Angelico (Angelo) Carta (born 1886 in Riola Sardo) 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, Cyprus, ...

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

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 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 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, Carta decided to side against the fascist Italian Social Republic. 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 greates ...

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

the next afternoon, on 23 September 1943.

Carta in Sardinia

After his return to Italy, Carta became commander of the XIII Army Corps in November 1943, as replacement for general Gustavo Reisoli, 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