Armando Diaz
Naples-born Armando Diaz deserves his place on this list irrespective of how he compares to his appalling predecessor, Luigi Cadorna. But the comparison is still worth making. From the beginning of his career, Cadorna was horrendous to his troops. Favoring the stick over the carrot, he operated on the rather more antiquated Italian principles of brutal discipline and severe punishments (even allegedly implementing the Roman practice of decimation). In spite of this—and the dreadful relationships he had with his political and military superiors—he ascended astronomically through the ranks. Aged 64, he was offered command over the Italian Army as Chief of Staff. He accepted, but on one condition: that he enjoyed absolute authority over all military decision-making.
His subordinates (and superiors) hated him yet they had no power to remove him. So they tolerated his frequent dismissals, summary executions—the highest number of any First World War army—and strategic incompetency. That is until the calamitous Battle of Caporetto in the fall of 1917, which ultimately proved too much. Diaz replaced Cadorna immediately afterwards, and put into effect a complete reversal of his predecessor’s style of leadership. He paid particular attention to his men’s well-being: extending periods of leave, improving the quantity (and quality) of rations, ensuring adequate accommodation behind the frontline and making sure they had recreational activities to participate in.
Diaz also orchestrated a series of reforms to the Italian Army’s frontline organization, bringing it more in line with the other more modernized armies of the Western Front. He departed completely from Cardona’s authoritarian approach, decentralizing command and assigning responsibility to capable commanders along his lines. He worked closely alongside General Pietro Badolgio—who later went on to become Italy’s 28th Prime Minister—in modernizing the Italian Army’s weaponry. But most importantly, he recognized that morale played just as important a role as machine guns and instated effective propagandists.
He saw to it that such propaganda was distributed among the troops: “Per la libertà e la civiltà del mondo” (“For the liberty and civilization of the world”); “Aiutarci a vincere” (“Help us win”). But not only did Diaz inject patriotic fervor into those on the frontlines, he also established a system whereby superiors could identify where it was such fervor was lacking and, where necessary and for the preservation of morale, move reserves around and plug the gaps.
Diaz was instrumental in the final stages of the war. On October 28 1918, he led the final Italian offensive from the Piave front. It wasn’t long before he routed the Austrians, and on 4 November he was able to declare an Italian victory. He went on to serve under Mussolini’s government as Minister of War: a role he held until he retired in 1924. During his tenure, he was rewarded for the part he played in the First World War with the title “First Duke of Victory”, granted to him by Italy’s King Victor Emanuel III in 1923.