Giuseppe Galliano

African Colonial Service

Battle of Agordat

In the battle of Agordat (1893) Captain Giuseppe Galliano commanded a Battalion of Colonial Eritreans, as well as a battery of mountain artillery served from Sudanese soldiers. At first, the battle was favourable to Galliano's troops but later the Dervishes, excited by their military and religious heads, tried to close in on them. Galliano could not check their offensive and had to order the retreat. Later, he ordered a violent bayonet counterattack, leading it himself on horse. Shortly the Dervishes fled in disarray. The booty of guns, ammunition and standards is now in the Museum of Artillery of Turin. Between the flags is the famous green banner, which was one painful and disheartening loss to the Dervishes.

When King Umberto I assigned him the Gold Medal of Military Valor, Captain Galliano wrote to his brother: “A single thing disturbs my joy for such honour: it is too different from the one given to my officers, who have earned it for me, to whom the Ministry was not as generous as to me”. Galliano distinguished himself for his skill in instructing native troops and constituting them in solid and homogenous units.

Battle of Coatit

In January 1895 began the battle of Coatit between Italian troops and those from Ras Mangascià, governor of Tigray, who was defeated and forced to take shelter near Senafe, pursued by Italian troops. Giuseppe Galliano, promoted to major after Agordat, had a great role in this operation. The action earned him a Silver Medal of Military Valor, and the Knight Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus by Monarch's motu proprio.

Defence of the fort of Mek'ele

In the autumn of 1895, all of Tigray was occupied; the Governor of Eritrea, General Oreste Baratieri returned to Massaua. A few weeks later, Negus Menelik II denounced the undue Italian occupation of Tigray, a territory that the Treaty of Wuchale assigned to Ethiopia. Menelik II collected huge supplies of provisions, cattle, arms and ammunition and gathered a big army in order to march against the Italian column. In December the Abyssinian army could boast 100,000 men, while the Italian forces had been divided into two contingents: 5000 men were stationed in Adigrat and 5000 in Mek'ele, under General Giuseppe Arimondi.
Arimondi intended to support Major Pietro Toselli, isolated with its company on the plateau of Amba Alagi in an advanced position. However, Governor Baratieri telegraphed that the garrison in Mek'ele had to be maintained and prohibited general Arimondi from moving. On 7 December approximately 2000 soldiers, commanded by Major Toselli, died heroically.

Arimondi, who had advanced as far as Aderà, (20 km from Amba Alagi), could only collect the few survivors and go back to Adigrat, leaving Giuseppe Galliano with 1.300 men in the fort of Enda Yesus near Mek'ele. The army of the Negus began the siege of the fort. Galliano resisted for two months the continuous attacks of 100,000 Abyssinian armed men. The small garrison of approximately 1,500 men endured serious losses, mainly from diseases, but did not surrender. The peace negotiations reached the peak on 17 January 1896, when Menelik II offered to stop hostilities and let the Italians in Mek'ele go free, asking in compensation that the Treaty of Wuchale be cancelled. The Italian government, though demanding the liberation of the besieged ones of Mek'ele, remained firm in asking that the Treaty be renewed. The siege finally came to an end when Menelik agreed to free the Italian army and negotiate. This was good news for Galliano because his army was facing defeat and was short of water supplies. Galliano with all his men joined the Italian forces near the Eritrean border. For the defence of the fort of Enda Yesus (then called in his honour “Fort Galliano”), Galliano received another Silver Medal of Military Valor and was moved up to lieutenant colonel in January 1896.

The Battle of Adwa and death

In the last days of February, the Italian army had supplies only for a few days. It was necessary to retreat or to advance to Adwa in order to reach the warehouses of Adi Ugri and Asmara. Baratieri was more favourable to the retreat but the other generals were inclined to the attack. In the night between 29 February and 1 March, Baratieri decided at last to face the enemy with his 20,000 men against 100,000 of Menelik II. He was led to a risky manoeuvre, and to engage battle, by a telegram of Francesco Crispi (head of the government) sent on 25 February: “This one is a military tuberculosis, not a war”. On the night of 29 February, the army moved in three columns: Colonel Galliano took part in the centre one, 2,500 soldiers guided by General Giuseppe Arimondi. On the Rajo Mount, Galliano tried to cover the left wing of the brigade of Arimondi by blocking the Abyssinians. In this effort, he and all his soldiers fell.

A second Gold Medal of Military Valor was conferred posthumously to Galliano. Galliano, the first Alpine decorated with the gold medal, was also the first officer who received two Gold Medals of Military Valuor, thus breaking off the tradition of not awarding it twice to the same person.

Legacy

In Ceva, (Cuneo), is a Museum dedicated to Galliano, as well as several public buildings and a bronze monument.

Galliano is also the namesake of Galliano, a herbal liqueur.

Honours

• Knight of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus

“motu proprio of Monarch” - 1896

• Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy
• Silver Medal of Military Valour

“For the combats of Coatit” - 1893

• Gold Medal of Military Valour

“Decisive victory over the Dervishes” - Agordat (Eritrean), December 1893

• Silver Medal of Military Valour

“For the heroic defence of the fort of Enda Jesus (Mek'ele)” - 1896

• Gold Medal of Military Valour

“Engaged with his battalion on the Rajo Mount, in the more critical moment of the fight, he fought with valour. [...] he, although wounded, persisted in the resistance with the few soldiers near him, urging the others to end with honour, until he was killed. Adua, (Ethiopia), 1 March 1896