Giuseppe Salvatore Pianell (Palermo, 9 November 1818 – Verona, 5 April 1892) was an Italian general and politician. Count since 1856.
He was appointed Minister of War of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in July 1860, in the days of the Expedition of the Thousand. In favor of an alliance with Piedmont and the application of the constitution promulgated by Francis II, he was for this reason opposed by much of the Bourbon court. He resigned after a few weeks in the ministry and, following the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, was granted entry into the Italian Army with the rank of general.
He distinguished himself at the Battle of Custoza (1866) as commander of the only Italian division that did not retreat in the face of the Austrian counteroffensive. In 1869 he became commander of the Royal Army forces in northern Italy. He repeatedly refused the post of Minister of War of the Kingdom of Italy and was a deputy and senator for life in the Italian Parliament. He was accused by the Bourbons of favoring the demise of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and by some Unionists of the opposite. Later he became one of the symbols of national unity.
Contents
Biography
Origins and youth (1818–1845)
Giuseppe Salvatore Piànell (sometimes referred to as Pianelli erroneously or in derision) was born in Palermo in 1818 to Francesco Pianell, an official in the Bourbon military administration, and Cirilla Jannelli, the only daughter of General Baron Jannelli. The latter, for services rendered in the war to Joachim Murat, acquired the fiefdom of S. Eufemia, which the Bourbons took back after the Conservative Order.
In 1827, as part of a vast restructuring, the Bourbon Army went from being a force of foreign professionals to becoming a force of compulsory conscription for economic reasons. The officer ranks for the Sicilian regiments were put up for sale, and Pianell's father bought for his son the rank of captain. Pianell thus became a captain at age 9 and on November 1, 1828, entered the military college of the Nunziatella, in Naples. He left in September 1836, achieving excellent results and taking service as captain in the 6th Battalion of Riflemen.
The Campaigns against the Sicilian uprisings (1846–1850)
On 15 March 1846, Pianell was appointed major and commander of the 1st Riflemen Battalion. When the Sicilian Independence Revolution of 1848 broke out, he participated with his unit in the expedition commanded by Guglielmo De Sauget to Palermo. During the fighting, on 16 January 1848, he was wounded while leading his battalion that was preparing to attack the insurgents.
In the spring of the same 1848 while a revolt was imminent in Naples, from Cosenza Pianell demonstrated for the first time officially an independent critical judgment on the situation in the Kingdom. From June to August 1848 he was part of the Calabrian expedition with the column commanded by General Ferdinando Lanza that successfully forced the passage of the Crati (or San Martino) valley occupied by the insurgents. On this occasion Pianell distinguished himself, and Lanza reported this to his superiors (July 1848).
In September 1848, following the events of the revolution, Pianell was again in Sicily where his 1st Riflemen Battalion participated in the reconquest of Messina. For this action the unit obtained a "promotion of grace" for every soldier of every rank from 1st sergeant to 1st lieutenant. Pianell himself, for the events of Palermo and Messina, was decorated with the Cross of Knight of the Royal Order of St. Ferdinand and of Merit (24 November 1848).
As the revolutionary uprisings in Sicily continued, in April 1849 Pianell, who in the meantime had been promoted to lieutenant-colonel, found himself part of the expedition that moved from Messina with great success to reconquer Taormina and Catania. He was rewarded with the First Class Gold Medal and, the following year, decorated with the Officer's Cross of the Military Order of St. George of the Reunion of the Two Sicilies (August 1850).
Colonel and general at Gaeta (1850–1859)
In March 1850, when he was 32 years old, Pianell was promoted to colonel and assigned to the 1st Line Regiment. In 1855 an episode unexpectedly interrupted his string of acclaim: King Ferdinand II of Bourbon, during an inspection of the barracks at San Potito, Naples, commanded by Pianell, gave credence to some of the soldiers' grievances, who complained about the food and superiors. Before them, Ferdinand ordered that Pianell be locked up for 15 days at Castel Sant'Elmo.
It was probably a precautionary measure the sovereign took against the liberal ideas and autonomy of judgment of the colonel who, with his regiment, was then transferred to Gaeta. He remained there until the death of Ferdinand, who for years repeated, "That young gentleman thinks too much... it is better to keep him away."
Despite this, Pianell in December 1855 was promoted to general commander of the Gaeta brigade, and in July 1856, thanks to his future father-in-law, Count Costantino Ludolf, he received the news that he would become count by marrying the latter's daughter, Eleonora, to whom he was already engaged: the wedding was celebrated On 6 August 1856.
Pianell's consort, Eleonora Ludolf, belonged to a family of diplomats who moved to Naples from Erfurt, Thuringia during the time of Charles of Bourbon. The Pianell couple lived peacefully through the years in Gaeta, during which the general devoted himself to service and to the military studies he would never again abandon.
