Italo Gariboldi (20 April 1879 – 3 February 1970) was an Italian senior officer in the Royal Army (''

Regio Esercito The Royal Italian Army ( it, Regio Esercito, , Royal Army) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfre ...

'') before and during World War II. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross by German dictator

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

for his leadership of Italian forces in the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later r ...

.Adolf Hitler, Max Domarus (ed). ''Hitler: Speeches and proclamations, 1932-1945''. Bolchazy-Carducci, 2004. P. 2777.

Biography

Gariboldi was born in Lodi, Lombardy. From the end of World War I and through the interwar Period, Gariboldi rose in the ranks and held various staff, regimental, and brigade level commands.

Abyssinia

In 1935, Gariboldi commanded the 30th Infantry Division "Sabauda" on the northern front during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. His division was part of the I Corps based in Eritrea. After Italy defeated Ethiopia (Abyssinia) in May 1936, Eritrea, Abyssinia, and Italian Somaliland were joined to form the colony of Italian East Africa on 1 June 1936.

North Africa

Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-424-0258-32, Tripolis, Ankunft DAK, Rommel

From 1939 to 1941, Gariboldi served as an army commander in Marshal

Italo Balbo Italo Balbo (6 June 1896 – 28 June 1940) was an Italian fascist politician and Blackshirts' leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force, Governor-General of Libya and Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa. Due to his young ag ...

's "Supreme Command – North Africa". When Italy declared war in June 1940, Gariboldi commanded the Italian Fifth Army stationed on the border with French Tunisia. He ultimately commanded both armies located in Libya. After the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second Wor ...

ended, the Fifth Army became a source of men, parts, and supply for the

Italian Tenth Army The 10th Army ( it, 10ª Armata) was a field army of the Royal Italian Army, which fought in World War I and in Italian North Africa during World War II. World War I Formation After the Battle of Caporetto (November 1917) the Italian Army (Re ...

on the border with Egypt. In December 1940, when the British launched Operation Compass, Gariboldi was in temporary command of the Tenth Army because General Mario Berti was on sick leave. Ultimately, he was given command of the Tenth Army after it was virtually destroyed and Berti's replacement General

Giuseppe Tellera Giuseppe Tellera (March 14, 1882 in Bologna – February 7, 1941) was a general in the Italian Army during World War II. Italian Tenth Army On 23 December 1940 General Tellera took over the command of the Italian Tenth Army from Lt. Gen ...

was killed in action. On 25 March 1941, Gariboldi was promoted to Governor-General of Libya and replaced Marshal Rodolfo Graziani. By 19 July, Gariboldi himself was relieved because of his alleged lack of cooperation with

Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as serv ...

. General Ettore Bastico took his place.

Russia

From 1942 to 1943, Gariboldi commanded the Italian Army in Russia (''Armata Italiana in Russia'', or ARMIR, or Italian 8th Army). He was in command of the Italian Army in Russia during the destruction of that army during the

Italy

In 1943, Gariboldi was in Italy when King Victor Emmanuel III and Marshal Pietro Badoglio ousted dictator

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

and then signed an armistice with the Allies. Like many members of the Italian military, Gariboldi was made a prisoner of war (POW) by the Germans. In 1944, he was sentenced to death as a traitor. Later in 1944, Gariboldi was released from prison by the Allies. He died in Rome in 1970. His son, Mario Gariboldi, followed his father in a military career.

Military offices held

*Chief of Staff of the 77th Division – 1919 *Commanding Officer of the 26th Regiment – 1926 *Commanding Officer of the 5th Brigade – 1931 *Commander of the 30th Infantry Division "Sabauda,", Ethiopia – 1935 to 1936 *Commander of the V Corps – 1938 to 1939 *Commander of the 5th Army, Tripolitania – 1939 to 1941 *Commander of the 10th Army,

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή ��παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...

– 1941 * Governor-General of

Italian Libya Libya ( it, Libia; ar, ليبيا, Lībyā al-Īṭālīya) was a colony of the Fascist Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Italian Cyrenaica ...

– 1941 *Commander of Italian Army in Russia, southern

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...

– 1942 to 1943

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

*
Concise biography (in Italian)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gariboldi, Italo 1879 births 1970 deaths People from Lodi, Lombardy Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War Italian military personnel of World War II Italian generals Italian fascists Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross People of former Italian colonies Governors-General of Italian Libya