| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Major Harold Mors led this operation, also known as Operation Oak. This operation found its target in a ski resort called Hotel Campo Imperatore in the Apennine Mountains of Central Italy. To prepare for this operation, Hauptsturmführer Otto Skorzeny was sent by Adolf Hitler to track down this raid’s main target. For the point, name this 1943 raid which rescued Benito Mussolini from prison. | Gran Sasso Raid (accept Operation Eiche or Operation Oak before "Oak" is mentioned; prompt on partial answers) |
| Gaston of Foix [[FWAH]], the Duke of Nemours, was killed in a battle in this city which resulted in the Sforzas being returned to power in Milan. That battle in this city resulted in a victory for Louis the Twelfth over the combined Spanish and Papal State forces during the War of the League of Cambrai. Augustus made this Adriatic city’s port of Classe [[KLAH-seh]] a major base for the Roman navy. For the point, name this final capital of the Western Roman Empire. | Ravenna (accept Monster of Ravenna; accept Battle of Ravenna) |
| This agreement was made public on September 8, five days after its signing. Due to this agreement, Germany launched Operation Asche, an assault on Italian forces within its zones of occupations in Italy, the Balkans, and southern France. Major General Walter Bedell Smith and Brigade General Giuseppe Castellano signed this agreement at a military camp in Sicily. For the point, name this 1943 armistice between the Kingdom of Italy, the U.S., and the U.K. | Armistice of Cassibile |
| In February 2022, this ship was part of interoperability training operations with the USS Harry S. Truman and the flagship of the French navy, the Charles de Gaulle. This ship was dispatched to Haiti to help in the 2010 earthquake relief effort, and the namesake of this ship was a leading figure in the Italian unification movement. Named for the prime minister of Italy from March to June of 1861 and launched in 2004, for the point, what is this Italian aircraft carrier, the flagship of the Italian Navy? | Cavour (accept Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour) |
| One offensive named for this location failed to capture Mount Saint Gabriel and Mount Hermada and left the Second Army divided ahead of a gas-led counterattack by German troops under Otto von Below. Paolo Boselli resigned as prime minister following another battle which is named for this physical feature. The government of Luigi Cardona led frontal assaults across the Julian Alps in twelve battles named for, for the point, what Slovenian river? | Isonzo River (or Soča [[SOH-chah]] River; accept Battle (s) of the Isonzo; accept Isonzo Front) |
| This man died in Egypt, but his remains were transferred to the sanctuary of Vicoforte in 2017. Benito Mussolini once said that this man was "too diminutive for an Italy destined to greatness." This man was crowned emperor of Ethiopia during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, and after the assassination of his father, Umberto the First, this man ascended the throne of Italy. For the point, name this man who abdicated the monarchy in 1946. | Victor Emmanuel the Third (or Vittorio Emanuele Ferdinando Maria Gennaro di Savoia; prompt on partial answers) |
| In the Battle of Pljevlja [[PLYEV-lyah]], a town in this territory, Giovanni Esposito led the 5th Alpine Division Pusteria to victory. The capital of this territory was Cetinje [[SET-een-yeh]], at which the Italian military met with a loyalist group called the "Greens." It took the Italian force only six weeks to suppress a rebellion in this territory in an event known as the 13 July Uprising. For the point, name this governorate of Italy, which was also a socialist republic of Yugoslavia led from Titograd. | Italian Governorate of Montenegro (accept Socialist Republic of Montenegro) |
| This man, one of the Quadrumvirs in the Grand Council of Fascism, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross after leading the Decennial Air Cruise. During World War Two, this marshal of the Italian Air Force was killed by friendly fire when his plane was shot down over Tobruk. For the point, name this Fascist Italian commander-in-chief of Italian North Africa, once seen as a possible successor to Benito Mussolini. | Italo Balbo |
| This man declined an expansion into the Papal Legations in favor of installing garrisons at Comacchio and Ferrara. This statesman organized the Congress of Laibach [[LYE-bahk]], which authorized the intervention of Johann Frimont to restore the king of the Two Sicilies. This statesman referred to Italy as merely a "geographical expression" and was forced to resign after the 1848 revolutions. For the point, name this Austrian statesman who dominated continental politics following the Congress of Vienna. | Klemens von Metternich (or Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich- Winneburg zu Beilstein) |
| Abbot Bruno of Chiaravalle [[kee-ah-rah-VAH-leh]] died of grief three days after this man destroyed the city of Tortona due to a bribe. Adrian the Fourth allied with this ruler to expel Arnold of Brescia from Rome. This emperor stripped Henry the Lion of the duchies of Bavaria and Saxony in vengeance for Henry's failure to assist him at Legnano. This ruler supported Antipope Victor the Fourth in opposition to Alexander the Third, who allied with Milan in the Lombard League. For the point, name this Holy Roman Emperor, the first of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. | Frederick Barbarossa (or Frederick the First Hohenstaufen; prompt on "Frederick") |
