World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseInigo Campioni was born in 1878 and attended the Italian Naval Academy at Livorno, Italy between 1893 and 1896. He was promoted to the rank of ensign in 1898 and lieutenant in 1905. Between 1911 and 1912, he participated in the Italo-Turkish War aboard armored cruiser Amalfi. During WW1, he served aboard battleship Conte di Cavour, battleship Andrea Doria, and destroyer Ardito (as the commanding officer, at the rank of lieutenant commander); he received the Bronze Medal of Military Valor and the War Merit Cross for his WW1 service. During the inter-war years, he was promoted to the rank of commander in 1919, promoted to the rank of captain lieutenant in 1926, served in France as the naval attaché in the late 1920s, commanded battleship Caio Duilio in 1929, served as the chief of staff of the First Fleet between May 1930 and May 1931, and commanded cruiser Trento in 1931. He made admiral rank in 1932, with the promotion to contrammiraglio (counter admiral) in 1932 followed by ammiraglio di divisione (divisional admiral) in 1934. He commanded the 5th Naval Division during the Italo-Ethiopian War. In 1936, he was promoted to the rank of ammiraglio di squadra (squadron admiral). In 1938, he was made the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Navy. In 1939, he was made the commanding officer of the 1st Naval Squadron, the Italian Navy's main battle fleet; he broke his flag aboard battleship Giulio Cesare. In the same year, he was made a Life Senator of the Kingdom of Italy. While holding this role, Italy entered the European War in Jun 1940. He directed the 1st Naval Squadron through the first major battles in the Mediterranean Sea, but ultimately was relieved of duty for his perceived timidity during the the Battle of Cape Spartivento, during which he withdrew his warships because he could not be certain of a total victory. Returning to Italy in Dec 1940, he resumed his duties as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Navy. Shortly after, he was made a Commander of the Military Order of Savoy. In Jul 1941, he was made the governor of the Italian Aegean Islands, also known as the Italian Dodecanese, which gave him command over all Axis forces in the area. In Nov 1941, he reached retirement age and was officially transferred to the naval auxiliary, but he remained in his governor position. He was at his headquarters on the island of Rhodes when the announcement of the Italian armistice was made on 8 Sep 1943; he commanded the Italian resistance against German forces for the subsequent days until being captured by the Germans on 11 Sep. He was imprisoned in Skoki (German: Schokken) in occupied Poland until Jan 1944 and then in Verona in Italy until May 1944. Benito Mussolini's government attempted to persuade him to serve the new republic in northern Italy, but Campioni refused such requests based on the belief that the new republic was not legitimate and King Vittorio Emanuele III was still the head of state of Italy. As he was found guilty of high treason by a military tribunal of the Italian Social Republic, he was offered a pardon under the condition that he change his position. He refused to do so, and he was executed by firing squad on 24 May 1944. He was buried in the military cemetery at Bari, Italy. After the war, he was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor in Nov 1947.

Photographs

Inigo Campioni Timeline

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