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Armando Diaz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chief of Staff of the Royal Italian Army | |
| In office 9 November 1917 – 13 August 1919 | |
| Preceded by | Luigi Cadorna |
| Succeeded by | Pietro Badoglio |
| Minister of War | |
| In office 30 October 1922 – 30 April 1924 | |
| Prime Minister | Benito Mussolini |
| Preceded by | Marcello Soleri |
| Succeeded by | Antonino Di Giorgio |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1861-12-05)5 December 1861 Naples,Kingdom of Italy |
| Died | 28 February 1928(1928-02-28) (aged 66) Rome,Kingdom of Italy |
| Spouse | |
| Profession | Military officer |
| Awards | seebelow |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Italy |
| Branch/service |  Royal Italian Army |
| Years of service | 1884–1924 |
| Rank | Marshal of Italy General |
| Unit | 49thDivision of XXIIICorps |
| Battles/wars | Italo-Turkish War |
Armando Diaz, 1st Duke della Vittoria,OSSA,OSML,OMS,OCI (5 December 1861 – 28 February 1928) was an Italiangeneral and aMarshal of Italy. He is mostly known for his role asChief of Staff of theRegio Esercito duringWorld War I from November 1917. He managed to stop theAustro-Hungarian advance along the Piave River in theFirst Battle of Monte Grappa. In June 1918, he led the Italian forces to a major victory at theSecond Battle of the Piave River. A few months later, he achieved a decisive victory in theBattle of Vittorio Veneto, which ended the war on the Italian Front. He is celebrated as one of the greatest generals of the war.[1]
Born inNaples to a family ofItalian and some distantSpanish heritage (most likely dating back to the years of theCrown of Aragon), he was the son of Lodovico, a navy officer, and Irene Cecconi,[2] the daughter of a minor noble. Diaz began his military career as a cadet at the Military College ofNaples. He subsequently moved on to the Military College ofTurin, where he graduated as anartilleryofficer in 1884. Personally, Diaz was described by a contemporary journalist who saw him at 56 as "medium build, of dark complexion, with black hair turning gray and a slight cast in the eye.... His character as a soldier was that of an inflexible disciplinarian who applied to himself the same rules as he enforced on others. In the daily routine of military life, evenly poised, and in the face of danger, characteristically calm".[3]
He was first assigned to the 10th Field Artillery Regiment. In 1890, with his promotion to captain, he was moved to the 1st Artillery. In 1894, he attended the School of War and ended the courses ranking first in his class. Then, he moved into the Army Staff and worked in the office of GeneralAlberto Pollio for two years.
In 1899, he received a promotion to infantry major and, for a year and a half, commanded a battalion of the 26th Infantry Regiment.
He reached the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1905 and served as Chief of Staff in Florence's Military Division. In 1910, as a colonel, he served in theItalo-Turkish War, commanding the 21st Infantry and, when it lost its commander, the 93rd Infantry. During his Libyan service, he was injured atZanzur in 1912.[4]
On the outbreak ofWorld War I, Diaz was assigned to the high command as head of the unit's operations, under GeneralLuigi Cadorna. Promoted to two-stargeneral in June 1916, he assumed the command of the 49th division and then the 23rd Army Corps.
TheBattle of Caporetto, in October 1917, was disastrous to the army, and on 8 November 1917, Diaz was called to succeed the harsh and incompetent[5] Cadorna as chief of general staff by 9 November. Having recovered what remained of the army, he organised the resistance in 1917 on theMonte Grappa massif and along thePiave River, which successfully halted the Austro-Hungarian offensive in theFirst Battle of Monte Grappa. In the summer of 1918, he oversaw the victory in theBattle of the Piave River, and later that year, he led the 1.4 million Italian troops in theBattle of Vittorio Veneto, which ended the war on theItalian front. With his famousBollettino della Vittoria (Victory Address), he communicated the rout of the Austro-Hungarian army and the victory of the Italians in the war.
On 1 November 1921, Diaz was inKansas City to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for theLiberty Memorial, which was being constructed there. Also present that day were Lieutenant GeneralBaron Jacques ofBelgium, AdmiralDavid Beatty ofGreat Britain, MarshalFerdinand Foch ofFrance, and GeneralJohn J. Pershing of theUnited States. One of the main speakers was US Vice PresidentCalvin Coolidge. In 1935, bas-reliefs of Jacques, Foch, Diaz, and Pershing by sculptorWalker Hancock were added to the memorial. Also, during his visit to the United States in 1921, General Diaz toured New Orleans where he planted a ceremonial,live oak tree inAudubon Park and was honoured by the city during that visit which named a street after him. General Diaz St. is located inLakeview, New Orleans.
After the war, Diaz was appointed as a senator. In 1921, he was ennobled by KingVictor Emmanuel III and given thevictory title of 1stDuca della Vittoria ("Duke of the Victory").Benito Mussolini named him Minister of War, and upon retirement in 1924, he was given the honour ofMarshal of Italy (Maresciallo d'Italia).
He died in Rome in 1928 and was buried in the church ofSanta Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri. AdmiralPaolo Thaon di Revel was interred next to Diaz upon his death in 1948.
According to the Italian historiographerAldo Mola, the membership of Diaz to the Freemasonry is reasonably probable, but not demonstrated with certainty.[8]
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Members of theMussolini Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head of government andduce of Fascism |  | |
| Minister of Aeronautics (since 1925) | ||
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | ||
| Minister of Agriculture (abolished in 1923) | ||
| Minister of Agriculture and Forestry (since 1929) | ||
| Minister of the Colonies (abolished in 1937) | ||
| Minister of Italian Africa (since 1937) | ||
| Minister of Communications (since 1924) | ||
| Minister of Corporations (since 1926) | ||
| Ministry of Popular Culture (since 1937) | ||
| Minister of the Interior | ||
| Minister of Domestic Economy | ||
| Minister of Domestic Education | ||
| Minister of Finance | ||
| Minister of Justice and Affairs of Religion | ||
| Minister of Industry and Commerce | ||
| Minister of Public Works | ||
| Minister of War | ||
| Minister of Labour and Social Security | ||
| Minister of Posts and Telegraphs | ||
| Minister of War Production (since 6 February 1943) | ||
| Minister of Public Education | ||
| Minister of Trades and Currencies | ||
| Minister of Press and Propaganda | ||
| Minister of Freed Territories from Enemies (abolished on 5 February 1923) | ||
| Minister of Treasure (merged into Ministry of Finance on 31 December 1922) | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