Lieutenant in Abruzzo (1859–1860)
On 20 May 1859, Ferdinand II died in Caserta; he was succeeded to the throne by Francis II, who immediately had to deal with the important news of the time: the Duchy of Parma, the Duchy of Modena and Reggio and Romagna passed into the Piedmontese sphere of influence, while a Garibaldian army threatened the papal frontier.
Francis II decided to recall Pianell from the Gaeta retreat and appointed him, on 1 July 1859, commander of the Nocera brigade that was garrisoned in Naples, at the Granili. As the political situation worsened, on September 21 he reconvened him at the Royal Palace of Portici and entrusted him with an army of twelve thousand soldiers to protect the northeastern borders of the Kingdom against the feared Garibaldi invasion. He also gave him full powers as Territorial Commander of the three Abruzzo provinces.
On that occasion Pianell expressed to Francis II the need to grant free institutions that would satisfy the honest wishes of his people. On 28 September 1859 he left for Sulmona where he arrived the next day.
The work of defense and reorganization in Abruzzo proved to be very demanding. The threat of invasion from the north, however, seemed averted as early as November, when the Piedmontese realized that raising a question in Europe about an attack on papal territory would have been politically foolish. Pianell, however, continued his work, reorganizing government and municipal offices, reforming justice and police personnel, plotting and commissioning public works for which he had both local personnel and soldiers work; and when he was recalled to Naples in July 1860, the people of Chieti and Ortona elected him an honorary citizen.
General Carlo Filangieri, in early 1860, resigned as Prime Minister and Minister of War. Pianell, who admired his former commander, also shared his political views. Both hoped for an alliance of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies with Piedmont and the proclamation of the Constitution. Filangieri resigned over disagreements with Francis II, and Pianell welcomed the news as "the gravest misfortune for the country, for the army and for me."
On 15 February 1860 Pianell complained of slander he had suffered; he was convinced, however, that something had to change. In March he wrote to his wife, "One cannot remain eternally stationary. The world walks, and one must walk with it. A legitimate outlet must be given to the vital forces of society, under pain that they do not react covertly and, in the end, overflow." On 18 April 1860, General Pianell was promoted to Field Marshal.
Minister of War of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1860)
At this stage, the government, faced with the refusal of some garrisons to obey the Constitution feared a plot by reactionary courtiers and decided on a renewal in favor of more liberal personalities. The day after the War Council, 14 July 1860, Pianell was appointed Minister of War in place of Ritucci, and Liborio Romano replaced Interior Minister Federico Del Re.
The Order of the Day issued by Pianell to the Neapolitan Army on 15 July 1860, concludes as follows: "[...] The Officers [...] and soldiers, have therefore in mind that the Constitutional King, the Italian Alliance, the Italian Flag, our own autonomy, now unite us in one family, in order thus to show that we are all the benefactors of these new institutions profitable to all, and particularly to those who are setting out on the glorious career of arms."
The next day Francis II decorated Pianell with the Cross of Commander of the Order of Francis I for his services in Abruzzo.
Consistent with his ideas, Pianell immediately gave orders to the commander of troops in Messina, General Tommaso Clary, to remain on the defensive. On 14 July he allowed the brigade commanded by Ferdinand Bosco to leave for Milazzo, which was threatened by Garibaldi's troops. After some clashes, on the 20th, Bosco was forced to fall back toward the Sicilian town.
Pianell asked Clary, in vain, to march to Bosco's aid and transferred three foreign battalions and a Swiss battery to Castellammare to land behind the enemy. The reinforcements, however, could not be embarked on because of serious disagreements between Louis, Count of Aquila (Francis II's uncle) and the Bourbon navy.
Once this attempt failed, which further demoralized the army, Pianell, in agreement with the rest of the government, decided to withdraw the troops from Milazzo and take them back to Naples.
Moreover, taking advantage of France's proposal to Piedmont to impose an armistice on Garibaldi, he determined to withdraw the troops from Messina as well in order not to expose them to further defeat, and to favor the diplomats negotiating for the Italian League (which Pianell looked to with excessive hope).
Major general of the Italian Army (1861-1866)
Two days after crossing the French-Piedmontese border, on March 4, 1861, Pianell had a long talk with Cavour and the next day with General Manfredo Fanti, who received him under his protection. On March 17 he obtained an appointment as lieutenant general in the Italian Army. In the following days in Milan and Bologna he had long and cordial talks with Alfonso La Marmora and Enrico Cialdini. On June 12 he passed into the active role as Inspector of Infantry.
