Graziani

Graziani, Commander of the Italian Colonial Army (1882-1955)

Italian Field Marshal, World War II war criminal. He began serving in the colonial army in 1908. Participated in World War I. From 1930 to 1934, he served as the commander-in-chief of the Italian colonial army in Libya, commanding the colonial army many times to attack the resistance of the Libyan Arabs. In 1935, he was appointed governor-general of Somalia. During the Italian-Egyptian War from 1935 to 1936, he served as commander of the Southern Army Group and led his troops to invade Ethiopia from the south. From 1936 to 1937, he served as the commander-in-chief of the Italian Army in Egypt under the occupation of Italy by Fascism, and brutally massacred local soldiers and civilians. Promoted to field marshal in 1937. The following year he became the honorary governor of East Africa. From 1939 to 1940, he served as Chief of Staff of the Italian Army. From June 1940, he served as commander-in-chief of the Italian colonial forces in North Africa and directed the Italian troops in Libya to attack Egypt. In March 1941, all military posts were dismissed due to the failure of Matruh Port.

From 1943 to 1945, during the German fascist occupation of northern Italy, Graziani was again appointed as the Minister of Defense in the "Italian Socialist Republic", which acted as a puppet. During this term, he actively organized the suppression of guerrillas and the suppression of peaceful residents. At the same time, he also vigorously organized large-scale immigration to Germany, supplying a large number of labor forces to Germany's economically collapsed economy. In April 1945, he was captured by Italian guerrillas. In May 1950, he was sentenced to 19 years in prison by an Italian military court as a war criminal. He was pardoned and released in August of the same year. On January 11, 1955, Graziani, 73, died in Rome.