The Italian African Police ( Italian : Polizia dell'Africa Italiana , or PAI), was the provost and police force of Italian North Africa and Italian East Africa from 1 June 1936 to 1 December 1945.
96-653: Towards the end of the war in Ethiopia (late 1936 and early 1937), Italy created a corps of Polizia Coloniale ("Colonial Police") for law enforcement in Italian North Africa ( Africa Settentrionale Italiana , or ASI; Libya ). The corps was created by reorganization of public safety units operating in Libya. By March 1938, it was issuing license plates. The corps was later expanded to operate in Ethiopia and
192-719: A PAI school at Busto Arsizio in the autumn of 1943. However, the troops were absorbed by the Republican Police Corps of the Italian Social Republic , and finally by the National Republican Guard . Ranks were as for the Royal Italian Army with enlisted rank being the older style larger pattern of red chevrons worn on both upper sleeves. PAI Rank Italian Army Rank Personnel wore
288-621: A Semitic people, distantly related to the Arabs and Jews). Of special interest were the Roman colonies of Leptis Magna and Sabratha , and the preparation of these sites for archaeological tourism . Tourism was further promoted by the creation of the Tripoli Grand Prix , a racing car event of international importance. After independence, most Italian settlers still remained in Libya; there were 35,000 Italo-Libyans in 1962. However,
384-740: A broad land bridge between Libya and Italian East Africa . During World War II , there was strong support for Italy from many Muslim Libyans, who enrolled in the Italian Army . Other Libyan troops (the Savari [cavalry regiments] and the Spahi or mounted police) had been fighting for the Kingdom of Italy since the 1920s. A number of major battles took place in Libya during the North African Campaign of World War II. In September 1940,
480-424: A decree law transformed the commissariats into provinces within the metropolitan territory of the Kingdom of Italy. Libya was thus formally annexed to Italy and the coastal area was nicknamed the " Fourth Shore " ( Quarta Sponda ). Key towns and wards of the colony became Italian municipalities ( comune ) governed by a podestà . In 1939, key population figures for Italian Libya were as follows: Population of
576-848: A garrison of Grenadiers of Sardinia . On the other side of Rome , at the same time, some troops protected the escape of the King Victor Emmanuel III along the Via Tiburtina , the King and the Prime Minister Pietro Badoglio ; once accomplished the task, they were sent along the Via Laurentina . On 9 September the PAIRS, with the Bersaglieri and cadet police officers, forced for a while
672-627: A historic cooperation treaty in Benghazi . Under its terms, Italy would pay $ 5 billion to Libya as compensation for its former military occupation. In exchange, Libya would take measures to combat illegal immigration coming from its shores and boost investments in Italian companies. The treaty was ratified by Italy on 6 February 2009, and by Libya on 2 March, during a visit to Tripoli by Berlusconi. Cooperation ended in February 2011 as
768-573: A result of the Libyan Civil War which overthrew Gaddafi. At the signing ceremony of the document, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi recognized historic atrocities and repression committed by the state of Italy against the Libyan people during colonial rule, stating: " In this historic document, Italy apologizes for its killing, destruction and repression of the Libyan people during the period of colonial rule. " and went on to say that this
864-608: A tobacco factory, tanneries, bakeries, lime, brick and cement works, Esparto grass industry, mechanical saw mills, and the Petrolibya Society (Trye 1998). Italian investment in her colony was to take advantage of new colonists and to make it more self-sufficient. (General Staff War Office 1939, 165/b). By 1939, the Italians had built 400 kilometres (250 mi) of new railroads and 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) of new roads. The most important and largest highway project
960-432: The 1947 Paris Peace Treaty . Italian efforts to colonise Libya began in 1911, and were characterised initially by major struggles with Muslim native Libyans that lasted until 1931. During this period, the Italian government controlled only the coastal areas. Between 1911 and 1912, over 1,000 Somalis from Mogadishu , the then capital of Italian Somaliland , served in combat units along with Eritrean and Italian soldiers in
1056-527: The Alps , officially to help defend Italy from Allied landings but really to control the country. Three Italian generals (including Brigade General Giuseppe Castellano ) were separately sent to Lisbon to contact Allied diplomats. However, to open the proceedings, the Allies had to determine who was the most authoritative envoy, and the three generals had started to quarrel about who had the highest authority. In
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#17327722448421152-625: The British and French collaborated with the small new resistance. France and the United Kingdom decided to make King Idris the Emir of an independent Libya in 1951. Libya would finally become independent in 1951. From 1943 to 1951, Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were under British military administration , while the French controlled Fezzan . Under the terms of the 1947 peace treaty with
