He was subsequently transferred to the Isonzo front; during the retreat that followed the battle of Caporetto his artillerymen managed to carry their guns from the Banjšice Plateau to the Tagliamento river, where they were forced to abandon them as the bridges had been blown up.

[8][9] In October 1922, at the time of the march on Rome, Baistrocchi was in command of the Naples Fortress Area, and assured Mussolini that he would not intervene against him during the fascist rally in the Campanian capital.

On November 14, 1933, he issued the so-called "Baistrocchi Reform", on uniforms, ranks and equipment of the Royal Italian Army, the Volunteer Militia for National Security and the Carabinieri.

During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War he favored the establishment of blackshirt divisions, under the command of army officers, and organized the transfer to East Africa of twenty fully-equipped divisions (as opposed to four that had been originally planned to be sent); appreciating his capabilities, Mussolini considered replacing Marshal of Italy Pietro Badoglio, in charge of the operations in Ethiopia, with him, but Baistrocchi declined the offer, stating that a change of command during the campaign would have had a negative effect on the conduct of the war, and that it would have been more useful for him to stay in Rome and supervise the preparation and sending of reinforcements and supplies to East Africa.

Mussolini's proposal, however, caused a rift between Baistrocchi and Badoglio, who thought that the former had tried to usurp his post and swore to make him pay for it, as he declared to Rodolfo Graziani in a private conversation.

This marked the end of Baistrocchi's military career, although on 7 October 1937 he was granted the title of Count by Royal Decree and on 25 March 1939 he was appointed Senator of the Kingdom of Italy.

[19][20][21][22][23] Baistrocchi was later heavily criticized by other generals for "having introduced the Fascist mindset and methods" into the Royal Italian Army, giving in to meddling by Fascist Party leaders in the promotion system, allowing careerism to run rampant and prioritizing pomp over substance; among others, Generals Giacomo Zanussi and Quirino Armellini accused him of this in their postwar memoirs, with Pietro Badoglio (who however was a personal enemy of him) describing Baistrocchi as "nefarious" and Marshal of Italy Giovanni Messe calling him a "madman" while talking with other prisoners during his captivity in Great Britain, and stating that he and Pariani had brought the country to ruin.