Carlo Orelli
Encyclopedia
Carlo Orelli was, at age 110, the last surviving Italian
World War I
veteran who joined the army
at the onset of the war. Born in Perugia
, although he lived in Rome
for most of his life, Orelli came from a military family whose members had served in various Italian conflicts since 1849. A mechanic by trade, Orelli joined the Italian Army in May 1915 and engaged in combat operations in Italy. His recollections were marked by particularly brutal experiences of trench warfare, including the violent deaths of many of his friends. After receiving injuries to his leg, he was pulled from active duty and returned home.
After recovering from a related infection, Orelli married and had a family of six children. During World War II
, despite his aversion to Nazi Germany
and fascism
, he was forced to work as an artillery director in Italy. At war's end, he returned to work as a mechanic, retiring in 1960. In his later years, he was active in urging others not to forget the lessons learned after the first World War, and in 2003 he was made a Grand Officer in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
. He died in January 2005, a month after having turned 110 and achieving supercentenarian
status. At the time of his death he was Italy's oldest survivor of the First World War, the last remaining trench infantry
man and the last survivor from Italy's entry into the war.
on December 23, 1894, although his family soon moved to Rome
to be nearer to an aunt that operated a local tavern. Carlo came from a long history of military activity. His maternal grandfather, Thomas, helped defend Perugia against Austria
n mercenaries in 1849, while Carlo's father served in the Italian Abyssinian
campaign during the Scramble for Africa
in the 1880s. His elder brother Alfredo fought in Libya
during the Italo-Turkish War
in 1911, while his younger brother William fought in World War II
and was captured by the British
in July 1943. He lived in the Garbatella district, one of the most secluded areas of Rome, on the fourth floor of a house without an elevator. Before joining the war, he trained to become a mechanic
.
front at the onset of the war in May 1915. Entrenched with the 320 Infantry Regiment, he served as a foot soldier within the Italian Army
and engaged in combat activity in the trenches
near Trieste
, which was the main battleground in the east. He also participated in combat operations around the Isonzo
river. In his autobiography, Orelli went into great detail about his experiences, including the large amount of casualties that he witnessed during his time in the trenches and widespread illiteracy among the peasant soldiers. He referred to them as having "died in silence." He also recalled many violent deaths, such as a friend whose feet were severed and subsequently bled to death and another who was decapitated in mid-conversation with Orelli. He remarked of episodes such as this that they were "things I do not wish to remember."
In interviews, he also described the experiences of fear that were common among the soldiers, and lamented the way in which films portrayed combat experiences. When it came to cannon
shells, for example, the impact was not immediate, but approached with a gradual and frightful sound. He referred to the chances of the shell exploding as the "lottery of death." While he remembers many soldiers turning to liquor
to quell their fears, Orelli always refused it when offered. In order to mentally prepare himself for an attack, overcome this fear and keep a clear head, he forced himself to purge his mind of all thoughts of home and family. Orelli was eventually wounded in the right leg, an injury that ended his military career and sent him home. Despite having vivid memories of the war itself, he recalled little of the events immediately following his injury. During a confrontation with a group of Austrian soldiers, he was wounded in the leg and the left ear, a wound that was only a few inches away from being fatal. After being taken to a nearby farmhouse, he spent the rest of the war recovering from infection in hospitals, of which he remembered little.
, he found himself directing artillery
in Gaeta
during the Second World War, where he met his wife Cecilia. After the war, he returned to Rome and settled down with his family in Garbatella. He retired from his mechanic job in 1960 and his wife died in 1969. In his later years, he was active in telling tales of his experiences in the First World War, imploring those who listened to "not forget our sacrifice." In 2003, on the occasion of his 109th birthday, Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
made Orelli a Grand Officer in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
.
Towards the end of his life, he was known as "The Last Infantryman," which later became the title of the wartime memoirs that he published in 2004. At the time of his death, many sources incorrectly reported him as having been the last Italian World War I veteran. While this was incorrect, he was Italy's oldest survivor of the First World War, the last remaining trench infantry
man and the last survivor from when Italy first entered the war in 1915.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
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...
veteran who joined the 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...
at the onset of the war. Born in Perugia
Perugia
Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
, although he lived in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
for most of his life, Orelli came from a military family whose members had served in various Italian conflicts since 1849. A mechanic by trade, Orelli joined the Italian Army in May 1915 and engaged in combat operations in Italy. His recollections were marked by particularly brutal experiences of trench warfare, including the violent deaths of many of his friends. After receiving injuries to his leg, he was pulled from active duty and returned home.
After recovering from a related infection, Orelli married and had a family of six children. 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...
, despite his aversion to Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
and fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
, he was forced to work as an artillery director in Italy. At war's end, he returned to work as a mechanic, retiring in 1960. In his later years, he was active in urging others not to forget the lessons learned after the first World War, and in 2003 he was made a Grand Officer in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic was founded as the senior order of knighthood by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi in 1951...
