[1][2] At the outbreak of the First World War he was Major General and was deployed on the Dolomite front.
Back in Italy and promoted to Lieutenant General, he was placed in command of the "Palermo" infantry brigade and then of the "Cagliari".
After the successful defense of the Tagliamento River, he returned to Albania and assumed command of the XVI Italian Army Corps in December 1916 until the end of the war.
On 3 June 1917, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Statuto Albertino, he issued the so-called "Proclamation of Gjirokaster", authorized by Minister of Foreign Affairs Sidney Sonnino, which ensured Albanian independence under an Italian protectorate.
In September 1919, he was in command of the Italian troops who had to prevent Gabriele D'Annunzio from entering Fiume.