Emilio De Bono | |
|---|---|
 De Bono in 1937 | |
| Minister of the Colonies | |
| In office 12 September 1929 – 17 January 1935 | |
| Monarch | Victor Emmanuel III |
| Duce | Benito Mussolini |
| Prime Minister | Benito Mussolini |
| Preceded by | Benito Mussolini(act.) |
| Succeeded by | Benito Mussolini(act.) |
| Governor of Eritrea | |
| In office 18 January 1935 – 22 November 1935 | |
| Monarch | Victor Emmanuel III |
| Duce | Benito Mussolini |
| Prime Minister | Benito Mussolini |
| Minister of the Colonies | Benito Mussolini(act.) |
| Preceded by | Ottone Gabeli(act.) |
| Succeeded by | Pietro Badoglio |
| Governor of Tripolitania | |
| In office 3 July 1925 – 18 December 1928 | |
| Monarch | Victor Emmanuel III |
| Duce | Benito Mussolini |
| Prime Minister | Benito Mussolini |
| Minister of the Colonies | Pietro Lanza di Scalea Luigi Federzoni |
| Preceded by | Giuseppe Volpi |
| Succeeded by | Pietro Badoglio |
| Commandant-General of the Blackshirts | |
| In office 1 February 1923 – 31 October 1924 | |
| Duce | Benito Mussolini |
| Preceded by | Position abolished |
| Succeeded by | Italo Balbo |
| Quadrumvir in the Grand Council of Fascism | |
| In office 15 December 1922 – 25 July 1943 | |
| Member of the Senate of the Kingdom | |
| In office 1 March 1923 – 5 August 1943 | |
| Appointed by | Victor Emmanuel III |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1866-03-19)19 March 1866 Cassano d'Adda,Lombardia, Italy |
| Died | 11 January 1944(1944-01-11) (aged 77) |
| Cause of death | Execution by firing squad |
| Political party | National Fascist Party |
| Alma mater | Scuola Militare Teulié Military Academy of Modena |
| Cabinet | Mussolini |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Italy (1915–1943) |
| Branch/service |  Royal Italian Army |
| Years of service | 1884–1920; 1935–1943 |
| Rank | Marshal of Italy |
| Commands | Blackshirts |
| Battles/wars | Italo-Ethiopian War of 1887–1889 Italo-Turkish War World War I Second Italo-Ethiopian War World War II |
Emilio De Bono (19 March 1866 – 11 January 1944) was an Italian general, fascist activist,marshal, war criminal, and member of theFascist Grand Council (Gran Consiglio del Fascismo). De Bono fought in theItalo-Turkish War, theFirst World War and theSecond Italo-Abyssinian War. He was one of the key figures behind Italy's anti-partisan policies in Libya, such as the use of poison gas and concentration camps, which resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians and have been described as genocidal.[1]
After voting for the ousting ofBenito Mussolini, De Bono and five others were arrested and tried for treason at theVerona trial. All of the men were found guilty, with De Bono and four others being executed by firing squad the following day.
De Bono was born inCassano d'Adda, a son of Giovanni de Bono and descendant of the Counts ofBarlassina, and Elisa Bazzi. His family "suffered under the Austrian yoke".[2] He entered theRoyal Italian Army (Regio Esercito) in 1884 as asecond lieutenant, fought in theItalo-Ethiopian War of 1887-1889, and had worked his way up to the General Staff by the start of theItalo-Turkish War in 1911. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of theMilitary Order of Savoy for his conduct during the war.
De Bono then fought in theFirst World War in which he distinguished himself againstAustria-Hungary on theKarst Plateau in 1915 (asColonel in theBersaglieri corps), inthe capture of Gorizia in 1916 (as commander of the "Trapani" Infantry Brigade), in theSecond Battle of the Piave River in June 1918 and in thebattle of Monte Grappa in October 1918 (as commander of theIX Army Corps). He was also the author of a popular patriotic song,Monte Grappa tu sei la mia patria ("Mount Grappa, you are my Fatherland"). During the war he was awarded threeSilver Medals of Military Valour; in 1920, he was discharged with the rank ofMajor General.[3][4]
In the early 1920s, De Bono helped organise theNational Fascist Party. In 1922, as one of the fourQuadrumvirs, he organised and staged theMarch on Rome. The event signalled the start of the fascist regime in Italy.
After the march, De Bono served as Chief of Police and Commander of the Fascist Militia.
In 1925, De Bono was tried for his role in the 1924 death of the leftist politicianGiacomo Matteotti. De Bono refused to implicate his superiors and was unexpectedly acquitted in 1925. Later that year, De Bono was appointed governor ofTripolitania, inLibya. De Bono was one of the key figures behind Italy's anti-partisan policies in Libya, such as poison gas and concentration camps, which resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians and have been described as genocidal.
