Salonica had now ceased to be a capital, and became once more a provincial town, but its military importance remained, inasmuch as it was still the centre of important military operations, and the hotbed of infinite political intrigues. General Pennella, after having remained only a few weeks in Macedonia, was recalled to Italy to assume the important position of Chief of Staff to H.R.H. the Duke d’Aosta (III Army), and the temporary command of the 35th Division was assumed by Brigadier-General Chiossi. On June 30th Major-General Ernesto Mombelli arrived at Salonica to take up the Command of the expeditionary force, which he held until it broke up in July 1919, He had begun his military career in the mountain artillery, had passed brilliantly through the Staff College, and then entered the Staff Corps. In Libya he had distinguished himself as a Commander of Alpine troops and afterwards of a mixed force of the three arms. Subsequently he went to Rhodes as Chief of Staff to General Ameglio. The plan of operations of the successful battle of Psitos was his. From Rhodes he was sent to Constantinople as Military Attaché, and remained there until Turkey entered the war, when he was transferred to Athens. There he had occasion to display the most valuable activity, both in counter-espionage and in affirming Italy’s steady loyalty within the Entente. In his dealings with the French and British on more than one occasion he was able to thwart the shady manœuvres of the Germans and their Royalist satellites. He had a thorough knowledge of the political and military situation of the near East, was endowed with great diplomatic tact, and was a man of the world, of high character, and imbued with all the best Italian military traditions. As Commander of the Italian expeditionary force under the orders of a foreign Commander-in-Chief his position was anything but easy, as the relations between the 35th Division and the C.A.A. had never been properly defined. Further, General Sarrail, as we have seen, was not too favourably inclined towards us, and never missed an opportunity of giving proof of his antipathy. Our expeditionary force was not complete--we had no field or medium calibre artillery, we were inadequately provided with means of transport and lacked certain materials with which the C.A.A. were bound to supply us, but which it very often would not or could not provide. There was thus constant friction, and our troops were finally convinced that General Sarrail wished to exploit them to the utmost limit without ever recognizing their merits. But General Mombelli, while defending our rights and dignity with the greatest possible energy and vivacity in his dealings with the C.A.A., succeeded in making himself popular, and in maintaining relations of great courtesy with the successive Commanders-in-Chief. With the British and Serbian Commanders, as I have said, his relations were always inspired by the greatest