Melchiade Gabba

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Melchiade Gabba (born August 20, 1874 in Milan , † November 17, 1952 in Rome ) was an Italian general and senator . After the fall of Mussolini , he was Minister for Italian Africa in the Badoglio government between July 1943 and February 1944 .

Life

Officer career, World War I and the Abyssinian War

Melchiade Gabba, son of Alberto Gabba and Giulia Sozzani, completed an officer training at the military academy, which he graduated on October 15, 1892. After graduating from the Artillery and Engineering School , he became an artillery officer of the royal army on August 8, 1895 . In 1905 he graduated from the war school. He received the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy on December 31, 1914 and took part in the First World War between 1915 and 1918 . During this time he was chief of staff of the 13th and 57th Infantry Divisions. He also acted as Chief of Staff of the XXIX. as well as the XIV. Corps and then as Chief of Staff of the Territorial Division Chieti . On January 14, 1916, he was also awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of St. Mauritius and Lazarus as well as the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Italy on February 28, 1918 . For his service in World War I as well as an officer, he received further the War Cross for bravery ( Italian Croce di guerra al valor militare ), the Military Cross , the commemorative medal to the Italian-Austrian war , the Inter-Allied Victory Medal and the Commemorative Medal of the Unity of Italy and the Cross for military service in gold (Italian Croce d'oro per angianità di servizio militare ).

In 1919 Gabba became a member of the Italian Geographical Society and on December 30, 1919 received the Officer's Cross of the Order of St. Mauritius and Lazarus. As a colonel from 1919 to June 20, 1920, he was chief of the military mission in Transcaucasia, and on November 11, 1920 he was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Military Order of Italy. After his return he was chief of the staff of the Corps Milano and chief of the operations department in the General Staff of the Army before he became Secretary of the Army Council ( Consiglio dell'Esercito in Italian ) in 1921 . On May 12, 1921, he became commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy and, after a deployment in Eritrea , received the Knight's Cross of the Colonial Order of the Star of Italy on May 17, 1923 and the dignity of the Colonial Commander on March 14, 1926 Order of the Star of Italy. After his promotion to Brigadier General on May 30, 1926, he became Chief of Staff of the Army troops in Milan . In the following years he was commander of the Infantry Division Curtatone and the Infantry Division Montanara and received as such on January 1, 1931 his promotion to division general . On December 1, 1930, he became Grand Officer of the Colonial Order of the Star of Italy and, on January 15, 1931, also commander of the Order of Knights of St. Mauritius and Lazarus.

Subsequently, General Gabba acted between November 17, 1932 and February 25, 1935 as chief adjutant ( aide-de-camp ) of Crown Prince Umberto and on November 11, 1933 also became a Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy for his services . At the same time he was promoted to Crown Prince Adjutant on May 9, 1934, to Corps Commander , and on May 12, 1934 he was also designated for the rank of general. In January 1934 he had also joined the National Fascist Party ( PNF). On November 11, 1934, he received the Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy and on March 21, 1935 also the dignity of Grand Officer of the Order of the Knights of St. Mauritius and Lazarus. After he was Chief of Staff and Brigadier General Fidenzio Dall'Ora General Manager in the Supreme Headquarters of Marshal Emilio De Bono in Italian East Africa during the Abyssinian War (October 3, 1935 to May 9, 1936) , he was appointed for his services there on July 9, 1936 Grand Officer of the Colonial Order of the Star of Italy. He also received the commemorative medal for the campaigns in Africa , the commemorative medal for the campaigns in East Africa and the medal for many years of military service as a commander (Italian Medaglia militare al merito di lungo comando ). After his return he took over the post of commander of the army troops in Naples on August 21, 1936 and on January 14, 1937 also received the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Mauritius and Lazarus awarded.

World War II, Senator and Minister

On August 20, 1938, General Gabba was seconded to the War Department and on April 17, 1939 appointed Senator of the Kingdom. He was between April 17, 1939 and July 10, 1941 a member of the Commission for the Affairs of Italian Africa (Italian Commissione degli affari dell'Africa italiana ) and received his promotion to Army General on June 29, 1940 , this promotion being to Backdated April 15, 1936. A month later, on July 31, 1940, he retired from active military service. From July 10, 1941 to August 5, 1943 he was Vice President of the Commission for the Affairs of Italian Africa. After the fall of Mussolini, he took over the post of Minister for Italian Africa (Italian: Ministro dell'Africa Italiana ) in the first Badoglio cabinet on July 26, 1943, and held this post until February 24, 1944.

In August 1944 Gabba, who was married to Natalia Gurguembecof, was indicted by the Supreme Court for Sanctions against Fascism ACGSF (Italian Alta Corte di Giustizia per le Sanzioni contro il Fascismo ) because of his Senate seat. The senators were charged with responsible for upholding fascism and making the war possible with both their votes and individual actions, including propaganda carried out outside and inside the Senate. On October 30, 1944, he then lost his Senate seat. The judgment was upheld by the Supreme Court of Cassation on July 8, 1948 in the last instance .

Web links

Commons : Melchiade Gabba  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Pommier Vincelli, Andrea Carteny, pp 37, 79, f 126th, 160
  2. ^ Gabba, Melchiade personnel file. (PDF) In: Senato della Repubblica .it. Retrieved April 12, 2020 (Italian).
  3. ↑ Fidenzio Dall'Ora in The Generals of WWII
  4. ^ John Gooch: Mussolini and His Generals: The Armed Forces and Fascist Foreign Policy, 1922–1940 , p. 301, Cambridge University Press, 2007, ISBN 0-521-85602-7 ( online version)
  5. ↑ Governo Badoglio I
  6. ↑ Governo Badoglio I
personal data
SURNAME Gabba, Melchiade
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian general and senator
DATE OF BIRTH August 20, 1874
PLACE OF BIRTH Milan
DATE OF DEATH 17th November 1952
Place of death Rome