__NOTOC__ Giulio Martinat (24 February 1891 – 26 January 1943) was a brigadier general in the Italian armed forces during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was killed while leading his men in the

Battle of Nikolayevka The Battle of Nikolayevka was the breakout of Italian forces in January 1943. The breakout involved the COMALP, Alpine Army Corps of the Italian Army in Russia, Italian 8th Army near the village of Nikolayevka (now Livenka, Belgorod Oblast, in ...

. Born in a small town of

Perrero Perrero (; ) is a (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin. Perrero borders the following municipalities: Roure, Italy, Roure, Perosa Argentina, Massello, Pomaret ...

, of Waldensian religion, he enrolled in the Italian Army at a young age and fought in the conquest of

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

in 1911. In 1935 he participated in the conquest of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

and in 1939 in that of

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, where he distinguished himself; from 1937 to 1941 he was chief of staff of the

3rd Alpine Division Julia Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

. In 1939 he published the book ''Il grande capo d'una grande impresa militare'', edited by the Società di Studi Valdesi (Society of Waldensian Studies), about the qualities of the

Duke of Aosta Duke of Aosta (; ) was a title in the Italian nobility. It was established in the 13th century when Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, made the County of Aosta a duchy. The region was part of the Savoyard state and the title was granted to variou ...

in 1690 against the French. In 1940 he participated in the

Greco-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian campaign in Greece, Italian invasion of Greece, and War of '40 in Greece, took place between Italy and Greece from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. This conflict began the Balk ...

as Chief of Staff of the ''Corpo d'Armata Alpino'' (Alpine Army Corps), and on 17 July 1942, again as Chief of Staff of the ''Corpo d'Armata Alpino'', now part of the Armata Italiana in Russia (ARMIR), he departed for the Eastern Front. In November he was promoted to Brigadier-General. In January 1943 Martinat led the Italian forces during the

, trying to open an escape route for the surviving Italian troops trying to break out of the Soviet encirclement during

Operation Little Saturn Operation Little Saturn () was a Red Army offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in Don and Chir rivers region in German-occupied Soviet Union territory in 16–30 December 1942. The success of Operation Uranus, lau ...

, being

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

; he was posthumously awarded the

Gold Medal of Military Valour The Gold Medal of Military Valor () is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia for deeds of outstanding gallantry in war by junior officers and soldiers. The face of the medal displayed the profile o ...

by the Italian government, and the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

by the German government. Upon seeing the Alpini of the ''Edolo'' battalion, Martinat reportedly said "''with the Edolo''

attalion Attalion () was a physician of ancient Greece who wrote a commentary on the ''Aphorisms'' of Hippocrates, which is now lost. His date is uncertain, as he is mentioned only in the preface to the commentary on the Aphorisms ascribed to Oribasius Or ...

''I started, with the Edolo''

''I want to end''" (the Edolo battalion had been the first unit where he had served); he took up a rifle, led his men in battle, and was killed. His assault helped open the road for the Italian breakout at the

. The town of

, where was born, dedicated a monument to him in May 1950.Perrero monument to Martinat (in Italian)

References

Bibliography

* Bedeschi, Giulio. ''Centomila gavette di ghiaccio''. Mursia editore. Milano, 1994 *

References

Bibliography

See also