167 Säbel für Offiziere aus dem Besitz Marschall Pietro Badoglios
Regulated officer's saber, M 1888. Silver-plated iron version. White handle with waffle pattern. The grooved back blade has the etched coat of arms of the Kingdom of Italy and the signature “COUP LE FER” on both sides. Chrome-plated iron scabbard with two carrying rings.
The pommel is inlaid with the monogram “PB” of Marshal Pietro Badoglio in gold.
A very rare saber of museum quality from the collection of this famous Italian marshal.
Pietro Badoglio, Duke of Addis Ababa (* September 28, 1871 in Grazzano Monferrato, Piedmont; † November 1, 1956 ibid) was an Italian general who held the title “Marshal of Italy” from 1926. Badoglio played a key role in the Fascist wars of conquest in Libya (1923-1932) and Abyssinia (1935-36/41), as well as in Italy's switch to the Allied side during World War II as the first post-Fascist prime minister.
After training at the military academy in Turin, Badoglio became an artillery officer and took part in Italy's campaigns in East Africa and Libya, among others. During World War I, he was promoted to major general after the conquest of Monte Sabotino in 1916; he was also ennobled by the king and given the title of Marchese del Sabotino. As commanding general of the corps responsible for the Tolmin section (XXVII Corpod'armata (XXVII Army Corps)), he shared responsibility for Italy's defeat in the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo in 1917. However, after the retreat from the Isonzo to the Piave, he played a leading role in the reorganisation of the army as the new deputy chief of staff. He advised the new chief of staff, Armando Diaz, in the Piave battles and in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto. Badoglio led the armistice negotiations with Austria-Hungary in early November 1918 and concluded the Armistice of Villa Giusti on November 3 with the representative of Austria-Hungary, General Viktor Weber Edler von Webenau.
First an opponent, then Mussolini's brother in arms
Appointed senator in 1919, he initially opposed Benito Mussolini and his fascist movement, which is why he was sent to Brazil as ambassador after Mussolini's march on Rome in 1922. After changing his mind, he was allowed to return to Italy in 1924, where he took up the new post of Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces and was promoted to Marshal of Italy in 1926. From 1929 to 1933, he was Governor-General of the Italian colony of Libya. According to a report by the Rome correspondent of The Times, on June 20, 1929, Badoglio threatened the Sanussiya, who were waging war against Italy, with the utmost force if they did not surrender their weapons: "Not a single rebel will ever find peace again, neither he, nor his family, nor his clan, nor his heirs. I will destroy everything, both the people and their possessions. May God enlighten you so that you make the right choice. [...] This is my first and last word."
In 1935, he replaced the hesitant Emilio DeBono as commander-in-chief of the Italian invasion forces in the Abyssinian War and, together with Rodolfo Graziani, subjugated the hitherto uncolonized Empire of Abyssinia in 1936. In doing so, he also made massive and systematic use of poison gas, contrary to the Geneva Conventions. He was not held accountable for this war crime by either Italy or the Allies. Italy did not officially admit to the use of poison gas until 1995.
For his victory over Ethiopia, Badoglio was elevated to the hereditary Duke of Addis Ababa by King Victor Emmanuel III on Mussolini's recommendation. Shortly afterwards, he handed over the office of viceroy to Rodolfo Graziani.
In 1940, Badoglio, like Graziani, Italo Balbo, and Carlo Favagrossa, was a staunch opponent of Italy entering the war on the side of Hitler's Germany. Mussolini, however, participated in the war, albeit only after France's defeat had become apparent. Badoglio resigned as chief of staff of the armed forces during the disastrous Italian campaign against Greece. He was succeeded by Ugo Cavallero.
After the meeting of the Grand Fascist Council on July 25, 1943, Benito Mussolini was overthrown and imprisoned. King Victor Emmanuel III, who had shortly before been given supreme command of the army, appointed Badoglio as prime minister of a cabinet without fascist party members on July 26, 1943. At the first cabinet meeting on July 28, it was decided to dissolve the Fascist Party, remove the Grand Council and the political courts from power, and ban the formation of new parties for the duration of the war. He left the Italian racial laws untouched. Badoglio took action against unrest accompanied by demands for a swift end to the war; to this end, he imposed a state of siege and had rebels sent to internment camps.
The new government assured its German ally, which occupied northern Italy, of its loyalty, but from August 3, 1943, it conducted secret negotiations with the Allies, who had begun their conquest of Sicily (Operation Husky) on July 10, 1943. Badoglio's idea of neutralizing the country, both militarily and domestically, quickly proved unrealistic: the Allies were not satisfied with this, and internally, the old political parties and trade unions reorganized themselves surprisingly quickly. On September 3, 1943, the Cassibile Armistice was signed, but its announcement was delayed until September 8, 1943.
The German Wehrmacht occupied northern and central Italy, encircled the city of Rome, and took about 800,000 Italian soldiers prisoner; thousands of Italian soldiers were killed by the Germans, especially in the Aegean Sea and Greece (Fall Achse). Mussolini was freed by German paratroopers on Gran Sasso and appointed head of the Repubblica Sociale Italiana (also known as the Repubblica di Salò) on September 23, 1943. The king fled with Badoglio and only two ministers via Pescara to the unoccupied Brindisi. Under pressure from the Allies, Italy declared war on the German Reich on October 13, 1943.
German propaganda called Badoglio a “traitor” and his declaration of war against Germany “ridiculous.” The Allies demanded that Badoglio administer the parts of the country they occupied and remove the fascists from their offices and positions. Badoglio acted hesitantly; at the same time, he had to accept anti-fascists returning from exile, such as the communist Palmiro Togliatti, into his cabinet.
After the liberation of Rome by Allied troops on June 4, 1944, the anti-fascists forced Badoglio to resign on June 8. His successor, Ivanoe Bonomi, formed a cabinet of returning emigrants and anti-fascists and continued the political purges with greater vigor.
In 1945, Badoglio was expelled from the Senate for his collaboration with the fascists, but was rehabilitated two years later. Badoglio then gradually retired to his birthplace in Piedmont and to private life.
Highly significant museum exhibit on Italian history, especially the Fascist era.