Antonio Gandin

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Antonio Gandin (born September 13, 1891 in Avezzano , L'Aquila province , † September 24, 1943 in Kefalonia , Greece ) was an Italian major general .

Life

During World War II , Gandin led the Acqui infantry division , which held the Greek Mediterranean islands of Kefalonia and Corfu . After the Cassibile armistice between Italy and the Allies came into force on September 8, 1943 , the German Wehrmacht received orders to occupy Italy and disarm the Italian armed forces . Numerous Italian associations resisted the Wehrmacht's approach by force of arms, including the Acqui division .

Major General Gandin, who had received several German awards, spoke German and was secretly on the side of Hitler's Germany in favor of a continuation of the war, tried to negotiate the unhindered withdrawal of his division to Italy.

He didn't succeed. The Italian high command left him alone with his isolated division, even though it had given an order for armed resistance. He neglected to inform the high command about the actual situation in his division (only report to the German commander about refusals of orders ). The 18th regiment on Corfu had defended itself from the start, some other units fired during the negotiations. The Allies, who meanwhile landed in Apulia, failed to evacuate the Italian units from the Balkans, as agreed in the Québec document of August 18, 1943, or to support them in their retreat to Italy. The bulk of his soldiers resolutely opposed their disarmament and were ready to fight for it, which was contrary to the orders of the German officers and their negotiating position. The political leadership of Italy failed to immediately declare war after Adolf Hitler's immediate action to disarm the Italian armed forces and to occupy the Italian state and occupied territory of Germany, leaving the Italian soldiers in an unclear position and calling them “ irregulars “Could be shot.

Gandin always showed an upright and decisive attitude in the negotiations with the German authorities. Before his last decision, due to the extraordinary circumstances and to strengthen cohesion, he also heard the opinion of some of his units, but ultimately only the resistance order from Rome played a role for him, as well as the fact that the German side had no definitive guarantees for an unmolested Wanted to give a deduction.

After the fighting between German and Italian units, Gandin was shot by German soldiers in the massacre on Kefalonia, along with his officers and some of his soldiers.

This war crime was also kept secret in Italy for a long time. a. because they did not want to embarrass their NATO ally Germany due to the new global political situation . Only in the last few years has a comprehensive investigation been carried out and an attempt at a more objective and de-ideological assessment of the massacre and behavior of General Antonio Gandin took place.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Gandin, Antonio
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian major general
DATE OF BIRTH September 13, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH Avezzano
DATE OF DEATH September 24, 1943
Place of death Kefalonia