Arnaldo Azzi

He was born in Ceneselli (province of Rovigo) on 23 December 1885, and he enlisted in the Royal Army as a simple infantry soldier in 1910, starting his military career. He took part in the Italo-Turkish war and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant on 6 September 1913. He fought in the First World War, initially as company commander, ending the conflict under the command of the 1st Battalion of the 218th Regiment of the "Volturno" Infantry Brigade, with the rank of major. Wounded in action, he was decorated with the War Cross for military valor.

He took part in the reconquest of Libya under the command of a company of Eritrean Ascari transferred there together with their battalion. Between 1929 and 1931 he commanded several battalions, was promoted to the rank of colonel on 17 August 1935, becoming commander of the 46th "Reggio" Infantry Regiment, a position he held until 1937. Promoted to brigadier general, he became commander of the Guard at the border of the II Army Corps.

Between 10 December 1941 and 30 July 1942 he worked in Italian North Africa as commander of the 101st "Trieste" Infantry Division. At the head of his soldiers, on 21 June he entered Tobruk welcoming the surrender of the South African garrison.

From 22 November of the same year he assumed command of the 41st "Florence" Infantry Division assigned to the 9th Army operating in Albania. This large unit was framed in the East Army Group, with headquarters in Tirana. On 1 January 1943 he was elevated to the rank of major general.

The armistice of 8 September 1943 took him by surprise, but he was one of the few Italian generals who, refusing to obey higher orders, did not surrender his arms to either the Germans or the Albanian partisan troops by Axhi Liesci. Keeping the subordinates together and avoiding any disbandment of troops, he clashed with the German troops in Kruja, supporting the massive counterattack until the orderly retreat of his soldiers in the mountains. On September 28, 1943 he met with Enver Hoxha and other leaders of the Albanian resistance, stipulating important political-military agreements with them. Transformed the Division into a strong partisan unit, he assumed the Italian Command Troops on the Mountain (C.I.T.a.M.), which until then had been held by the lieutenant colonel of the Royal Air Force Mario Barbi Cinti. One of the first military decisions taken was the establishment of five "Military Zone Commands", each of them assigned to a battalion for a total of about 25,000 men.

In June 1944 he returned to his homeland with most of his men, and assumed military command of the Lazio, Abruzzi and Umbria regions. In December of the same year he was exonerated from command by the then Minister of War because he had published an article on democratization, apoliticality and the reduction of the Armed Forces. The order for his dismissal was given by the Lieutenant General of the Kingdom, Umberto di Savoia. He responded to the provision by returning to the Minister his honors and the rewards for the military valor he was awarded. Only after the proclamation of the Republic was he reinstated in the rank.

Elected deputy in the Constituent Assembly for the Republican Party, he later joined the Italian Socialist Party. During the first legislature he was vice president of the V Defense Commission of the Chamber of Deputies.

He was a freemason, a member of the Grand Orient of Italy, and on 11 March 1945 he received the 31st degree patent of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.

He died in Cuneo on 25 November 1957.

•  Kingdom of Italy: Knight of the Military Order of Savoy[1]
•  Kingdom of Italy: War Cross of Military Valor
•  Kingdom of Italy: Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Austrian War 1915–1918
•  Kingdom of Italy: Commemorative Medal of the Unity of Italy
•  Kingdom of Italy: Allied Victory Medal
•  Kingdom of Italy: Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy
•  Kingdom of Italy: Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy

• Viscardo Azzi (2010). Ugo Mursia (ed.). I disobbedienti della 9ª Armata. Albania 1943-1945. ISBN 978-88-425-4185-1.
• Alberto Becherelli; Andrea Carteny; Fabrizio Giardini (2013). Edizioni Nuova Cultura (ed.). L’Albania indipendente e le relazioni italo-albanesi (1912-2012). ISBN 978-88-6812-135-8.
• Piero Crociani; Pier Paolo Battistelli (2011). Osprey Publishing Company (ed.). Italian Army Elite Units & Special Forces 1940-43. ISBN 1-84908-595-1.

• Dati personali e incarichi nella I legislatura AZZI Arnaldo