Umberto Bardelli
Umberto Mario Adriano Bardelli (Livorno, 11 March 1908 – Ozegna, 8 July 1944) was an Italian officer. He was an officer in the Naval Engineering Corps of the Royal Navy, a submariner during the Second World War, after the armistice of 8 September 1943 he joined the National Navy of the RSI. As part of the Xª MAS, he commanded the "Barbarigo" Battalion on the Anzio front.
Biography
He was born in Livorno on 11 March 1908, son of Artemisio and Emma Cristiani, after attending gymnasium on 18 October 1924 he entered the Royal Naval Academy of Livorno as an engineer officer student. At the end of the course he entered the CREM as a volunteer with a four-year term. From 8 July 1925 to 12 February 1930 he was embarked in succession on the armoured cruiser Francesco Ferruccio, on the training cruiser Amerigo Vespucci , on the armoured cruiser Pisa and on the submarine support ship Antonio Pacinotti. In February 1930 he embarked on the heavy cruiser Trieste, while on 10 July he was appointed lieutenant of the Naval Engineers, then attending the Naval Engineering School of Genoa, to be assigned to the Naval Engineers Office of Trieste. In November 1932 he embarked for the first time on a submarine, the Enrico Toti, to then move on, on 1 March 1933, to the Menotti and, from 16 November of the same year, to the Speri. In October 1934 he married Luigia Maresca, who gave him a daughter, Serena, and in July 1936 he was appointed captain of the Naval Engineering Corps, to then embark on the submarine Fratelli Bandiera. After a period in Massawa, in the Red Sea, on 15 December 1937 he was assigned to Taranto, where he took part in the fitting out of the Benedetto Brin, a submarine belonging to the Marcello class. In February 1938 he was transferred to Monfalcone to follow the fitting out of the submarine Giacomo Nani; as Chief of Naval Engineering he embarked on various submarine units. until May 1940, presenting himself at the outbreak of war with France and Great Britain as one of the most experienced officers of the Naval Engineers of the Royal Navy.
The Second World War
thumb|upright=1.4|Umberto Bardelli with Junio Valerio Borghese in April 1944
At the outbreak of hostilities, on 10 June 1940, he was on board the minelayer Zoea, which was employed in ammunition transport missions towards Italian North Africa and in minelaying.
He remained in the theatre of operations in the Eastern Mediterranean until October of the same year when she was transferred on board the Benedetto Brin, under the command of Lieutenant Longanesi Cattani, on which on 25 October she passed the Strait of Gibraltar submerged to reach the Atlantic base of Bordeaux (BETASOM). During the navigation the Brin was damaged and took refuge in Tangier to carry out the necessary repairs.
In February 1941 he embarked as chief engineer on the Reginaldo Giuliani, which in March moved to the German base of Gotenhafen, for a long period of combat training in the Atlantic Ocean, assigned to the Italian tactics section (Marigammason). He remained in Germany until February 1942, returning to his homeland as he was assigned to the Submarine Equipment Office in Taranto (March-October 1942).
Promoted to major in the Naval Engineers on 18 October 1942, he embarked on the battleship Vittorio Veneto on the 21st of the following month, to transfer on 6 December to the destroyer Bombardiere, but he returned to the Vittorio Veneto on 28 December. Decorated with the War Cross for Military Valor, from 22 May 1943 until 31 August of the same year he was embarked on the light cruiser Scipione Africano, stationed in La Spezia and then in Genoa. On board the cruiser he took part in the forcing of the Strait of Messina (Operation Scylla) against the Anglo-American light units that were patrolling it following the war events in Sicily in July 1943, managing to reach the base in Taranto, earning a second bronze medal for military valor.
Having disembarked from the Scipione Africano on 31 August, he went on leave to join his family in Laurana, where he was caught by the armistice of 8 September 1943. Having reached Trieste, he initially placed himself at the disposal of the German military authorities, before moving on to Pola.
