 A small riot took place at the Ortona dock as about 200 Italian generals and colonels, who had abandoned their commands and unexpectedly showed up, begged the king to take them with him.Almost all of them were refused permission to board, making the struggle to get to the head of the line pointless.With the exceptions of Marshal Enrico Caviglia, General Calvi di Bergolo and General Antonio Sorice, the Italian generals simply abandoned their posts on the night of 8–9 September to try to flee south, which greatly facilitated the German take-over, as the "Regio Esercito" was left without leadership.