World War I Armando Diaz, 1st Duke della Vittoria, OSSA, OSML, OMS, OCI (5 December 1861 – 28 February 1928) was an Italian general and a Marshal of Italy.

A few months later, he achieved a decisive victory in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, which ended the war on the Italian Front.

[1] Born in Naples to a family of Italian and some distant Spanish heritage (most likely dating back to the years of the Crown of Aragon), he was the son of Lodovico, a navy officer, and Irene Cecconi,[2] the daughter of a minor noble.

Personally, Diaz was described by a contemporary journalist who saw him at 56 as "medium build, of dark complexion, with black hair turning gray and a slight cast in the eye.... His character as a soldier was that of an inflexible disciplinarian who applied to himself the same rules as he enforced on others.

In the daily routine of military life, evenly poised, and in the face of danger, characteristically calm".

[4] On the outbreak of World War I, Diaz was assigned to the high command as head of the unit's operations, under General Luigi Cadorna.

Benito Mussolini named him Minister of War, and upon retirement in 1924, he was given the honour of Marshal of Italy (Maresciallo d'Italia).