In the Xth MAS
Some time later, having learned that the commander Junio Valerio Borghese was reorganizing the Xª Flottiglia MAS independent from the Italian Social Republic, he left Trieste to reach the Muggiano barracks, in La Spezia in command of a small convoy which was transporting soldiers and material stolen from the arsenal of Pola. Enjoying the full trust of Borghese, he immediately dedicated himself, with the rank of corvette captain, to the organization of a first unit of marine infantry, the "Maestrale" battalion, later renamed "Barbarigo".
Placed in command of the "Barbarigo" Battalion, on 20 February 1944, at the head of his unit, he left for the operations zone, being redeployed on the Anzio-Nettuno front. He remained in the operations zone until 27 April, then passing to the command of the 1st Marine Infantry Regiment "San Marco" of the 10th Marine Infantry Division. He returned to Northern Italy on 4 June, reaching the Viverone area, in the vicinity of Ivrea, to reconstitute the regiment, decimated by the fighting.
Death
The desertion of an officer of the "Sagittario" battalion then stationed in Agliè (TO), who attempted to reach Turin with the unit's cash, provoked his direct intervention. On the afternoon of 8 July 1944, in Ozegna, then a hamlet south of Cuorgnè (TO), he reached the town square at the head of a motorized unit of the Xª MAS in search of a deserter, Gaetano Oneto, who was about to hand himself over to the partisans together with some comrades. They were about forty marines of the "Barbarigo" battalion returning from the Anzio front, who began to talk with the partisan commander Piero Urati . After a few minutes, the latter took the machine gun from Bardelli's hands and ordered him to surrender but, when Bardelli refused, Urati's partisans opened fire. Despite an attempt at resistance, the partisans gained the upper hand over the men of the Xth and Bardelli was one of the first to fall.
The clash cost the lives of nine marines and numerous wounded, while 29 were taken prisoner. Three partisans and a civilian also died. The following day, Commander Borghese arrived in Ozegna at the head of a unit and, despite the insistence of some subordinates, prevented any type of reprisal against the population. The funerals of the fallen were celebrated in Ivrea on 14 July. In the first days of October 1944, the "Barbarigo" Battalion moved to attack the partisans stationed in the Ribordone area (Turin). The marines routed the enemy formations, forcing them to take refuge in French territory. Bardelli's body was buried in the Duelli tomb at Verano, together with many of his marines and then transferred on 16 June 2005 to the Campo della Memoria, which has become a military cemetery, in Nettuno. The government of the Italian Social Republic awarded Commander Bardelli the posthumous Gold Medal for Military Valor. RSI decorations are not recognized by the Italian Republic.
Honours
Kingdom of Italy
- Bronze Medal of Military Valor, 10 February 1941
- For his conduct as an engineering officer aboard a minelaying submarine during a hazardous mission near an enemy base, in which he assisted his commander with composure, skill and courage despite serious equipment failures. Eastern Mediterranean, 7–22 October 1940.
- War Cross of Military Valor, 13 June 1943
- For his conduct as an engineering officer aboard a submarine during numerous missions, demonstrating constant fighting spirit, self-sacrifice and a strong sense of duty.
- Bronze Medal of Military Valor, 17 August 1943
- For his conduct as chief engineering officer aboard a light cruiser during a particularly hazardous mission. When the vessel was attacked at night by enemy torpedo boats, he displayed courage and composure and contributed to the successful outcome of the action, which resulted in the destruction of three of the four attacking vessels.
- Commemorative Medal of the Albanian Expedition
Italian Social Republic
- Gold Medal of Military Valor — awarded by the Italian Social Republic; **not recognized by the Kingdom of Italy or the Italian Republic**.
- For his conduct as a senior officer and first commander of the Barbarigo during the fighting at the Allied beachhead at Nettuno and, subsequently, at Ozegna on 8 July 1944. Refusing to surrender despite being surrounded by superior forces, he continued to fight after being wounded in the arm and leg, and was ultimately killed by a burst of automatic-fire. The citation praised his heroism, sense of honour, devotion to duty and dedication to his country.