Military career of Giovanni Messe

Giovanni Messe (1883–1968) built his military career through a gradual rise through the ranks of the Royal Italian Army from prior to World War I through World War II. Messe distinguished himself through both staff and field command during World War I, and he further cemented this reputation during the years between the two world wars.

In the course of World War II, Messe commanded significant Italian forces on the Eastern Front and in North Africa, where he earned praise for his organizational abilities and leadership in difficult conditions. In 1944 he became Chief of the General Staff of the Italian Co-Belligerent Army, and was subsequently made Marshal of Italy, which was the final appointment to that position.

Giovanni Messe came in action in the Italian invasion of Libya.^[4]

At the start of the Battle of the Solstice on 15 June 1918, General Viktor von Scheuchenstuel’s XI Austro-Hungarian Army attacked the Italian positions in the Grappa sector, aiming to break through into the Veneto plain. The first assault by the 27th Division pushed back the Italian IX Army Corps, capturing several key strongpoints on the Brenta line, including Col di Miglio, Moschin, Fagheron, Fenilon, Palazzo Negri, Casa dei Pastori and Ca’ dei Briganti.^[2] Although the Italians faced a serious threat, the Austro-Hungarian troops were also exhausted and unable to exploit their gains further. To halt their advance and strike before they could reorganize, the Italian command ordered Major Giovanni Messe’s IX Assault Unit and the 91st and 92nd Infantry Regiments of the “Basilicata” Brigade to counterattack toward Col del Gallo.^[5]

At 2 p.m. on 15 June, the IX Reparto began its attack, supported by the 1st Battalion of Lieutenant Colonel Tomassetti under the 91st Regiment. The 1st Company, led by Captain Pinca, captured Palazzo Negri, Casa dei Pastori and Ca’ dei Briganti, then took the redoubt on height 1318, though its commander was killed.^[6] At the same time, the 2nd Company of Captain Zancanaro advanced toward Col Fagheron, defeating the Austrian defenders in close combat, seizing the summit and forcing the remaining enemy to retreat into nearby caves and woods, where they were finally overcome with flamethrowers. The first phase of the assault lasted about fifteen minutes, after which the Arditi regrouped in the captured positions, strengthened their left flank with the 1st Battalion and prepared for the second phase of the operation.^[2].

After patrols from Messe’s unit confirmed strong Austrian forces on the Fenilon and Moschin hills, a second attack was planned with support from the II Battalion of Lieutenant Colonel Moni under the 92nd Regiment. Between 8:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., the II Battalion opened heavy artillery fire, and at 9:00 p.m. the IX Reparto, supported by elements of the I Battalion and the 91st Regiment’s assault platoon, advanced through thick fog to capture Col Fenilon after an hour of hard fighting, taking about 85 prisoners.^[2] The “Basilicata” Brigade then ordered an attack on Col Moschin, and at 7:00 a.m. on 16 June the Arditi of the IX Reparto, joined by the II Battalion, launched the assault despite artillery fire falling behind schedule.^[5] After a steep ten-minute climb and another ten minutes of combat, they seized the summit, inflicted heavy losses, and captured between 250 and 300 prisoners, along with 17 machine guns, a mountain gun, two previously lost Italian batteries, and other equipment. The IX Reparto then handed the position to the II Battalion and withdrew to reserve positions behind Quota 1918.^[7]

In April 1939, following the Italian invasion of Albania, Messe was appointed to serve under Albania's governor, General Ubaldo Soddu.In September 1935, Messe assumed command of a motorised brigade in Verona, with the rank of brigadier general. Following a successful period of service with this unit in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, Messe was promoted to rank of major general and he became commander of the 3rd Cavalry Division.^[8]

From 15 November 1940, Messe commanded the Special Army Corps during the Greco-Italian War of late 1940 and early 1941 and achieved some success against Greek forces commanded by Alexandros Papagos.^[9] Before winter had even set in however, the Italian forces were forced onto the defensive, as Greek forces launched a counterattack and moved into parts of Italian controlled Albania.

