Evening star., 1940-12-06
CuvuIIero Named
Successor. Amid
Reversal Reports
Bs the Associated Press.

ROME, Dec. 6.-The resignation
Of Marshal Pietro Badoglio as chief
of the Italian general staff was an
nounced officially today.
He was replaced by Gen. Ugo
Cavallero, veteran of three Italian
wars and until recently commander
of the Italian forces in East Africa
(Badoglios resignation COIN
cided with reports from Athens
of new Greek successes against
Italian forces on the Albanian
battle front. .
tThe Greeks claimed additional
advances In all sectors and re-
ported that retreating Italian
troops had put the torch to their
Southern Albanian bases of
Porto Edda and Argirocastro to
prevent capture of war supplies
they could not take with them)
During the Greek campaign Mar
shall Badoglio's name rarely has
been mentioned, although he was
second only to Mussolini in the
high command. Roberto Farinacci,
Fascist leader, criticized him, how
ever, in the newspaper Regime Fas-
cista on November %, declaring VIC
tory In Greece was certain despite
some improvidence and untime-
liness on the part of the head of
the general staff"
Staff Chief Is Years.
Marshal Badoglio. Italy's most
famed soldier, sometimes called the
Italian Hindenburg," had been
chief Of the general staff for Is
years.
AS such, he had supreme command
Of all three branches of the nation s
fighting forces. A communique an
the resignation gave no
reason, saying only that it was "on
his own request"
Gen. Cavallero, who is 60 years
old. nine years younger than Mar
shall Badoglio, first fought in the
Libyan war of l912-l3 and won the
bronze medal for military valor.
At the beginning of the World
War he served as an aide to the
army chief of staff and later was
named chief Of operations in the
high command. In this ONCE he
was credited with playing an i'm
portant part in recognizing Italian
defenses on the Piave after the Cap
oretto disaster and directing the
campaign which led to the final
Italian victory Of Vittorio Veneto.
Given Highest Decoration. :
For his services in this critical
phase he received the nations high
est military decoration, the military
order Of Savoia.
Gen. Cavallero retired from active
service after representing Italy for
two years on the Inter-Allied Mill
tary Commission at Versailles. In
1925 Premier Mussolini named him
undersecretary of war. He occupied
this post three years, carrying out
extensive reorganization of the army.
He was made senator in 1926
and was named commander Of
italian forces In East Africa in 1887,
but recently had not been on active
duty.
Marshal Badoglio, whom Mussolini
called upon to vanquish Ethiopia for
Fascist italy when the italian cam
paign begged down, did not join the
Fascist party until he had sealed his
triumph over Halle Selassie's empire.
Chief of state when the Black
Shirts marched on Rome, Marshal
Badoglio was reported to have as
sured King Victor Emmanuel that
he could, if ordered, disperse them
with a single regiment. But the
King decided to invite Benito Mus
solini to form a government and
Marshal Badoglio offered no opposi-
ton to the new regime
Soon after Mussolini achieved
power he sent Marshal Badoglio to
Brazil as Ambassador, Badoglio re-
ceiving the diplomatic appointment,
it was believed at the time, because
he was too useful, too strong with
the army and too popular with the
people to dismiss altogether.
His position as Italy's foremost
military strategist was so strong,
however, that Mussolini called him
back to direct reorganization of the
Italian war machine in 1926.
Marshal Badoglio first marched to
battle as an artillery lieutenant
(See BADOGLIO, Page A-7J