Giorgio Rochat was born and grew up in Pavia in 1936. He was educated at the ancient university there, graduating in 'Letters' in 1959.

After some time serving in the Italian Army as an officer in the Alpine Corps, in 1969, he was appointed 'libero docente' in contemporary history at Università di Milano - he would also go on to teach at the Università di Ferrara (1976-1980).  A student of Piero Pieri (1893-1979), who directly served in World War I, Rochat went on to collaborate with him on a biography of Pietro Badoglio, a collaboration which led to a life-long involvement in research on Italian military politics in the twentieth century. He made his name in the history of politics, and in 'storia contemporanea' focusing on Italian military and colonial history. From 1962, he was involved with L'Istituto nazionale per la storia del movimento di liberazione nazionale in Italia, which became a lifelong involvement, including at governance level. He was also involved in the editorial development of the Rivista di storia contemporanea (Board member, 1972-1995).  He authored several essays on the Italian army's preparedness on the eve of the First World War, socialist antimilitarism in the aftermath of the war, Mussolini's role as the leader of the armed forces, and the Italian army's involvement in the campaign in Russia.

Rochat was an active editor, including on projects such as the Einaudi History of Italy series. In 1986, he authored a comprehensive biography of the Fascist hierarch Italo Balbo, published by UTET. In this work, Rochat delved into Balbo's formative years in Ferrara, his involvement in the organization of Fascist squads, while also examining the alleged direct responsibilities of Balbo, who would later become Minister of Economics and subsequently the Minister of the Air Force, regarding the killing of Don Giovanni Minzoni. Collaborating with Mario Isnenghi, Giorgio Rochat also produced the in-depth analysis titled The Great War, 1914-1918 (2000). In his capacity as a historian, he has authored numerous books on Italian history, primarily focusing on the twentieth century.

In 1980, he was appointed full professor (in contemporary history) at the Università di Torino (1980-1996), after which he was appointed full professor in the history of military institutions.  He was the founding President of the Interuniversity Centre for Historical-Military Studies (University of Turin, Padua, Pisa, Pavia, and Milan Catholic University) from 1981 to 1989, thereafter holding the position of Vice President. He has been President of the Società di Studi Valdesi (SSV) (1980-1999) and variously councillor (1978-1996),  Vice Presidente (1981-1989) and President (1996-2000) of the Centro Interuniversitario di Studi e Ricerche Storico-militari. Starting in 1993, he was entrusted with the course on military history (under various names) at the Turin School of Applied Military Studies, now part of the interdisciplinary Bachelor's Degree Program in Strategic Sciences. He retired from active service on November 1, 2002.

His publications include: 

• 1967 - L'esercito italiano da Vittorio Veneto a Mussolini (1919-1925), Prefazione di Piero Pieri, Bari, Laterza, 1967.

• 1971 - Militari e politici nella preparazione della campagna d'Etiopia 1932-36, Milano, 1971.

• 1972, 1976 - He was editor of works such as Atti del Comando generale del Corpo volontari della libertà (Angeli, Milano) and, with Enzo Collotti, the Scritti [Writings] 1915-1975 of Ferruccio Porri (Feltrinelli, Milano, 1976).

• 1973 - Fascismo e società italiana, Collana Piccola Biblioteca n.200, Torino, Einaudi, 1973.

• 1973 - Il colonialismo italiano: la prima guerra d'Africa, la guerra di Libia, la riconquista della Libia, la guerra d'Etiopia, l'Impero, Collana Documenti della Storia n. 1, Torino, Loescher, 1973.

• 1974 - L'antimilitarismo oggi in Italia (Claudiana, Torino); 

• 1974/ 2002 - Pietro Badoglio, con Piero Pieri, Torino, UTET, 1974. - Collana Oscar Storia, Mondadori, 2002.

• 1976 - L'Italia nella prima guerra mondiale. Problemi di interpretazione e prospettive di ricerca, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1976.

• 1978 - Breve storia dell'esercito italiano dal 1861 al 1943, con Giulio Massobrio, Torino, Einaudi, 1978.

• 1979 - Italo Balbo aviatore e ministro dell'aeronautica 1926-1933 (Bovolenta, Ferrara); 

• 1979 - Italo Balbo aviatore e ministro dell'Aeronautica 1926-1933, Ferrara, Bovolenta, 1979.

• 1981 - Gli arditi della grande guerra (Feltrinelli, Milano, 1st ed. 1981, 2nd edition by Edizioni goriziane, Gorizia, 1990); 

• 1981/ 2017 - Gli Arditi della Grande Guerra. Origini, battaglie e miti, Collana I nuovi testi, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1981. - Editrice Goriziana, 1990; LEG, 2017.

• 1986-2003. Balbo, Collana La vita sociale della nuova Italia, Torino, UTET, 1986-2003.

• 1990 - Regime fascista e Chiese evangeliche, Torino, Editrice Claudiana, 2000.

• 1991 - L'esercito italiano in pace e in guerra: studi di storia militare, Istituto Editoriale di Bibliofilia e Reprints, 1991.

• 1993 - Giulio Douhet. Scritti 1901-1905, a cura di Giorgio Rochat e Andrea Curami, Roma, Ufficio Storico Aeronautica, 1993.

• 1993 - La Divisione Acqui a Cefalonia, settembre 1943, a cura di Giorgio Rochat e Marcello Venturi, Milano, Mursia, 1993.

• 2002 - Duecento sentenze nel bene e nel male. La giustizia militare nella guerra 1940-1943, Collana Storica, Gaspari, 2002.

• 2005 - Le guerre italiane 1935-43. Dall'Impero alla disfatta, Torino, Einaudi, 2005.

• 2008 - La Grande Guerra, 1914-1918, con Mario Isnenghi, La Nuova Italia, 2000. - Sansoni, 2004; Il Mulino, 2008.

Mark Hutchinson