Italy. Rome. 1930. Ministerial document with the signature of the King Vittorio Emanuele III and the War Minister Pietro Gazzera. Victor Emmanuel III. (1869 –1947) was King of Italy (29 July 1900 – 9 May 1946). In addition, he claimed the thrones of Ethiopia and Albania as Emperor of Ethiopia (1936–41) and King of the Albanians (1939–43), which were not recognised by all great powers. During his long reign (45 years), which began after the assassination of his father Umberto I, the Kingdom of Italy became involved in two World Wars. His reign also encompassed the birth, rise, and fall of Italian Fascism. Victor Emmanuel abdicated his throne in 1946 to his son Umberto II, hoping to strengthen the support for the monarchy against an ultimately successful referendum to abolish it. He then went in exile to Alexandria, Egypt, where he died and was buried the following year. Pietro Gazzera (11 December 1879 – 30 June 1953) was an officer in the Italian Royal Army during World War II, as well as a prewar Italian politician. Gazzera was born in Bene Vagienna, he joined the Italian Army and fought in the Italo-Turkish War and World War I. He was one of the signatories of the Armistice of Villa Giusti, which ended the war with Austria-Hungary on the Italian Front. In 1928, starting as the Under-Secretary in the Ministry of War, Gazzera was the Minister of War from 1929 to 1933.[1] From 1 August 1938 to 6 July 1941, Gazzera was the Governor of Galla-Sidamo in Italian East Africa. General Gazzera commanded forces in the "Southern Sector" (the Galla and Sidamo area around Jimma) during the East African Campaign. Following the fall of Amba Alagi in May 1941, Gazzera succeeded Amedeo, Duke of Aosta as the acting Viceroy and Governor-General of Italian East Africa. After Jimma fell on 21 June, Gazzera staged a mobile defense and held out in Galla-Sidamo for several weeks. His forces finally capitulated in July 1941 when he was cut off by the Free Belgian forces of Major-General Auguste-Éduard Gilliaert.

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