Eritrean Ascari

Eritrean Ascari in 1939

The Eritrean Ascari were indigenous soldiers from Eritrea who were enrolled as askaris in the "Royal Corps of Colonial Troops" (Regio Corpo di Truppe Coloniali) of the Italian Army.

Characteristics

These regular troops played an important role in the initial conquest of the various colonial possessions of the Kingdom of Italy. Subsequently acted as garrison and internal security forces in the Italian Empire, and finally served in large numbers during the Italian conquest of British Somaliland and the East African campaign of 1940-41 .

History

Except for the German parachute division in Italy and the Japanese in Burma no enemy with whom the British and Indian troops were matched put up a finer fight than those Savoia battalions at Keren (Eritrea). Moreover, the Colonial troops, until they cracked at the very end, fought with valour and resolution, and their staunchness was a testimony to the excellence of the Italian administration and military training in Eritrea

The Italian Army made extensive use of locally recruited indigenous soldiers in Italian East Africa. These troops comprised infantry, cavalry and some light artillery units. They were recruited initially from Eritreans and subsequently from Somalis, with Italian officers and some non-commissioned officers. The Italian Askaris fought in the First Italo–Ethiopian War, the Italian-Turkish War, the Second Italo-Abyssinian War and World War II (East African Campaign)..

Out of a total of 256,000 Italian troops serving in Italian East Africa in 1940, about 182,000 were recruited from Italian Eritrea, Italian Somalia and the just recently occupied (1935–36) Ethiopia. In January 1941, British Commonwealth forces invaded Ethiopia and the majority of the newly recruited Ethiopian Askaris serving with the Italian Army in East Africa deserted. Most of the Eritrean Ascaris however remained loyal until the Italian surrender four months later .

Development of the "Ascari"

The name "ascar" is the Arab word for "soldier". The Eritrean Ascari originated from a mercenary Arab group employed by the Ottoman Empire and called Basci Buzuks. This irregular force was created in Eritrea by the Albanian adventurer Sagiak Hassan, who worked for local Eritrean tribes in the second half of the 19th century.

In 1885 the Italian colonel Tancredi Saletta, commanding officer of the Italian troops during the conquest of Eritrea, brought the Basci Buzuks (with their armaments and families) into Italian service as irregular auxiliaries. In 1889 the first four regular battalions of Eritrean soldiers were created in Asmara. Those Eritrean troops were incorporated into the Italian colonial Army with the name Ascari. They were successfully used in battle by the Italians, for the first time, against the Dervisci in Sudan .

Initially the Eritrean Ascaris comprised only infantry battalions, although Eritrean cavalry squadrons (Penne di Falco) and mountain artillery batteries were subsequently raised. By 1922 units of camel cavalry called "meharisti" had been added. Those Eritrean camel units were also deployed in Libya after 1932. During the 1930s Benito Mussolini added some armored cars units to the Ascari.

Eritrean regiments in Italian service wore high red fezzes with coloured tufts and waist sashes that varied according to each unit. As examples, the 17th Eritrean Battalion had black and white tufts and vertically striped sashes; while the 64th Eritrean Battalion wore both of these items in scarlet and purple. The Eritrean Ascari had the following ranks, from simple soldier to senior non commissioned officer: Ascari - Muntaz (corporal) - Bulukbasci (lance-sergeant) -Sciumbasci (sergeant). The Sciumbasci-capos (staff-sergeants) were the senior Eritrean non-commissioned officers and were chosen according to their fighting performance in battle. All commissioned officers of the Eritrean Ascari were Italian, like famous Indro Montanelli

After World War I service with the Ascari become the main source of paid employment for the indigenous male population of Eritrea. During the expansion required by the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1936, 40% of eligible Eritreans were enrolled in these colonial troops.

Performance in battle

Graves of unknown Ascaris killed in 1941 during the Battle of Keren

The Eritrean Ascari were considered the best of Italy's colonial soldiers, with a reputation similar to that of the Gurkhas in the British Empire forces.