1248-539: The Italian Armed Forces , with functions of political , judicial and administrative police. The force was a racially mixed organization, made up of Italian agents and many native askaris . It was located in police headquarters of major cities like Tripoli , Benghazi , Asmara , Addis Ababa , Mogadishu , Gondar , or in small commissariats otherwhere. The PAI training school was in Tivoli . Part of
1344-592: The Italian invasion of Egypt was launched from Libya. Starting in December of the same year, the British Eighth Army launched a counterattack called Operation Compass and the Italian forces were pushed back into Libya. After losing all of Cyrenaica and almost all of its Tenth Army , Italy asked for German assistance to aid the failing campaign With German support, the lost Libyan territory
1440-633: The Italo-Turkish War . Most of the Somali troops remained in Libya until they were transferred back to Italian Somaliland in preparation for the invasion of Ethiopia in 1935. After the Italian Empire 's conquest of Ottoman Tripolitania (Ottoman Libya), in the 1911–12 Italo-Turkish War , much of the early colonial period had Italy waging a war of subjugation against Libya's population. Ottoman Turkey surrendered its control of Libya in
1536-584: The Ministry of the Colonies and, then, to the "Ministry of Italian Africa" (then held by Alessandro Lessona ). Its first commander, from 1937 to 1943, was General Riccardo Maraffa , replaced for a brief period in 1943 by General Quirino Armellini . The PAI had a reputation for discipline and high training levels, and for being provided with good equipment. Even after the collapse of AOI, the PAI were able to keep
1632-638: The Oltre Giuba and France agreed to give some Saharan territories to Italian Libya. After prolonged discussions through the 1920s, in 1935 under the Mussolini-Laval agreement Italy received the Aouzou strip , which was added to Libya. However, this agreement was not ratified later by France . In 1931, the towns of El Tag and Al Jawf were taken over by Italy. British Egypt had ceded Kufra and Jarabub to Italian Libya on December 6, 1925, but it
1728-662: The Ottoman Empire during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912, and run by Italian governors. In 1923, indigenous rebels associated with the Senussi Order organized the Libyan resistance movement against Italian settlement in Libya, mainly in Cyrenaica. The rebellion was put down by Italian forces in 1932, after the pacification campaign , which resulted in the deaths of a quarter of Cyrenaica's population. In 1934,
1824-721: The Second Battle of El Alamein in Egypt spelled doom for the Axis forces in Libya and meant the end of the Western Desert Campaign . In February 1943, retreating German and Italian forces were forced to abandon Libya as they were pushed out of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania, thus ending Italian jurisdiction and control over Libya. The Fezzan was occupied by the Free French in 1943. At the close of World War II ,
1920-518: The Strait of Messina and began landing in the southernmost tip of Calabria during Operation Baytown . The day after the armistice had been made public, 9 September, the Allies made landings at Salerno and at Taranto . The Allies failed to take full advantage of the Italian armistice and were quickly checked by German troops. In terrain that favoured defence, the Allied forces took 20 months to reach
2016-707: The United Kingdom of Libya , a constitutional and hereditary monarchy. In 1934, Italy adopted the name "Libya" (used by the Greeks for all of North Africa, except Egypt) as the official name of the colony made up of the three provinces of Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan). The colony was subdivided into four provincial governatores ( Commissariato Generale Provinciale ) and a southern military territory ( Territorio Militare del Sud or Territorio del Sahara Libico ): The general provincial commissionerships were further divided into wards ( circondari ). On 9 January 1939,
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#17327722448422112-502: The heel of Italy , to sail for Malta . At 02:30, on 9 September, the three battleships Roma , Vittorio Veneto , and Italia "shoved off from La Spezia escorted by three light cruisers and eight destroyers". When German troops, who had stormed into the town to prevent the ships from sailing, became enraged by the ships' escape, "they rounded up and summarily shot several Italian captains who, unable to get their vessels underway, had scuttled them". That afternoon, German bombers attacked
2208-521: The royal family and Badoglio, fled Rome on the early morning of the 9th and took shelter in Brindisi , in southern Italy. Their initial intention was to move army headquarters out of Rome with the King and the Prime Minister, but few staff officers reached Brindisi. Meanwhile, the Italian troops, without instructions, collapsed and were soon overwhelmed. Some small units decided to stay loyal to
2304-520: The "Instrument of Surrender of Italy.", which General Campbell had presented to another Italian general, Zanussi in Lisbon. Zanussi, who had also been in Cassibile since 31 August, for unclear reasons had not informed Castellano about them. Nevertheless, Bedell Smith explained to Castellano that the other conditions would have taken effect only if Italy had not taken on a fighting role in the war alongside