In 1929, De Bono was appointedMinister of Colonial Affairs, also referred to as the Minister of Colonies. In 1932, KingVictor Emmanuel III and De Bono visited Eritrea.[5]
In November 1932, atBenito Mussolini's request, De Bono wrote a plan for an invasion ofEthiopia. The plan outlined a traditional mode of penetration: a relatively small force would move gradually southward fromEritrea, establish strong bases and then advance against increasingly weak and disorganised opponents. The invasion that De Bono envisioned would be cheap, easy, safe and slow.[6]
Mussolini separately involved the Army in planning, and over the next two years, the army developed its own massive campaign, which would involve five to six times the number of troops as required by De Bono. In 1934, Mussolini pulled the uncoordinated plans together into one that emphasised the military's idea offull-scale war.[7]
In 1935, De Bono becameSupreme Commander of the Italian operation against Ethiopia during theSecond Italo-Ethiopian War. De Bono was appointed because Mussolini wanted the victory in Ethiopia to be not just an Italian victory but also a fascist victory, hence the appointment of a well-known fascist general. In addition, he wasCommander-in-Chief of the forces invading from Italian-held Eritrea on what was known as the "northern front". De Bono had under his direct command a force of nine army divisions in three corps: the Italian I Corps, the Italian II Corps and the Eritrean Corps.[8]
On 3 October, forces under De Bono's command crossed into Ethiopia from Eritrea. On 6 October, his forces tookAdowa, officially avenging the humiliating1896 Italian defeat. Soon afterwards, De Bono entered thehistorically significant city ofAxum and rode a white horse. After those initial triumphs, however, De Bono's advance slowed.
On 8 November, the I Corps and the Eritrean Corps capturedMek'ele, which was to be the limit of Italian advances under De Bono. Increasing world pressure on Mussolini brought a need for fast glittering victories, and he was not prepared to hear of obstacles or delays.[9]
On 16 November, De Bono was promoted toMarshal of Italy (Maresciallo d'Italia), but Mussolini grew ever more impatient with the invasion's slow progress. In December, De Bono was relieved of his command via State Telegram 13181 (Telegramma di Stato 13181), which stated that with the capture of Mek'ele five weeks earlier, his mission had been accomplished. His place was taken by MarshalPietro Badoglio, and De Bono was appointed Inspector of Overseas Troops.
In 1940, De Bono commanded a southern defense corps headquartered inSicily and was opposed to the Italian entry into theSecond World War; he filed a scathing report about the condition of the troops in Sicily, pointing out that the "mobile battalions" were not mobile at all, and harshly criticizing both theMaritime Artillery Militia and the Anti-Aircraft Defense Militia.[3] However, he kept a low profile and in 1942 was appointedMinister of State.
On 24 and 25 July 1943, De Bono was one of the members of theGrand Council of Fascism whovoted to oust Benito Mussolini whenDino Grandi, put a non-confidence motion to the vote of theGrand Council of Fascism. That led the King to get rid of the dictator, ordering his arrest and imprisonment.
Later in 1943, Mussolini was freed byNazi Germany during theGran Sasso raid and installed in Northern Italy as head of a new state, theItalian Social Republic (Repubblica Sociale Italiana, RSI). Mussolini had De Bono and others who voted against him arrested and tried fortreason atVerona in what became known as the "Verona trial".[10]
On 11 January 1944, the 77-year-old De Bono was executed by firing squad at Verona. He was shot along withGaleazzo Ciano,Luciano Gottardi,Giovanni Marinelli andCarlo Pareschi. Ciano was theItalian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Mussolini's son-in-law. Gottardi was the former president of the Fascist Confederation of Industrial Workers. Marinelli was the former chief of the Fascist militia, and Pareschi was the former Agriculture Minister. The only person on trial who escaped from capital punishment wasTullio Cianetti, the Minister of Corporations, who was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment by the RSI judges.[10] De Bono and the other condemned, tied to chairs as it was in use in Italy, suffered the humiliation of being shot in the back as traitors. After hearing the sentence, De Bono reportedly remarked, "You barely got me; I am seventy-eight", but later complained about being shot in the back, which he considered a stain to his honour as a soldier.[11][12]
Like his maternal grandfather, Emilio was reportedly anatheist, as he stated in his "Memoirs" in 1941: "Atheism is enlightened and rational, based on scientific principles. I, as a member of the military, admire reason, and for that I'm an atheist".
His siblings were Edmondo, Agostino, Constanza, Gerardo and Marella. He had no children.
InFlorestano Vancini's filmThe Assassination of Matteotti (1973), De Bono is played by Mario Maffei.
Knight of theMilitary Order of Savoy (28 December 1913)
Commander of the Military Order of Savoy (9 September 1918)
Grand Officer of the Military Order of Savoy (10 August 1928)
Knight Grand Cross of the Military Order of Savoy (19 June 1936)
Knight of theOrder of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (3 April 1913)
Officer of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (12 January 1919)
Commander of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (30 December 1919)
Grand Officer of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (8 April 1923)
Knight of theOrder of the Crown of Italy (7 November 1907)
Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy (13 September 1917)
Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy (13 September 1918)
Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy (1 June 1919)
Knight of theSupreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation (3 October 1937)
Knight Grand Cross with the Grand Cordon of theColonial Order of the Star of Italy
Knight Grand Cross of Magistral Grace of theSovereign Military Order of Malta
Silver Medal of Military Valor
War Merit Cross
Commemorative Medal of the African Campaigns
Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Turkish War 1911–1912
Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Austrian War 1915–1918 (two years of campaign)
Commemorative Medal of the Unity of Italy 1848–1918
Commemorative Medal of the March on Rome (28 October 1922)
Cross for Length of Military Service (Gold Cross with Royal Crown for 40 years of service)
Maurician Medal
HonoraryCorporal of theVoluntary Militia for National Security
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Benito Mussoliniinterim | Italian Minister of the Colonies 1929–1935 | Succeeded by Benito Mussoliniinterim |
| Preceded by | Governor of Tripolitania 1925–1929 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Eritrea 1935 | Succeeded by |
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) | ||
