Conti (Count) Sebastiano Visconti Prasca | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1883-02-27)27 February 1883 |
| Died | 25 February 1961(1961-02-25) (aged 77) Monte Porzio Catone, Italy |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Italy |
| Branch | Royal Army |
| Service years | 1904–1940 |
| Rank | General designate |
| Commands | |
| Conflicts | |
Sebastiano Visconti Prasca (27 February 1883,Rome – 25 February 1961,Monte Porzio Catone) was an Italiangeneral. A veteran of theItalo-Turkish War of 1911–1912 andWorld War I, he led the initial offensive of theGreco-Italian War in 1940 duringWorld War II, but was relieved of his command after two weeks for incompetence and relieved by GeneralUbaldo Soddu.
Sebastiano Visconti Prasca was born inRome on 27 February 1883.[1][2] He was a member of thenoble family of theHouse of Visconti, patricians ofAlessandria.
Visconti Prasca joined the ItalianRoyal Army (Regio Esercito) and began studies at theRoyal Military Academy of Infantry and Cavalry inModena, from which he graduated in 1904. He wascommissioned with the rank ofsottotenente (English:sub-lieutenant) on 5 September 1904.[2][3] Promoted totenente (English:lieutenant) on 5 September 1907,[2] he participated in theItalo-Turkish War of 1911–1912, for which he received an award of theBronze Medal of Military Valor. He was promoted tocapitano (English:captain) on 31 December 1914.[2] Italy enteredWorld War I in May 1915, and during the war he served on theItalian front from 1915 to 1918, receiving a promotion first tomaggiore (English:major)[2] and then on 1 November 1917 totenente colonnello (English:lieutenant colonel).[2] He also received a second award of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor, as well as theWar Merit Cross.
Visconti Prasca attended the Turin Army War School, then was attached to the ArmyGeneral Staff on 20 October 1919.[1] In January 1920 he went toGermany as a member of theInter-Allied Commission forUpper Silesia. In 1921 he returned to Italy, where on 21 April 1921 he left the general staff and began duty in theMinistry of War.[1] This duty ended when he was attached to the Army Council on 26 October 1922.[1]
On 3 March 1924, Visconti Prasca becamemilitary attaché at the Embassy of theKingdom of Italy inBelgrade[1] in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which was renamed theKingdom of Yugoslavia in 1928. He remained there for six years, during which time he was promoted tocolonnello (English:colonel) on either 26 December 1926[1] or 9 June 1927,[2] according to different sources.Prime Minister of ItalyBenito Mussolini developed a special regard for him, reflected in notes made in 1931 by GeneralPietro Gacchera.[4] Visconti Prasca was recalled to Italy on 20 April 1930[1] after theGovernment of Yugoslavia bluntly accused him ofespionage.[5] He returned briefly to the general staff while awaiting orders, then assumed command of the 36th InfantryRegiment on 1 October 1930.[1] He relinquished command of theregiment on 16 January 1933, when he was attached to theArmy of Bologna,[1] in which he led the military administration of the city ofBologna, Italy.
On 10 October 1933, Visconti Prasca was appointed to the office of the Chief of the Army General Staff,[1] GeneralPietro Badoglio. That same month, he published a book onmilitary strategy under the titleGuerra decisiva (English:Decisive War), in which he developed the theory of what was known in Germany asblitzkrieg (English:lightning war),[6] Mussolini himself read the book, which may have decisively influenced many of the events that led to the outbreak of theSecond Italo-Ethiopian War of 1935–1936. In April 1934, as an envoy of Badoglio, Visconti Prasca made areconnaissance visit to theColony of Eritrea. After his return to Italy, he drew up a report which helped to organize the operational plans for the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, which were implemented in 1935.[7]
Visconti Prasca received a promotion togenerale di brigata (English:brigadier general) for "exceptional merit" on 18 October 1934,[1][2] but Badoglio decided to remove him from his general staff duties in 1934, as he was suspected of disclosing a secret agreement that Badoglio had concluded with the French generalMaurice Gamelin. According to one source, Visconti Prasca was assigned to the general staff "for special duties" as of 18 October 1934, serving in this capacity until 11 September 1935.[2] On 12 December 1934, Visconti Prasca took command of the Italian expeditionary corps in theTerritory of the Saar Basin,[1][2] occupied under aLeague of Nations mandate, in a move related to aLeague of Nations requirement for the supervision of local elections there. He served in the Saar either until January 1935[2] or 5 March 1935,[1] according to different sources.
