Giuseppe Tellera (March 14, 1882 – February 7, 1941) was a general in the
Italian Army
The Italian Army ( []) is the Army, land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China and Italo-Turkish War, Libya. It ...
during World War II.
Italian Tenth Army
On 23 December 1940 General Tellera took over the command of the
Italian Tenth Army from Lieutenant General
Italo Gariboldi. The Tenth Army was then trying to stop the British
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 ...
, which had begun 9 December with the
Attack on Nibeiwa.
At the beginning of the offensive, the Tenth Army consisted of four Army Corps with nine divisions and two brigade-sized armored groups, but by 23 December, the
1st Libyan Division, the
2nd Libyan Division, the
4th CC.NN. Division "3 Gennaio" and the
Maletti Group had been destroyed at the
Battle of Sidi Barrani
The Battle of Sidi Barrani 1940) was the opening battle of Operation Compass, the first big British attack of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. Sidi Barrani, on the Mediterranean coast in Egypt, had been occupied by the Italia ...
. Also, the
1st CC.NN. Division "23 Marzo", the
2nd CC.NN. Division "28 Ottobre", the
62nd Infantry Division "Marmarica", the
63rd Infantry Division "Cirene" and remnants of the
64th Infantry Division "Catanzaro" were encircled at
Bardia
Bardia, also El Burdi or Bardiyah ( or ) is a Mediterranean seaport in the Butnan District of eastern Libya, located near the border with Egypt. It is also occasionally called ''Bórdi Slemán''.
The name Bardia is deeply rooted in the ancient ...
. That left Tellera with only the
61st Infantry Division "Sirte" and the
Babini Group.
Tellera, who had served as a staff officer 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 ...
on the
Italian front and been the Chief of Staff under General Balbo and Graziani, set out to build up a defence with whatever reinforcements that he received. The 61st Infantry Division "Sirte" was sent to garrison
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� ...
, and the rest of the units remained near
Gazala. After the British had captured Bardia and Tobruk, Tellera ordered the newly-arrived
60th Infantry Division "Sabratha" to set up a defensive line between
Derna and
Al Qubbah, and the Special Armored Brigade took up positions at
Mechili.
On 24 January 1941, the British
7th Armoured Division dislodged the Special Armored Brigade during the
action at Mechili, and the Australian
6th Division attacked the Sabratha on 25 January. On 29 January, Tellera ordered a general retreat along the
Via Balbia road towards
Benghazi
Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...
. However, the British
Combeforce had already blocked the road at
Beda Fomm. The Italians attempted to break out on 6–7 February during the
Battle of Beda Fomm
The Battle of Beda Fomm took place following the rapid British advance during Operation Compass (9 December 1940 – 9 February 1941). The Italian 10th Army () was forced to evacuate Cyrenaica, the eastern province of Libya. In late January, th ...
and Tellera rode into battle in a
M13/40 tank, but the repeated but poorly-coordinated frontal attacks by the Italian armour were futile, and the last remnants of the Tenth Army were forced to surrender.
After the battle, British forces found a gravely injured Tellera in one of the disabled tanks of the
VI Tank Battalion M13/40, which he had led personally into a last desperate attack against British forces. He died of wounds in hospital the following day.
Struck by his heroic resistance, the
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
buried him with full military honours
["The Times", 12 February 1941] in
Benghazi
Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...
.
Awards and honours
For his gallantry in action Lt. Gen. Tellera was posthumously awarded the
Medaglia d'oro al valor militare, the highest military decoration in the Italian Army.
The award citation read as follows:
''“Chief of staff of the Armed Forces North Africa, with organized and active perception, especially in the period that led to the victory of our arms Sidi El Barrani. He took over, in a particularly critical situation, the command of an Army Corps, kept during the forced withdrawal from Cyrenaica Gebel, more serene calm, giving evidence of high-capacity light control and eminent personal worth. In the battle of South Bengasino when the enemy had made impossible the withdrawal of our troops on Agedabia, stopped in a two days fighting, the vehemence of the opponent, and inflict heavy losses, forcing it to desist from its push into Sirtica. Gather the troops remaining in extreme defense in a place of particular importance, he tried repeatedly, with great personal risk, to collect the last means to break through and break the enemy encirclement. In this supreme and heroic effort, fell gloriously on the field, properly sealing a life of dedication to the entire country”. Sidi El Barrani (AS), September 1940-Agedabia, February 6, 1941.''
References
* Macksey, Major Kenneth (1971). Beda Fomm: Classic Victory. Ballentine's Illustrated History of the Violent Century, Battle Book Number 22. New York: Ballantine Books. .
*Angelo Dal Boca, “La tragica fine della X armata e del suo comandante”. The tragic end of the tenth Army, and its comandant .
*Letter from Libya /Lettera dalla Libia del generale Tellera, in “I sentieri della ricerca. Rivista di storia contemporanea” 3 (2006), 73–90.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tellera, Giuseppe
1882 births
1941 deaths
Italian Army generals
Italian military personnel of World War I
Royal Italian Army personnel killed in World War II