Felice Caperdoni
Felice Caperdoni | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 August 1889 Bergamo, Kingdom of Italy |
| Died | 14 April 1955 (aged 65) Montù Beccaria, Italy |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Italy |
| Service |  Royal Italian Army |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Commands | Military garrison of Foggia |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | |
Felice Caperdoni (Bergamo, 28 August 1889 – Montù Beccaria, 13 April 1955) was an Italian general during World War II.
Biography
[edit]He was born in Bergamo in 1889 and fought in the First World War as a captain in the "Macerata" Infantry Brigade, earning a Silver and a Bronze Medal of Military Valor for actions during the Fourth and Sixth Battle of the Isonzo and being wounded on the Piave.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
During the interwar period he participated in the pacification of Libya, serving under Rodolfo Graziani with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and by 1934 he held the rank of colonel.[7][3][4]
During the Second World War, with the rank of Brigadier General, he initially commanded the coastal defense of the western Ligurian Riviera. He was later appointed commander of the military garrison of Foggia. On 22 July 1943 he was slightly wounded in the collapse of an air raid shelter during one of the heaviest raids of the bombing campaign against Foggia.[3][4][8]
On 9 September 1943 German troops entered Foggia in the chaos that followed the proclamation of the Armistice of Cassibile and the start of Operation Achse, quickly seizing all key points of the city. A German delegation then demanded Caperdoni to surrender; convinced that resistance would be futile, the general complied, ordering his men to lay down their arms, and then shot himself in the head. The bullet did not kill him, but left him permanently blinded. He was taken to the city's hospital, where he was treated by German medical officers and later, after the liberation of Foggia on 1 October, by the Allies.[3][4][9]
After the war he retired with his wife in Montù Beccaria, where he committed suicide on 13 April 1955.[3][4]
References
[edit]- ^ "Istituto del Nastro Azzurro".
- ^ "Istituto del Nastro Azzurro".
- ^ a b c d e "Tributo a un eroe dimenticato, il generale Felice Caperdoni". Resto al Sud. November 24, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e "Felice Caperdoni, quell'eroe oscuro e dimenticato, che salvò decine di vite foggiane". November 23, 2017.
- ^ Coltrinari, Massimo (June 30, 2017). "Le Marche e la Prima Guerra Mondiale il 1915 (II): I primi sei mesi di guerra: dall'euforia interventista alla realtà della trincea". Edizioni Nuova Cultura – via Google Books.
- ^ "Brigata Macerata - FrontedelPiave.info - Fronte del Piave - Fronte del piave ARTICLE". www.frontedelpiave.info.
- ^ "Bollettino ufficiale delle nomine, promozioni e destinazioni negli ufficiali e sottufficiali del R. esercito italiano e nel personale dell'amministrazione militare". April 28, 1934 – via Google Books.
- ^ Mangano, Alberto (June 11, 2016). "Padre Odorico Tempesta". Manganofoggia.it.
- ^ "Un atto di valore dimenticato del vicebrigadiere D'Addedda" (PDF).
- 1889 births
- 1955 suicides
- 1955 deaths
- Italian Army generals
- Italian military personnel of World War I
- Italian military personnel of World War II
- Italian military personnel who died by suicide
- Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor
- Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor
- Suicides by firearm in Italy