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Italo Balbo was born in Quartesana (Ferrara) on 6th June 1896. At the outbreak of World War I, he enlisted in the Alpini. Balbo earned one bronze and two silver medals, and was promoted to the rank of Captain for his war merits. After obtaining a degree in Social Sciences in Florence, he came back to Ferrara and joined the Fascist Party. When he was offered the appointment as secretary of the local Fascist section he accepted it enthusiastically and quit his job as bank clerk. He soon proved to be a perfect commander and a zealous organizer of Fascist gangs. His unit was called "Celibano", named after the mangling of "cherry brandy", a spirit that its members used to drink while gathering in a local pub.
The "Celibano" became ill famed as ruthless executors of the orders of landowners against rural strikes and demonstrations. In Mesola, Copparo, Massa Fiscaglia and other centers around Ferrara, their violence was directed at socialists and communists and on seats of democratic parties, going so far as to storm the Estense Castle in Ferrara. Between 24th and 25th June 1921, Balbo invaded Portomaggiore with 4,000 thugs and commenced shooting, beating and killing people for two days, eventually leaving enormous devastation and unburied dead in the streets.
Group Photo of Celibano with Balbo in the middle
Similar actions were repeated in Ravenna, Modena and Bologna. While in Parma, the "Celibano" were stopped by barricades erected by communists in the city. During this period, Balbo's "reputation" was so well known that when leading members of the Fascist Party united to discuss an attempt to seize power with a coup de main, they decided to nominate him quadrumvir of the March on Rome.
All being in favor of an armed insurrection, without any mediation. The fascists arrived in Rome without shooting a round, thanks to a silent agreement with the King, who refused to order that a state of seige existed (this would have allowed the Army to shoot at the demonstrators).
In 1923, Balbo was charged with the murder of Father Giuseppe Minzoni, parish priest of Argenta (Ferrara), who encouraged the local peasants to defend themselves against the blackshirts through associations and cooperatives. The outcome of the trial was unfavorable to Balbo, who abandoned Ferrara and moved to Rome, becoming General Commander of the Militia in 1924, undersecretary to National Economy the year later and then undersecretary to the Air Force on 6th November, 1926.
The extraordinary development of aircraft technology during this time period gave Balbo an opportunity to pour out all his energy and will in adventure. Promoted on 10th August 1928 to Generale di Squadra Aerea (Marshal of the A.F.) and on 12th September 1929 as Minister of the Air Force, he organized the intercontinental flights that made him famous. On the first flight, from 17th December 1930 to 15th January 1931, twelve Savoia Marchetti S.55X left from Orbetello to face a 10,400 Km route to Rio de Janeiro; in the second, from 1st July to 12th August 1933, he comanded twenty-two seaplanes to the United States. He was welcomed like a hero and his triumph was almost unprecedented in history. The 7th Street in Chicago was named after him, President Roosevelt invited him to lunch, and the Sioux Indian tribe appointed him chief, with the name of "Flying Eagle".
Poster celebrating the translatlantic crossing to Rio De Janeiro
He received the same great honors upon his return. In Rome, he and his airmen paraded under Constantine's Arch and Balbo was elevated to the rank of Air Marshal. It was at this moment that his political decline began. Mussolini and other VIPs in the Party most likely envied his achievements and his popularity, especially among young people; perhaps they were annoyed by his rough manners and irreverence. All of the above may be some of the reasons why he was sent to Libya as Governor in Jan. 1934. He also possessed an "unconventional" behavior. In fact, he shook hands instead of giving the expected Roman (fascist) salute and used the term "lei" instead of the prescribed "voi". A little while after Hitler's visit to Italy, he invited the Podestà (Mayor), Renzo Ravenna, a Jew to dinner at a famous restaurant in Ferrara, in which Hitler also attended.
In Africa, Balbo led a well-off life. He ordered the construction of a coast road that he pompously called "Balbia", and did a lot to welcome the Italian families that tried to escape poverty by moving to the "Fourth shore".
When Germany invaded Poland, Balbo rushed to Rome to show his disappointment and disagreement with the warmongering policy of the Duce. Balbo said that the Fascist hierarchs had become the German's shoe-shiners, and Mussolini struck back saying that Balbo was a "democratic pig". As Italy entered the war, his opposition to the regime became open, going so far as saying "It is necessary to get rid of Mussolini before it's too late", and "Hitler will have a bad ending".
His life ended tragically on 28th June 1940, when his S.79 was shot down in the skies of Tobruk by bullets fired by the anti-aircraft guns of the San Giorgio cruiser, riding at anchor in the harbor.
Friendly fire or murder? The Italian Governement always sustained the thesis as an accident. Balbo's wife, the countess Emanuela Florio, stated that Mussolini wanted him dead. The truth may never be known, but the following are three testimonies that shed some light on the event:
What order to execute, what conjuration? On that day there wasn't any officer in battery, I was twenty, and I was a young boy frightened by the war. We were suffering attacks from British airplanes [Bristol Blenheims] since daybreak. They followed closely and swept the sky every fifteen minutes. We saw two planes on the same course used by the enemy, they could hardly be recognised and there were no markings, so we opened fire. I ordered to shoot a burst with our Breda with 20mm tracer, explosive and perforating bullets. The first rounds gave us the certainity to have hit one, and only when it approached leaving a trail of smoke I recognised the silhouette of the S.79. It was done for, it flew over us, crashed nearby and caught fire. When we recovered a few jackets, we recognized it and discovered that we had killed Balbo. It was a tragedy. The state murder? A silly thing, a nonsense. -(Declaration of Claudio Marzola, Navy veteran)
We on the first plane managed to swerve towards the sea, while Balbo's went downwards. We saw it peeling off and going towards the ground, where it caught fire after the crash. It was observed on the spot that the aircraft had been hit by an artillery bullet. [It is demonstrated that the Navy shot 280 rounds and even submarines fired some ammo].
The wreckage of Italo Balbo's S.79
On 10th June 1940 we entered the war with the British Empire and France. The military situation wasn't favourable at all; Balbo had tried till the end to dissuade the Duce from declaring war. In the afternoon of 28th June we were on the hills around Tobruk - we had been at war for only eighteen days - suddenly a plane came from West and started to fly over the city and the bay. In the harbour there was the San Giorgio cruiser that immediately opened a deadly anti-aircraft fire. After a few seconds the plane, riddled with shots, went down behind our positions. All together, we clapped our hands for a while, we had seen the first war action in our life. We later learned that it was an Italian aircraft not recognised by the Italian artillery and that on board it there was the commander of the African Army and Air Marshal Italo Balbo. The troops talked for long about this accident: Balbo was very popular, his aversion to the war against the English and his devotion to the Princess of Piedmont Maria José, fierce opponent of Mussolini's policy were well known. -(Testimony of Tenente Salvo Messina, artilleryman of the Cirene Division)
Written By: Gianmaria Spagnoletti
Sources:
La seconda Guerra Mondiale Enzo Biagi, Fabbri ed.;
Cronologia (for the notes in square brackets and the testimonies)
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