Like many of our previous articles, this one also begins with a photograph. Every so often, while compulsively scrolling through the listings on a online auction site, amid hundreds of objects and vintage photographs, the eye is caught by a single figure—perhaps because of an expression, a bearing, or some distinctive detail of a uniform.
In this case, we came across a fine portrait of an infantry lieutenant colonel. On the back, beneath the signature, there is a dedication:
“To my beloved wife, on the solemn occasion of her name day.”
Words that evoke a distant age, when the most solemn and heartfelt anniversary for Italians —on which good wishes were traditionally offered—was not one’s birthday, but one’s name day. One need only think of the touching sculpture L’onomastico del nonno by Costantino Barbella.
Beyond this, however, the signature affixed to that affectionate message allows us to retrace—at least in broad outline—the life and career of the man portrayed: Gino Cocchi.
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Gino Cocchi was born in Pistoia—then part of the province of Florence—on 3 April 1865, to a Luigi Cocchi, probably unrelated to the distinguished patriot from Budrio and colonel in the Wars of Independence who bore the same name.
Be that as it may, young Gino, having begun classical studies, was soon directed toward a military career.
In 1883, while a student in the second year of high school, he was admitted to the Military Academy, with orders to report on 28 September, coming from the Military District of Pistoia.
After completing the two-year course, he was commissioned second lieutenant by Royal Decree of 25 August 1885, as a second-year cadet, and assigned to the 69th Infantry Regiment of the “Ancona” Brigade for his first posting. Cocchi would remain with this unit for many years, following it to Rome when it was transferred there, and being promoted to the rank of lieutenant while serving in its ranks.
He remained in that position until 1898, when, having been promoted to captain, he was transferred to the 61st Infantry Regiment of the “Sicilia” Brigade, where he assumed the post of adjutant major.
Subsequently—still relatively young—he was appointed Knight (cavaliere) of the Order of the Crown of Italy.
By 1902, he was serving as a captain in the 64th Infantry Regiment of the “Cagliari” Brigade, again stationed in Rome. His presence in the capital evidently proved advantageous. From 1903 onward, he served as a General Staff–attached captain in the Operations Section of the Army General Staff Headquarters. He remained in this role until 1908; in 1909 he was assigned to the Civil Cabinet of the Ministry of War, also in Rome.
After several years in such a pivotal position, however, Gino Cocchi was relieved of his staff duties and returned to line service in the infantry. In 1910, he was serving as a captain in the 82nd Infantry Regiment of the “Torino” Brigade, based in Rome.
He was subsequently promoted to the rank of major by Royal Decree of 2 October 1911 and assigned to the 84th Infantry Regiment of the “Venezia” Brigade, headquartered in Florence.
During those same weeks, the regiment was preparing for a major trial: mobilization for the Italo-Turkish War, hostilities having begun on 28 September following the Kingdom of Italy’s declaration of war on the Ottoman Empire.
Let us briefly retrace the opening stages of these events, drawing in part from our article dedicated to Lieutenant Giuseppe Orsi of the 84th Regiment.
The 84th Infantry Regiment—together with the 82nd Regiment of the “Torino” Brigade and other supporting troops—formed the 1st Brigade of the 1st Special Division, under the command of Lieutenant General Guglielmo Pecori Giraldi.
From Florence, the unit was transported by rail to Rome and then onward to Naples. Between 8 and 9 October, all units, having arrived in Naples, were marched to the port for embarkation. The troops paraded through the streets of the city in an atmosphere of celebration and enthusiasm, greeted by large crowds and by King Vittorio Emanuele III himself.
On the afternoon of the 9th, the first twelve ships of the convoy left the Italian coast, bows turned toward Africa. The 84th Infantry Regiment embarked on the steamship America, which, together with the Verona, was among the most modern and fastest vessels in the convoy. When news reached Italy of the first Ottoman attack, launched during the night of 7–8 October, the high command decided to detach these two ships so they could reach the coast of Tripoli as quickly as possible.
The two steamers anchored off Tripoli at around 10 a.m. on 11 October, and disembarkation operations began immediately, hampered by difficult sea conditions. The first 5,000 men ashore belonged to the 84th Infantry Regiment, two battalions of the 40th Regiment, and one battalion of the 11th Bersaglieri Regiment.
In June 1912, he distinguished himself in the fighting at Zanzur, earning a Solemn Commendation, soon afterward converted into a Bronze Medal for Military Valor, with the following citation:
“For the skillful dispositions made in the employment of the companies of his battalion under heavy enemy fire.” — Zanzur, 8 June 1912
Repatriated thereafter, he returned to his regiment’s headquarters in Florence.
On the eve of the Kingdom of Italy’s entry into the First World War, Gino Cocchi was promoted to lieutenant colonel by Royal Decree of 13 May 1915.
He was then transferred to the 127th Infantry Regiment of the “Firenze” Brigade, wearing the uniform in which he was immortalized in the fine photographic portrait that prompted this article. The photograph was taken in Udine at the studio of Umberto De Faccio.
On the reverse is the date 17 August 1916, which—being the feast day of Saint Clare of Montefalco—also reveals the name of the colonel’s wife.
In 1917, Gino Cocchi was transferred to the 66th Infantry Regiment of the “Valtellina” Brigade.
Most likely, however, he fell ill. As of 22 October 1917—just as the Austro-German offensive was about to be unleashed in the Caporetto sector, with the well-known consequences that followed—Cocchi was placed on leave for one year due to “illness not resulting from service.”
His condition worsened within a few months, and he was eventually admitted to the Military Hospital in Rome. There he died on 19 January 1918, at only fifty-three years of age.
By Royal Decree of 5 April 1926, he was posthumously awarded the War Merit Cross.
This article is dedicated to the memory of that gallant officer.
By Niccolò F.
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