Ernesto BurzagliCB GCMM GOA (7 June 1873 – 13 September 1944) was a prominent figure in the Kingdom of Italy during the early 20th century. During a lifetime career in the Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina Italiana), he rose to the rank of admiral and chief of staff. In 1933, King Victor Emmanuel III appointed Burzagli as a senator in Rome.[1]
Despite his life service to the state, Burzagli was arrested in 1944 after clashing with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Although he was released a short time later, Burzagli was forced to withdraw from public life.
Early years
Burzagli entered the Italian Naval Academy (Accademia Navale) in Leghorn (Livorno in Italian) in 1887, and he was commissioned as an ensign in 1892.
In 1912, Burzagli was assigned command of an Intrepid-class destroyer. Promoted to commander in 1914, he saw combat in World War I as commander of a squadron of destroyers, and from May 1916 to March 1917, served on the General Staff of the Italian Navy. In 1917, Captain Burzagli sailed the RN Libia across the Atlantic Ocean to New York City.[3] Near the end of the conflict, he was promoted to higher rank.
At the end of the war in 1919, Burzagli was sent to Albania to command the Vlore naval base, and played an active role in the suppression of pro-independence Albanian uprising, personally undertaking several reconnaissance flights over rebel-held territory, for which he was awarded the Bronze Medal of Military Valor.
Burzagli was given command of the cruiserRN Libia from February 1921 to February 1923, and during this period, the ship circumnavigated the globe.[4] On his return, Burzagli was promoted to the rank of rear admiral; and he and assigned to head the Accademia Navale and the Italian Institute of Marine War.
He wrote a treatise in four volumes, Manual of Navigation (1927).
He left his place at the academy in 1927 to accept the position of Chief of Staff of the Navy, a post he held until 1931.[5][6]
Burzagli was a Technical Advisor in the Italian delegation at the London Naval Conference 1930 for the reduction of the armaments.[7]
Burzagli was promoted to Divisional Admiral in 1926, and promoted again to Vice Admiral in 1928. He was Naval Chief of Staff from 1927 to 1931.[1] He was no longer Naval Chief of Staff in 1932 when Italy announced plans to retire two battleships, twelve cruisers, 25 destroyers, and 12 submarines—in all, 130,000 tons of naval vessels.[8]
In 1933, he was also named a Senator.[9] In the Senate, he served as a member of the Commission for Examination of Law Conversion (1936–1939), a member of the Commission for Finances (1939–1943), and a member of the Commission for the High Court of Justice (1940–1943).[1]
Later years
Burzagli withdrew from the active service in 1936. After the withdrawal to Montevarchi near his estate of Moncioni, he entered into friction with Benito Mussolini for his clear opposition to Italy's entrance into the Axis Powers, and for his subsequent opposition to Italy's entrance into World War II.
In the spring of 1944, he refused to collaborate with the authorities of the Italian Social Republic and was arrested. He was released in consideration of his reputation and his advanced age.
He died on 13 September 1944 and was buried in a monumental tomb in the cemetery of Montevarchi.
Honours
Burzagli received many awards and decorations, including awards from several other countries, such as the Navy Cross from the United States, the second-highest award that the nation's military has.
^Segrè, Claudio G. (1990). Italo Balbo: A Fascist Life, p. 188.
^Zivkovic, Georg. (1971). Heer- und Flottenführer der Welt; Army and navy-leaders of the world, p. 587.
^Great Britain Foreign Office. (1930). Documents of the London Naval Conference, 1930, p. 96.
^"Italy Will Retire 130,000 tons of Navy; Two Battleships, All That She Owns, Are Included in the Sweeping Economy Move. Four New Cruisers to Go [plus] Eight Old Ones, 25 Destroyers and 12 Submarines Also to Be Taken Out of Service," New York Times. August 18, 1932.
^Estratto Bolletino d'Informazioni, Marzo 1934
^ a bHonor awarded in 1906 -- "Cruiser 'Livia' in Kobe to Greet Italians," Osaka Mainichi. July 28, 1922.
^appointment to Order of the Bath, p. 1 and appointment, p. 2
^Presidencia da Republica, Chancelaria das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas. Anuário: Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas, Ciadadãos Estrangeiros, 1910-2006, p. 75. Archived 2008-03-14 at the Wayback Machine
^Spanish Order of Naval Merit: diploma
^Augusto B. Leguía, President of Peru: diploma, Medal of the Centenary of Peru
^Medaglia d'onore per lunga navigazione: diploma
References
Bernotti, Romeo. (1971). Cinquant'anni nella Marina militare. Mursia.
Canevari, Emilio. (1948). La guerra italiana, retroscena della disfatta, Tosi.
Ceva, Lucio. (1981). Le forze armate, Torino: UTET.
Great Britain Foreign Office. (1930). Documents of the London Naval Conference, 1930: Consisting of the Treaty Signed on April 22, the Minutes of Plenary Meetings, Memoranda Submitted by the United States, French, United Kingdom, Italian and Japanese Delegations of Their Position at the Conference, the Report of the First Committee .... London: His Majesty's Stationery Office.
Leva, Fausto. (1936). Storia delle campagne oceaniche della R. Marina. Rome: Ufficio Storico della Marina.
Malcolm, James. (1917). State Service: An Illustrated Monthly Magazine Devoted to the Government of the State of New York and Its Affairs. Albany, New York: State Service Magazine Co., Inc.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Peru). (1922). Discursos y documentos oficiales en el primer centenario de la Independencia. República del Perú. Lima: Impressa Torres Aguirre.
Po, Guido. (1929). L'opera della R. Marina in Eritrea e Somalia dall'occupazione, alla visita di S.A.R. il Principe Ereditario (The Action of the Italian Royal Navy in Eritrea and Somalia from the Occupation through the Visit of H.R.H. Crown Prince Umberto). Introduzione, Ernesto Burzagli. Rome: Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato (Italian State Printing Office).
Rea, Alberto. (1977). L'Accademia aeronautica: cronistoria dalle origini al 1975. Rome: Ufficio Storico SMA.
Umetani, Noboru (梅溪昇編, Umetani Noboru). (1991). Meiji Period Foreign Decoration History Compilation (明治期外国人叙勲史料集成, Meijiki gaikokujin jokun shiryō shūsei). Kyoto: Shibunkaku Shuppan (思文閣出版). ISBN 978-4-7842-0666-7
Vitale, Massimo Adolfo. (1959). Vitale, L'Italia in Africa: serie storico-militare. Rome: Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato (Italian State Printing Office).
Wright, Herbert Francis. (1931). Proceedings of the London Naval Conference of 1930 and Supplementary Documents.Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Zivkovic, Georg. (1971). Heer- und Flottenführer der Welt: Army and navy-leaders of the world. Chefs des armées et des flottes du monde. Osnabrück: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-0666-8
This article also derives significantly from the content and style of the "Ernesto Burzagli" article on the Italian Wikipedia.
External links
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Senato Italiano: scheda biografica di Ernesto Burzagli