He was born in Sorso, in the province of Sassari, on February 26, 1884. In 1903 he entered the Royal Military Academy of Artillery and Engineers in Turin, graduating as artillery second lieutenant on 7 September 1905, and being assigned to the 21st Field Artillery Regiment in Piacenza. He was promoted to captain on 11 February 1915, and after Italy’s entry into World War I he served with the 9th Artillery Regiment until December, when he was seriously wounded. He returned to the frontline in April 1916, with the 37th Artillery Regiment, and was promoted to major in the field and seriously wounded a second time in August 1916 on the Isonzo Front. In June 1918 he fought in the Second Battle of the Piave River, earning a Silver Medal of Military Valour; altogether, over the course of the war he was awarded two Silver and two Bronze Medals of Military Valor.