| A duke of this territory, known as the Testa d'feu [[duh-FUH]], was elected as king of Serbia during the Council of Moraca. A ruler of this polity imprisoned Francois Bonivard, inspiring Lord Byron's poem "The Prisoner at Chillon." Through descent from Anne of Lusignan, the leaders of this polity claimed the kingship of Cyprus and Jerusalem. Despite being tortured for 36 hours, Giulio Cesare Vachero refused to reveal his conspiracy with a ruler of this polity to take over Genoa. For the point, name this polity which was ceded to Napoleon the Third in conjunction with Nice. | Duchy of Savoy (or County of Savoy; or Savoyard State; accept Duke of Savoy) |
| Among the possessions of a figure in this operation included a photograph of a woman named "Pam" and a receipt for an engagement ring. A figure involved in this operation was identified as Glyndwr [[GLEN- door]] Michael, who died from ingesting rat poison. Michael's corpse was central to this operation, as it provided credence to an invented persona named "William Martin," who was dressed as a British officer and released near the shores of Spain. For the point, name this operation, planned by the British to disguise the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily. | Operation Mincemeat |
| The Battle of Hill 731 has been described as the "Verdun of [this conflict]." The failure of the Julia division to capture Metsovo during this conflict led to their encirclement and defeat at the Battle of Pindus. Overconcentration of forces at the Haliacmon line during this conflict allowed the outflanking of the Metaxas line, leading to the fall of Thessaloniki. For the point, name this conflict in which Mussolini had to request Hitler's assistance after his army was forced to retreat to Albania. | Greco-Italian War (or Italo-Greek War; or Italian Campaign in Greece; or War of 40) |
| Cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo organized the Sanfedismo movement in this kingdom to counter the Parthenopaean Republic. Masaniello led a republican revolt in this kingdom, and Gennaro Annese was beheaded for his part in inviting Henry the Second of Guise to become "doge of [this kingdom]." Queen Maria Carolina of this kingdom refused to speak French following Marie Antoinette's execution. For the point, name this kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, in which Napoleon installed Joachim Murat as king. | Kingdom of Naples (accept Kingdom of Sicily before mentioned; accept Doge of Naples; accept King of Naples) |
| During this conflict, the execution of Tarrentine hostages at the Tarpeian Rock triggered Tarentum's defection. Masinissa and Syphax switched allegiances in the prelude to the Battle of Zama during this conflict. During this war, following an ambush by Claudius Nero at the Metaurus, the head of Hasdrubal Barca was tossed into the camp of his brother, Hannibal. For the point, name this war in which Carthaginian forces crossed the Alps to invade Rome. | Second Punic War (prompt on "Punic") |
| This agreement had a secret protocol in which the two countries in the agreement were to work together on "matters of press, the news service, and the propaganda.” Article Seven of this agreement states that the alliance was to last ten years, but it ended swiftly in 1943, after the overthrow of Benito Mussolini. Agreed upon in 1939 and formalizing the 1936 Rome-Berlin Agreement, for the point, what is this military alliance between Nazi Germany and Italy? | Pact of Steel (or the Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy; prompt on partial answers) |
| This company produced the standard machine gun of World War One, the Revelli Modello 1914, as well as the G.55 Centauro aircraft. The Agnelli family was removed from the leadership of this company by the National Liberation Committee, although a member of that family named Gianni was later reinstated as its largest shareholder. Merging with Chrysler in 2014, for the point, what is this largest automobile manufacturer in Italy? | Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. |
| Due to having been deployed for this event, the cruiser Vettor Pisani received one of the first long- range radio transmissions made to a ship. In the leadup to this event, a combined British-Italian force captured the North Taku Fort. In the aftermath of this event, Italy gained rights to occupy the Shanhai Pass Fort as well as a 151-acre concession in Tianjin. Put down by an Eight-Nation Alliance, including Italy, for the point, what was this anti-Western uprising of the late Qing [[CHING]] Dynasty? | Boxer Rebellion (or Yihetuan Movement; accept synonyms for "rebellion") |
| On an oenochoe [[eh-NAH-koh-eh]] from the 6th Century BC, this figure is depicted in full armor carrying his father, Anchises [[an-KY-sees]]. This figure, who defeated the Rutuli king Turnus while fighting for the hand of Lavinia, is featured in a work whose first line begins, "I sing of arms and the man." A lover of Queen Dido [[DIE-doh]] of Carthage who fled across the Mediterranean, for the point, who is this Trojan hero, the namesake of an epic by Virgil? | Aeneas (prompt on "Aeneid") |
| This mission was led by Luigi Durand de la Penne and Junio Borghese, the commander of the submarine Scirè. During this mission, manned torpedoes badly damaged the HMS Jervis. Having attached a torpedo below the keel of the HMS Queen Elizabeth as part of this mission, Antonio Marceglia and Spartaco Schergat [[SKEHR-gaht]] were imprisoned following their capture at Rosetta. For the point, name this World War Two raid of the second-largest city in Egypt. | Raid on Alexandria (accept clear-knowledge equivalents involving Alexandria) |
| Along with the US Fourth Corps, soldiers from this country were victorious at the Battle of Monte Castello, and a cemetery dedicated to soldiers from this country is in the Tuscan city of Pistoia. One joke about this country's forces was that they were more likely to see a snake smoking a pipe than see combat, which inspired their insignia. Led through World War Two under Getulio Vargas's Estado Novo regime, for the point, what is this Allied South American power? | Federative Republic of Brazil (or República Federativa do Brasil) |
