Oreste Baratieri (né Oreste Baratter, 13 November 1841 – 7 August 1901) was an Italian general and governor of

Italian Eritrea Italian Eritrea ( it, Colonia Eritrea, "Colony of Eritrea") was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy in the territory of present-day Eritrea. The first Italian establishment in the area was the purchase of Assab by the Rubattino Shipping Company in ...

Early career

Ufficiali garibaldini Faconti, Zancani, Baratieri, Bezzi Enoch, Martini, Bezzi Ergisto, Tranquillini, Fontana (1860)

Born in

Condino Condino (german: Kunden) is a former ''comune'', now a frazione of Borgo Chiese in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about southwest of Trento. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,507 an ...

(

County of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with the secularised pr ...

, now

Trentino Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...

), Baratieri began his career as a volunteer for

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

's Redshirts, where he served during the

Expedition of the Thousand The Expedition of the Thousand ( it, Spedizione dei Mille) was an event of the Italian Risorgimento that took place in 1860. A corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Quarto, near Genoa (now Quarto dei Mille) and landed in Ma ...

from 1860 to 1861. Following the unification of Italy, Baratieri did fight in the

Battle of Mentana The Battle of Mentana was fought on November 3, 1867, near the village of Mentana, located north-east of Rome (then in the Papal States, now modern Lazio), between French-papal troops and the Italian volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who wer ...

(1867) then he pursued a military career joining the regular

Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

and fighting at the Battle of Custoza on 24 June 1866. Rising to the rank of general by 1891, Baratieri was appointed commander of Italian forces in colonial Africa and the following year became governor of Eritrea. Baratieri would spend several years fighting with local Ethiopian forces along the border from 1893 to 1895, winning several victories over the Mahdists, particularly at the

Battle of Kassala The Battle of Kassala was fought on July 17, 1894, between an Italian colonial troop and Mahdist Sudanese forces. Prelude Governor Oreste Baratieri sought to capture Kassala, to forestall Mahdist attacks on Eritrea. In July 1894, Baratieri sa ...

on 17 July 1894.

Italo-Ethiopian War

Following

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Menelik II , spoken = ; ''djānhoi'', lit. ''"O steemedroyal"'' , alternative = ; ''getochu'', lit. ''"Our master"'' (pl.) Menelik II ( gez, ዳግማዊ ምኒልክ ; horse name Abba Dagnew ( Amharic: አባ ዳኘው ''abba daññäw''); 17 ...

and Italy's dispute over the

Treaty of Wuchale The Treaty of Wuchale (also spelled Treaty of Ucciale; it, Trattato di Uccialli, am, የውጫሌ ውል) was a treaty signed between the Ethiopian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy. The signing parties were King Menelik II of Shewa, acting as ...

, Italy launched an invasion of the Ethiopian Empire. Returning briefly to Italy, Baratieri reportedly promised crowds to bring back Menelik in a cage. In late 1895 Baratieri led a force of 25,000 Italian troops and

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

into Ethiopia. However, Menelik had spent several years re-equipping his soldiers with modern arms and ammunition for such a conflict—at times with Italian help—and called up an army that vastly outnumbered the Italian forces. Baratieri spent nearly a year of the

First Italo–Ethiopian War The First Italo-Ethiopian War, lit. ''Abyssinian War'' was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from 1895 to 1896. It originated from the disputed Treaty of Wuchale, which the Italians claimed turned Ethiopia into an Italian protectorate. Full-sc ...

evading a decisive confrontation. In February 1896, however, the impatient Italian government of

Francesco Crispi Francesco Crispi (4 October 1818 – 11 August 1901) was an Italian patriot and statesman. He was among the main protagonists of the Risorgimento, a close friend and supporter of Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi, and one of the architect ...

ordered Baratieri to engage the Ethiopians. Unknown to Baratieri, a confidential Cabinet decision had been made to replace him, and his successor General Baldissera was already on his way to Eritrea. On the evening of 28 February 1896 Baratieri met in conference with his four Brigade commanders at

Sauria Sauria is the clade containing the most recent common ancestor of archosaurs (such as crocodilians, dinosaurs, etc.) and lepidosaurs ( lizards and kin), and all its descendants. Since most molecular phylogenies recover turtles as more closely re ...

. The general himself favored a partial withdrawal, noting that the Ethiopian forces under Menelik were believed to be short of supplies and would be obliged soon to disperse. However both his brigadiers and his orders from Rome insisted on an advance into mountainous territory. On 29 February Baratieri marched in four separate columns on the Ethiopians at

Adowa Adwa ( ti, ዓድዋ; amh, ዐድዋ; also spelled Aduwa) is a town and separate woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is best known as the community closest to the site of the 1896 Battle of Adwa, in which Ethiopian soldiers defeated Italian ...

, where they outnumbered his immediate command of 9,894 men by more than ten to one. The fighting began soon after 5:30 am on 1 March, when a horseman entered the Ethiopian camp with news of the Italian advance. Ethiopian forces were well positioned to receive the Italians in a crossfire, and by noon the battle was effectively over. Around 14,660 Italian regulars and Eritrean Ascaris were killed during the war compared to an estimated 7,000 Ethiopians, Baratieri's casualties accounted for two-thirds of his force. As a result of the disaster, Italy was forced to sign the humiliating

Treaty of Addis Ababa The Treaty of Addis Ababa, signed 23 October 1896, formally ended the First Italo-Ethiopian War on terms mostly favorable to Ethiopia. This treaty superseded a secret agreement between Ethiopia and Italy negotiated days after the decisive Battle o ...

guaranteeing Ethiopian sovereignty.Raffaeli Ruggeri, p. 84 "Italian Colonial Wars 1885/1900", Editrice Militare Italiana 1988 Baratieri was court-martialed at

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The ...

; though he was acquitted, he was forced to resign his post the following year. He spent the remainder of his life living in retirement in the Austrian Tyrol until his death on 7 August 1901 at

Sterzing Sterzing (; it, Vipiteno ) is a comune in South Tyrol in northern Italy. It is the main town of the southern Wipptal, and the Eisack River flows through the medieval town. History Origin The town traces its roots to 14 B.C., when Nero Claudius ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baratieri, Oreste 1841 births 1901 deaths People from Trentino People from the County of Tyrol Historical Right politicians Deputies of Legislature XIII of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XIV of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XV of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XVI of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XVII of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XVIII of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XIX of the Kingdom of Italy Italian colonial governors and administrators Italian generals 19th-century Italian military personnel Italian people of the Italian unification Italian military personnel of the First Italo-Ethiopian War Members of the Expedition of the Thousand 19th century in Ethiopia