During World War 2, there were a number of Generals in different armies who became involved
in executions and war crimes.
The German Army had a number of death squads that would follow them, and would then execute
civilians in huge horrific crimes.
Millions were killed in this way, and after the war came to an end, very few people were
brought to justice for their involvement in incidents like these.
One Italian General who was executed for his war crimes which included murdering a British
Prisoner of War was Nicola Bellow, who became one of only a very few Italian officers who
were ever executed during World War 2.
He was the only Italian executed by a British controlled court, but what did he do which
led to his execution?
Join us today as we look at the execution of Mussolini’s General.
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Nicola Bellow was born on the 2nd February 1881, and he was a high ranking general in
the Italian Army.
He was a long standing man in the Italian Army, and he came from the regular class of
the Italian Military Academy of Modena.
He was well trained, and he served during World War 1, and during this conflict he had
the rank of Artillery Captain, and he then was awarded a number of medals during the
First World War for his bravery in the conflict.
But then following the end of the conflict, and serving in the Italian Army for some time
he then retired from active duty in 1936 at the age of around 55, however as the Second
World War waged on, he was yet again told to return to the army.
He was considered an experienced leader, and because of this he became the Commander of
a zone controlled by Mussolini’s blackshirts, and he also commanded the army in Bari province.
But then he would commit war crimes despite being just recently brought back into the
conflict.
On the 30th November 1941, there were two British prisoners of war who managed to escape
a prisoner of war camp.
Captain George Playne who belonged to the Royal Armoured Corp and Leftenant Roy Cooke
managed to get out from the Torre Tresca POW camp, however a few hours later they were
recaptured.
The escape attempt was unsuccessful, and it was said that when they got back to the camp
Nicola Bellomo was waiting for the men along with a number of soldiers.
Bellomo said he personally wanted to find out what happened with the escape attempt,
and he wanted to know what had happened.
He then asked the British to show him where they had escaped from and to walk him through
their plan.
The British prisoners however seeing an opportunity to yet again escape tried to, and then the
Italian soldiers opened fire and they shot dead Captain Playne.
The leftenant was also wounded badly, and then an investigation took place and it was
said that Bellomo did not do anything wrong following this.
However on the 9th September 1943, the day after the Italian forces signed the armistice
with the Allies, Bellomo gathered a group of soldiers who were then tasked with counterattacking
the German soldiers who tried to occupy the port of Bari.
During the action, Bollomo was injured but his attack and plan worked and the Italians
forced the Germans back, and the port was not damaged which was seen as a plus.
This then allowed British troops to land without any resistance on the 22nd September as the
Italian’s protected them from attack.
Following this the British then established a force and they moved north forcing the Americans
back, but then the month later the whole area was secured by the Allies.
Bellomo was considered a respected commander, and he remained in control of the Zone in
Bari and the Italian forces.
However then the information about Bellomo and the execution of Captain Playne came to
light.
For this he was then arrested by the British military and was charged with murder and also
attempted murder of the British Prisoners of War killed in the shooting incident following
the escape attempt.
However on the 28th January 1944 he was arrested and was charged with ‘shooting or ordering
to shoot two British officers, causing the death of one of them and the wounding of the
other one.’
The surviving prisoner Leftenant Cooke then wrote his account against Bellomo on the 5th
June 1945, and in the weeks after he was moved to different Prisoner of war camps.
His trial was arranged, and then his court martial took place on the 28th July 1945,
and it took less than an hour for Nicola Bellomo to be sentenced to death by the British court.
Bellomo then shockingly refused to ask for a pardon, and on the 11th September 1945 he
was taken out of a prison cell on the Island of Nisida north of Naples.
This island was used to imprison Italian prisoners of war and germans, however the British Army
controlled it.
Bellomo was executed by a firing squad made up of British soldiers who had been gathered
to take his life.
On the 11th September 1945, he was led out to the firing range, and there his execution
squad were gathered.
He was secured to a post and then the order to fire was given, and the firing squad shot
straight and Bellomo was killed.
His execution was considered a shocking one, as some believed that his court martial was
based on poor evidence and contradictions, and some believed it was unfair.
After the war, the Italian government then posthumously awarded him a Silver Medal of
Military Valor, and he was considered a man who valiantly defended the seaport of Bari.
Nicola Bellomo was a military general who managed to push back the German army following
the signing of the armistice with the Allies, but as he had executed a British soldier he
was considered a war criminal.
He was a man who helped the Allies greatly, however he was executed and it’s believed
that the court was not the fairest that had been established.
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