Luigi Cadorna served as Italian Army chief of staff from 1914 to 1917 and acquired a reputation for ruthless discipline and repeated failed offensives. He may have been a competent peacetime administrator, but his wartime strategic command was disastrous. The choice is especially uncomfortable for a lightly protected cruiser whose survival depended heavily on crew morale and damage control. Mussolini's later promotion of Cadorna to marshal provides the political setting for attaching his name to a prestige warship.
Chapter · 20:13-23:09
Luigi Cadorna as a politically useful namesake
The namesake's record as Italy's First World War chief of staff helps explain what Mussolini gained by restoring his military reputation.