2400-770: The 1912 Treaty of Lausanne , but fierce resistance to the Italians continued from the Senussi political-religious order, a strongly nationalistic group of Sunni Muslims . This group, first under the leadership of Omar Al Mukhtar and centered in the Jebel Akhdar Mountains of Cyrenaica, led the Libyan resistance movement against Italian settlement in Libya. Italian forces under Generals Pietro Badoglio and Rodolfo Graziani waged punitive pacification campaigns using chemical weapons , mass executions of soldiers and civilians and concentration camps . One-quarter of Cyrenaica's population of 225,000 people died during
2496-439: The 1st and 2nd Libyan Divisions were formed. These Libyan infantry divisions were organized along the lines of the binary Italian infantry division. The 5th Italian Army received the 2nd Libyan Infantry Division, which it incorporated into the 13th Corps. The Italian 10th Army received the 1st Libyan Infantry Division, which it incorporated into the reserve. The Italian Libyan infantry divisions were colonial formations ("colonial" in
2592-578: The 50th Infantry Division Regina on the island of Kos , who were shot in early October 1943 after the Germans captured the island. Only on the islands of Leros and Samos , with British reinforcements, would the resistance last until November 1943, and in Corsica , Italian troops forced the German troops to leave the island. In other cases, individual Italian units, mostly more minor, remained loyal to
2688-671: The Allied request for a meeting to be held in Sicily , which had been suggested by the British Ambassador to the Vatican . To ease communication between the Allies and the Italian government, a captured British Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent, Dick Mallaby , was released from Verona Prison and secretly moved to the Quirinale . It was vital for the Germans to remain ignorant of any suggestion of Italian surrender, and
2784-527: The Allies, Italy relinquished all claims to Libya. There were discussions to maintain the province of Tripolitania as the last Italian colony, but these were not successful. Although Britain and France had intended to divide the nation between their empires, on November 21, 1949, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution stating that Libya should become independent before January 1, 1952. On December 24, 1951, Libya declared its independence as
2880-599: The Allies. On the afternoon of the same day, Badoglio had a briefing with the senior commanders of the Regia Marina (Italy's Royal Navy) and the Regia Aeronautica (Italy's Royal Air Force), with the War Ministers and with the King's representatives. However, he omitted any mention of the signing of the armistice and referred only to ongoing negotiations. The day the armistice entered into force
2976-539: The Allies. A bombing mission on Rome by 500 airplanes was stopped at the last moment and had been Eisenhower's inducement to accelerate the procedure of the armistice. Harold Macmillan , the British government's representative minister at the Allied Staff, informed Winston Churchill that the armistice had been signed "without amendments of any kind". That evening Castellano met with Allied officers to discuss what
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3072-586: The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium, who considered the area worthless and so an act of cheap appeasement to Benito Mussolini 's attempts at an empire . During this time, the Italian colonial forces built a World War I –style fort in El Tag in the mid-1930s. In 1939 some Libyans were granted special (though limited) Italian citizenship by Royal Decree No. 70 on 9 January 1939. This citizenship was necessary for any Libyan with ambitions to rise in
3168-466: The Axis powers. Many of the units formed the nucleus of the armed forces of the puppet Italian Social Republic . Both the Regio Esercito (Italian Royal Army) and the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) virtually disintegrated with the announcement of the armistice on 8 September. The Allies coveted the Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy), with its 206 ships in total, including
3264-463: The British colony of Sudan and a territorial agreement with Egypt . The Kufra district was nominally attached to British-occupied Egypt until 1925, but in fact, remained a headquarters for the Senussi resistance until conquered by the Italians in 1931. The Kingdom of Italy at the 1919 Paris "Conference of Peace" received nothing from German colonies, but as a compensation Great Britain gave it
3360-635: The Council, held on 25 July 1943, a majority vote adopted the "order of the day", and Mussolini was then summoned to meet the King and dismissed as prime minister. Upon leaving the meeting, Mussolini was arrested by carabinieri and spirited off to the island of Ponza . Badoglio became President of the Council of Ministers or the Prime Minister of Italy . However, Grandi had been told that another general of more significant personal and professional qualities ( Marshal Enrico Caviglia ) would have taken
3456-655: The Fascist Directorate and Minister of Culture, and Galeazzo Ciano (the 2nd Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari), the second most powerful man in the Fascist Party and Mussolini's son-in-law. The conspirators devised an "Order of the Day" for the next meeting of the Grand Council of Fascism ( Gran Consiglio del Fascismo ), which contained a proposal to restore direct control of politics to the King. After