Either in January 1935[8] or on 11 July 1935,[1] according to different sources, Visconti Prasca became an honoraryadjutant toKingVictor Emmanuel III.[1] Sources differ on his subsequent assignments, claiming both that on 16 September 1935[8] he either assumed command[8] or became deputy commander[2] of the5th Infantry Division "Cosseria" and that he was attached to the Ministry of War on 18 October 1935[1] before becoming deputy commander of thedivision at a later date.[1] He remained in command of the division until 20 July 1937.[1]
Sources again differ on his assignments later in the 1930s. Some claim that he became military attaché at the Italian embassyParis on 20 July 1937, another that he assumed command of the2nd Cavalry Division "Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro" in December 1937[8] and did not become military attaché at Paris until 1938.[9] On 9 September 1937 he was promoted to the rank ofgenerale di divisione (divisional general), with seniority from 1 July 1937,[1][2] and on 31 March 1938, by royal decree, he was granted the title ofconte (English:count).[1][2] Once he became the military attaché he followed the deterioration of relations between Italy andFrance afterNazi Germany occupiedCzechoslovakia in September 1938. He was still in Paris whenWorld War II began with the Germaninvasion of Poland on 1 September 1939. Always considered aFrancophile, he declared a few months after the outbreak of the war that it was inevitable that theAllies would defeat Germany.[10]
Visconti Prasca was recalled to Italy on 15 December 1939, when he was appointed to the Ministry of War for "special duties."[1][2] Sources differ on his next assignments: Some claim he detached from his Ministry of War duties on 1 March 1940 and then was placed at the disposal of the army chief of staff until 5 June 1940,[1][2] while another claims that for a short time in early 1940 he commandedIII Army Corps[10] on the Italian border with France[11] as Italy made preparations to enter the war on the side of theAxis powers. Sources also disagree on the date of his promotion to the rank ofarmy corps general (Italian:generale di corpo d'armata), giving it as 15 October 1939, with seniority from 1 July 1939,[2] as 1 June 1940,[8] and as 15 October 1940.[2]
On 26 May 1940,[12] following a suggestion by theMinister of Foreign Affairs,Galeazzo Ciano, and the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Army, GeneralUbaldo Soddu, Visconti Prasca was appointed to replace GeneralCarlo Geloso as commander-in-chief of the Italian armed forces inAlbania,[11] whichItaly had invaded and occupied in April 1939. During his introductory meeting with Mussolini, which took place at thePalazzo Venezia in Rome, there was no discussion of war withGreece or Yugoslavia.[13] Upon his arrival in Albania, he took command on 5 June 1940 ofHigher Forces Command Albania (XXVI Army Corps),[1][2] a reinforcedcorps of approximately 100,000 men created on 1 December 1939 by the merger of the Higher Forces Command Albania (Italian:Comando Superiore Truppe Albania) and the Albania Army Corps Command (Italian:Comando Corpo d'Armata Albania). His command included five Italiandivisions — the3rd Alpine Division "Julia",19th Infantry Division "Venezia",23rd Infantry Division "Ferrara",53rd Infantry Division "Arezzo", and131st Armored Division "Centauro" — as well as auxiliary units and Albanian divisions[12] which numerically corresponded to the equivalent of approximately two more divisions.[13] Upon assuming his duties as a commander in Albania, Visconti Prasca was directly active in the formation of certain Albanian irregular forces under the command of Jaffer Bey Ipi and Kazim Bey Kokuli.[12]
On 10 June 1940, Italy entered World War II,invading France during theBattle of France in a campaign that resulted in France's capitulation andan Italian armistice with France that went into effect on 25 June 1940. On 1 July 1940, Visconti Prasca became commander-in-chief in Albania.[1][2] According to one source, he also became agenerale designato (English:general designate)[1] that day, although another source claims this did not take place until 9 November 1940.[2]
During July 1940, Mussolini, pushed by Ciano, decided to attack aneutral country without consulting withNazi Germany first in order to compensate forMarshal of ItalyRodolfo Graziani's hesitance to invadeEgypt fromLibya and to compete with the military successes of the GermanWehrmacht. He selected theKingdom of Greece as the target in the belief that the Greeks lacked a desire for war and that an Italian conquest of Greece would be easy.[14]
The Italian Army General Staff proceeded to organize an invasion plan, which was known as "Esigenza G" or "Emergenza G."[15] Following an order from Mussolini, General Geloso drew up the initial operational plan after his return from Albania. It provided for the invasion of theEpirus region using an Italian force of 11 divisions, twocavalry regiments, and agrenadier regiment, but also required theBulgarian Army to attackWestern Thrace, forcing part of the Greek forces to withdraw from the Epirus front.[16] The next plan provided for the use of 20 Italian divisions[16] and their logistical support, all of which would already be in Albania before the start of hostilities.[16] On 11 August 1940[17] Ciano summoned Visconti Prasca to Rome, where Ciano informed him of the decision to invade theChameria region,[11] as well as theIonian Islands,[17] instructing him to prepare for the start of operations before the end of August 1940.
