Figure 3 Marshal of Italy Pietro Badoglio

never fully e×plo~ted ~nd reeo~,n~.zed. Them ?ictume of the medn] itne]I’ (See Figure 2 on Pm~e (~) ~,~ n very l-rood ~)roduction of n very ~e~ut~ful med;~l--The Me~al Theft Never ~ibbon~ Altern~t~rl~~, stripes o~" wh~te/li~.ht blue/darkb].ue/ r, ed/whi te/ye],iow/] i~,ht #,reen/bl~1ck/whi te FIGURE 3 MARSHAL OF ITALY PIETRO BADOGLIO -?- ITALIAN MARSHALS OF WORLD WARS I A~) II By Frank C. Dennis ~T312 Since there has not been much written about the men who held Italy’s highest military grade, I am here trying to give the basic facts about the best known of them. I even succeeded in obtaining a picture of a Marshal’s Baton with case (see Figure 4), awarded to two of thems Marshal Count Luigi Cadorna and Marshal Armando Diaz. Especially interesting is the fact that Benito Mussolini was instrumental in the elevation of Cadorna to this exalted rank. Two Marshals, Messe and Roatta, are known Only for rather dubious reasons. Messe was the man promoted by the Duce to Marshal just before he surrendered to the Allies in Tunisia, reminding one of the similar action of Adolf Hitler in regard to Frlederich Paulus at Stalingrad. Rostra was Chief of the Commando Supremo (Armed Forces High Command). Marshal Count Luigi Cadorna is the only man worthy of bearing the title of Marshal. ’What he accomplished during World War I was unbelievable in terms of endurance and stamina. Other generals would almost surely have been relieved much sooner, but he managed to survive through the eleven Battles of the Isonzo, including the catastrophe at Tolmein-Flitsch-Caporetto. Shortly afterward, here was relieved of his post as Commander- in-Chief and replaced by his long-t~me assistant, Armando Diaz. FIGURE 4 --8-- While Cadorna was unable to defeat the Austro-Hungarian Army, and suffered enormous tactical defeats himself, he had a giant hand strate~ically in helping the Allies win World War I. His actions tied down the cream of the Austro-Hungarian Ar~ies and their best commanders for years, depriving the Central Poweres of their use on the Western Front. Austrian commanders won battle alter battle against Cadorna, but due to lack of reserves and lack of cooperation by the German General Staff, they saw their operations fizzle out. As a matter of fact, the lack of a Unified Central Powers’ Command played a decisive role in the defeat of Germany and her Allies. Cadorna was despised at first, after his recall, but later on the Allies recognized the value of his strategy and Mussolini arranged for his promotion to Marshal, together with that of Diaz. The best known Marshal was Air Marshal Italo Balbo, who led a squadron to Rio de Janeiro, thence to the Chica~o Exposi- tion, and then back across the Atlantic. He suffered an un- timely death on i0 June 1940 at Tobruk. He was shot down in error by his own troops. For a long time, foul play was suspec- ted, since Mussolini and Balbo did not see eye to eye. Today, ’however, the facts clearly indicate that his plane, an S ?9, was shot down in error, shortly after a flight of British bombers ~had departed the area. Balbo was a very intelligent man. Marshal Badoglio was Chief of Staff at the time of the Greek invasion and resigned shortly thereafter. Later on, he took M~;ssolini’s place as Head of the Government and arranged the Armistice with the Allies. Marshal Gaziani was in command of the troops in Libya and suffered an enormous defeat there. The British pounded him to pieces and chased his ridiculous "Tankettes" for great distances. Loyal to the Duce to the end, he was demoted and deprived of most of his decorations. Marsh$1 de Bono was mostly a political Marshal and was not even good at that. He voted against Mussolini in the Fascist Grand Council in July, 19~3, and thus contributed to the down- fall of the Fascist regime. Later he, along with Mussolin’s son-in-law, Count Galeazzo Ciano, fell into the hands of the Fascist Italian Social Republic and was shot. MARSHAL COUNT LUIGI CADORNA Cadorna was born in Pallonza in 185O, the son of a distinguished general, Raffale Cadorna, who, in 1870, had commanded the Italian troops which entered Rome. Luigi entered the Army in 1866. In 1905 he was promoted Lieutenant-General, and in 1906, at the age of 56, was designated Commander-in-Chief in case of war. On lO July 1914 he became Chief of the General Staff upon the death of General Pollio. After Caporetto, in November 1917, he was relieved of his command and was sent to Versailles as Military Representative of Italy, but soon had to leave. His conduct of the Italian withdrawal to -9- .

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