3552-464: The German ally. From 8 to 12 September, the German forces occupied all of the Italian territory that was still not under Allied control, except Sardinia and part of Apulia , without meeting organized resistance. In Rome, an Italian governor, with the support of an Italian infantry division, nominally ruled the city until 23 September, but in practice, the city was under German control from 11 September. On 3 September, British and Canadian troops crossed
3648-569: The Germans to retreat from the Magliana area; however, after some hours, they had in turn to withdraw in direction of Fort Ostiense , which was later stormed by the Germans. The commander and founder of the PAI, General Marraffa, was captured by the Nazis and deported to the Dachau concentration camp , where he died. Later, there was a reorganization attempt in northern Italy, with the opening of
3744-622: The Germans, who established a puppet state , the Italian Social Republic led by Mussolini. The king, the Italian government and most of the Navy fled to southern Italy under the protection of the Allies. An Italian resistance movement emerged in German-occupied Italy. After the surrender of the Axis powers in North Africa on 13 May 1943, the Allies bombed Rome on 16 May, invaded Sicily on 10 July and prepared to land on
3840-491: The Italian Government should do. General Harold Alexander presided over the meeting with Smith, Lowell Ward Rooks , and John K. Cannon (commander 12th Air Force USAAF), Brigadier General Patrick W. Timberlake (of Mediterranean Air Command), Strong, and General Lyman Lemnitzer (Deputy Chief of Staff, 15th Army Group ). Only after the signing had taken place was Castellano passed the long terms contained in
3936-819: The Italian army. In March 1940, two divisions of Libyan colonial troops (for a total of 30,090 native Muslim soldiers) were created and in summer 1940 the first and second Divisions of Fanteria Libica (Libyan infantry) participated in the Italian offensive against the British Empire 's Egypt: 1st Libyan Division and 2nd Libyan Division . In 1936, the main sectors of economic activity in Italian Libya (by number of employees) were industry (30.4%), public administration (29.8%), agriculture and fishing (16.7%), commerce (10.7%), transports (5.8%), domestic work (3.8%), legal profession and private teaching (1.3%), banking and insurance (1.1%). Italians greatly developed
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4032-529: The Italian colonies and in Italy. During World War II , the PAI fought as a combat unit alongside the Royal Italian Army . For the garrison of the Libyan littoral way, at the outbreak of the conflict two companies on motorcycles and an armored car were assigned to the Exploring Unit of the CAM ( Corpo armato di manovra ) Battalion " Romolo Gessi ". They had little fortune since, after a sudden enemy attack, numerous soldiers were hit by friendly fire from German aircraft. The battalion repaired in Tripolitania and
4128-424: The Italian mainland . In the spring of 1943, preoccupied with the disastrous situation of the Italian military during the war, the Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini , removed several figures from the government whom he considered to be more loyal to Victor Emmanuel III than to the Fascist regime. To help the execution of his plan, the King asked for the assistance of Dino Grandi (1st Count of Mordano), one of
4224-437: The Italian population virtually disappeared after the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi ordered the expulsion of remaining Italians (about 20,000) in 1970. Only a few hundred of them were allowed to return to Libya in the 2000s. In 2004, there were 22,530 Italians in Libya. Italy maintained diplomatic relations with Libya and imported a significant quantity of its oil from the country. Relations between Italy and Libya warmed in
4320-414: The Libyans with some initial education but minimally improved native administration. The Italian population (about 10% of the total population) had 81 elementary schools in 1939–1940, while the Libyans (more than 85% of total population) had 97. There were only three secondary schools for Libyans by 1940, two in Tripoli and one in Benghazi. The Libyan economy substantially grew in the late 1930s, mainly in
4416-527: The PAI personnel was mounted on Moto Guzzi motorcycles, with many armed with the Beretta M1938A 9mm sub-machine gun. At the outbreak of World War II the PAI had 7,672 men, of which 6,345 were in AOI (Eritrea, Ethiopia and Italian Somalia) and 1,327 were in ASI ( Italian Libya ). The bulk of the force consisted of indigenous personnel who were trained and equipped to the same standard as Italian personnel. There were 5,146 indigenous personnel, 4,414 from AOI and 732 from ASI. The PAI fought during World War II in
4512-441: The SOE was the most secure method under the circumstances. Badoglio still considered it possible to gain favourable conditions in exchange for the surrender. He ordered Castellano to insist that any surrender of Italy be conditioned on a landing of Allied troops on the Italian mainland. The Allies held only Sicily and some minor islands. On 31 August, Brigade General Castellano reached Termini Imerese , in Sicily, by plane and
4608-486: The acceptance of the Allied conditions. He had no written authorization from Badoglio, the head of the Italian government, who wanted to dissociate himself as much as possible from the forthcoming defeat of his country. The signing ceremony began at 14:00 on 3 September. Castellano and Bedell Smith signed the accepted text on behalf of Badoglio and General Eisenhower, respectively. The armistice includes that all Italian land, air, and naval forces must cease hostilities against
