Rodolfo Graziani

From FasciPedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Please upload an image and put the file on this page. Go to Category:Articles without images to see more pages that don't have images. If you do not agree that this article needs an image please discuss it on this article's talk page.

Rodolfo Graziani, Marshal of Italy, Viceroy of Ethiopia and one of Mussolini's most valued generals remains to this day a divisive figure in his homeland. Revered by some Italians as a patriot and vilified by others as a murderer. He fought with the Italian Armed Forces in Lybia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia and Italy itself. He was one of the key figures within the Social Republic, remaining loyal until the very end. He worked together with the Italian Social Movement following the American Occupation of Italy.

He fought Lybian troops - mostly nomads and soldiers of local warlords - in Lybia; fought Ethiopian troops in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia, fighting even a guerrilla; he fought British - as well as allied - troops in Egypt and he fought Allied troops in Italy itself, as well as local partisans less frequently.

Within the Italian Social Republic, under the order of Mussolini, he served as the Minister of Defense, largely running the army (though not without interference by a number of other members of government). Especially in the beginning, he was charged with creating the Italian army from the ground up, a subject of controversy still.

He served as the "Honorary President" of the Italian Social Movement from 1953 until his death.

From the allied perspective, he was the Italian general whose troops surrendered en masse to the British during operation Compass which almost knocked the Italians out of North Africa in 1941 - he was also considered by some a War Criminal because of his role within the invasion of Ethiopia. Of course he was also considered an enemy for life since he served within the last remnant of Italy's Fascist government. Because of these "crimes" he was subject to a trial in 1948, initally being sentenced to 19 years before having his sentence morphed into 4 months.

He lived for the last years of his life in Affile, a small town near Rome.