Italy, Kingdom. A Gathering of Fighters at the Dedication of the General Diaz National Monument Medal 1936

In bronze gilt, obverse illustrating General Armando Vittorio Diaz riding a horse, facing right, as per the constructed memorial, holding a sword in his right hand, a shield bearing a cross below, flanked by the engraver mark "MONTELEONE MOD." at the left and the maker mark "S. JOHNSON" at the right, reverse illustrating a fasces flanked by a shield at the left and a helmet at the right, with two insignias below, inscribed "A.N.C." above the fasces, "29=5=" above "1936=" at the left, "A=XIV" above "E-F=" at the right and "ADVNATANAZIONALE COMBATTENENTI INAVGVRAZIONE MONVMENTO A DIAZ NAPOLI" below, measuring 32.3 mm in diameter, scattered gilt wear and spotting, near extremely fine.

 

Footnote: Armando Vittorio Diaz (1861-1928) was a general and then chief of staff of the Royal Italian armed forces during the final phases of the First World War. The reputation of Diaz as a military commander rests on two episodes: (1) his victory in holding the line at the Piave river in June of 1918 against Austrian advances after the Caporetto fiasco. The stand at the Piave became so emblazoned in Italian consciousness by a song entitled "The Legend of the Piave" (composed by E.A. Mario in 1918) that the song became the national anthem of the Republic of Italy after the Second World War for a few years; and (2) his victory at the later Battle of Vittorio Veneto in late October of 1918.  He was brilliantly cautious and unwilling to sacrifice troops for nothing. It was an extraordinary defensive tactic in which Diaz' army held fast and inflicted disastrous casualties on the attacking Austrians. Diaz was criticized for not immediately pursuing the broken Austrian army, but he wisely chose to let contemporary political events take hold. They did: bits and pieces of the Habsburg empire crumbled very quickly in the face of the defeat: Hungary left the union with Austria, and the Slavic minorities (the future Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia) revolted. Vienna informed her wartime allies in Berlin that Austria could no longer pursue the war, and Germany, with troops still in France, was forced to ask for an armistice, which took effect on November 11, 1918. The Battle of Vittorio Veneto turned out to be the last major battle of the Great War and was crucial in breaking the stalemate that had sapped Europe for four years.