4704-419: The actions were to be conducted contemporaneously with the signing, not to precede it, as the Italians had wanted. The following day, Castellano was received by Badoglio and his entourage. Italy's Foreign Minister, Raffaele Guariglia , declared that the Allied conditions were to be accepted. Other generals, such as Giacomo Carboni , maintained that the Army Corps deployed around Rome was insufficient to protect
4800-623: The agricultural sector. Even some manufacturing activities were developed, mostly related to the food industry. Building construction increased immensely. Furthermore, the Italians made modern medical care available for the first time in Libya and improved sanitary conditions in the towns. The Italians started numerous and diverse businesses in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica. These included an explosives factory, railway workshops, Fiat Motor works, various food processing plants, electrical engineering workshops, ironworks, water plants, agricultural machinery factories, breweries, distilleries, biscuit factories,
4896-486: The armistice was announced by Allied radio on the afternoon of 8 September, German forces immediately attacked Italian forces by executing Operation Achse . Most of the Regio Esercito (Italian Royal Army) had not been informed about the armistice, and no clear orders had been issued about the line of conduct to be taken in the face of the German armed forces. Some Italian divisions that should have defended Rome were still in transit from southern France. The king, along with
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#17327722448424992-426: The battleships Roma , Vittorio Veneto , and Italia (known as Littorio until July 1943). There was a danger that some of the Navy might fight on, be scuttled, or (most concerningly for the Allies) end up in German hands. As such, the truce called for Italian warships on Italy's west coast, mostly at La Spezia and Genoa , to sail for North Africa and to pass Corsica and Sardinia and for those at Taranto , in
5088-414: The best Italian infantry formations in North Africa. The Libyan divisions were loyal to Italy and provided a good combat record. After the enlargement of Italian Libya with the Aouzou Strip , Fascist Italy aimed at further extension to the south. Indeed Italian plans, in the case of a war against France and Great Britain, projected the extension of Libya as far south as Lake Chad and the establishment of
5184-410: The campaign of reprisals known as the "pacification campaign" , the Italian government changed policy toward the local population: in December 1934, individual freedom, inviolability of home and property, the right to join the military or civil administrations, and the right to freely pursue a career or employment were promised to the Libyans. In a trip by Mussolini to Libya in 1937, a propaganda event
5280-416: The camps of Soluch and Sisi Ahmed el Magrun with an estimated 33,000 internees having only one doctor between them. Typhus and other diseases spread rapidly in the camps as the people were physically weakened by meagre food rations and forced labour . By the time the camps closed in September 1933, 40,000 of the 100,000 total internees had died in the camps. The colony expanded after concessions from
5376-427: The city because of the lack of fuel and ammunition and that the armistice had to be postponed. Badoglio did not pronounce himself in the meeting. In the afternoon, he appeared before the King, who decided to accept the armistice conditions. A confirmation telegram was sent to the Allies. The message, however, was intercepted by the Wehrmacht , the German armed forces, which had long since begun to suspect that Italy
5472-426: The city. Badoglio told the delegation that his army was not ready to support the landing and that most airports in the area were under German control. He asked for a deferral of the armistice of a few days. When General Eisenhower learned that, the landing in Rome of American troops was cancelled, but the day of the armistice was confirmed since other troops were already en route by sea to land in southern Italy. When
5568-448: The colonies were unified by governor Italo Balbo , with Tripoli as the capital. During World War II, Italian Libya became the setting for the North African Campaign . Although the Italians were defeated there by the Allies in 1943, many of the Italian settlers still remained in Libya. Libya was administered by the United Kingdom and France until its independence in 1951, though Italy did not officially relinquish its claim until
5664-456: The conflict. After nearly two decades of suppression campaigns the Italian colonial forces claimed victory. In the 1930s, the policy of Italian fascism toward Libya began to change, and both Italian Cyrenaica and Tripolitania , along with Fezzan , were merged into Italian Libya in 1934. In 1923, indigenous rebels associated with the Senussi Order organized the Libyan resistance movement against Italian settlement in Libya. The rebellion
