Enrico Pitassi Mannella (

Cerignola Cerignola (; ) is a town and ''comune'' of Apulia, Italy, in the province of Foggia, southeast from the town of Foggia. It has the third-largest land area of any ''comune'' in Italy, at , after Rome and Ravenna and it has the largest land ar ...

, 31 May 1882 –

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, ...

, 1948) was an Italian general 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 ...

. 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 ...

specialist, he was known among his colleagues as the "King of Artillerymen".

Biography

He was born in Cerignola, in the

province of Foggia The province of Foggia (, ; Neapolitan language, Foggiano: ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Regions of Italy, Italian region Apulia. This province is also known as Daunia, after the Daunians, an Iapygians, Iapygian pre-Roman tribe livi ...

, in 1882, to Giuseppe Pitassi Mannella and Amalia Conti, the third of seventeen children. Also known as Errico, after primary school he attended classical studies in a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

college in

Mondragone Mondragone (Campanian: ) is a ''comune'' or municipality in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region of Campania. It is located about northwest of Naples and about west of Caserta. History In the Middle Ages, it was occupied by the Norma ...

, in the

province of Caserta The province of Caserta () is a province in the Campania region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Caserta, situated about by road north of Naples. The province has an area of , and a population of 907,442. The Palace of Caserta is located nea ...

. At age nineteen, on 3 November 1901, he entered the Royal Military Academy of Artillery and Engineers in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, graduating with the rank of artillery second lieutenant, on 21 August 1904. He was 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 ...

after attending the Application School in Turin, and was then assigned to the 24th Field Artillery Regiment; from 14 July 1910 he was assigned to the central artillery school in

Nettuno Nettuno is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Lazio region of central Italy, south of Rome. A resort city and agricultural center on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it has a population of approximately 50,000. Economy It has a ...

. He took part in the

Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...

, where he earned a

Silver Medal of Military Valor The Silver Medal of Military Valor () is an Italian medal for gallantry. Italian medals for valor were first instituted by Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia on 21 May 1793, with a gold medal, and, below it, a silver medal. These were intended for j ...

. He participated in 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 1st Heavy Field Artillery Regiment, with the rank of

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 ...

and later

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 ...

, being awarded three bronze medals of military valor for actions on Monte Cengio in May and September 1916 and on the heights near

Monfalcone Monfalcone (; Venetian language#Regional variants, Bisiacco: ; ; ; archaic ) is a town and (municipality) in the Province of Gorizia, Regional decentralization entity of Gorizia in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Tr ...

on 12 May 1917. From 30 May 1920 to 15 November 1921, he served as instructor at the central artillery schools of Nettuno and

Civitavecchia Civitavecchia (, meaning "ancient town") is a city and major Port, sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea west-northwest of Rome. Its legal status is a ''comune'' (municipality) of Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Rome, Lazio. The harbour is formed by ...

. After being promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1925, from 24 October 1926 he returned again to the central artillery school, authoring a manual on shooting techniques for artillery officers. In the same year he accompanied Colonel Alessandro Pirzio Biroli on a mission at the military academy of

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

and held a series of lectures on technical subjects of artillery in various foreign countries, especially in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. After promotion to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in 1929, Mannella was given command of the 1st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Center, and after promotion to brigadier general on 11 March 1935 he commanded the artillery of the 2nd Special Army Corps in

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

, participating in the

Second Italo-Ethiopian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression waged by Fascist Italy, Italy against Ethiopian Empire, Ethiopia, which lasted from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is oft ...

, and entering

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

on 5 May 1936. From the following 24 May, he returned to Rome, where he remained at the disposal of the Ministry of Italian Africa. From 5 August 1937, he was entrusted the Artillery Branch Inspectorate in Rome and was promoted to Major General. On 30 June 1938 he was appointed commander of the 19th Infantry Division Gavinana in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, which in 1939 was renamed 19th Infantry Division Venezia. At the end of April 1939, Pitassi left for

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 ...

at the head of his Division, remaining there until 9 June 1940. On the following day, which marked Italy's entry into

, he was transferred to

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 ...

, where he was given command of the XXII Army Corps, part of the Tenth Army and composed of the 4th Blackshirt Division 3 Gennaio and of the 64th Infantry Division Catanzaro. On 29 June 1940 Mannella was tasked with the investigation into the death of

Italo Balbo Italo Balbo (6 June 1896 – 28 June 1940) was an Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italian fascist politician and Blackshirts' leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force, Governor-General of Italian Libya and Commander-in-Chief of Italian ...

, governor of Libya, shot down over

Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclop� ...

on the evening of the previous day in a

friendly fire In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy or hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while ...

incident. By the autumn of 1940, the XXII Army Corps had been reduced to only one division, the 61st Infantry Division Sirte, the other divisions having been transferred to other formations. During the British offensive known as

Operation Compass Operation Compass (also ) was the first large British military operation of the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) during the Second World War. British metropolitan, Imperial and Commonwealth forces attacked the Italian and Libyan forces of ...

Mannella was given command of the defence of

; on 22 January 1941 he was captured in the British assault on the town, along with three other generals (Umberto Barberis, Vincenzo della Mura and Adolfo de Leone), Rear Admiral Massimiliano Vietina and over 20,000 of his men. He was sent to a

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

in Yol, British India and remained in British captivity until after the war, being finally released in 1946. After returning to Italy, he was briefly president of the military court of Rome, and died in Rome in 1948.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitassi Mannella, Enrico 1882 births 1948 deaths Italian military personnel of World War II Italian military personnel of World War I Italian Army generals Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor