He was born in
Turin on 2 September 1885, the son of Luigi Girotti and Cristina Lussiatti. After becoming officer on September 14, 1906, he served in
Libya in 1914 and then took part in the
First World War with the rank of
captain and later
major, earning a
silver (for an action in the
Carnic Alps in June 1916) and a
bronze medal for military valor (for his behaviour during the
First Battle of Monte Grappa in December 1917). From December 1918 to April 1919, as major in the "Monte Antelao"
Alpini Battalion, he worked on the restoration of the embankments of the
Piave river. In 1922 he became commander of the "Susa" Alpini Battalion, then of the 74th Infantry Regiment "Lombardia" and later of the
4th Alpini Regiment. In January 1931 he was promoted to
colonel and appointed Head of Office at the Inspectorate of Alpine Troops, replacing Colonel Vincenzo Paolini, a post he held until 1939. He was promoted to
brigadier general and on 10 June 1940, following Italy's entry into
World War II, he assumed command of the "Levanna" Alpini Groupment, composed of three Alpini battalions and deployed in the
Orco-
Baltea-
Stura sector during the
attack on France. In September 1940 he assumed command of the
3rd Alpine Division Julia, which he led in the bitter fighting in the mountains of the
Epirus during the
Greco-Italian War, participating in the
battle of Pindus and in the
battle of Klisura Pass between October 1940 and January 1941. At the start of the campaign the Julia Division spearheaded the Italian advance into Greece, but was surrounded and cut off by the Greek counterattack in the battle of the Pindus; Girotti managed to break the encirclement and save most of the division from certain destruction, and for this on February 15 he was promoted to the rank of
major general for war merit. In late February the division repelled a Greek offensive aimed at capturing
Tepelenë, for which Girotti was awarded a Silver medal for military valor. On 15 November of the same year he assumed command of the newly established
6th Alpine Division Alpi Graie, which starting from March 1942 was transferred to
Yugoslavia and employed in anti-partisan operations between
Danilovgrad (where the divisional headquarters were established) and
Podgorica and in the
Nikšić area of
Montenegro; for his leadership during these operations Girotti was awarded the Knight's Cross of the
Military Order of Savoy. He was later included by
Yugoslavia in the
CROWCASS list of wanted criminals for
war crimes committed by his troops in Montenegro. The division was repatriated in January 1943 and redeployed in southern
Liguria, with the task of defending the
naval base of La Spezia, and on 15 August 1943 Girotti was replaced by General
Mario Gorlier and was assigned to the Ministry of War in
Rome, where he was at the time of the proclamation of the
armistice of Cassibile on 8 September. Having joined the
Clandestine Military Front following the German occupation of Rome, Girotti carried out
Resistance activities until he was arrested by the Nazis, imprisoned and finally
sentenced to death by
firing squad after being harshly and fruitlessly interrogated, but
Rome was liberated before the sentence could be carried out. He was, thus, freed and on 17 July 1944 he was made commander of the Clandestine Front Department of the
Royal Italian Army, tasked with collecting and studying the material relating to the activities of the Clandestine Military Front during the German occupation of Rome. On 21 February 1945 he drafted a document entitled Summary of the activities of the Clandestine Front Department. For his Resistance activities during the occupation of Rome, he was awarded another Silver medal of military valor. He was later transferred to the Army reserve and held various associative positions, including that of Vice-President of the National Union of Retired Officers of Italy, enrolling in the Roman section of the
National Alpini Association, and collaborating with numerous magazines. He died in Rome on November 3, 1957, and his funeral was attended by Marshal of Italy
Giovanni Messe, while a battalion of the 4th Alpini Regiment rendered the
military honors during the burial. ==References==