5760-573: The end, Castellano was admitted to speak with the Allies at the British Embassy to set the conditions for the armistice of Italy . Among the representatives of the Allies were the British Ambassador to Portugal , Sir Ronald Hugh Campbell , and two senior officers sent by Dwight Eisenhower : major-general Walter Bedell Smith (US Army, Eisenhower's chief of staff) and brigadier Kenneth Strong (British Army, Eisenhower's assistant chief of staff for intelligence). On 27 August, General Castellano returned to Italy and, three days later, briefed Badoglio about
5856-449: The establishment of a unified colony in 1934, the territory of the two colonies was sometimes referred to as "Italian Libya" or Italian North Africa ( Africa Settentrionale Italiana , or ASI). Both names were also used after the unification, with Italian Libya becoming the official name of the newly combined colony. It had a population of around 150,000 Italians . The Italian colonies of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were taken by Italy from
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#17327722448425952-435: The establishment of new industries and a dozen new agricultural villages. The massive Italian investment did little to improve Libyan quality of life, since the purpose was to develop the economy for the benefit of Italy and Italian settlers. The Italian aim was to drive the local population to the marginal land in the interior and to resettle the Italian population in the most fertile lands of Libya. The Italians did provide
6048-456: The first decade of the 21st century, when they entered co-operative arrangements to deal with illegal immigration into Italy. Libya agreed to aggressively prevent migrants from sub-Saharan Africa from using the country as a transit route to Italy, in return for foreign aid and Italy's successful attempts to have the European Union lift its trade sanctions on Libya. On 30 August 2008, Gaddafi and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi signed
6144-412: The large naval base of Taranto, it watched a flotilla of Italian ships sailing out of Taranto Harbour towards their surrender at Malta. An agreement between the Allies and the Italians in late September provided for some of the Navy to be kept in commission; however, the battleships were to be reduced to care and maintenance and effectively disarmed. Italian mercantile marine vessels were to operate under
6240-500: The leading members of the Fascist hierarchy who, in his younger years, had been considered the sole credible alternative to Mussolini as leader of the National Fascist Party . The King was also motivated by the suspicion that the Count of Mordano's ideas about Fascism might be changed abruptly. Various ambassadors, including Pietro Badoglio himself, proposed the vague possibility of succeeding Mussolini as dictator. The secret rebels later involved Giuseppe Bottai , another high member of
6336-413: The lower legs. Italian North Africa Libya ( Italian : Libia ; Arabic : ليبيا الايطالية , romanized : Lībyā al-Īṭālīya ) was a colony of Italy located in North Africa , in what is now modern Libya , between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania , which had been Italian possessions since 1911. From 1911 until
6432-502: The main urban centres: Many Italians were encouraged to settle in Libya during the Fascist period, notably in the coastal areas. The annexation of Libya's coastal provinces in 1939 brought them to be an integral part of metropolitan Italy and the focus of Italian settlement. The population of Italian settlers in Libya increased rapidly after the Great Depression: in 1927, there were just about 26,000, by 1931 44,600, 66,525 in 1936 and eventually, in 1939, they numbered 119,139, or 13% of
6528-412: The military or civil organizations. The recipients were officially referred to as Moslem Italians. Libya had become "the fourth shore of Italy" (Trye 1998). The incorporation of Libya into the Italian Empire gave the Italian Army a greater ability to exploit native Libyans for military service. Native Libyans served in Italian formations from the beginning of the Italian occupation of Libya. On 1 March 1940,
6624-508: The nomadic peoples of northern Cyrenaica were forcibly removed from the region and relocated to huge concentration camps in the Cyrenaican lowlands. Fascist regime propaganda proclaimed the camps as hygienic and efficiently run oases of modern civilization. However in reality the camps had poor sanitary conditions and an average of about 20,000 Beduoins, together with their camels and other animals, crowded into an area of one square kilometre. The camps held only rudimentary medical services, with
6720-451: The northern borders of Italy. Some of the Italian troops based outside Italy, in the occupied Balkans and Greek islands , held out some weeks after the armistice. Still, without any determined support from the Allies, all had been overwhelmed by the Germans by the end of September 1943. On the island of Cephalonia , the Italian Acqui Division was massacred after it had resisted German forces. A similar fate awaited 103 Italian officers of
6816-485: The peace in Addis Ababa , the capital of Ethiopia. During World War II , the Italian colonies in Africa were conquered by the Allies ; PAI in the colonies were captured. Some PAI were stationed in Italy, for training and administrative functions. In September 1943, Italy surrendered to the Allies, but German forces occupied northern and central Italy, and established a puppet government, the Repubblica Sociale Italiana ( Italian Social Republic ; RSI). The RSI then moved
