The death of Ettore Muti (25th august 1943)

[DavidFrankenberg]

Hi all,

Ettore Muti was a big one in fascist régime. He was a "hot head".

After the 25 July 1943, he was arrested during the night from the 24 to the 25 august and shot after having escaped.
Rumors say he was executed, assassinated on the order of Badoglio because he was preparing a fascist uprising in Roma.
We would never know.
But I would like to know how accurate are the different thesis, if anyone know about it and could resume it there ?

His death was interpreted by Ciano as a severe warning to him and a direct death threat indeed... It made him hurry his flight out of Italy... a flight which led him to death.

Thanks

About the Muti's death :
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ettore_Muti#La_morte

[tigre]

Hello to all ; another view.............................................

Ettore Muti.

Ettore Muti was duly promoted out of the front line and ended up working in intelligence, where he made a formidable enemy in the former Chief of Staff, Pietro Badoglio. Muti discovered that Badoglio’s record in the field left a lot to be desired, and when Badoglio successfully ousted Mussolini from power in 1943 one of his first job was to order to assassinate the man who had masterminded the Regia Aeronautica’s barnstorming long-distance bombing campaign.

On 23 August, Ettore, his friend Roberto Rivalta, the driver Marracco and the waitress Concettina Verità leave Porta San Sebastiano to go to the villa in Fregene (Rome) waiting for events.

At 00:30 am on 24 August the "farce of state" begins, silently surrounding the house where Ettore, his friend Roberto Rivalta, the driver Marracco and the waitress Concettina Verità slept.

At 01:30 am the "shady farce" knocks repeatedly and insistently at the entrance; the driver opens; Taddei, with machine gun in hand, invites Muti to follow him under arrest; Muti annoyed goes to his room to get dressed while he is given the civil suit, Muti, wears the uniform of a Lt. Colonel.

At 02:00 am the squad exits in via Colombina and heads towards the thick of the pine forest without houses. A whistle is emitted which is answered by another whistle, machine gun bursts, pause, another burst, then silence.

At 02:30 am Ettore Muti lies on the ground face down killed. Everything was to simulate a foreign attack, no injuries.

Sources: http://mynewbestarticles.blogspot.com/2 ... rabia.html
http://mutiettore.blogspot.com/
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy ... QwZpx3h0X7

Cheers. Raúl M .

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi Guys,

Was Muti actually planning a Fascist counter-coup, or was it just feared that he might?

His biography certainly suggests that he might have given it a go.

How much popular support would there have been in Rome for such an action?

Cheers,

Sid.

P.S. I see he wasn't shy of photographs or medals: https://www.google.co.uk/search?source= ... 00&bih=782

[Tom from Cornwall]

when Badoglio successfully ousted Mussolini from power in 1943 one of his first job was to order to assassinate the man who had masterminded the Regia Aeronautica’s barnstorming long-distance bombing campaign.

"barnstorming" campaign against who?

Regards

Tom

[tigre]

Hello Tom ; against the British Mandate of Palestine (July 1940-June 1941) and the British Protectorate of Bahrain. Cheers. Raúl M .

[DavidFrankenberg]

Hi Guys,

Was Muti actually planning a Fascist counter-coup, or was it just feared that he might?

His biography certainly suggests that he might have given it a go.

How much popular support would there have been in Rome for such an action?

Cheers,

Sid.

P.S. I see he wasn't shy of photographs or medals: https://www.google.co.uk/search?source= ... 00&bih=782

Which biography ?
I don't think so. The situation was very bad for the fascists... They had no support among the people... the police and the army had an eye on them... They could not do much !
Certainly Muti was a daredevil, but not so much. Ciano was a good friend of him. But he was horrified and surprised by the execution of Muti. I guess that if Muti seriously prepared anything, Ciano would have known about it.
It is vey likely that Muti was assassinated as a warning towards other fascists. Maybe a way to ease his conscience for Badoglio and the King, a signal to the Allies "we are your friends".

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi DF,

I was using "biography" to mean life history, not a particular publication.

For example, he was apparently expelled from school at the age of 13 for attacking a teacher and barred from attending any other school in Italy.

Given that Ciano had voted to remove Mussolini, I doubt he was still a confidante of Muti.

Cheers,

Sid.

[DavidFrankenberg]

Hi DF,

I was using "biography" to mean life history, not a particular publication.

For example, he was apparently expelled from school at the age of 13 for attacking a teacher and barred from attending any other school in Italy.

Given that Ciano had voted to remove Mussolini, I doubt he was still a confidante of Muti.

Cheers,

Sid.

I believe what Ciano said in his diary. Muti and him were friends.There are other testimonies about it.
You seem to misunderstand what happened the 25th July. Even Mussolini did not disagree with it... he perfectly knew what would be decided the 25th July, and he still went there, he did not arrest any of the "plotters" and so... He knew the war was lost and that he did not succeed in convincing Hitler to negotiate a peace with one side (Stalin) or another (the west). He knew other fascists were pressuring him for one year at least in order to separate from Hitler and make peace... but he also knew Hitler would invade the country and slaughter the Italians if he did so in a very frontal way.
Mussolini was in a very complicated situation at that time, and his dismissal by the Grand Council was an easy way for him to get out of that...

