Armando Diaz, 1st Duke della Vittoria, (5 December 1861 – 28 February 1928) was an Italian

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

and a Marshal of Italy. He is mostly known for his role as

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the Regio Esercito during

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 ...

from November 1917. He managed to stop the Austro-Hungarian advance along the Piave River in the First Battle of Monte Grappa. In June 1918, he led the Italian forces to a major victory at the Second Battle of the Piave River. A few months later, he achieved a decisive victory in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, which ended the war on the Italian Front. He is celebrated as one of the greatest generals of the war.

Early life

Born in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

to a family of Italian and some distant Spanish heritage (most likely dating back to the years of the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

), he was the son of Lodovico, a navy officer, and Irene Cecconi, the daughter of a minor noble. Diaz began his military career as a cadet at the Military College of

. He subsequently moved on to the Military College of

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, where he graduated as an

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

officer in 1884. Personally, Diaz was described by a contemporary journalist who saw him at 56 as "medium build, of dark complexion, with black hair turning gray and a slight cast in the eye.... His character as a soldier was that of an inflexible disciplinarian who applied to himself the same rules as he enforced on others. In the daily routine of military life, evenly poised, and in the face of danger, characteristically calm".

Prewar

He was first assigned to the 10th Field Artillery Regiment. In 1890, with his promotion to captain, he was moved to the 1st Artillery. In 1894, he attended the School of War and ended the courses ranking first in his class. Then, he moved into the Army Staff and worked in the office of General Alberto Pollio for two years. In 1899, he received a promotion to infantry major and, for a year and a half, commanded a battalion of the 26th Infantry Regiment. He reached the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1905 and served as Chief of Staff in Florence's Military Division. In 1910, as a colonel, he served 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 ...

, commanding the 21st Infantry and, when it lost its commander, the 93rd Infantry. During his Libyan service, he was injured at Zanzur in 1912.

First World War

On the outbreak of

, Diaz was assigned to the high command as head of the unit's operations, under General Luigi Cadorna. Promoted to two-star

in June 1916, he assumed the command of the 49th division and then the 23rd Army Corps. The Battle of Caporetto, in October 1917, was disastrous to the army, and on 8 November 1917, Diaz was called to succeed the harsh and incompetent Cadorna as chief of general staff by 9 November. Having recovered what remained of the army, he organised the resistance in 1917 on the Monte Grappa massif and along the Piave River, which successfully halted the Austro-Hungarian offensive in the First Battle of Monte Grappa. In the summer of 1918, he oversaw the victory in the Battle of the Piave River, and later that year, he led the 1.4 million Italian troops in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, which ended the war on the Italian front. With his famous '' Bollettino della Vittoria'' (Victory Address), he communicated the rout of the Austro-Hungarian army and the victory of the Italians in the war.

Postwar

On 1 November 1921, Diaz was in Kansas City to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the Liberty Memorial, which was being constructed there. Also present that day were Lieutenant General Baron Jacques of

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, Admiral David Beatty of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, Marshal

Ferdinand Foch Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general, Marshal of France and a member of the Académie Française and French Academy of Sciences, Académie des Sciences. He distinguished himself as Supreme Allied Commander ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and General John J. Pershing of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. One of the main speakers was US Vice President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

. In 1935, bas-reliefs of Jacques, Foch, Diaz, and Pershing by sculptor Walker Hancock were added to the memorial. Also, during his visit to the United States in 1921, General Diaz toured New Orleans where he planted a ceremonial, live oak tree in Audubon Park and was honoured by the city during that visit which named a street after him. General Diaz St. is located in

Lakeview, New Orleans Lakeview is a New Orleans neighborhoods, neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Lakeview District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: Robert E Lee Boulevard to the north, Orleans Avenue to ...

. After the war, Diaz was appointed as a senator. In 1921, he was ennobled by King

Victor Emmanuel III Victor Emmanuel III (; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albani ...

and given the victory title of 1st ''Duca della Vittoria'' ("Duke of the Victory").

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 ...

named him Minister of War, and upon retirement in 1924, he was given the honour of Marshal of Italy (''Maresciallo d'Italia''). He died in Rome in 1928 and was buried in the church of

Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri The Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and of the Martyrs (, ) is a Catholic titular minor basilica and former Carthusian conventual church in Rome, Italy, constructed in the ruined '' frigidarium'' and '' tepidarium'' of the Roman Baths of ...

. Admiral Paolo Thaon di Revel was interred next to Diaz upon his death in 1948.

Honours and awards

* Knight of the

Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation The Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation () is a Catholic order of chivalry, originating in County of Savoy, Savoy. It eventually was the pinnacle of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Italy#The Kingdom of Italy, honours system in the ...

(1919) * Knight Grand Cross with Grand Cordon of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus * 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 ...

("Who, having assumed the office of chief of the army in a very difficult war situation, with shrewd work of organization and shrewd effective control line, always highly inspired by the interests of the country, was able to obtain this level of preparation moral and military troops to successfully overcome the ordeal of a great battle engaged by enemy forces and means imposing", 26 June 1918) * Silver Medal of Military Valor * War Merit Cross, twice * Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Turkish War * Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Austrian War 1915–18 (4 years of campaign) * Commemorative Medal for the Unification of Italy * Commemorative Medal for the Italian Victory * Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion 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 ...

* Médaille militaire (France) * Distinguished Service Medal (United States) * Croix de guerre 1914–1918 (France) * Croix de guerre 1914–1918 (Belgium) * Commanders Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari (Poland) * During a five-hour tour of

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

on 9 December 1921 Diaz was honoured with a reception by the governor and mayor; received the Key to the City of Providence; and was bestowed Honorary Degrees by

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

and Providence College According to the Italian historiographer Aldo Mola, the membership of Diaz to the Freemasonry is reasonably probable, but not demonstrated with certainty.Aldo A. Mola, ''Storia della Massoneria italiana dalle origini ai nostri giorni'', Bompiani, Milan, 1992, p. 453.

References

* This article uses material from the equivalent Italian-language article, retrieved 16 November 2005.
Who's Who: Armando Diaz

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Armando 1861 births 1928 deaths 19th-century Neapolitan people Italian people of Spanish descent Mussolini Cabinet Field marshals of Italy Italian military personnel of World War I Ministers of war of Italy Members of the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Knights Grand Cross of the Military Order of Savoy Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the War Merit Cross (Italy) Bailiffs Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Commanders of the Virtuti Militari 20th-century Italian politicians Italian Roman Catholics Foreign recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United States)