Pietro Gazzera was an officer in the Italian Royal 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...

, as well as a prewar Italian politician.

Gazzera was born in Bene Vagienna

Bene Vagienna

Bene Vagienna is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km south of Turin and about 30 km northeast of Cuneo....

, he joined the Italian Army and fought in the Italo Turkish War and World War I.

In 1928, starting as the Under-Secretary in the Ministry of War, Gazzera was the Minister of War from 1929 to 1933. From 1 August 1938 to 6 July 1941, Gazzera was the Governor of Galla-Sidamo in Italian East Africa

Italian East Africa

Italian East Africa was an Italian colonial administrative subdivision established in 1936, resulting from the merger of the Ethiopian Empire with the old colonies of Italian Somaliland and Italian Eritrea. In August 1940, British Somaliland was conquered and annexed to Italian East Africa...

.

General Gazzera commanded forces in the "Southern Sector" (the Galla and Sidamo area around Jimma

Jimma

Jimma, also Jima, is the largest city in southwestern Ethiopia. Located in the Jimma Zone of the Oromia Region, it has a latitude and longitude of . The town was the capital of Kaffa Province until the province was dissolved. Prior to the 2007 census, Jimma was reorganized administratively as a...

) during the East African Campaign

East African Campaign (World War II)

The East African Campaign was a series of battles fought in East Africa during World War II by the British Empire, the British Commonwealth of Nations and several allies against the forces of Italy from June 1940 to November 1941....

. Following the fall of Amba Alagi

Amba Alagi

Amba Alagi is a mountain, or an amba, in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Debubawi Zone of the Tigray Region, Amba Alagi dominates the roadway that runs past it from the city of Mek'ele south to Maychew. Because of its strategic location, Amba Alagi has been the location of several battles...

 in May 1941, Gazzera succeeded Amedeo, Duke of Aosta

Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta

Prince Amedeo of Savoy-Aosta was the third Duke of Aosta and a first cousin, once removed of the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III. His baptismal name was Amedeo Umberto Isabella Luigi Filippo Maria Giuseppe Giovanni di Savoia-Aosta...

 as the acting Viceroy

Viceroy

A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...

 and Governor-General

Governor-General

A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...

 of Italian East Africa. After Jimma fell on 21 June, Gazzera staged a mobile defense and held out in Galla-Sidamo for several weeks. His forces finally capitulated in July 1941 when he was cut off by the Free Belgian forces

Free Belgian Forces

The Free Belgian Forces were members of the Belgian armed forces in World War II who continued fighting against the Axis after the surrender of Belgium and its subsequent occupation by the Germans...

 of Major-General Auguste-Éduard Gilliaert

Auguste-Éduard Gilliaert

Auguste Gilliaert was an officer in the Belgian Army during World War II.Lieutenant-General Gilliaert was the commander of the "Belgian Expeditionary Forces" in East Africa during the East African Campaign...

.

Command history

• Commanding Officer, Brigade Basilicata - 1926
• Commandant of War School - 1926
• General Officer Commanding, Division Genova - 1926 to 1928
• Under-Secretary Ministry of War - 1928 to 1929
• Minister of War - 1929 to 1933
• Governor of Galla and Sidamo - 1938 to 1941
• Member of the Commission for the Affairs of Italian Africa, Senate - 1939 to 1940
• General Officer Commanding, 24th Colonial Division - 1940 to 1941
• Acting Viceroy
  Viceroy
  A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
  
   and Governor-General
  Governor-General
  A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...
  
  , Italian East Africa - 1941
• Prisoner of war - 1941 to 1943
• Commissioner for Prisoners of War - 1943 to 1945

See also

• East African Campaign
  East African Campaign (World War II)
  The East African Campaign was a series of battles fought in East Africa during World War II by the British Empire, the British Commonwealth of Nations and several allies against the forces of Italy from June 1940 to November 1941....
  
  
• Italian Governors of Galla-Sidama
  Italian Governors of Galla-Sidama
  -List of Italian Governors of Galla-Sidamo:-Bibliography:* Annuario Generale 1938-XVI , Consociazione Turistica Italiana, Milano, 1938-See also:*Ethiopia*Italian East Africa*Lists of office-holders...