In 1936, with the rank of colonel, he commanded the 1st Artillery Regiment "Cacciatori delle Alpi" in Foligno; from December 1938 to June 1940 he was chief of staff of the 33rd Infantry Division Acqui.

After Italy's entry into the Second World War he commanded the artillery of the XIII Army Corps in Cagliari, being promoted to brigadier general on 1 July 1940.

On 10 February 1943, he was given command of the 222nd Coastal Division, stationed in the Salerno area, a severely understaffed unit whose personnel largely consisted of ill-trained and ill-equipped territorial troops.

[1] After the Armistice of Cassibile was announced on 8 September 1943, German forces launched Operation Achse for the occupation of Italy and the disarmament of all Italian units.

On the same day of the proclamation of the Armistice General Gonzaga was approached in Buccoli, a hamlet of Eboli, by a German detachment commanded by Major von Alvensleben, who ordered him to surrender.