Pietro Badoglio
Surname | Badoglio |
Given Name | Pietro |
Born | 28 Sep 1871 |
Died | 1 Nov 1956 |
Country | Italy |
Category | Military-Ground |
Gender | Male |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbasePietro Badoglio was born in Grazzano Monferrato (later renamed Grazzano Badoglio for him) in the province of Asti in Italy. He studied in the military academy in Turin and joined the Italian Army in 1892. He served in Africa early on in his career, and was promoted to the rank of general in May 1916, during WW1. During the inter-war years he became active in politics while holding military positions, a combination that would follow him for many years. In the 1920s, he was a leader in the Italian Army, a senator, and later the ambassador to Brazil. From 4 May 1924 through the next five years, he was the Army Chief of Staff. From 1929 to 1933 he was the governor of Libya. In 1936, he headed up the Italian forces during the invasion of Ethiopia, and was made the Duke of Addis Ababa after being credited for the capture of that city. He was a war hero, but he voiced against the signing of the Pact of Steel with Germany. In Dec 1940, after Italy's near failure in the campaign against Greece, he resigned. In 1943, Italian King Vittorio Emanuele III appointed Badoglio to head up the Italian government as Prime Minister after removing Benito Mussolini. In Wilhelm Keitel's personal correspondence to his wife dated 3 Aug 1943, Keitel noted that Badoglio initially "reassured [Germany] that [Italy] will go on fighting, and that it was only on this condition that he accepted office." However, Badoglio soon declared martial law, ordered the arrest of Mussolini, and opened negotiations with the Allies. German forces were quick to realize this, and moved in to occupy Italy, forcing Badoglio's government to flee for southern Italy. On 3 Sep 1943, Badoglio signed the armistice with the Allies in Cassibile, and on 13 Oct Italy declared war on Germany. He was removed as Prime Minister in 1944.
ww2dbaseSources: In the Service of the Reich, Wikipedia.
Last Major Revision: May 2006
Photographs
Pietro Badoglio Timeline
28 Sep 1871 | Pietro Badoglio was born. |
28 Nov 1935 | Mussolini dismissed the 68-year-old General Emilio de Bono as the Italian Commander-in-Chief in East Africa and replaced him with the younger and more energetic Pietro Badoglio, one of Italy's most prestigious soldiers and the Army's Chief of Staff. |
26 Jul 1943 | Marshal Badoglio replaced the Fascist government in Italy and began negotiations with the Allies in secret. Upon his first actions as the head of state was to dissolve the Fascist Party. |
1 Nov 1956 | Pietro Badoglio passed away. |
Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Share this article with your friends: Stay updated with WW2DB: |
Visitor Submitted Comments
25 Mar 2008 12:22:24 PM
super boring
All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.
» Invasion of Ethiopia
» Invasion of Sicily and Italy's Surrender
Document(s):
» Armistice with Italy
» Letter from Commander in Chief of Allied Forces to Head of Italian Government
- » 1,150 biographies
- » 337 events
- » 43,917 timeline entries
- » 1,241 ships
- » 350 aircraft models
- » 207 vehicle models
- » 375 weapon models
- » 123 historical documents
- » 260 facilities
- » 470 book reviews
- » 28,551 photos
- » 432 maps
Chiang Kaishek, 31 Jul 1937
Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 a month will go a long way. Thank you!
Or, please support us by purchasing some WW2DB merchandise at TeeSpring, Thank you!
25 Mar 2008 12:14:49 PM
love it!!