Italian Spahis
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Italian Spahis were light cavalry colonial troops of the Kingdom of Italy, raised in Italian Libya betwen 1912 and 1942.[1]
Characteristics
The Italian colonial administration of Libya raised squadrons of locally recruited Spahi cavalry after the conquest of Libya from the Ottoman empire.
These differed from their French namesakes in that their prime role was that of mounted police, tasked with patrolling rural and desert areas.
Although they had Italian officers these spahis were more loosely organised than the regular Libyan cavalry regiments (Savari). They wore a picturesque dress modelled on that of the desert tribesmen from whom they were recruited.
History
The Italian Spahis formed part of the Regio Corpo Truppe Coloniali della Libia (Royal Corps of Libyan Colonial Troops), which included desert and camel troops, infantry battalions, artillery and cavalry. The Truppe Coloniali saw extensive service during the Italian conquest of Tripolitania and mainly Cyrenaica & Fezzan, which was not completed until 1932. In 1936 Spahis and other Libyan units took part in the Italian invasion of Ethiopia and received a "Gold Medal of Honor" for their distinguished performance in battle [2]
The Spahis of Amedeo Guillet
Te most famous group of Italian Spahis was the one of Amedeo Guillet. In 1934 he was in Libya commanding this irregular cavalry. In 1935, Guillet participated with the Spahis of Libya in the War of Ethiopia, where these libyan troops fought bravely.
World War II
On the eve of Italy's entry into World War II the Royal Corps of Libyan Colonial Troops comprised approximately 28,000 locally recruited personnel. They suffered heavy losses during the Battle of the Marmarica (December 1940) and were formally disbanded in January 1943 following the Italian withdrawal into Tunisia. The role of the Spahis and other mounted troops was limited to patrol and scouting work by the demands of modern mechanised warfare.