander of the XII MVSN

MVSN

MVSN can refer to:* The Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale of the Italian Fascist movement.* The Milice de Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale better known as the Tonton Macoutes....

 Zone, and Bari province.

Shooting of prisoners

On November 30, 1941, two British prisoners of war, Captain George Playne of the Royal Armoured Corps

Royal Armoured Corps

The Royal Armoured Corps is currently a collection of ten regular regiments, mostly converted from old horse cavalry regiments, and four Yeomanry regiments of the Territorial Army...

 and Lieutenant Roy Cooke, escaped from Torre Tresca POW detention camp, but were recaptured a few hours later. According to the results of the Italian Army investigation board, when they were brought back to the camp, Bellomo was already waiting for them. He wanted to personally investigate the course of events leading to their escape, and asked the two British officers to show him the location from which they had launched their plan. Again the two British prisoners took their chances to escape, although this time, Italian sentries opened fire, killing Captain Playne and wounding Lieutenant Cooke. The investigation into the incident saw no misconduct on Bellomo's part.

1943 armistice

On September 9, 1943, a day after the armistice, Bellomo formed a makeshift Italian force to counterattack German forces that tried to occupy the port of Bari

Bari

Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...

. Bellomo was wounded, but the action was successful, as the Italians forced the Germans to retreat, leaving the port facilities intact. This allowed the safe and undisturbed landing of British troops on September 22, 1943 under Italian Army protection. A British force quickly moved north to Foggia

Foggia

Foggia is a city and comune of Apulia, Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known as the "granary of Italy".-History:...

, which they took on September 27, and by the end of the month, the entire Apulia

Apulia

Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...

 region and most of southern Italy were secured by Allied forces. Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

 said 'September was a handful month for allied armies'. In the meantime, Bellomo kept his position as commander of the XII MVSN Zone in Bari.

Shortly afterward, he was detained and arrested by the British military authority and charged with murder and attempted murder for his actions in shooting the two British POWs.

War crimes trial

On January 28, 1944, Bellomo was placed under arrest by British Military Police and charged with 'shooting or ordering to shoot two British officers, causing the death of one of them and the wounding of the other one.' Lieutenant Cooke, the surviving prisoner, filed a report against Bellomo on June 5, 1945. The following weeks, Bellomo was moved around several Allied POW camps, namely in Grumo Appula, Padula and Afragola. On July 14, 1945, Bellomo received formal communication of his trial. The court martial took place on July 28, 1945, and within an hour, he was sentenced to death. Bellomo was executed by a firing squad on the Island of Nisida north of Naples on September 11, 1945. At that time, the island was occupied by British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

and used by them as a prison facility.

Italian award

In 1951 the new Italian Government posthumously awarded Bellomo the Italian Silver Medal for his role in the defense of the seaport of Bari.