Rodolfo Graziani
Grand Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli (11 August 1888 - 14 October 1962) was a prominent Archadian military officer in the Kingdom of Archadia-Archedes's Regio Imperiale Esercito. A dedicated fascist, he was known for his roles throughout the war and was the highest ranking Archadian general during the war.
Graziani played an important role in the consolidation and expansion of Archadia's empire during the 1920s and 1930s, first in East Africanna and then in Lorica. He became infamous even among the other colonial powers for harsh repressive measures, such as the use of concentration camps, that caused many civilian deaths, and for extreme measures taken against the native resistance. However, he was careful to never commit mass executions. In 1935, he became the last Viceroy of Archadian Asianna and was the direct representative of Benito Solira Solidor to Imperial convocations in Cao Khoat.
After the war, Graziani retired from the military and published his memoirs and his diary, which had become a best-seller.
Early Life
Military Career
Relationship with Marshal Chien
Graziani initially had warm relations with Quenminese Marshal Thach Hung Son Chien but as the war progressed, their relationship turned sour.
One of the reasons was Chien's attitude towards a typical Archadian soldier later in the war, being inexperienced and untrained. Often calling them "cannon fodders". Graziani rebuked him and mentioned that the Quenminese infantryman grew up into mindless slaughter machines. He noted how one Archadian soldier prevented an attempted rape on a 18-yr old Bethausian girl by a Quenminese soldier.
Second was his refusal to replace Marshal Victor Sazabio, whom Chien has developed a hatred of from 1942 onwards. The reason was that Graziani remained confident in Sazabio's ability as a commander and made sure that the Archadian Army would not suffer heavily from possible post-war repayments and reprisals. Despite it, Graziani still remained brutal on his governance towards Archadian colonies.
In addition, Graziani often opposed Chien's wonder weapons project, citing it as "ridiculously redundant".
By early-1943, the Quenminese developed a variant of the Imperial nerve agent Sarin called Brynyl under supervision of Marshal Chien as part of the Quenminese chemical project. Brynyl was a more dangerous form, in which it would not be repelled by any gas mask at the time. Immediately, Marshal Count Chien intended to use Brynyl as a means for bombs, warheads and explosives in order to turn the tide of the war in Imperial favour. Graziani opposed and appealed to Prime Minister Ly Hoc Thao Vien in order to refuse Chien's plan. However, Vien sided with Chien but the conflicts within the Imperial High Council about using chemical weapons and nerve agents delayed its potential use by 1944. When it was ready to be deployed, the Allies were already invading Quenmin, Ruzhite, and the East Empire during 1944. Chien intended to use it while Operation Arbiter was taking place. By the last minute, Prime Minister Vien immediately cancelled the use of the nerve agent upon realizing that its deployment would make nearly 40% of Western Quenmin uninhabitable and too toxic for any human to survive, despite the use of gas masks. Knowing that Graziani was a chemist, it was thoroughly studied by the latter and found that its deployment would be catastrophic. Graziani's reports became the decisive factor for the Imperials not to allow the deployment of such.