Visconti Prasca returned toTirana, Albania, where he worked for a long time to draw up a plan for the invasion of Greece, which presupposed the use of fourdivisione binaria (English:double divisions), i.e. divisions composed of only twoinfantry regiments each, which would carry out an attack along a front of approximately 60 miles (97 km). On 13 October 1940, Mussolini made the official decision[18] to attack Greece and conveyed it to Badoglio during a summit meeting attended by Mussolini, Badoglio, Ciano, andFrancesco Giacomoni di San. Savino, with the date for the start of military operations set for 26 October 1940.[18] On 14 October 1940,[19] Badoglio, after learning of Ciano's meeting with Visconti Prasca, ordered Visconti Prasca to obey only the orders that came from the Italian Army General Staff.[19]
The start of military operations was postponed from 26 to 28 October 1940, but on 28 October 1940,[18] as the winter season approached, the Italian troops launched their attack[18] along the steep and dangerous mountainous terrain that formed the Epirus front, encountering little resistance during their advance, with the result that Visconti Prasca sent atelegram to Rome to report Italian forces were advancing at a "rapid pace." However, due to the adverse weather conditions, as well as the beginning ofGreek Army counterattacks ordered by the chief of the general staff of the Greek Army,Alexandros Papagos, the Italian advance was halted on 8 November 1940.[20]
Visconti Prasca's personal assurances that the initial forces under his command would prove sufficient, and that the Italian invasion would meet feeble Greek resistance, had helped to convince Mussolini to launch the invasion and was one of the factors leading to the disaster.[21] Overly confident in Greek weakness and the perfection of his invasion plan, Visconti Pracsa had done little to prepare his troops for combat and failed to ensure theirlogistical support, even neglecting such basic requirements as the provision ofmules to carry supplies through the mountains, leaving the Italians not only in danger of failing to conquer Greek territory but of losing territory in Albania.[22] Mussolini, outraged at Visconti Prasca's handling of the invasion, removed him from command of the troops on 8 November 1940, the same day the initial Italian advance halted, replacing him with GeneralUbaldo Soddu. Upon arriving in Albania, Soddu deemed the initial attack a failure and ordered Italian forces to shift immediately to a defensive stance.[20] On 9 November 1940, Visconti Prasca became commander of the11th Army,[1][2] which was created that day by a merger of the Higher Forces Command Albania (XXVI Army Corps),VI Army Corps, andVIII Army Corps (formerly the Chameria Army Corps), deployed along the southern sector of the front along a belt stretching from thePindus mountain range to theIonian Sea. He criticized Soddu's defensive provisions, and on 16 November 1940 was relieved of command of the 11th Army.[1][2]
Visconti Prasca returned to Italy, where he was placed at the disposal of the Ministry of War. On 10 December 1940, he was transferred to the reserve and retired from the army.[2]
AfterItaly surrendered to theAllies on 8 September 1943, Visconti Prasca joined theItalian resistance movement against theGerman occupation forces in Italy. On 24 October 1943 he was arrested,[1][2] and subsequently he wassentenced to death. His sentence was commuted to imprisonment on German soil, where he was aprisoner-of-war atOffizierslager 64/Z (English:Officers Camp 64/Z) inSkoki (German:Schokken),Poland,[23] from which he was released in April[2][24] or May 1945[1] along with a number of seniorofficers of the SovietRed Army.[2] He subsequently witnessed the entry of Soviet troops intoBerlin during theBattle of Berlin. World War II ended inEurope with Germany's surrender to the Western Allies on 8 May 1945 and to theSoviet Union on 9 May.
After his return to Italy in October 1945, Visconti Prasca published hisautobiography under the titleIo ho aggredito la Grecia (English:I Attacked Greece) (Rizzoli, 1946), a contrived effort on his part for personal rehabilitation in which he tried to diminish his personal responsibility for the defeat of the Italian army on the Greek front and justify his personal errors in command.[21] On several occasions after the war he tried unsuccessfully to return to active duty, asking thePresident of Italy,Luigi Einaudi, to reconsider his appeal against the decision to retire him in 1940, but he never returned to active service.
Visconti Prasca was married to Angelica Zoppi, the sister ofgenerale designato (English:general designate) andSenatorOctavio Zoppi.[2]
Visconti Prasca was Grand Master of theSynodal Military Order of the Knights of Omonia. From 1951 until his death, he was Grand Master of theSovereign Military Order of St. George of Carinthia.
Visconti Prasca died inMonte Porzio Catone, Italy, near Rome, on 25 February 1961.
SOURCE[2]
Bronze Medal of Military Valor (two awards)
War Merit Cross
Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Turkish War 1911–1912
Commemorative Medal of the Expedition to Albania
Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Austrian War 1915–1918 (four years of campaign)
Commemorative Medal of the Unity of Italy
Allied Victory Medal
Knight of theOrder of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (5th Class)
Officer of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (4th Class) (21 October 1930)
Commander of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (3rd Class) (16 May 1940)
Grand Officer of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (2nd Class) (15 April 1940)
Knight of theOrder of the Crown of Italy
Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy
Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy (Royal Decree of 13 January 1924)
Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy (2 May 1935)Visconti Prasca received his first Bronze Medal of Military Valor for his actions in 1912 during theItalo-Turkish War, the citation reading, "Responsible for conveying orders and briefings to the various military units, despite being slightly wounded at the start of the fighting, he continued his work with courage and bravery throughout the day. Merkeb, January 27, 1912."
His second award of the bronze medal for Military Valor was for his actions from 1915 to 1917 on theItalian front duringWorld War I, the citation reading, "During more than two years of war, in a number of different situations, he carried out daringreconnaissance missions along the front, while as an officer he relayed orders between the different military units, displaying determination and ignorance of danger.Medio Izontso, May 1915 - September 1917."
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