A marshal who served Fascism before steering Italy's turn
When the armistice was announced on 8 September 1943, Badoglio's government left Rome and headed south for Allied protection.
Pietro Badoglio was an Italian royal army officer and colonial commander who enforced imperial violence in Libya and Ethiopia. A central military official under Mussolini, he resigned after the failure of the 1940 Greek campaign and later helped the monarchy remove the dictator. As prime minister after Mussolini's fall in 1943, he arranged Italy's armistice with the Allies, but the confused announcement and flight of the royal government left Italian forces unprepared for German disarmament and the collapse of state authority.
Career timeline
- 1890Commissioned as an artillery officer in the Italian Royal Army
- 1916Directed the capture of Monte Sabotino in the First World War
- 1925–1940Chief of the Italian General Staff
- 1929–1933Governor of Libya, directing repression and internment policies
- 1935–1936Commander of the invasion of Ethiopia, capturing Addis Ababa
- 1943–1944Prime minister after Mussolini's fall, signing Italy's armistice with the Allies
- 1944Resigned as prime minister and withdrew from political life
The general who sought an Italian exit from the Axis under the monarchy
“The Axis is besieged, it is in a closed ring; it is necessary to get out.”
Vittorio Ambrosio was an Italian cavalry officer and general who served in both world wars and commanded forces during the invasion of Yugoslavia. As Chief of the Italian Armed Forces General Staff in 1943, he concluded after the defeats in North Africa and Sicily that Italy could not remain tied to Germany, and worked through the king and the military command to remove Mussolini and negotiate an armistice with the Allies. His course was not a democratic break with Fascism so much as a monarchic and military attempt to manage Italy's withdrawal from the war; the September armistice nonetheless failed to prevent German occupation and the disintegration of Italian command.
Career timeline
- 1898Commissioned as a cavalry officer
- 1911–1913Served in the Italo-Turkish War
- 1915–1918Served in World War I and covered the retreat after Caporetto
- 1941Commander of the Second Army during the invasion of Yugoslavia
- 1942Chief of Staff of the Army
- 1943-02–1943-11Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff, pursuing Mussolini's removal and an armistice with the Allies
- 1943-11Demoted to Inspector-General of the Army
The general who signed an incomplete transition
On 3 September 1943, beneath an olive tree at Cassibile, he signed the armistice on Italy’s behalf.
Giuseppe Castellano was an Italian army general and staff officer whose career began in the First World War. After taking part in the political-military move that removed Mussolini in July 1943, he became Badoglio’s envoy to negotiate with the Allies. He signed the Cassibile armistice on Italy’s behalf, ending the kingdom’s hostilities with the Allies but exposing the asymmetry of the terms and the confusion of Italy’s command. After the war he commanded forces in Sicily and published memoirs defending his account of the transition.
Career timeline
- 1915–1918First World War, artillery captain
- 1941–1942Yugoslavia campaign, promoted to brigadier general
- 1942Army General Staff, aide to Vittorio Ambrosio
- 1943High Command, head of planning and operations
- 1943.07Involved in the plan to arrest Mussolini
- 1943.08–09Badoglio government envoy, negotiated and signed the armistice with the Allies
- 1944.10–1946.06Commander of the Aosta Internal Security Division in Sicily
- 1947Retired from the army