On April 4, Hitler told Mussolini that defending Albania was crucial for Operation Marita. In early April, Papagos launched new attacks toward Elbasan, Berat, and Valona, but despite some initial gains, the Greek advance slowed as Italian defences strengthened. Giovanni Messe launched an counterattack from South Albania occupying the Western coast of Greece, with the help of the German Armed Forces (Wehrmacht), the Battle of Greece, ended in an Axis victory.^[10]

Constituted on 10 July 1941, the Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia (CSIR) arrived in the southern Soviet Union between July and August 1941. The CSIR was initially subordinated to German General Eugen Ritter von Schobert's 11th Army. On 14 August 1941, the CSIR was transferred to the control of General Ewald von Kleist's 1st Panzer Group. On 25 October, 1st Panzer Group was redesignated as the 1st Panzer Army. The CSIR remained under von Kleist's command until 3 June 1942, when it was subordinated to German General Richard Ruoff's 17th Army. CSIR's original commander, General Francesco Zingales, fell ill in Vienna during the early stages of transport to the Soviet Union. On 14 July 1941, Zingales was replaced by General Giovanni Messe.^[11] The CSIR had three divisions: the 3rd Cavalry Division "Principe Amedeo Duca d'Aosta", the 9th Infantry Division "Pasubio" and the 52nd Infantry Division "Torino".^[12]

Upon its arrival in the theatre of operations, authority over CSIR was assigned to the 11th Inter-Allied Army in conjunction with the Hungarian Corps of the Romanian Third Army, as well as both German XI & XXX Corps. Although the Italian troops possessed a small force, they lacked enough armoured vehicles and therefore were unable to sustain a solid operational reserve. Because of this deficiency, when they engaged Soviet Reserves, it would become clear that the force must therefore act as a Strategic Reserve, and concentrate their efforts within the Sector around the Jsvori/Yampol region. The Germans launched an offensive known as the "Battle of the Two Rivers", with the express purpose of annihilating the Soviet troops situated on the banks of the Dniester and Bug Rivers, which resulted in the utilisation of the first of a series of exclusions, namely, the Italian "Pasubio" Division. Their assigned mission was to make a push towards Nikolayev and then work along the right side of the Bug towards the elimination of any and all remaining Soviet Bridgehead positions.^[13][14]

Italian troops, through the early periods of operation, were subject to the severity of Weather Conditions and Topography Unique to Ukraine; as it had been raining heavily for an extended period resulting in all the Black Soil having been transformed into a huge expanse of slippery, muddy ground, limiting any chance of being able to move forward. Meanwhile, on the same day as the beginning of the Italian 11th Campaign the "Torino" Division continued to complete its Long March; and "Celere" was reorganised. However, in early August, as soon as the Pasubio Division became available to the front lines for operation, they engaged with the Soviet forces near the Bug River, and this was shortly after being engaged in combat within some degree of success prior to the arrival of the 11th Army Divisions.^[15][16]

After the fast German expansion into Ukraine including Poltava's capturing, Kiev's surrender and Kharkov's falling, the Red Army had to retreat back over the vast majority of this area by the end of October 1941. By this point, Adolf Hitler was convinced that a successful offensive campaign had been set up, so on 2 October he announced that a major offensive would take place before winter and therefore needed large-scale and fast actions to complete it. This urgency placed a heavy burden on units such as the CSIR in Russia that continued to suffer from inadequate transportation and supply lines, which was an issue repeatedly raised by General Messe to no avail. As per instructions on 1 October, the CSIR was to move northeast of Dnepropetrovsk and advance to the Samara River to protect against an enemy attack along the southern front which would encircle Soviet troops near Melitopol. Although there were numerous delays caused by excessive shortages, poor and inadequate river crossings due to poor weather, and extreme autumn weather, the Italian units began to move into their assigned areas around Pavlograd and on the Woltschja River, overcoming determined Soviet rear-guard actions. The Italian Bersaglieri units played an important role in the destruction of the Ulianovka and Pavlograd bridgehead positions in conjunction with the advance guard of the German 198th Infantry Division and captured the fortifications of both locations.^[5]

In its rapid advance toward the Sea of Azov, the German 1st Panzer Army had been met with little resistance from the Soviet Southern Front due to the speed of the operation. To capitalise on this opportunity, the German High Command ordered an increase in operations on 8 October, directing forces toward Taganrog, Rostov, and the route to Stalingrad. The plan required that Unit movements occurred in tight timeframes to avoid congested areas exposed to Soviet fire. As part of this operation, units of the "Celere" Italian Division occupied Novo Nikolajevka on 12 October and advanced on two fronts, with Cavalry mounting contact with German units on one flank, while Bersaglieri occupied close quarters with Soviet rearguards on the other flank. Despite the adverse terrain, disruption of river crossings, and engagements where Cavalry patrols encountered heavy automatic fire, the Axis advance continued as Soviet forces continued to withdraw; as they withdrew, they would destroy bridges. The coordination between the "Celere" and "Pasubio" Divisions compensated for the lack of transport available to the remaining Italian units, while mobile tactics and effective artillery support continued to enable the Axis to advance despite the fact that the roads were poor and muddy. After a series of local engagements and seizing of the key villages and rail stations leading up to Stalino, Italian forces continued to advance toward Stalino. There they set up to conduct the final assault.^[5][17]