6912-464: The population of Cyrenaica, from their settlements, slated to be given to Italian settlers. The Italian occupation also reduced livestock numbers, killing, confiscating or driving the animals from their pastoral land to inhospitable land near the concentration camps. The number of sheep fell from 810,000 in 1926 to 98,000 in 1933, goats from 70,000 to 25,000 and camels from 75,000 to 2,000. From 1930 to 1931, 12,000 Cyrenaicans were executed and all
7008-529: The position. On July 27, the new First Badoglio government began to undertook measures by banning all Fascist organizations throughout Italy as well as disbanding the National Fascist Party and it's other elements associated with it. The appointment of Badoglio did not change the position of Italy as Germany's ally in the war. However, many channels sought a peace treaty with the Allies. Meanwhile, Adolf Hitler sent several divisions south of
7104-642: The region. Before 1911, no archeological research was done in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica. By the late 1920s the Italian government had started funding excavations in the main Roman cities of Leptis Magna and Sabratha (Cyrenaica was left for later excavations because of the ongoing colonial war against Muslim rebels in that province). A result of the Fascist takeover was that all foreign archaeological expeditions were forced out of Libya, and all archeological work
7200-412: The remnant PAI to the city of Rome , where they helped enforce RSI control and maintain public order. On 4 June 1944, Rome was liberated by the Allies. The PAI was disbanded and its equipment was given to the regular State Police ( Polizia di Stato ). The Royal Decree of 10 June 1937, n. 1211, established its organic regulations, for which it was a militarily organized civil body and making it part of
7296-420: The rest of Italian East Africa ( Africa Orientale Italiana ; AOI). In 1939, the corps was renamed Polizia dell'Africa Italiana ("Police of Italian Africa"; PAI). At this time, the corps was supplied with motor vehicles (including armored cars, light tanks, motorcycles, motor-tricycles, and automobiles). The PAI received about 1,000 vehicles and as many motorcycles. The new corps was initially subordinated to
7392-527: The same general conditions as the Allies. In all cases, the Italian vessels would retain their Italian crews and fly Italian flags. The Armistice of Cassibile signed at Sicily was considered the 'shorter' version of the whole armistice. On 29 September, the longer version of the armistice was signed at Malta between Italy and the Allies. It was signed by Badoglio and Eisenhower aboard the British battleship HMS Nelson . The agreement included that Benito Mussolini and his Fascist officials must be handed over to
7488-562: The same time indigenous Libyans were granted "Special Italian Citizenship" which required such people to be literate and confined this type of citizenship to be valid in Libya only. In 1939, laws were passed that allowed Muslims to be permitted to join the National Fascist Party and in particular the Muslim Association of the Lictor ( Associazione Musulmana del Littorio ). This allowed the creation of Libyan military units within
7584-471: The sense of consisting of native troops). These formations had Italian officers commanding them, with Libyan NCOs and soldiers. These native Libyan formations were made up of people drawn from the coastal Libyan populations. The training and readiness of these divisions was on an equal footing with the regular Italian formations in North Africa. Their professionalism and 'esprit de corps' made them some of
7680-483: The ships sailing without air cover off Sardinia and launching guided bombs . Several ships suffered damage, and Roma sank with the loss of nearly 1,400 men. Most of the remaining ships made it safely to North Africa "while three destroyers and a cruiser which had stopped to rescue survivors, docked in Menorca ". The Navy's turnover proceeded more smoothly in other areas of Italy. When an Allied naval force headed for
7776-443: The standard Italian khaki tropical uniform but with a blue aiguillette fixed from the right shoulder strap to the second button down the front of his tunic . Personnel also wore a small gold PAI badge on the front of their headgear and small brass fasces pinned directly to their collars. Motorcycle mounted personnel wore a brown leather crash helmet , light khaki breeches with brown leather boots and leather leggings to protect
7872-581: The total population. They were concentrated on the Mediterranean coast, especially in the main urban centres and in the farmlands around Tripoli, where they constituted 41% of the city's population, and in Benghazi 35%. Settlers found jobs in the construction boom fuelled by Fascist interventionist policies. In 1938, Governor Italo Balbo brought 20,000 Italian farmers to settle in Libya, and 27 new villages were founded, mainly in Cyrenaica. After
7968-655: The two main cities of Libya, Tripoli and Benghazi, with new ports and airports, new hospitals and schools and many new roads & buildings. Also tourism was improved and a huge & modern "Grand Hotel" was built in Tripoli and in Bengasi. The Fascist regime, especially during Depression years, emphasized infrastructure improvements and public works. In particular, Governor Italo Balbo greatly expanded Libyan railway and road networks from 1934 to 1940, building hundreds of kilometers of new roads and railways and encouraging
