Giuseppe Galliano was an Italian soldier.

He was a Lieutenant Colonel of the Regal Italian army

Italian Army

The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...

, then one signaled for his skill and mastery in the military art during the campaign of Africa in the battles of Agordat

Agordat

Agordat is a city in Eritrea. It was the former capital of the now defunct Barka Province of Eritrea .- Overview :...

 and Battle of Coatit, he was famous for the courageous defense of the fort of Macallè, in order then to perish in the battle of Adua, demonstrating spirit of sacrifice and attachment to the duty.

Military career

Son of an official who, in 1821, was similar of Santorre di Santarosa in the constitutional motions in Piemonte, entered in the Military College of 24 Hatreds October 1854, the Giuseppe young passed in 1864 to the Military school, from which two years after he came discharged with the degree of second lieutenant in the arm of Infantry, and assigned 24° to the Como Regiment with which he participated to the war against Austria of 1866. In 1870 he was promoted Luogotenente

Luogotenente

The Italian word luogotenente , plural luogotenenti, is an etymological parallel to lieutenant, deriving from the Latin locum tenens "holding a place", i.e...

(Lieutenant) and in 1873 he obtained of being transferred in the newest body of the Alpine ones delivered up the year before: in July 1883 remained till the 19 when, with the promotion to captain, Abruzzi came destined to l58° Infantry regiment. In 1884 passed to 82° the Infantry regiment to Turin and 6 November 1887 left for the Eritrean with the Shipment Body commant from general Asinari di San Marzano, with the attempt to revenge the eccidio of Dogali, but, being itself the dileguati Abyssinian “which fog in sunlight” dinanzi to the imposing Italian forces, the Body, in the spring of the year after, came melted and repatriated. 10 March 1888 Galliano captain made return to its 82° Infantry regiment of Turin for rimanervi only two years, as in 1890, as a result of its repeated questions, obtained of being newly sent in Eritrean, earth from which obtained Gloria, honors and reputation, but that impossessò of its same life, impedendogli of being able to return in Italy.

Battles of Agordat

In the battle of Agordat of 1893 captain Giuseppe Galliano he commant to a Battalion Aboriginal Eritreans, let alone a battery of mountain artillery served from Sudanese. At first the risen ones of the battle were favorable to the truppe of Galliano but, successively, the Dervisci, incuorati and infervorati their military and religious heads, chased to them trying to go around them. Spaces were the efforts of Galliano in order to check their offensive sicché were forced to order to the retreat abandoning pieces, since all the muletti were remained killed. In the folding for Galliano groups, with its constant example of courage, supreme sense of the duty and great calm, in a thus delicate surf it knew to maintain the discipline and the order, instilling confidence in its faithful askaris and thus when it thought it opportune ordered a violent counterattack to the bayonet, that it to horse in first line guided same. Shortly the Dervisci was scompaginati and faces in disordinata escape and pieces could be resumed. The booty in crews, ammunitions and standards was abundant and it is found deposited today in the Museum of Artillery of Turin. Between the flags the green banner admires celebre, than for the Dervisci it was one of the most painful and disheartening losses. To the news that the King Umberto had assigned the Medal to it of Gold to the Military Valor, Galliano captain wrote thus to the brother: “a single thing disturbs my joy for much onorificenza, and is that discosta too much from that date to my officials whom me they have earned and for which the Ministry was not wide as for me”. Galliano was above all distinguished for its ability in instructing and to constitute in solid and homogenous units the aborigines. To he the endowed possession must those 3° Battalion Aboriginal Eritreans of traditions be guerriere sicché still today people of remembers it to the Eritrean with the name of the heroic commander more than with that one than cremisi, datogli for the color of wrap on the life and of the ribbon of the tarbusch of its askaris. Its value, abilities and abilities to commander of prode the captain were evidenced above all in the numerous crashs in which it had to find itself, with its most faithful askaris.

Battles of Battle of Coatit

In January 1895 it began the battle of Coatit between truppe Italian and those guided from the Ras Mangascià, governor of the Tigrai, which came defeated and was forced to shelter itself near Senafè, where but it came caught up from the truppe Italian; it projects covered them its stretches and, in preda to the panic, it began to escape. Great part of the merit in to this deserving had it operation Giuseppe Galliano, promoted greater for merits of war after Agordat, that it fought with its askaris. The action made it to earn a Silver Medal to the Military Valor with the following motivation: “Sent with three of its companies to arrest the collision of the going around column enemy, it succeeded, in spite of the numerical superiority of the tigrini, the difficulties of the land and the serious losses endured, to cover the roads for which it had to parade the operating body, thus rendering possible to occupy the position of Coatit solid and to reject to the enemy on all the forehead. In the afternoon of the 13 and for all 14 the January concurred to defend the center and the right of ours truppe, always rejecting the incessant attacks of the enemy”. For always such its valorosa action it had in prize also the Cross of Knight of the Order of the Saints Maurizio and Lazzaro for motu own of the Monarch.