Notable events in the history of Italy's Eritrean Ascaris included:

1. About six thousand Eritrean Ascaris, serving in both infantry and artillery units, were present at the Battle of Adwa on 1 March 1896. Of these, 2,000 ascari were killed and 800 were captured and mutilated by having their right hands and left feet amputated by the victorious Ethiopians, who considered them as traitors.
2. In the Italian conquest of Ethiopia (1935–1936) the veteran Eritrean Ascaris, with their high morale and aggressive spirit, played a key role, often taking the lead during attacks. About 60,000 Eritreans served in both regular ascari units and in irregular bands. Nearly 5,000 Eritrean Ascaris were killed in this war.
3. During World War II a number of Eritrean Ascari were awarded the Gold Medal for Military Honor at both the Battle of Cheren and at the Amba Alagi. Some of the remaining Ascari fought with lieutenant Amedeo Guillet in his Italian guerrilla against the Allies after the Italian Army surrender in Gondar in November 1941.
4. Alì Gabrè, an Eritrean officer of the Ascari, was in charge of 100 Ascari cavalrymen (supported even by legendary hero of modern Eritrea Hamid Idriss Awate), who fought the British and Ethiopian troops until 1946. They (and their descendants) were the Eritrean fighters who organized the first resistance against the annexation of Eritrea by the Negus in 1962 .

Amedeo Guillet and his "Gruppo Bande Amhara"

One of the most famous Italian officers who commanded groups of Eritrean Ascari in Etiopia and Eritrea was Amedeo Guillet.

At the beginning of World War II the Italian Viceroy Amedeo Duke of Aosta gave lieutenant Guillet command of the 2,500 strong Gruppo Bande Amhara, an irregular troops unit made up mainly of recruits from Ethiopia's region of Amhara. This force was primarily a cavalry one, but also included camel mounted troops and some Yemeni infantry led by Eritrean Ascari NCOs.

At the end of 1940, the Allied forces faced Guillet on the road to Amba Alagi, and specifically, in the proximity of Cherù. He was charged with the task of delaying the allied advance from the North-West and his Eritrean Ascari were successful but suffered many casualties. Guillet's most important battle happened towards the end of January 1941 at Cherù when he decided to attack enemy armoured units. At dawn the Gruppo Bande tigray charged a column of tanks armed only with swords, guns and hand grenades. They passed unhurt through the British forces who were caught unaware. Guillet then turned to charge again. In the meantime however, the British had organised themselves and fired horizontally with their howitzers. Their shells ripped open the chests of Guillet's horses and soldiers before exploding. This was the last cavalry charge the British faced and the last but one in the history of Italian cavalry.

Guillet's Eritrean Ascari paid a high price in terms of human losses, approximately 800 died in little more than two years and, in March 1941, his forces found themselves stranded outside the Italian lines. Guillet, faithful until death to the oath to the House of Savoy, began a private war against the British. Hiding his uniform near an Italian farm, he set the region on fire at night for almost eight months with his Eritrean Ascari. He was one of the most famous Italian "guerrilla officers" in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia during the Italian guerrilla war against the Allies occupation of the Italian East Africa.

Eritrean Ascari after World War II

Many Eritrean Ascari fought for the independence of Eritrea after WWII. The most famous was Hamid Idris Awate, nicknamed the Father of Eritrea because he fired the first shots of the Eritrean War of Independence against the Ethiopians.

After the official end of the Italian Empire in 1947, the Italian government has dedicated some efforts to maintain organizations related to the Ascari in Italy and Eritrea.

In 1950 the Italian authorities created a pension fund for nearly 140,000 Eritrean Ascari who had served in the Italian colonial Army. Even if the amount was minimal (the equivalent of $100 yearly), this was paid in the Italian Embassy of Asmara and was of some value in the underdeveloped economy of Eritrea after World War II.

In 1993 there were still living in Eritrea 1100 Ascari, but in 2006 there were only 260. One of them, Beraki Ghebreslasie, lives in Rome.

Bibliography

• Bereketeab, R. Eritrea: The making of a Nation. Uppsala University. Uppsala, 2000.
• Lowe, C.J. Italian Foreign Policy 1870-1940. Routledge. 2002.
• Mackenzie, Compton. Eastern Epic. Chatto & Windus. London, 1951. OCLC 1412578.
• Negash, Tekeste. Italian colonialism in Eritrea 1882-1941 (Politics, Praxis and Impact). Uppsala University. Uppsala, 1987.
• Shillington, Kevin. Encyclopedia of African History. CRC Press. London, 2005. ISBN 1579582451

See also

• Bands (Italian Army irregulars)
• Eritrea
• Italian Eritreans
• Dubats
• Zaptié
• Italian Empire
• Hamid Idriss Awate
• Amedeo Guillet

External links

• The Museum of the Ascari
• Photos of Eritrean Ascari
• Institute of Eritrean Culture
• Website dedicated to the Eritrean Ascari
• Ascari in Rome 1937 (in Italian)
• Ascari of Eritrea Collection of about 200 pictures listed by categories