8064-470: Was a "complete and moral acknowledgement of the damage inflicted on Libya by Italy during the colonial era". Armistice of Cassibile Invasion of Italy Winter Line Gothic Line 1945 Spring Offensive The Armistice of Cassibile ( Italian : Armistizio di Cassibile ) was an armistice that was signed on 3 September 1943 between Italy and the Allies during World War II . It
8160-563: Was consolidated under a centralised Italian excavation policy, which exclusively benefitted Italian museums and journals. After Cyrenaica's full 'pacification', the Italian archaeological efforts in the 1930s were more focused on the former Greek colony of Cyrenaica than in Tripolitania, which was a Punic colony during the Greek period. The rejection of Phoenician research was partly because of anti-Semitic reasons (the Phoenicians were
8256-473: Was converted into a mixed company. Several units participated in war actions, at Tripoli, Benghazi , Barce , but the details regarding effective employment are insufficient. After the Armistice of Cassibile , the evening of 8 September 1943 the PAI participated to the defense of Rome engaging the first conflict with the Germans at Mezzocammino , near Castelfusano , with troops of Carabinieri , in aid to
8352-564: Was created where Mussolini met with Muslim Arab dignitaries, who gave him an honorary sword (that had actually been made in Florence ) which was to symbolize Mussolini as a protector of the Muslim Arab peoples there. In January 1939, Italy annexed territories in Libya that it considered Italy's Fourth Shore with Libya's four coastal provinces of Tripoli, Misurata, Bengazi, and Derna becoming an integral part of metropolitan Italy. At
8448-509: Was linked to a planned landing in central Italy and was left to the Allies' discretion. Castellano still understood that the date was intended to be 12 September, and Badoglio started to move troops to Rome. On 7 September, a small Allied delegation reached Rome to inform Badoglio that the next day would have been the day of the armistice. He was also informed about the pending arrival of the American 82nd Airborne Division into airports around
8544-416: Was made public five days later. It was signed on September 3rd by Major-General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigade-General Giuseppe Castellano for Italy. The armistice's signing took place at a summit in an Allied military camp at Cassibile , Sicily , which had recently been occupied by the Allies . The armistice was approved by both Victor Emmanuel III and Marshal Pietro Badoglio , who
8640-469: Was not until the early 1930s that Italy was in full control of the place. In 1931, during the campaign of Cyrenaica, General Rodolfo Graziani easily conquered Kufra District, considered a strategic region, leading about 3,000 soldiers from infantry and artillery, supported by about twenty bombers. Ma'tan as-Sarra was turned over to Italy in 1934 as part of the Sarra Triangle to colonial Italy by
8736-573: Was put down by Italian forces in 1932, after the so-called " pacification campaign ", which resulted in the deaths of a quarter of Cyrenaica's population of 225,000. Italy committed major war crimes during the conflict, including the use of illegal chemical weapons , episodes of refusing to take prisoners of war and instead executing surrendering combatants, and mass executions of civilians. Italian authorities committed ethnic cleansing by forcibly expelling 100,000 Bedouin Cyrenaicans, almost half
8832-503: Was regained during Operation Sonnenblume and by the conclusion of Operation Brevity , German and Italian forces were entering Egypt . The first Siege of Tobruk in April 1941 marked the first failure of Rommel's Blitzkrieg tactics. In 1942 there was the Battle of Gazala when the Axis troops finally conquered Tobruk and pushed the defeated British troops inside Egypt again. Defeat during
8928-491: Was seeking a separate armistice. The Germans contacted Badoglio, who repeatedly confirmed the unwavering loyalty of Italy to its German ally. The Germans doubted his reassurances, and the Wehrmacht started to devise an effective plan, Operation Achse , to take control of Italy as soon as the Italian government had switched allegiance to the Allies. On 2 September, Castellano set off again to Cassibile with an order to confirm
9024-542: Was serving as Prime Minister of Italy at the time. The signing of the armistice was kept secret on that day, and was announced to the media on September 8th. Nazi Germany responded by attacking Italian forces in Italy , southern France and the Balkans , and freeing Benito Mussolini on 12 September. The Italian forces were forcefully disbanded in the north and centre of the country, with most of Italy being occupied by
9120-570: Was the Via Balbia , an east-west coastal route connecting Tripoli in western Italian Tripolitania to Tobruk in eastern Italian Cyrenaica. The last railway development in Libya done by the Italians was the Tripoli-Benghazi line that was started in 1941 and was never completed because of the Italian defeat during World War II. Classical archaeology was used by the Italian authorities as a propaganda tool to justify their presence in
9216-494: Was transferred to Cassibile , a town near Syracuse . It soon became evident that the two sides in the negotiations had adopted somewhat distant positions. Castellano pressed the request for the Italian territory to be defended from the inevitable reaction of the German Wehrmacht against Italy after the signing. In return, he received only vague promises, including launching a parachute division over Rome . Moreover,
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