. He died in January 2005, a month after having turned 110 and achieving supercentenarian
Supercentenarian
A supercentenarian is someone who has reached the age of 110 years. This age is achieved by about one in a thousand centenarians....
status. At the time of his death he was Italy's oldest survivor of the First World War, the last remaining trench infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
man and the last survivor from Italy's entry into the war.
Early life
Orelli was born in PerugiaPerugia
Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
on December 23, 1894, although his family soon moved to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
to be nearer to an aunt that operated a local tavern. Carlo came from a long history of military activity. His maternal grandfather, Thomas, helped defend Perugia against Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n mercenaries in 1849, while Carlo's father served in the Italian Abyssinian
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
campaign during the Scramble for Africa
Scramble for Africa
The Scramble for Africa, also known as the Race for Africa or Partition of Africa was a process of invasion, occupation, colonization and annexation of African territory by European powers during the New Imperialism period, between 1881 and World War I in 1914...
in the 1880s. His elder brother Alfredo fought in Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
during the Italo-Turkish War
Italo-Turkish War
The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War was fought between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Italy from September 29, 1911 to October 18, 1912.As a result of this conflict, Italy was awarded the Ottoman provinces of Tripolitania, Fezzan, and...
in 1911, while his younger brother William fought in 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...
and was captured by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in July 1943. He lived in the Garbatella district, one of the most secluded areas of Rome, on the fourth floor of a house without an elevator. Before joining the war, he trained to become a mechanic
Mechanic
A mechanic is a craftsman or technician who uses tools to build or repair machinery.Many mechanics are specialized in a particular field such as auto mechanics, bicycle mechanics, motorcycle mechanics, boiler mechanics, general mechanics, industrial maintenance mechanics , air conditioning and...
.
Military career
Orelli signed up for active duty at the age of 21 and joined the Austro-HungarianAustria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
front at the onset of the war in May 1915. Entrenched with the 320 Infantry Regiment, he served as a foot soldier within 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...
and engaged in combat activity in the trenches
Trench warfare
Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...
near Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, which was the main battleground in the east. He also participated in combat operations around the Isonzo
Soca
The Soča or Isonzo is a 140 km long river that flows through western Slovenia and northeastern Italy. An Alpine river in character, its source lies in the Trenta Valley in the Julian Alps in Slovenia, at an elevation of around 1,100 metres...
river. In his autobiography, Orelli went into great detail about his experiences, including the large amount of casualties that he witnessed during his time in the trenches and widespread illiteracy among the peasant soldiers. He referred to them as having "died in silence." He also recalled many violent deaths, such as a friend whose feet were severed and subsequently bled to death and another who was decapitated in mid-conversation with Orelli. He remarked of episodes such as this that they were "things I do not wish to remember."
In interviews, he also described the experiences of fear that were common among the soldiers, and lamented the way in which films portrayed combat experiences. When it came to cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
shells, for example, the impact was not immediate, but approached with a gradual and frightful sound. He referred to the chances of the shell exploding as the "lottery of death." While he remembers many soldiers turning to liquor
Distilled beverage
A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is an alcoholic beverage containing ethanol that is produced by distilling ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables...
to quell their fears, Orelli always refused it when offered. In order to mentally prepare himself for an attack, overcome this fear and keep a clear head, he forced himself to purge his mind of all thoughts of home and family. Orelli was eventually wounded in the right leg, an injury that ended his military career and sent him home. Despite having vivid memories of the war itself, he recalled little of the events immediately following his injury. During a confrontation with a group of Austrian soldiers, he was wounded in the leg and the left ear, a wound that was only a few inches away from being fatal. After being taken to a nearby farmhouse, he spent the rest of the war recovering from infection in hospitals, of which he remembered little.
Post-World War I
After the war, Orelli resumed his previous occupation as a mechanic. He had six children after the war, one son and five daughters born between 1920 and 1935, all of whom survived him. He also had nine grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren at the time of his death. Although he was opposed to fascismFascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
, he found himself directing artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
in Gaeta
Gaeta
Gaeta is a city and comune in the province of Latina, in Lazio, central Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is 120 km from Rome and 80 km from Naples....
during the Second World War, where he met his wife Cecilia. After the war, he returned to Rome and settled down with his family in Garbatella. He retired from his mechanic job in 1960 and his wife died in 1969. In his later years, he was active in telling tales of his experiences in the First World War, imploring those who listened to "not forget our sacrifice." In 2003, on the occasion of his 109th birthday, Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
dr. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi is an Italian politician and banker. He was the 73rd Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and was the tenth President of the Italian Republic from 1999 to 2006...
made Orelli a Grand Officer in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Order of the Crown of Italy
The Order of the Crown of Italy was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861...
.
Towards the end of his life, he was known as "The Last Infantryman," which later became the title of the wartime memoirs that he published in 2004. At the time of his death, many sources incorrectly reported him as having been the last Italian World War I veteran. While this was incorrect, he was Italy's oldest survivor of the First World War, the last remaining trench infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
man and the last survivor from when Italy first entered the war in 1915.