| Prior to the Fascist takeover, this colony was de facto independent after the Treaty of Acroma. A so- called pacification of this colony involved a war between Italy and the Senussi order. This African colony was formed from the union of Italian Cyrenaica and Italian Tripolitania. For the point, name this colony which, along with Egypt was the primary site of early stages of the British North African Campaign. | Italian Libya (accept Italian North Africa before "Africa" is mentioned) |
| Fifty Italian soldiers who fought in this conflict were allegedly killed by exposure to depleted uranium munitions. Italy’s Aviano Air Base was used as a primary launching point during this conflict for Operation Allied Force. The stated NATO goal of this campaign was “Serbs out, peacekeepers in, refugees back." For the point, name this conflict, which involved the placement of NATO troops in a majority Albanian region of southern Yugoslavia. | Kosovo War (accept Opperation Allied Force before mentioned; prompt on answers such as “NATO bombing of Yugoslavia/Serbia”) |
| This man used the example of Alexander the Great conquering the Persian Empire to suggest that holding a conquered Ottoman Empire would be easier than holding a conquered France. One work by this man cites Agathocles of Syracuse and Oliverotto Euffreducci as rulers who came to power by illicit means. This writer discusses the role of Fortuna in a work dedicated to the Duke of Urbino, Lorenzo de' Medici. For the point, name this Renaissance writer, known for his analysis of war and politics in works such as The Prince. | Niccolò Machiavelli (or Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli) |
| In 1215 and 1216, this state fought against Padua and Treviso in the War of the Castle of Love. This state traces its origins to twelve founding families fleeing the armies of Germanic and Hun invaders. Paolo Lucio Anafesto, who was known for repelling attacks from the Umayyads, is considered to be this state’s first doge. For the point, name this former maritime republic, centered on a northeastern city in Italy characterized by its canals. | Republic of Venice (or Venetian Republic; or Most Serene Republic of Venice; accept Doge of Venice) |
| These items are being held by each of the Roman emperors depicted in the sculpture Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs. Variants of another type of these objects included the "Fulham" and the "Mainz." Celtic mercenaries introduced to the Roman army a variety of these objects called a spatha. The gladius was a type of, for the point, what bladed weapon which can be used for thrusting or slashing? | Swords (accept Gladius before mentioned; accept Hispanic, Fulham, or Mainz sword; prompt on "Blade"; do not accept or prompt on "Knife," "Dagger," or similar small-bladed weapons) |
| During this event, 114 soldiers were deployed in the Lombardy region to implement order, according to President Attilio Fontana. Fifteen manned army trucks transported coffins out of Bergamo due to this event, because the city's local cemeteries and crematoriums could not keep up with the rising death toll. For the point, name this event, which affected Northern Italy particularly hard in its early stages, in which Italy eventually went into lockdown in response to a viral contagious disease. | COVID-19 Pandemic (accept Coronavirus disease 2019 Pandemic; prompt on "pandemic") |
| Throughout this conflict, ballroom dance instructor Edward Ferrero served as a general, despite being born in Spain to Italian parents. One side in this conflict utilized units such as the 6th Regiment, European Brigade in addition to receiving prisoners who fought against the Expedition of the Thousand, led by Chatham Wheat. For the point, name this conflict in which Italian immigrants fought in units such as the 39th New York Infantry Regiment. | U.S. Civil War (accept USA, American, or United States of America in place of U.S.; prompt on partial answers) |
| Clodius Pulcher attempted to seduce this man's wife in the Bona Dea scandal, and at the Lucca conference this man had his term as governor extended for five years. This man used that extension to launch campaigns, including losing at Gergovia before winning a battle during which he besieged an opposing force with a massive double ring. This man is said to have quipped that "the die is cast" before crossing a river and marching against his greatest rival, whom he defeated later at Pharsalus. For the point, who was this Roman general who had himself declared dictator for life? | Gaius Julius Caesar (prompt on partial answers) |
| On its last patrol, this vessel sunk the RMS Empress of Canada en route to Takoradi in West Africa. Junio Valerio Borghese started a project which involved the launch of this vessel to attack ships on New York Harbor. On May 22, 1943, this vessel was sunk after a failed depth charge attack against the HMS Active and the HMS Ness. For the point, name this Italian submarine during World War Two, named after a man who was a Renaissance military engineer, as well as a scientist, architect, and artist. | Leonardo da Vinci (prompt on partial answers) |
| The name for these vehicles was first coined in 1861 from the Greek by Gustave Ponton d'Amécourt. In December 2022, the Italian army was supplied by NH Industries with the 60th and final UH-90A multirole example of these vehicles. The Italian Army is the only army to use the A129 Mangusta version of these vehicles, which is produced by a company formed from a merger between the Italian Agusta and the British Westland. For the point, name these vehicles, used by the Italian Army during MEDEVACs. | Helicopters (accept varieties such as "Military," "Attack," or "Medical" Helicopters) |