"The Celere has accomplished superb feats in recent days, reviving the glories of its magnificent regiments. Its contribution to the occupation of the Stalino industrial zone was decisive. I feel immense pride in being your leader, because with your intrepid demeanor, you have created new and greater reasons for Italy to be proud. To all... my warmest praise."

In July 1942, Mussolini scaled up the Italian effort on the Eastern Front and the CSIR became the 8th Italian Army. The 8th Italian Army was also known as the Italian Army in Russia (ARMIR). The ARMIR was subordinated to German General Maximilian von Weichs' Army Group B. His justifications were the Italian duty to fight Soviet Bolshevism and the requests by his German allies for additional forces, Operation Barbarossa having been longer and costlier than they expected. General Messe and many other traditional officers opposed further commitments to the Eastern Front, seeing it as of little importance and cautioning further subordination to Germany, but Mussolini overruled them. Italian General Italo Gariboldi took command of the newly formed ARMIR from General Messe. As commander of the CSIR, Messe had opposed an enlargement of the Italian contingent in Russia until it could be properly equipped. As a result, he was dismissed. Just prior to commanding the ARMIR, Gariboldi was the Governor-General of Italian Libya.^[18]

By 1942, after the defeat of Panzer Army Africa (Panzerarmee Afrika) at the Second Battle of El Alamein and after the Operation Torch landings, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was forced to make one of the longest retreats in history. He withdrew from the "Western Desert" of Egypt and Libya and established a defence on the French-built Mareth Line in southern Tunisia. After occupying the Mareth Line, Rommel took command of the newly created Army Group Africa and turned over the "German-Italian Panzer Army" (formerly "Panzer Army Africa") to Italian General Giovanni Messe.

Messe fought a defensive campaign against the advancing British and allied forces, and was defeated at the Mareth Line. The lack of resources available to the general Messe could not prevent the inevitable defeat of the Axis in North Africa.

On 12 May 1943 Messe was promoted to the rank of marshal of Italy (Maresciallo d'Italia). The following day, the 5th German Tank Army collapsed with the fall of Tunis and the 1st Italian Army was surrounded, still holding the line at Enfidaville. The Battle of Enfidaville^[19] was the last major engagement of the British Eighth Army in the North African campaign. After pushing north through Tunisia and taking Sfax and Sousse, General Montgomery’s forces reached Enfidaville, where the Axis made their final defensive stand. Montgomery planned a large attack with heavy artillery and air bombardments, expecting to break through quickly, but the Allies underestimated the strength of the German and Italian defenses, which were positioned in steep and rocky terrain.^[20] The 4th Indian, 2nd New Zealand,^[21] and 50th British Divisions attacked on the night of 19–20 April, capturing Enfidaville after fierce fighting but making little progress inland. Axis counterattacks led by General Giovanni caused heavy casualties, and Montgomery called off the assault on 21 April.^[22] A renewed coastal attack at the end of the month also failed, as the 56th Division struggled under fire.^[23] Realizing the terrain favored the defenders, Montgomery stopped further attacks and sent several of his best units including the 7th Armoured and 4th Indian Divisions to support the First Army in Operation Strike, which ended Axis resistance in Tunisia in May 1943.^[24]

Giovanni Messe has no question, that was the opinion of each of the World War II historians. Because of that reputation, it would make it a little difficult to argue that his were the best of the Italian commanders during the Second World War.^[8][25] But according to Schlemmer, the majority of Italian World War II commanders are relatively obscure by comparison to Messe. Schlemmer has written extensively to allow for a better understanding of Messe's relationship to the Fascist regime and to provide additional clarity regarding his career; however, the complete works of Schlemmer regarding Messe's biography do not exist. It has been submitted by Schlemmer that Messe may have exercised an equal or greater influence on the construction of the historical narrative of the Italian Army than he exercised in his actual wartime activities.^[26]