Cavallero, Hugo

Deciding to become a soldier, Cavaliero, thanks to his own abilities and good connections, was able to make a successful career in the Italian army during the First World War . After the war, he led the Italian delegation at the negotiations at Versailles, but since Italy’s demands were ignored, he pointedly left the conference.

In 1920 he resigned, which lasted until the fascists came to power in Italy.

Since 1926 - Senator . After the fascists came to power, he was offered the post of secretary of the military ministry, which he perfectly combined with the business, becoming the chief administrator of the Ansaldo trust. His entrepreneurial activity ended with the initiation of a criminal case on embezzlement, but Cavallero had such great connections that he quickly hushed up the matter.

In 1937 he became commander-in-chief of Italian troops in East Africa , but in 1939 he returned to Rome , and was appointed by Mussolini as chairman of the coordination committee. In this position, he went to Berlin , where he worked very well with the Germans thanks to pro-German views. May 30, 1939, met with Hitler . At this meeting, handed a memorandum drawn up by Mussolini .

The first military command post, Cavallero, was the post of chief of the General Staff , which he received after the failure of the Greek campaign , replacing Marshal Badoglio . Cavaliero also became the commander of the Italian troops in Greece, combining this post with the chief of the General Staff.

The situation in the war with Greece deteriorated, the Duce demanded that Cavallero go on the offensive, but each time the Italian army was defeated. Greece managed to defeat only later, thanks to the help of the Wehrmacht .

Returning to Rome after the end of hostilities in Greece, Hugo Cavallero insisted on the reorganization of the General Staff. Thanks to the efforts of Cavaliero, he turned from a deliberative body into the brain of the army.

In 1942 he became the author of the operation “Hercules” - to capture Malta , the plan of which was later rejected. In the same year, Mussolini was appointed Marshal.

In the autumn of 1942, Cavallero again raised the issue of the seizure of Malta, but Operation Hercules remained only on paper.

Was retired on February 4, 1943 . Ambrosio became the new chief of staff of the land forces of Italy. He was arrested by the new government of Badoglio shortly after the overthrow of Mussolini. It was then released by the Germans, who occupied Rome. Cavaliero offered to fight on the side of the Germans against the Allies, but he chose a different path. November 14, 1943 Marshal of Italy Hugo Cavallero shot himself.

• June 4, 1914 - Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy
• September 13, 1917 - Commander of the Order of the Saints of Mauritius and Lazarus
• June 27, 1918 - Officer of the Military Order of the Savoy
• December 29, 1918 - Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy
• August 8, 1920 - Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy
• September 21, 1921 - Officer of the Order of the Saints of Mauritius and Lazarus
• December 18, 1921 - Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy
• April 3, 1924 - Cavalier of the Colonial Order of the Star of Italy
• June 11, 1925 - Commander of the Order of the Saints of Mauritius and Lazarus
• February 14, 1942 - awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

• Notes on the war. Diary of the Chief of the Italian General Staff

• Ciano, Galeazzo . Fascist diary. 1939-1943. - M . : Publishing House “Platz”, Series “Primary Sources of Modern History”, 2010, 676 p. - ISBN 978-5-903514-02-1 .
• One hundred great commanders of World War II / Yu. N. Lubchenkov. - “Veche”, 2005.
• Gordienko A.N. Commanders of the Second World War. - T. 2. - Mn. , 1998. - ISBN 985-437-627-3 .

• Biographical information on the official website of the Senate of the Italian Republic. (ital.)