Arnaldo Azzi (23 December 1885 – 25 November 1957) was an Italian general and politician. During World War II, he commanded the 101st Motorised Division Trieste in the North African campaign and the 41st Infantry Division Firenze in Albania. After the

armistice of Cassibile The Armistice of Cassibile ( Italian: ''Armistizio di Cassibile'') was an armistice that was signed on 3 September 1943 by Italy and the Allies, marking the end of hostilities between Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was made public ...

the men under his command resisted German attempts at being disarmed and joined the

Albanian partisans The National Liberation Movement (; or ''Lëvizja Antifashiste Nacional-Çlirimtare'' (LANÇ)), also translated as National Liberation Front, was an Albanian communist resistance organization that fought in World War II. It was created on 16 Sept ...

to fight against the Axis. After the war he was elected the

Italian Constituent Assembly The Italian Constituent Assembly ( Italian: ''Assemblea Costituente della Repubblica Italiana'') was a parliamentary chamber which existed in Italy from 25 June 1946 until 31 January 1948. It was tasked with writing a constitution for the Itali ...

for the centre-left Italian Republican Party and later a member of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

for the Italian Socialist Party.

Biography

Early military career

Arnaldo Azzi was born in

Ceneselli Ceneselli is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rovigo in the Italian region Veneto, located about southwest of Venice and about west of Rovigo. Ceneselli borders the following municipalities: Calto, Castelmassa, Castelnovo Barian ...

, in the

province of Rovigo The province of Rovigo () is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Rovigo. It borders on the north with the provinces of Verona, Padua and Venice, on the south with the province of Ferrara, on the west with the provi ...

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

region, on 23 December 1885. He enlisted in the Royal Army in 1910. He took part in the

Italo-Turkish war The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...

and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant on 6 September 1913. He fought in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, starting as company commander and finishing the conflict in command of the 1st Battalion of the 218th Regiment of the "Volturno" Infantry Brigade, with the rank of major. Wounded in action, he was decorated with the

War Cross of Military Valor The War Cross for Military Valor () is an Italian Order (decoration), order for military valor. Established in 1922, the cross may be awarded only in time of war. Appearance The medal is a Greek cross made of copper. Inscribed on the horizon ...

. He took part in the

pacification of Libya The Second Italo-Senussi War, also referred to as the pacification of Libya, was a conflict that occurred during the Italian colonization of Libya between Italian military forces (composed mainly by colonial troops from Libya, Eritrea, and S ...

, leading a company of Eritrean

colonial troops Colonial troops or colonial army refers to various Military organization#Commands, formations, and units, military units Military recruitment, recruited from, or used as garrison troops in, colonial territories. Colonial background Such colonie ...

(''ascari''). Between 1929 and 1931 he commanded several battalions. On 17 August 1935 he was promoted to the rank of colonel, becoming commander of the 46th "Reggio" Infantry Regiment, a post that he held until 1937. Promoted to brigadier general, he became commander of the

border guard A border guard of a country is a national security agency that ensures border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties. Name and uniform In diff ...

units of the 2nd Army Corps. During World War II he was deployed in the North African theater, commanding the

101st Motorized Division "Trieste" 101st Motorized Division "Trieste" () was a motorized infantry Division (military), division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Trieste was formed in 1939 and named for the city of Trieste. The division and its infantry and arti ...

from 10 December 1941 until 30 July of the following year. During this time he took part in the victorious battle of Tobruk. Starting on 22 November 1942 he was given command of the 41st Infantry Division "Firenze", part of the 9th Army, Army Group East operating in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. On 1 January 1943 he was elevated to the rank of major general.

In Albania

When the Italian government announced that it had signed an armistice with the Allies, on 8 September 1943, there were six Italian divisions operating in Albania: Firenze,

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

, Brennero,

Arezzo Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...

and Puglie. German troops immediately moved to disarm them and occupy all Italian-held territory, succeeding in most cases due to the overall confusion and lack of orders. On 11 September Germans entered

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

and arrested the commander of Army Group East, general

Ezio Rosi Ezio Rosi (Vicenza, 19 March 1881 – Bologna, 5 January 1963) was an Italian general during World War II. He commanded the Sixth Army from 1941 to 1943, and after a brief period as Army Chief of Staff, he assumed command of Army Group East ...

