Angelico (Angelo) Carta (born 1886 in Riola Sardo) was an Italian military officer, best known for his actions during the Axis occupation of Crete in World War II.
Carta in Crete[]
In 1943, Angelico Carta held the rank of Lieutenant general and commanded the 51st Infantry Division Siena which was assigned to the occupation of the eastern Cretan provinces of Sitia and Lasithi. He was a royalist rather than a fascist and in contrast to the commanders of the German garrison in the western and central parts of Crete, he generally behaved with restraint to the local population.
Following the Armistice of Cassibile, Carta decided to side against the fascist Italian Social Republic. He contacted the Special Operations Executive (SOE) major Patrick Leigh Fermor through the division's counter-intelligence officer, arranging that he and members of his staff sympathetic to the Allies be smuggled to Egypt along with the defense plans for the east of the island. After abandoning his car north-east of the divisional headquarters in Neapoli as a diversion, Carta and his comrades set foot for south-west. Evading German patrols and observation planes he embarked a Motor Torpedo Boat at Tsoutsouro reaching Mersa Matruh the next afternoon, on 23 September 1943.[1][2]
Kingdom of Italy
Royal Italian Army
