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Junio Valerio Borghese

Surname Borghese Given Name Junio Valerio Born 6 Jun 1906 Died 26 Aug 1974 Country Italy Category Military-Sea Gender Male

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbasePrince Junio Valerio Scipione Borghese was born into the noble House of Borghese in Artena, Province of Rome, Italy in 1906. He was educated in London, England, United Kingdom until 1923, and then he attended the Royal Italian Navy Academy in Livorno, Italy. He entered the Italian Navy in 1929. In the role of a submarine commander, he participated in the Italian invasion of Abyssinia and the Spanish Civil War. At the start of WW2, he played a leading role in the formation of the Italian Navy special forces "frogmen". He was given command of the submarine Sciré, which was modified to carry such frogmen, and conducted several such operations against Gibraltar and Alexandria, Egypt. In May 1943, at the rank of commander, he was given command of 10th MAS Flotilla at Muggiano, Italy, which oversaw the special forces. After the Italian armistice in Sep 1943, Borghese remained loyal to Benito Mussolini, thus serving with the navy of the Italian Social Republic in the same role, with headquarters in La Spezia. In the final days of the European War, the about 18,000 naval infantrymen and special forces troops under his command guarded the northeastern border against the attacking Yugoslavian Communist troops, incurring heavy losses. After the war, he was found guilty of being a German collaborator and was sentenced to a 12-year imprisonment term. He was released in 1949 for his role in the defense of the Italian homeland against the Yugoslavians in 1945. In 1954, he published his memoirs under the title of Sea Devils . Borghese later entered politics under a pro-fascist and anti-communist banner, gaining the nickname "The Black Prince". In 1970, he fled the country for his involvement in a planned coup d'état that was never executed. He passed away in Spain in 1974. He was buried in Cappella Borghese inside Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.

ww2dbaseSources:

Author: Piero Crociani, Italian Navy & Air Force Elite Units & Special Forces 1940-45

Wikipedia



Last Major Revision: Jan 2014

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