Ernesto Burzagli

Aboard a Japanese naval vessel in Yokohama harbor before sailing to the Battle of Port Arthur (1904).

Burzagli entered the Italian Naval Academy (Accademia Navale) in Leghorn (Livorno in Italian) in 1887; and he was commissioned as ensign in 1892.

Japanese certificate acknowledging Burzagli's observer participation as Italian naval attaché serving with the Imperial Japanese Navy (1904-1906).

Coat of arms, granted by the Istituto Nazionale del Nastro Azzurro to Ernesto Burzagli.

Burzagli was from a noble family of Montevarchi, but was born in Modena, as his father had relocated there to assume a position as a professor of physics at the Military Academy of Modena. Burzagli graduated from the Accademia Navale di Livorno in 1892, and after serving on a number of ships in the Royal Italian Navy, he was assigned as a military attaché to Tokyo, Japan in May 1904. He arrived just in time to become an official foreign observer of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Russo-Japanese War, and witnessed first-hand the naval bombardment of Port Arthur. After the end of the war, in April 1906, he was received by Emperor Meiji of Japan, and received the Order of the Rising Sun before his return to Italy.[2]

In 1912, Burzagli was assigned command of an Intrepid-class destroyer. Promoted to commander in 1914, he saw combat in World War I as commander of a squadron of destroyers, and from May 1916 to March 1917, served on the General Staff of the Italian Navy. In 1917, Captain Burzagli sailed the RN Libia across the Atlantic Ocean to New York City.[3] Near the end of the conflict, he was promoted to higher rank.

Moroccan decree (dahir) which proclaims and confirms that the Order of Oissam Alaouite is conferred on Ernesto Burzagli.

Diploma of the Order of the White Rose of Finland, creating Burzagli a Commander (First Class).

In February 1918, he was awarded the Military Order of Savoy.[1] In 1919 he was decorated with the Navy Cross by the United States Navy for his service to the allied cause during the World War.

At the end of the war in 1919, Burzagli was sent to Albania to command the Vlore naval base, and played an active role in the suppression of pro-independence Albanian uprising, personally undertaking several reconnaissance flights over rebel-held territory, for which he was awarded the Bronze Medal of Military Valor.

Map showing the route sailed by the RN Libia circumnavigating the world (1921-1923); and inset images feature a side view of the naval vessel and the ship's captain.

Burzagli was given command of the cruiser RN Libia from February 1921 to February 1923, and during this period, the ship circumnavigated the globe.[4] On his return, Burzagli was promoted to the rank of rear admiral; and he and assigned to head the Accademia Navale and the Italian Institute of Marine War.

He wrote a treatise in four volumes, Manual of Navigation (1927).

He left his place at the academy in 1927 in to accept the position of Chief of Staff of the Navy, a post he held until 1931.[5][6]

Burzagli was a Technical Advisor in the Italian delegation at the London Naval Conference 1930 for the reduction of the armaments.[7]

Burzagli was promoted to Divisional Admiral in 1926, and promoted again to Vice Admiral in 1928. He was Naval Chief of Staff from 1927 to 1931.[1] He was no longer Naval Chief of Staff in 1932 when Italy announced plans to retire two battleships, twelve cruisers, 25 destroyers, and 12 submarines—in all, 130,000 tons of naval vessels.[8]

In 1933, he was also named a Senator.[9] In the Senate, he served as a member of the Commission for Examination of Law Conversion (1936–1939), a member of the Commission for Finances (1939–1943), and a member of the Commission for the High Court of Justice (1940–1943).[1]

Burzagli withdrew from the active service in 1936. After the withdrawal to Montevarchi near his estate of Moncioni, he entered in friction with Benito Mussolini for his clear opposition to Italy's entrance into the Axis Powers, and for his subsequent opposition to Italy's entrance into World War II.

In the spring of 1944, he refused to collaborate with the authorities of the Italian Social Republic and was arrested. He was released in consideration of his reputation and his advanced age.

He died on 13 September 1944 and was buried in a monumental tomb in the cemetery of Montevarchi.

Letter dated 1919, from the United States Secretary of the Navy, awarding the Navy Cross to Burzagli

Certificate confirming that the Order of Aviz was conferred on Burzagli by the President of the Portuguese Republic in 1920

Burzagli received many awards and decorations, including awards from several other countries, such as the Navy Cross from the United States, the second highest award that nation's military has.

• • Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy, Kingdom of Italy, 1905.[1]
• • Officer of the Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy, 1916.[1]
• • Commander of the Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy, 1919.[1]
• • Grand Officer of the Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy, 1926.[1]
• • Knight of the Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy, 1933.[1]
• • Knight of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, Kingdom of Italy, 1915.[1]
• • Officer of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, 1922.[1]
• • Commander of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, 1923.[1]
• • Grand Officer of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, 1931.[1]
• • Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, 1936.[1]
• • Order of the Rising Sun, 5th Class, Japan, 1906.[10]
• • Order of the Sacred Treasure, 5th Class, Japan, 1906.[10]
• • Companion of the Order of the Bath, United Kingdom[11]
• • Knight of the Légion d'honneur, France.[12]
• • Knight of the Order of Saint Anna, Russia
• • Knight of the Military Order of Savoy, Kingdom of Italy, 1918.[1]
• • Commander, First Class, of the Order of the White Rose, Finland.[13]
• • Commander of the Order of the Sun, Peru.[14]
• • Commander of the Order of the Star of Romania, Romania
• • Grand Officer of the Order of the Star of Romania, Romania
• • Grand Officer of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite, Morocco.[15]
• • Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau, Netherlands[16]
• • Grand Officer of the Military Order of Aviz, Portugal, 1920.[17]
• • Grand Cross of the Order of Naval Merit, Spain[18]

• Burzagli, Ernesto. (1927). Manuale dell'Ufficiale di Rotta. Genoa:
• __________ and A Grillo. (1932). Manual del oficial de derrota (Navigation Manual translated from Italian to Spanish). Barcelona: G. Gilli

• Regia Marina
• Enrico Caviglia, military attaché in Tokyo (1904–1905)

The RN Count of Cavour (RN Conte di Cavour), one of the many ships on which Burzagli served.

• Bernotti, Romeo. (1971). Cinquant'anni nella Marina militare. Mursia: .
• Canevari, Emilio. (1948). La guerra italiana, retroscena della disfatta, Tosi.
• Ceva, Lucio. (1981). Le forze armate, Torino: UTET.
• Great Britain Foreign Office. (1930). Documents of the London Naval Conference, 1930: Consisting of the Treaty Signed on April 22, the Minutes of Plenary Meetings, Memoranda Submitted by the United States, French, United Kingdom, Italian and Japanese Delegations of Their Position at the Conference, the Report of the First Committee .... London: His Majesty's Stationery Office.
• Leva, Fausto. (1936). Storia delle campagne oceaniche della R. Marina. Rome: Ufficio Storico della Marina.
• Malcolm, James. (1917). State Service: An Illustrated Monthly Magazine Devoted to the Government of the State of New York and Its Affairs. Albany, New York: State Service Magazine Co., Inc.
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Peru). (1922). Discursos y documentos oficiales en el primer centenario de la Independencia. República del Perú. Lima: Impressa Torres Aguirre.
• Po, Guido. (1929). L'opera della R. Marina in Eritrea e Somalia dall'occupazione, alla visita di S.A.R. il Principe Ereditario (The Action of the Italian Royal Navy in Eritrea and Somalia from the Occupation through the Visit of H.R.H. Crown Prince Umberto). Introduzione, Ernesto Burzagli. Rome: Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato (Italian State Printing Office).
• Rea, Alberto. (1977). L'Accademia aeronautica: cronistoria dalle origini al 1975. Rome: Ufficio Storico SMA.
• Sadkovich, James J. (1994). The Italian Navy in World War II. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-28797-8
• Segrè, Claudio G. (1990). Italo Balbo: A Fascist Life. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-07199-5 (paper)
• Umetani, Noboru (梅溪昇編, Umetani Noboru). (1991). [https://books.google.com/books?id=BjcnAAAAMAAJ&q=ernesto+burzagli Meiji Period Foreign Decoration History Compilation] (明治期外国人叙勲史料集成, Meijiki gaikokujin jokun shiryō shūsei). Kyoto: Shibunkaku Shuppan (思文閣出版). ISBN 978-4-7842-0666-7
• Vitale, Massimo Adolfo. (1959). Vitale, L'Italia in Africa: serie storico-militare. Rome: Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato (Italian State Printing Office).
• Wright, Herbert Francis. (1931). Proceedings of the London Naval Conference of 1930 and Supplementary Documents.Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
• Zivkovic, Georg. (1971). Heer- und Flottenführer der Welt: Army and navy-leaders of the world. Chefs des armées et des flottes du monde. Osnabrück: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-0666-8

• This article also derives significantly from the content and style of the "Ernesto Burzagli" article on the Italian Wikipedia.

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• Senato Italiano: scheda biografica di Ernesto Burzagli