14 Facts About Ugo Cavallero

Ugo Cavallero was an Italian military commander before and during World War II.

Ugo Cavallero was the first Chief of the Comando Supremo on June 1941.

Ugo Cavallero was dismissed from his command due to his lacklustre performance, and was arrested upon the fall of Benito Mussolini's regime.

Ugo Cavallero later attended college and graduated in 1911, earning a degree in mathematics.

Still in the army, Ugo Cavallero fought in Libya in 1913, during the Italo-Turkish War, and was awarded a Bronze Medal of Military Valor.

In 1907, Ugo Cavallero was initiated in the regular Masonic Lodge "Dante Alighieri" of Turin, which was affiliated to the Grand Orient of Italy.

In 1915, Ugo Cavallero was transferred to the Italian Supreme Command.

Ugo Cavallero retired from the army in 1919 but later rejoined in 1925, at which time he became Benito Mussolini's undersecretary of war.

Ugo Cavallero rejoined the army for the third and final time in 1937.

Shortly after his appointment, Ugo Cavallero was sent to command the Italian forces involved in the unsuccessful Greco-Italian War until the spring of 1941.

On 15 and 19 May 1941 Ugo Cavallero, submitted proposals for the Stato Maggiores complete reorganization to Mussolini.

Ugo Cavallero worked closely with German Field Marshal Albert Kesselring; however he had a rather conflicting relationship with Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, whose advance into Egypt after his success at the Battle of Gazala he opposed, advocating instead the planned invasion of Malta; his opinion, shared by Kesselring and Rintelen, was however discounted by Hitler and Mussolini.

Ugo Cavallero was promoted to Marshal of Italy on 1 July 1942, soon after the promotion of Rommel to Field Marshal.

In January 1943, after the definitive loss of the African campaign and the setbacks suffered by the Italian Army in Russia, Ugo Cavallero was dismissed and replaced by General Vittorio Ambrosio.