Alfredo Serranti (

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, 25 May 1896 – Culqualber Pass, 21 November 1941) was an officer in the

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army () (RE) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfredo Fanti signed a decree c ...

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 in action during the battle of Culqualber and posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor.

Biography

He was born in Rome on May 25, 1896, the son of Angelo Serranti and Celeste Boni, and after graduating as an

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...

at the local "Leonardo da Vinci" Technical Institute, in 1915 he enlisted as a volunteer in the

, as an

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

officer. He fought during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

with the 26th Field Artillery Regiment, distinguishing himself on Monte Sabotino in September 1917 and on Montello in June 1918, actions for which he was awarded two bronze medals for military valor. By the end of the war he had been promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

.Vittorio Cuomo, La battaglia del passo di Culqualber, pp. 14–18Carlo Maria Magnani, I Carabinieri: “Usi obbedir tacendo”, p. 3 In 1920, at his request, he was transferred to the

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign poli ...

corps, assigned to the Legion of

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. In 1924 he was again transferred to the Royal Colonial Corps of

Tripolitania Tripolitania (), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province of Libya. The region had been settled since antiquity, first coming to prominence as part of the Carthaginian empire. Following the defeat ...

, being promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1931, after which he returned to Italy, initially serving in the Carabinieri Legion of Rome and then in that of

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

, where he remained until 1936. At the outbreak of the war with Ethiopia he was transferred to

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

and assigned to the Carabinieri truck-mounted bands, distinguishing himself in the battle of Gunu Gadu (

Ogaden Ogaden (pronounced and often spelled ''Ogadēn''; , ) is one of the historical names used for the modern Somali Region. It is also natively referred to as Soomaali Galbeed (). The region forms the eastern portion of Ethiopia and borders Somalia ...

) in April 1936, where he was decorated with his third bronze medal for military valor for the courage shown in the fighting. He was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in 1938 and stationed in

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 upon Italy's entry into

, on 10 June 1940, he assumed command of the Carabinieri Group of

Gondar Gondar, also spelled Gonder (Amharic: ጎንደር, ''Gonder'' or ''Gondär''; formerly , ''Gʷandar'' or ''Gʷender''), is a city and woreda in Ethiopia. Located in the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, Gondar is north of Lake Tana on ...

, later renamed 1st Mobilized Carabinieri Group, consisting of seven officers, 219 Italian

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

s and Carabinieri, and 180 native

Zaptié Zaptié was the designation given to locally raised gendarmerie units in the Italian colonies of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica (later Italian Libya), Eritrea and Somaliland between 1888 and 1943. Origins and duties The word "zaptié" is derived from th ...

. From 6 August 1941 his group was assigned, by order of General

Guglielmo Nasi Guglielmo Ciro Nasi (21 February 1879 – 21 September 1971) was an Italian general who fought in Italian East Africa during World War II. Biography Nasi was born in Civitavecchia, Latium. In 1912 he was sent to Libya as a Captain with the 8t ...

, to the defense of the stronghold of Culqualber Pass, whose fall would have resulted in the fall of Gondar. The situation in Culqualber had become critical due to the shortage of food, water and weapons and means, caused by the Anglo-Ethiopian siege. In the middle of October British attacks on Culqualber intensified, involving the sectors defended by the Carabinieri Group. The Carabinieri carried out several sorties against the positions held by the British, capturing weapons and food necessary for their survival; on 18 October Serranti personally led a raid on an Allied encampment at

Amba Mariam Amba Mariam (Amharic: ዐምባ ማሪያም) is a village in central Ethiopia. Formerly known as Magdala or Magdalena (መቅደላ ''Magdalenā or Mäqdäla'') during the reign of Emperor Tewodros II (1855–1868). Located in the Debub Wollo ...

, overrunning the camp with a surprise

bayonet charge A bayonet (from Old French , now spelt ) is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , now spelt ) is a knife, dagger">knife">-4; we might wonder whethe ...

and then withdrawing with captured equipment and supplies. On November 13, the carabinieri repelled a heavy attack by

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

irregulars. The final Anglo-Ethiopian attack started at 03:00 on 21 November, with the support of

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

s, artillery and

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

; Major Serranti participated in the fighting on the frontline and led a

counterattack A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "Military exercise, war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objecti ...

attempt until he was killed by a

bayonet A bayonet (from Old French , now spelt ) is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , now spelt ) is a knife, dagger">knife">-4; we might wonder whethe ...

blow to the abdomen. Culqualber fell in the afternoon. Serranti was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Serranti, Alfredo 1896 births 1941 deaths Italian military personnel killed in World War II Italian military personnel of World War I Recipients of the Gold Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor Deaths by bayonet