Defense of the fort of Macallè

In the autumn 1895 all the region of the Tigrai could dirsi occupied, thus the governor of Cologne Eritrean, general Oreste Baratieri could thus return to Massaua. However, little weeks passed, were the same Negus Menelik II to put on the war foot being denounced the undue Italian occupation of the Tigrai, territory that the Treaty of Uccialli assigned to Ethiopia. Made huge supplies of provisions, cattle, you arm and ammunitions, Menelik II put with an immense force in order to march against the Italian column. To the first of December Abyssinian army it could boast 100,000 men very, while the Italian forces, enormously inferior, had been to they time subdivided in two contingents: 5,000 men were stationed to Adigrat and as many to Macallè, guided from general Giuseppe Arimondi. This last one would have intentional to be left over in support of greater Peter Toselli who found itself isolated more with its company on the plateau of the Amba Alagi in the advanced position and that for first, therefore, would be reached contact with the enemy. However Baratieri governor telegraphed that the garrison on Macallè was maintained and prohibited general Arimondi to move, allowing to the Abyssinian an easy one eccidio in the comparisons of approximately 2000 soldiers to the commandos of the greater Toselli who died all 7 heroically December. Arimondi, that it was advanced until to Aderà, to 20 km from the Amba Alagi, could not make other that to collect the little survivors in order to refold on Adigrat, leaving in the fort of Enda Jesus near Macallè the greater Giuseppe Galliano with 1.300 men. The army of the Negus began the siege of the fort. Galliano resisted for beyond two months to the continuous attacks of beyond 100.000 Abyssinian armed men. The meager garrison of approximately 1500 men not surrendered to in spite of the most serious endured losses, above all for the diseases. At the same time to the siege the negotiations of peace proceeded that culminated 17 January 1896 when Menelik II offered the cessation of the hostilities asking like contropartita the cancellation of the Treaty of Uccialli. In exchange it promised to free from the siege the Italians locked up in the fort of Macallè. But the Italian government, also demanding the liberation of the besieged ones of Macallè, remained firm in the demand for renews of the Treaty of Uccialli. When Galliano was on the point to sacrifice itself for lack of ammunitions, provisions and water being made to jump in air the fort for means of a formidable mine, the siege came in existence melted thanks to the diplomacy put from Baratieri governor. Galliano with its truppe with flying colours left the fort and with the crews parading dinnanzi to the overwhelmed Abyssinian, admired much value and audacity. After many days of waited for trepidante Galliano with all its it made return between the Italian forces that went amassing itself to the Eritrean border with the Tiger. For the heroic defense of the fort of Enda Jesus (then called in its honor “Strong Galliano”) of which it commant the garrison, it had another Silver Medal to the Military Valor and the promotion for merit of war to lieutenant colonel, that it happened in January 1896.

The battle of Adua

In the last days of February, for the Italian army the vettovaglie so were reduced from not being able to still be enough that for little days. S'imponeva therefore the necessity to withdraw itself or to try, with being left over on Adua, to open the way short than refueling for the warehouses of Adi Ugri and Asmara. Baratieri was more favorable to the retreat but, felt in the evening between the 28 and 29 February the opinion of the others generates them that unanimously they inclined for the attack, decided at last to face the enemy with its 15,000 men against beyond 120.000 of Menelik II. In the night between 29 February and 1º March determined general Baratieri to be left over. The idea was that to attract the army of Menelik, or at least its rearguard, in a courageous combat would have unavoidably seen that it capitolare. It was induced to complete this risky maneuver, also to engage battle, as a result of the telegram that the Head of the Government Francisco Crispi had sent to it in date 25 February: “Cotesta is a military tisi, not a war”. Alle 29 hours 21,00 of February the army movements on three columns: to the right it marched the column guided from general Vittorio Dabormida (2,500 men), to the center that of general Giuseppe Arimondi (2,500 men anch'essa), to which Galliano colonel was assigned also to the lieutenant, and to the left that of general Matteo Albertone (4,000 men). Galliano was found again to fight on the Rajo Mount, where, trying courageous protect the left wing of the brigade of Arimondi blocking the field to the Abyssinian, fell fighting till the last one with nearly the totality of its askaris who the idolatravano and that wanted not it abandoned in those its supreme sacrifice. For its heroic conduct during the battle of Adua a second Medal of Gold to the Military Valor was conferred posthumous to Galliano. Galliano, that the alpine one decorated with the gold sign is first, is also the first fregiato official of two Medals of Gold to the Military Valor, thus breaking off the tradition and the custom till that age invalsa that two Medals of Gold to a same person could not be assigned.