| Rodolfo Graziani |
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RISE TO PROMINENCE Born near Frosinone , he served in World War I , and became the youngest colonel in the Italian Royal Army. In the 1920s, Graziani commanded the Italian forces in Libya , resposible for pacifying the Senussi rebels. During this so-called Pacification , he was responsible for the construction of several Concentration - and Labor Camp s, where tens of thousands Libyans died, if not killed directly by hanging or bullets, then indirectly by starvation or disease. In 1935-36 during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War , Graziani was the commander of the Italian army which invaded Ethiopia . While governor of Ethiopia, he survived an assassination attempt on February 19 , 1937 , and directed the bloody repression that followed, becoming known as "''the Butcher of Ethiopia''". IN WORLD WAR II During World War II he commanded the Tenth Army , stationed in Libya. He became commander after the death of Italo Balbo in an air crash on June 28 1940 . After the declaration of war, Mussolini ordered Graziani to use his army in an Invasion Of Egypt . Graziani expressed doubts about the ability of his largely Un-mechanized force could defeat the British , however, he followed orders and the Tenth Army attacked on September 13 . He resigned his commission in 1941 after being defeated by the British in Operation Compass , following the defeat of his army. He was the only one of the Italian marshals to remain loyal to Mussolini after Dino Grandi 's Grand Council Of Fascism Coup , and was appointed Minister of Defence of the Italian Social Republic . Graziani also commanded the mixed Italo- German '' Armee Ligurien ''. At the end of the war, Graziani spent a few days in San Vittore prison in Milan before being transferred to Allied control. He was brought back to Africa in Anglo-American custody, staying there until February of 1946. Allied forces then felt the danger of assassination or lynching had passed and returned him to Procida prison in Italy. In 1950 , a military tribunal sentenced him to prison for a term of 19 years as punishment for his collaboration with the Nazis, he was released after serving only a few months of the sentence. He died in Rome . MILITARY CAREER
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