Pietro Maletti
Pietro Maletti | |
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Second Italo-Abyssinian War
World War II
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Pietro Maletti (24 May 1880 – 9 December 1940) was an Italian General and war criminal who participated in
Early life
Pietro Maletti was born in
In 1898, Maletti volunteered for the Italian
In 1909, Maletti was promoted to
World War I and Libya
Maletti participated in
Ethiopia
In May 1934, Maletti again returned to Italy. But, in January 1935, he was transferred to
Prior to the
After Ethiopia was defeated, Maletti stayed in Italian East Africa (Africa Orientale Italiana, or AOI) until April 1937.
Between May 18 and May 22, 1937, Italian and Libyan troops under the command of Maletti massacred between 1700 and 2100 people at the Debre Libanos Monastery, including all 297 monks and 23 lay people who served the monastery, and the many pilgrims who had come to celebrate the patron saint of the monastery. The soldiers then looted the monastery carrying off crowns and robes of several of Ethiopia's past Emperors, and numerous manuscripts that have never been recovered.[1]
World War II
In June 1938, Maletti was promoted to the rank of
On 10 June 1940, Italian dictator
In September 1940, Maletti commanded this ad hoc group during the Italian invasion of Egypt. After initially becoming lost whilst making his way to the staging area, he advanced into Egypt and occupied fortified positions near Sidi Barrani.
On 9 December 1940, Maletti was killed in action at the fortified Nibeiwa Camp when British forces
Walker's indication that none of the Italian artillery were able to penetrate the armour of the Matilda tanks is confirmed by the war diaries of the British Armoured regiments and the British official histories which show that only a single Matilda was knocked out. Research by Sadkovich erroneously says that the Maletti Group's anti-armour guns were able to destroy 35 out of 57 Matildas prior to their own destruction.[3]
Also Walker's statement that Maletti was caught completely off guard should be revised. On December 8 Maletti had already correctly alerted the nearby 2nd Libyan Division that the unusual low-level flying activity by the RAF was probably intended to mask the movement of armoured units [4] and at 06.30 December 9th (well before the beginning of the actual main assault) he was already in contact with the commanders of both the 1st and 2nd Libyan Divisions reporting the British preparatory movements.[5] In reality Maletti was killed at about 09.00 AM, while directing the fire from a 47/32 anti-tank guns section on the northern sector of the Nibeiwa strongpoint.[6]
He was awarded the
See also
- Military history of Italy during World War II
- Royal Italian Army (1940–1946)
Notes
- ^ The Plot to Kill Graziani, I. Campbell, Addis Ababa University Press, 2010.
- ^ Walker, p. 62
- ^ Sadkovich (1991), p.293
- ^ Montanari (1985), p.204
- ^ Montanari (1985), p.206
- ^ Montanari (1985), pag.306
- ^ "MALETTI Pietro. Medaglia d'oro al valor militare". quirinale.it. Presidenza della Repubblica. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
References
- Sadkovich, James. J. (1991). "Of Myths and Men: Rommel and the Italians in North Africa". The International History Review. XIII: 284–313. doi:10.1080/07075332.1991.9640582. Archived from the originalon 1997-05-17.
- Walker, Ian W. (2003). Iron Hulls, Iron Hearts : Mussolini's elite armoured divisions in North Africa. Marlborough: Crowood. ISBN 1-86126-646-4.
- Montanari, Mario (1985). Sidi el Barrani, giugno 1940 – febbraio 1941. Le Operazioni in Africa Settentrionale (in Italian). Vol. I. Roma: Ufficio Storico dello Stato Maggiore Esercito. OCLC 868634287.
Further reading
- Barker, A.J. (1968). The Civilizing Mission: A History of the Italo-Ethiopian War of 1935-1936. New York: Dial Press. pp. 383 pages.
- Barker, A. J. (1971). The Rape of Ethiopia 1936. Ballentine's Illustrated History of the Violent Century, Battle Book Number 4. Ballantine Books.
- Jowett, Philip (2001). The Italian Army 1940-45 (2): Africa 1940-43. Men-at-Arms. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-865-8.
- Macksey, Major Kenneth (1971). Beda Fomm: Classic Victory. Ballentine's Illustrated History of the Violent Century, Battle Book Number 22. Ballantine Books.
- Sbacchi, Alberto (1997). Legacy of Bitterness; Ethiopia and Fascist Italy, 1935-1941. Lawrenceville: The Red Sea Press Inc. ISBN 0-932415-74-1.