, extorting from him an order for Italian troops to cede heavy weapons to the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

in exchange for the promise of

safe conduct Safe conduct, safe passage, or letters of transit, is the situation in time of international conflict or war where one state, a party to such conflict, issues to a person (usually, an enemy state's subject) a pass or document to allow the enemy ...

before replacing him with Renzo Dalmazzo, who was supportive of collaboration with the Axis. While four of the six divisions were quickly disarmed, Azzi refused to obey Rosi's order. Keeping his troops together he clashed with the Germans in

Krujë Krujë ( sq-definite, Kruja; see also the etymology section) is a town and a municipality in north-central Albania. Located between Mount Krujë and the Ishëm River, the city is 20 km north of the capital of Albania, Tirana. Krujë was ...

before undertaking an orderly retreat in the mountains. On 28 September he met with

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of People's Socialist Republic of Albania, Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the Secretary (titl ...

, other leaders of the Albanian resistance movement and British liaison officers for the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

, and agreed to form the Italian Command Troops on the Mountain (''C.I.T.a.M.''), which would have been part of the

Albanian National Liberation Army The National Liberation Movement (; or ''Lëvizja Antifashiste Nacional-Çlirimtare'' (LANÇ)), also translated as National Liberation Front, was an Albanian communist resistance organization that fought in World War II. It was created on 16 Sept ...

. The large size of the Italian contingent created many logistical difficulties, forcing it to disperse into small groups and fight a guerrilla campaign. Eventually Azzi returned to Italy with most of his troops in June 1944. There he was given the military command of the

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

Abruzzi Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

and

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

regions in central Italy. However, in December of the same year, he was dismissed on order from the Lieutenant-General of the King, Prince Umberto di Savoia, after he had published an article calling for the democratization, depoliticization and downsizing of the Armed Forces, as well as expressing pro-republic sentiments. Azzi responded by returning the military awards he had received, at which point he was stripped of his rank. He would be reinstated to his prior rank after Italy became a republic.

Later life

In 1946 he was elected to the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

for the Italian Republican Party. Azzi would quit the party in January 1948, in disagreement with the leadership's decision to support

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Alcide De Gasperi Alcide Amedeo Francesco De Gasperi (; 3 April 1881 – 19 August 1954) was an Italian politician and statesman who founded the Christian Democracy party and served as prime minister of Italy in eight successive coalition governments from 1945 t ...

's removal of Communist and Socialist ministers. He founded the short-lived Popular Republican Alliance, which ran as part of the Popular Democratic Front in the 1948 election, when Azzi was reelected. The party would later merge into the Italian Socialist Party. During the 1948–1953 term he was vice chair of the Defense Committee of the Chamber of Deputies. He died in

Cuneo Cuneo (; ; ; ) is a city and in Piedmont, Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in the south-west of Piedmont, at the confluence of the ri ...

on 25 November 1957, aged 71.

Personal life

He was a

freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, a member of the

Grand Orient of Italy The Grand Orient of Italy (GOI) () is an Italian masonic grand lodge founded in 1805; the viceroy Eugène de Beauharnais was instrumental in its establishment. It was based at the Palazzo Giustiniani, Rome, Italy from 1901 until 1985 and is no ...

. On 11 March 1945 he received the 31st degree patent of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.

Honours and awards

* : Knight of the

Military Order of Savoy The Military Order of Savoy was a military honorary order of the Kingdom of Sardinia first, and of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946), Kingdom of Italy later. Following the abolition of the Italian monarchy, the order became the Military Order of ...

Azzi Arnaldo Cavaliere Ordine Militare d'Italia
/ref> * :

* :

Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Austrian War 1915–1918 The Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Austrian War 1915–1918 is a campaign medal that was awarded by the Kingdom of Italy for participation in World War I. History The medal was established by Royal Decree Of Victor Emmanuel III No. 1 241 of ...

* :

Commemorative Medal of the Unity of Italy The Italian Risorgimento was celebrated by a series of medals set up by the three kings who ruled during the long process of unification – the Commemorative Medal for the Campaigns of the War of Independence and the various versions of the Com ...

* : Allied Victory Medal * : Knight of the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate Italian unification, the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for ...

* : Officer of the

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

La Resistenza dei militari italiani all'estero: l'Albania
ANPI. (in Italian)
Arnaldo Azzi
Camera dei Deputati - Portale Storico. (in Italian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Azzi, Arnaldo 1885 births 1957 deaths People from the Province of Rovigo Italian Republican Party politicians Italian Socialist Party politicians Members of the Constituent Assembly of Italy Deputies of Legislature I of Italy Politicians of Veneto Italian Army generals Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of World War II Italian resistance movement members Italian Freemasons