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi DF,

Certainly Ciano was extremely well disposed towards Muti in his diaries of the late 1930s.

However, in what I think is the last mention of Muti in them, in November 1940, he says, ".....as regards Muti it is timely to recall that from the first of January on I constantly denounced his incapacity and advised that he be replaced at once."

An online Italian biographical dictionary says: "La fiducia di Mussolini e soprattutto di Ciano, che tanto aveva contribuito alla sua ascesa politica, svanirono abbastanza rapidamente, mentre dall’inizio della guerra Muti era sempre meno presente a Roma, dopo aver chiesto di partecipare alle attività belliche nell’aeronautica in qualità di maggiore pilota, lasciando la gestione del partito in sua vece al sindacalista Pietro Capoferri."

Whether Muti felt the same way about them is another matter.

Cheers,

Sid.

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi tigre,

The raid on Bahrein was impressive, if not particularly effective in the damage inflicted.

Muti took five SM82 bombers to Rhodes and from there bombed Bahrein and a Saudi oil field before landing in Eritrea.

At 15 hours duration, it was then the longest bombing mission ever.

The little damage done was easily repairable.

However, where it really paid dividends was in causing the already over extended British to have to divert resources to strengthen their air defences in an area they had previously considered at low risk.

Cheers,

Sid.

[DavidFrankenberg]

Hi DF,

Certainly Ciano was extremely well disposed towards Muti in his diaries of the late 1930s.

However, in what I think is the last mention of Muti in them, in November 1940, he says, ".....as regards Muti it is timely to recall that from the first of January on I constantly denounced his incapacity and advised that he be replaced at once."

An online Italian biographical dictionary says: "La fiducia di Mussolini e soprattutto di Ciano, che tanto aveva contribuito alla sua ascesa politica, svanirono abbastanza rapidamente, mentre dall’inizio della guerra Muti era sempre meno presente a Roma, dopo aver chiesto di partecipare alle attività belliche nell’aeronautica in qualità di maggiore pilota, lasciando la gestione del partito in sua vece al sindacalista Pietro Capoferri."

Whether Muti felt the same way about them is another matter.

Cheers,

Sid.

Muti was certainly not the best bureaucrat you could imagine, but he was the best on the ground. He was the Skorzenny of Ciano and Mussolini.
It's certainly because of that that Badoglio imagined he was preparing a coup...

[tigre]

Hello Sid ;

However, where it really paid dividends was in causing the already over extended British to have to divert resources to strengthen their air defences in an area they had previously considered at low risk.

good info, thanks. Cheers. Raúl M .

[Tom from Cornwall]

Hello Tom ; against the British Mandate of Palestine (July 1940-June 1941) and the British Protectorate of Bahrain. Cheers. Raúl M .

Thanks. And, yes, Sid is right, the British did try to spread its few AA guns very thinly at this point. The British Chiefs of Staff had the distribution of new guns as a standing item on their meeting agenda for quite a while during 1940-41.

Regards

Tom

[DavidFrankenberg]

Hi DF,

Certainly Ciano was extremely well disposed towards Muti in his diaries of the late 1930s.

However, in what I think is the last mention of Muti in them, in November 1940, he says, ".....as regards Muti it is timely to recall that from the first of January on I constantly denounced his incapacity and advised that he be replaced at once."

An online Italian biographical dictionary says: "La fiducia di Mussolini e soprattutto di Ciano, che tanto aveva contribuito alla sua ascesa politica, svanirono abbastanza rapidamente, mentre dall’inizio della guerra Muti era sempre meno presente a Roma, dopo aver chiesto di partecipare alle attività belliche nell’aeronautica in qualità di maggiore pilota, lasciando la gestione del partito in sua vece al sindacalista Pietro Capoferri."

Whether Muti felt the same way about them is another matter.

Cheers,

Sid.

Rachele Mussolini, La mia vita con Benito (1948) :
"the unlimited ambition of Ciano can be particularly noticed by the way he put forward Hector Muti and pushed him to the post of secretary of the party, high function for which he was not made being more a soldier than a statesman, and how he gave him up once it was obvious that Muti would be his puppet".
Following Rachele, Ciano and Muti were so close that it was Ciano who supported Muti as secretary of the party.

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi DavidFrankenberg,

Yes, as I said, they were close in the late 1930s.

As I posted last time, "However, in what I think is the last mention of Muti in them, in November 1940, he says, ".....as regards Muti it is timely to recall that from the first of January on I constantly denounced his incapacity and advised that he be replaced at once."

The position Ciano was advocating Muti be replaced in from January to November 1940 was the one you mention - secretary of the Fascist party. Muti was replaced on 30 October 1940.

To his credit, Muti seems to have 'walked the walk', not just 'talked the talk'.

Cheers,

Sid.