Major General Giuseppe Ellena (29 March 1839 – 24 November 1918) was an Italian artillery officer who fought in the First Italo-Ethiopian War. He was also a

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of hydraulics and

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Biography

Ellena was born in Saluzzo on 29 March 1839. Ellena joined the Italian Military after getting a degree in

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, and became 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 in 1859. He would serve in the Austro-Italian War of 1866 and become a teacher at the Artillery and Engineering School of

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 ...

. Using his knowledge as an artillery officer, in 1873 Ellena wrote about the science behind artillery shells and the utility of regimental schools. On 16 March 1893 Ellena was granted the rank of Major General for his long military career and academic work in the study of artillery and regimental schools.

Battle of Adwa

Ellena arrived in

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

on 17 February 1896, having left

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with a group of reinforcements on 25 January 1896, and would quickly find himself under the command of Oreste Baratieri. A this point in his career, he was considered one of the best artillery officers in the Italian Army. He was the oldest and latest of the five Italian generals at the Battle of Adwa to enter

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. Despite being the oldest, he deferred to the other officers at the prebattle discussions, although they looked to him to share what the political situation was back in

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. He would agree with the offensive that would result in the battle. The battle took place on 1 March 1896. During it, Ellena commanded the 3rd infantry

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

, which served as reserves, following the centre. The Italian forces lost and Ellen found himself assisting Baratieri in the retreat. Three of the other four generals died at the battle and the remaining one, Matteo Albertone, was taken

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. Of the deceased generals' forces, Giuseppe Arimondi's men would retreat to Ellena's position on Mount Roja and help form the rearguard for the retreat. Ellena himself was injured during the battle, resulting in him being taken to a

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. While there he would pen letters blaming the loss on a lack of intelligence, geographical knowledge, and no retreat plans in place. Soon after the battle, he returned to Italy. Ellena received heavy criticism for leaving Africa so quickly after the defeat, but would continue to maintain regular correspondence with Baratieri; during which he blamed the loss on the disobedience of the other generals: Albertone, Arimondi, and Vittorio Dabormida. Ellena died in 1918 in

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Written works

* ''Nozioni: sulle polveri, sulle munizioni e sugli artifizi da guerra'', compiled by Ellena was published in 1873

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellena, Giuseppe 1839 births 1918 deaths People from Saluzzo 19th-century Italian male writers Major generals Italian Army generals Italian military personnel of the First Italo-Ethiopian War