Ettore Bastico (9 April 1876 – 2 December 1972) was an Italian field marshal who served as the commander of

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

forces in North Africa from 1941 to 1943 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In addition to being a general of the

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army () (RE) 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 Manfredo Fanti signed a decree c ...

, he served as the governor of the Italian held Aegean islands and of

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. After his time in the army, he became a military historian and published several books.

Biography

Bastico was born in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. When he came of age, Bastico joined the

Italian Army The Italian Army ( []) is the Army, land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China and Italo-Turkish War, Libya. It ...

and 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 ...

. In 1928, Bastico was promoted to

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

''(generale di brigata)''. At that time, the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

was ruled by

Fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

dictator

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

. In this role, Bastico was a target of Giulio Douhet in ''Recapitulation'' (published with the work ''The Command of the Air''). Douhet devotes many pages to critically examining six "basic theories" put forth by Bastico and how they relate to the future of an Independent Air Force's role in future wars. Bastico was promoted to major general on 29 May 1932 and in 1935, he commanded the 1st CC.NN. Division "23 Marzo" during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. In 1935, Bastico was the commander of the III Corps in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

and on 10 February 1936 he was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

''(generale di corpo d'armata)''. From 1936 to 1937, he was the commander of the II Corps. In 1937, during the later stages of the Spanish Civil War, Bastico replaced

Mario Roatta Mario Roatta (2 February 1887 – 7 January 1968) was an Italian general. After serving in World War I he rose to command the Corpo Truppe Volontarie which assisted Francisco Franco's nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War. He was the d ...

as the commander-in-chief of the Italian volunteer corps in Spain, the '' Corpo Truppe Volontarie''. The CTV was sent to help the Spanish Nationalists side in the war. From mid-1937, Bastico's force fought in the Battle of Santander, a decisive victory for the Nationalists. In late 1937, Bastico was replaced by Mario Berti. In October 1937, Bastico received the rank of general, "generale di corpo d'armata designato d'armata," the highest rank that could be assigned if Italy was not officially at war. In February 1939, the Italian volunteers left Spain. He was then assigned to the Second Army. Shortly after, Bastico was appointed commander of the new motorized Sixth Army, known at the " Army of the Po," stationed in the

Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain (, , or ) is a major geographical feature of northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetian Plain, Venetic extension not actu ...

area. In 1939, Bastico was named

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

of the Kingdom of Italy. When Italy entered

, Bastico was

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the Italian Aegean Islands (

Dodecanese The Dodecanese (, ; , ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger and 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited. This island group generally define ...

) and he was promoted to full general ''( Generale d'Armata)'' on 7 August 1940. On 19 July 1941, Bastico was named

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Italian Libya Libya (; ) was a colony of Fascist Italy (1922–1943), 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, Cyrenaica and Italian Tripolitan ...

and commander-in-chief over all

Axis forces The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

. Since

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (; 15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944), popularly known as The Desert Fox (, ), was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal) during World War II. He served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of ...

was officially under Italian command in the North African campaign, Rommel's plans had to be first approved by Bastico. Bastico was made the commandant of the Giado concentration camp, established in February 1942 to intern Libyan and Italian Jews. Bastico was promoted to

Marshal of Italy Marshal of Italy () was a rank in the Royal Italian Army (''Regio Esercito''). Originally created in 1924 by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and jo ...

(''Maresciallo d'Italia'') on 12 August 1942, largely to avoid him being junior in rank to Rommel, who was promoted to

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

(''

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (; from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire, (''Reichsgeneralfeldmarsch ...

'') on 22 June. When Libya was lost to the British Eighth Army's advance, since 2 February 1943 he was left without a command for the rest of the war. Bastico died in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

at 96, after spending his last years studying history. At the time of his death, he was the last living Italian military officer to have held an Italian five-star-rank in an active capacity. ( Umberto II, the last King of Italy, who was appointed a marshal of Italy in a ceremonial capacity, died in 1983).

Honours

*Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

- 2 June 1957 *Knight Grand Cross 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 ...

- 17 February 1942 (Grand Officer: 1 May 1939; Commander: 9 July 1936) *Knight Grand Cross 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 ...

*Knight Grand Cross of the Colonial Order of the Star of Italy *Grand Officer of the

Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus () (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the world, tracing its lineage to AD 1098, a ...

*Commander of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...

*Knight of the Order of Vittorio Veneto * Silver Medal of Military Valor * Bronze Medal of Military Valor * War Cross for Military Valor *Distinction for War Merit (general officer degree) *Distinction for War Merit (superior officer degree) *Seven awards of the War Merit Cross * Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Turkish War 1911-1912 *Commemorative Medal for the Spanish Campaign (1936-1938) *Commemorative Medal of the Volunteer Division of Littorio (guerra di Spagna 1936-38) * Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Austrian War 1915-1918 * Commemorative Medal of the Unity of Italy * Allied Victory Medal * Cross of Military Merit of Spain * French Croix de Guerre (1914-1918) *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...

in Gold (5 December 1942)Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 26.

Works

Bastico wrote some books about Italian military history. The most famous are: * "Il Ferreo Terzo Corpo in Africa Orientale" (1937) * "L'evoluzione dell'arte della guerra" (1930)

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

*
Comando Supremo: General Ettore Bastico (1876-1972)

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bastico, Ettore 1876 births 1972 deaths Military personnel from Bologna People of former Italian colonies Italian military personnel of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of World War II Corpo Truppe Volontarie personnel Field marshals of Italy Holocaust perpetrators Italian fascists Italian mass murderers Italian war criminals Members of the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy Recipients of the Gold German Cross 20th-century Italian politicians Governors-general of Italian Libya Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Knights Grand Cross of the Military Order of Savoy Grand Officers of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Commanders of the Order of St John Knights of the Order of Vittorio Veneto Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the War Cross for Military Valor War Merit Cross Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)