He was born in Lu Monferrato, province of Alessandria, on 27 September 1889, the son of farmer Alberto Gherzi and Savina Borghino.

Later in 1941, he assumed the position of Chief of Staff of the 26th Infantry Division "Assietta", and in 1942 he was transferred to the Territorial Defense Command of Florence, with responsibility for coastal defence.

In February 1943, while he was acting commander of the Division, he suffered a serious defeat in Herzegovina at the hand of the partisans, which destroyed the 259th Infantry Regiment, and was therefore replaced by General Bartolomeo Pedrotti and subjected to an investigation.

During the subsequent fighting between the Italian and German troops, on 22 September 1943 his command was attacked with mortars and surrounded by German soldiers who broke inside it; Lieutenant Colonel Sebastiano Sebastiani, who had tried to draw his service pistol, was shot dead on the doorstep, while General Gherzi, his adjutant Lieutenant Guido Dal Monte, and four other officers were captured.

They were taken out of the building and shot in the back on the edge of the nearby anti-tank ditch, together with second lieutenants Alberto Drago and Alfredo Porcelli.