Enzo Emilio Galbiati (23 May 1897 – 23 May 1982) was an Italian soldier and fascist politician.

Biography

Born in Monza, Galbiati was a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in the Royal Italian Army's elite

Arditi Arditi (from the Italian verb ''ardire'', lit. "to dare", and translates as "The Daring nes) was the name adopted by a Royal Italian Army elite special force of World War I. They and the opposing German '' Stormtroopers'' were the first modern ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was wounded in action in 1917.

Philip Rees Philip Rees (born 1941) is a British writer and librarian formerly in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right. Works *''Fascism in Britain'' (Harvester Pres ...

, ''

Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 The ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' is a reference book by Philip Rees, on leading people in the various far right movements since 1890. It contains entries for what the author regards as "the 500 major figures on the r ...

'', 1990, p. 144 Whilst still in the army (he was demobilised in 1920) he joined the Monza

fascio Fascio (; plural ''fasci'') is an Italian word literally meaning "a bundle" or "a sheaf", and figuratively "league", and which was used in the late 19th century to refer to political groups of many different (and sometimes opposing) orientations ...

in 1919 and became the leader of the ''

squadristi The Voluntary Militia for National Security ( it, Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts ( it, Camicie Nere, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the Natio ...

''. Involved in the

March on Rome The March on Rome ( it, Marcia su Roma) was an organized mass demonstration and a coup d'état in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy. In late October 1922, ...

, Galbiati gained a reputation for his brutality as a squad leader and in 1924 he charged with, although later acquitted of, murder. As a consul of the

Blackshirts The Voluntary Militia for National Security ( it, Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts ( it, Camicie Nere, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the Nation ...

, Galbiati was involved in the 'revolt of the consuls' when on 31 December 1924 thirty leading fascists entered the offices of Benito Mussolini in an attempt to force him to overcome the political impasse that followed the Matteotti Crisis. From 1925 to the following year Galbiati was out of the fascist movement after Mussolini expelled him for his involvement in the 'revolt'. However he was soon readmitted and once again became a leading figure in the Blackshirts, suffering further war wounds in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. Returning to Italy he was appointed inspector of university militias and had risen to the rank of Luogotenente Generale in the Blackshirts by the time Italy entered the

Second World War 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. He saw service in the

Italian invasion of Albania The Italian invasion of Albania (April 7–12, 1939) was a brief military campaign which was launched by the Kingdom of Italy against the Albanian Kingdom in 1939. The conflict was a result of the imperialistic policies of the Italian prime m ...

before in May 1941 succeeding

Achille Starace Achille Starace (; 18 August 1889 – 29 April 1945) was a prominent leader of Fascist Italy before and during World War II. Early life and career Starace was born in Sannicola, province of Lecce, in southern Apulia. His father was a wine and o ...

as Blackshirt Chief of Staff. By 1943 he was the national commander of the ''Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale'' (MVSN), as the Blackshirts were formally known.

The role in the fall of Mussolini

Despite his earlier involvement in the consuls' revolt Galbiati became a staunch Mussolini loyalist in later years and opposed the motion against him on 25 July 1943. On the morning of that day, he proposed to Mussolini the arrest of the nineteen gerarchi who had voted for the "OdG Grandi" (order of the day from

Dino Grandi Dino Grandi (4 June 1895 – 21 May 1988), 1st Conte di Mordano, was an Italian Fascist politician, minister of justice, minister of foreign affairs and president of parliament. Early life Born at Mordano, province of Bologna, Grandi was ...

), but he refused. When news of Mussolini's arrest was released at 7 o'clock in the evening the headquarters of the MVSN in Viale Romania were surrounded by army units. Galbiati, who was in his office, ordered the MVSN not to provoke incidents. Although the majority of his officers wanted to react, after consulting with four generals he called the under-secretary of the interior Umberto Albini and told him that the MVSN would have "remained faithful to its principles, that is to serve the fatherland through its pair, Duce and King."Rastrelli (2007) p. 31 After that, it was clear that the Blackshirts would have not reacted to the putsch. Shortly before midnight, he was ordered to hand over control to the army general

Quirino Armellini Quirino Armellini (31 January 1889 in Legnaro – 13 January 1975 in Rome) was an Italian military officer, who served as a general in both the Royal Italian Army and the Italian Army. Biography Armellini was commissioned into the Royal It ...

.Bianchi (1963), p. 732 Galbiati capitulated to Grandi's men and it has been argued that it was this that cost him a high office in the Italian Social Republic. He served 11 months in prison after the war, before largely disappearing from the public eye.

Bibliography

*Carlo Rastrelli. ''Enzo Galbiati''. Storia Militare N° 161 (Febbraio 2007) pag. 29-41 *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galbiati, Enzo 1897 births 1982 deaths People from Monza National Fascist Party politicians Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of World War II Italian military personnel of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War