Angelico (Angelo) Carta (born 1886 in

Riola Sardo Riola Sardo, Arriora or Arriola in the Sardinian language, is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Oristano in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northwest of Cagliari and about north of Oristano. As of 31 December 2004, it h ...

) was an Italian military officer, best known for his actions during the Axis occupation of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Biography

Carta was an artillery officer and became commander of the 51st Infantry Division Siena on 7 January 1941. He participated in the

Greco-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (Greek: Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος, ''Ellinoïtalikós Pólemos''), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian Campaign in Greece, and the War of '40 in Greece, took place between the kingdoms of Italy and G ...

and the Battle of Greece. After the Greek capitulation, the Siena Division was sent to the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge whi ...

as an occupation force in Greece until late September 1941, when the division was transferred to

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Carta in Crete

In 1943, Angelico Carta held the rank of

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

and still commanded the 51st Infantry Division Siena which was assigned to the occupation of the eastern Cretan provinces of Sitia and Lasithi. He was a

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

rather than a

fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

and in contrast to the commanders of the German garrison in the western and central parts of Crete, he generally behaved with restraint to the local population. Following the

Armistice of Cassibile The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and B ...

, Carta decided to side against the fascist

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...

. He contacted the

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

(SOE) major

Patrick Leigh Fermor Sir Patrick Michael Leigh Fermor (11 February 1915 – 10 June 2011) was an English writer, scholar, soldier and polyglot. He played a prominent role in the Cretan resistance during the Second World War, and was widely seen as Britain's great ...

through the division's counter-intelligence officer, arranging that he and members of his staff sympathetic to the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

be smuggled to Egypt along with the defense plans for the east of the island. After abandoning his car north-east of the divisional headquarters in Neapoli as a diversion, Carta and his comrades set foot for south-west. Evading German patrols and observation planes he embarked a Motor Torpedo Boat at Tsoutsouro reaching

Mersa Matruh Mersa Matruh ( ar, مرسى مطروح, translit=Marsā Maṭrūḥ, ), also transliterated as ''Marsa Matruh'', is a port in Egypt and the capital of Matrouh Governorate. It is located west of Alexandria and east of Sallum on the main highw ...

the next afternoon, on 23 September 1943.

Carta in Sardinia

After his return to Italy, Carta became commander of the

XIII Army Corps XIII Army Corps (German: ''XIII. Armeekorps'') was a corps of the German Army during World War II. Made up of several divisions, which varied from time to time, it was formed in Nuremberg on 1 October 1937. Soon after the general mobilisation of ...

in November 1943, as replacement for general

Gustavo Reisoli Gustavo Reisoli Matthieu di Pian Villar (Turin, 5 June 1887 – 29 November 1955) was an Italian general during World War II. Biography He was born in Turin in 1887 into a noble family and pursued a military career, being appointed infantry ...

, who hadn't opposed the retreat of the German troops on the island to Corsica in September.

References

Sources

* * 1886 births Italian military personnel of World War II Italian generals Crete in World War II Year of death missing Italian occupation of Greece during World War II {{Italy-mil-bio-stub