On August 4, 1861 Pianell was appointed Commander of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus and had to defend himself against the accusations of the Democrats, who considered it inadmissible for a former Bourbon general to be decorated along with Medici, Bixio and Turr. On the other hand, in September, the French newspaper L'Ami de la Réligion accused Pianell and another former Bourbon general, Alessandro Nunziante, of being bribed by the Piedmontese government. Outraged, Pianell responded with a strong letter in the same newspaper rejecting the accusations.
On October 26, 1861, he was appointed commander of the active 7th Division in Forli. The appointment aroused perplexity in some quarters, which did not consider Pianell, a former Bourbon minister who had not immediately joined the national cause, fit for the post. On February 4, 1862, in the Senate, Minister of War Alessandro Della Rovere defended the choice of appointment and together with General Fanti took Pianell's side, confirming the esteem he had for him.
On April 5, 1862 Pianell received the Cross of Grand Officer of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus. In May he left for Turin as a member of the Commission for the Revision of the Recruitment Law, and on November 17 he passed to command the 19th Division in Alessandria. In August 1863 he was included in the Commission for the Revision of the Military Penal Code and assigned to inspect the commands in Alessandria, Genoa and Turin. In October he was a member of the Commission for the Revision of Honors and in February 1864 a member of a second Commission for the Revision of the Military Code.
After the alliance with Prussia was concluded, in April 1866 Italy prepared to attack Austria. On May 4 Pianell received command of the 2nd Division of General Giovanni Durando's Army Corps, stationed in Lodi.
General of Army Corps (1866-1892)
The undertaking of Monzambano spread throughout Italy and even beyond the Alps the fame of Pianell, who became one of the symbols of national unity. At the same time, the feat served to offset, at least in part, Italy's loss of prestige due to the defeat at Custoza.
Continuing the state of war, the problem of the Austrian prisoners became burdensome in September 1866, whose distressing conditions were improved by Pianell, who had meanwhile moved his command to Treviso. The prisoners were moved to more spacious quarters, the ration was reorganized, arrangements were made for improved hygienic conditions, and they were provided with necessary clothing. A bocce court and other amusements to pass the time were even arranged.
At the end of hostilities (October 3, 1866) due to agreements made earlier with France, Austria had to cede Venetia to Italy, and Pianell's 1st Army Corps was given the task of occupying the region. In mid-October Pianell was appointed commander of the Department of Verona (rank corresponding to General of Army Corps), and on November 7, 1866, he took part in the ceremonies of Victor Emmanuel II's takeover of Venice. A month later he was decorated with the Cross of Grand Officer of the Military Order of Savoy for the initiative taken at the Battle of Custoza. On the same day, December 8, he refused Cialdini's offer to him of the post of Minister of War.
On May 17, 1867, Pianell's election to the Chamber of Deputies for the seat of the 1st College of Naples (Chiaia District) was validated by ballot. He began, therefore, to participate in parliamentary work in Florence, then the capital of the Kingdom. Joining the Historical Right, he fought, in vain, against the abolition of the Army's territorial Grand Commands and the Ecclesiastical Axis Law. Although, then, the government headed by Leftist Rattazzi, accepted his proposals to enhance troop training.
After receiving from Austria the title of Commander of the Imperial Order of Leopold in March 1867, and also turning down Menabrea's offer of the post to Minister of War (October 1867), Pianell, in the summer of 1868, left for a trip of military interest to Austria and Prussia.
The general began the trip in Munich and proceeded to Steyr, Austria, where he visited rifle factories. On July 23 in Vienna he met War Minister Kuhn and in the following days visited the large Franz-Joseph barracks, the Geographical Office, the Central Cavalry School, and the Arsenal, where he became interested in the Gatling gun, the forerunner of the machine gun.
Honors
Works by Pianell
Giuseppe Salvatore Pianell, Le grandi manovre autunnali del II corpo d'esercito nell'anno 1869, istruzioni alle truppe e rapporto al Ministero della Guerra, del luogotenente generale conte Pianell, Carlo Voghera, Firenze, 1870.
Giuseppe Salvatore Pianell, Le grandi manovre dell'anno 1871. Rapporto del luogotenente generale conte Pianell, Carlo Voghera, Roma, 1872.
Giuseppe Salvatore Pianell, I corpo d'armata di manovra : ordine del giorno generale n. 1, G. Vianini, Verona, 1878.
Giuseppe Salvatore Pianell, Relazione sommaria sulle esercitazioni d'assedio intorno a Verona nel Luglio 1887, Carlo Voghera, Roma, 1887.
Giuseppe Salvatore Pianell, Lettere del generale Pianell e Ricordi familiari, Francesco Giannini e Figli, Napoli, 1901.
Giuseppe Salvatore Pianell e Eleonora Pianell Ludolf, Il generale Pianell. Memorie (1859-1892), Firenze, G. Barbera, 1902.