The Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1931-1952, 1943-09-15
WHO is BADOCLIO?

help of Professor Gaetano SalYe-
mini of Harvard University, is
especially enlightening these days
of unrest in Italy. 1t gives us an
insight on one of the most taxed
of characters of today.
1t is often forgotten that to-
gether with the Chief of staff. Ca
dorna. and the Chief of the Third
Army, Capello, Pietro Badoglio
was responsible for the italian di-
saster of Caporetto in October,
1917. G. A. Borgese, in his Co
Hath New York Viking Press,
1910. D. 114) tells us that Bado-
Clio had "schemed the daring
Napoleonic plan of Turing the
Austrians into a trap, there to
smash them. He opened to them
the door of Italy, but as soon as
the Austrians had entered the
trap, they found that for one rea-
son or another, the opposite wall
not so strong as the Napoleon
had supposed; they broke IL and
poured like a deluge into more
than half the region of Venice"
OF the three responsible for the
disaster, the two who were more
prominent, Cadorna and Capello,
lost their positions. Badoglio
played possuih, escaped attention,
and became deputy chief of the
new Chief of the. General Staff.
who had succeeded Cadorna.
He was Chief of the General.
STAFF during that fatal fall of
1920 when military authorities in
Italy began to, equip the Fascists
with arms, ammunition, trucks, and
officers on leave. He allowed his
subordinates to play politics. But
when things grew hot, he with
drew from the General Staff,
leaving to others the responsible
ity for carrying on military sedi-
ton.
Ready to Comply TO Orders
In September, 1922, while that
combination of a military coup
d'etat ond opera bouffe which was
to lead to the so-called March
on Rome" was being engineered
and the King seemed hostile to
the Fascist movement Badoglio
made no mystery of the fact that
If the King gave him orders to
stamp out the Fascist movement. !
he would carry them out, and the
job would not even have been a
difficult one. Therefore, he was
regarded as an anti-Fascist. He |
was only mercenary, Indifferent
to politics. who had given alleg-
lance to the King Of Italy and |
was ready to comply with any
command coming from his lord |
and master.
After the March on Rome"
as long as the attitude of the
King still was not clear, Badoglio |
bided his time. After the Matteot-
ii murder, the King went over,
bag mad baggage, into Mussolini s
camp. Badoglio followed in the
train of his lord.
AS consequence, Mussolini
took him into his fold, and in
1927 he bestowed, upon him the
title and = what was more Inn
portant to Badoglio " the salary
of marshal.
In 1929 he was sent as Cover
nor to Lydia, and under his lead
ership General GRAHAM subdued
the eastern section of Lydia ICY
renaica). Arab chiefs were taken
up in planes and flung out into
the air, to fall broken on the
rocks below. For this reason Ora
ziani was known as 1.-The breaker
of the natives" Badoglio never
objected to such sadistic methods
of warfare. In 1882 he reported
that Lydia had been "pacified.
DE Bono a Failure
In 1885 Mussolini entrusted
the war against Ethiopia to
Fascist general, De Bono, W h o
made such a mess of everything
that Mussolini had to replace him
and sent Badoglio to take his
place. Badoglio again showed his
technical ability,a nd brought or
der out of the chaos that De Bono
had created. He made use of as
psyxiating and corrosive gases
against the Philippians, stamped
out new resistance and entered
the capital of Ethiopia, Adds A
bahia. AS a reward he was given
the title of Duke of Adds Ababa
and - what was more important
to him - he received "a full
Viee-Regal salary for life" His
book on the Ethiopian campaign
was adorned by preface b.
Mussolini.
From now EDWARDS Badoglio,
as Chief of all armed forces, be-
came responsible for all war
preparations. Italy was a partne.
of the Axis, Badoglio did not OBJ
jeet. In June, 1887, Hitler con-
ferred upon him the Grand Cross
III nAlIn4 nnW nMfa