Raffaele Cadorna Jr. (12 September 1889 – 20 December 1973) was an Italian general who fought during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

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 ...

. He is famous as one of the commanders of the

Italian Resistance The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Socia ...

against

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

occupying forces in north Italy after 1943.

Early life

Cadorna was born in

Verbania Verbania (, , ) is the most populous ''comune'' (municipality) and the capital city of the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. It is situated on the shore of Lake Maggiore, about north-west of Milan and ...

in 1889, the son of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Field Marshal

Luigi Cadorna Marshal of Italy Luigi Cadorna, (4 September 1850 – 21 December 1928) was an Italian general, Marshal of Italy and Count most famous for being the Chief of Staff of the Italian Army from 1914-1917 of World War I. Early career Luigi Cador ...

and grandson of General

Raffaele Cadorna Raffaele Cadorna (9 February 1815 – 6 February 1897) was an Italian general who served as one of the major Piedmontese leaders responsible for the unification of Italy during the mid-19th century. Born in Milan, Cadorna entered the Piedmontese ...

. In 1909 he was named Sub-Lieutenant, becoming part of the Italian troops that fought the

Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( tr, Trablusgarp Savaşı, "Tripolitanian War", it, Guerra di Libia, "War of Libya") was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911, to 18 October 1912. As a result o ...

. During the First World War, he was a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

and later promoted to Captain. In the early years of the 1920s, he was part of the Allied commission for the new border of Germany. He was later named military attaché to the Italian embassy in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

. In 1935 he opposed the decision of Benito Mussolini to invade Ethiopia. Two years later he was promoted to the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

as commander of Italy's 3rd Cavalry Regiment, the ''Savoia Cavalleria''.

World War II

During the early years of World War II, he took part in some actions against France, and was then named commander of the school of cavalry in

Pinerolo Pinerolo (; pms, Pinareul ; french: Pignerol; oc, Pineròl) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, northwestern Italy, southwest of Turin on the river Chisone. The Lemina torrent has its source at the boundary b ...

. On 1 April 1943 he was named commander of the

135th Armored Cavalry Division "Ariete" The 135th Armored Cavalry Division "Ariete" ( it, 135ª Divisione cavalleria corazzata "Ariete", colloquially also known as "135th Armored Division "Ariete II") was an armored warfare, armored Division (military), division of the Royal Italian A ...

, one of the strongest divisions of the

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 Manfr ...

. After the Armistice of Cassibile was announced on 8 September 1943 the Ariete participated in the defense of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

against the German attack, but was disbanded after the military commander of Rome, General Calvi di Bergolo, had signed a

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

with the German commands. On 11 August 1944 he was parachuted into Val Cavallina near Bergamo and appointed ''Military commander'' of the Gruppo Volontari per la Libertà ("Group of Volunteers for Freedom"), with

Ferruccio Parri Ferruccio Parri (; Pinerolo, 19 January 1890 – Rome, 8 December 1981) was an Italian partisan and anti-fascist politician who served as the 29th Prime Minister of Italy, and the first to be appointed after the end of World War II. During the w ...

, and deputy commander

Luigi Longo Luigi Longo (15 March 1900 – 16 October 1980), also known as Gallo, was an Italian communist politician and secretary of the Italian Communist Party from 1964 to 1972. He was also the first foreigner to be awarded an Order of Lenin. Early ...

, in north central Italy.The National Archives : HS 9/253/7 – Raffaele CADORNA
/ref> Captain W O Churchill was seconded by Special Operations Executive (1944/4
Operation Floodlight
to act as British Liaison Officer to General Cadorna at the request of the CLNAI in northern Italy. In April 1945, he was a member of the partisan delegation that tried to reach an agreement with Mussolini in the archbishop's palace of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. On 15 June 1945 he was awarded the Patriot's Certificate, a decoration reserved to those who had contributed to the Italian resistance movement. He was also awarded the Legion of Merit – Degree of Commander for service between September 1943 to May 1945 (General Order 124, 27 December 1945). In July 1945 he was named chief of staff of the

Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

. In 1947 he resigned from this post due to different points of view with the Minister of Defence.

Later life

From 1948 to 1963 he was a senator of the Christian Democracy party. He enrolled in the

Mixed Group The mixed group ( it, Gruppo Misto, GM) is a parliamentary group active in both houses of the Italian Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The groups comprise all the deputies and the senators, respectively, who are not members of ...

and became President of the Senate 4th Permanent Commission for Defence sector. Subsequently, he was promoted

Army corps general An army corps general or corps general is a rank held by a General officer who commands an army corps. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. Normally, the rank is above the divisional ...

of the military reserve force. In 1953, Cadona was re-elected at the Senate and in 1959 resulted the first among the non-elected candidates. He become deputy in the seat of Teresio Guglielmone after the latter's death on 24 January 1959. In 1961 he returned to be a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Defence Commission and remained in charge until the legislature's term in 1963. In 1964, along with

Randolfo Pacciardi Randolfo Pacciardi (1 January 1899 – 14 April 1991) was an Italian politician. He was a long-time member of the secular, centre-left Italian Republican Party. An ardent anti-fascist, he lived in exile for many years and was an officer of the ...

, Tomaso Smith, Alfredo Morea, Mario Vinciguerra,

Ivan Matteo Lombardo Ivan Matteo Lombardo (22 May 1902 – 6 February 1980) was an Italian politician. Early career Lombardo was born in Milan in 1902. A budding young journalist, from 1920 to 1922 he was editor of the labour section of ''Avanti!'', the daily newsp ...

, the journalist Giano Accame (1928–2009), Salvatore Sanfilippo, Alberto Rossi Longhi, Giuseppe Mancinelli and Giuseppe Caronia, Cadorna was the first to sign the manifesto of the Democratic Union of the New Republic, a complex plan which proposed the introduction of

Presidentialism A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separati ...

within the constitutional parliamentary form of the State. The related political movement melted down in 1968 when none of its candidates was elected. He died in

in 1973. His close collaborator, the colonel Angelo Gatti, belonged to the Italian Freemasonry.

Bibliography

* Giuseppe Sircana,
CADORNA, Raffaele
�. In: ''

Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani The ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' ( en, Biographical Dictionary of the Italians) is a biographical dictionary published by the Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, started in 1925 and completed in 2020. It includes about 40,000 biograp ...

'', Volume 34, Roma: istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 1988

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cadorna, Raffaele Jr 1889 births 1973 deaths People from Pallanza Italian generals Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of World War II Officers of the Legion of Merit Members of the Senate of the Republic (Italy) Italian military attachés

Early life

World War II

Later life

Bibliography

See also

References