Pietro Maletti (24 May 1880 – 9 December 1940) was an Italian General and war criminal who participated in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the

Italian colonization of Libya The Italian colonization of Libya began in 1911 and it lasted until 1943. The country, which was previously an Ottoman Tripolitania, Ottoman possession, was occupied by Kingdom of Italy, Italy in 1911 after the Italo-Turkish War, which resulted i ...

, the

Second Italo-Abyssinian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Itali ...

, and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was killed in action during the early stages of the North Africa Campaign.

Early life

Pietro Maletti was born in

Castiglione delle Stiviere Castiglione delle Stiviere ( Upper Mantovano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Mantua, in Lombardy, Italy, northwest of Mantua by road. History The town's castle was home to a cadet branch of the House of Gonzaga, headed by the M ...

Province of Mantua The Province of Mantua ( it, provincia di Mantova; Mantovano, Lower Mantovano: ; Upper Mantovano: ) is a province in the Lombardy region of Northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Mantua. It is bordered to the north-east by the Province o ...

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

. In 1898, Maletti volunteered for the Italian Royal Army (''

Regio Esercito The Royal Italian Army ( it, Regio Esercito, , Royal Army) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfre ...

''). In 1904, he was admitted to the

Military Academy of Modena The Military Academy of Modena ( it, Accademia militare di Modena) is a military university in Modena, northern Italy. Located in the Palazzo Ducale in the historic center of the city, it was the first such military institution to be created in ...

. In 1909, Maletti was promoted to

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

(''Tenente'') and, in 1914, he was promoted to

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

(''Capitano'').

World War I and Libya

Maletti participated in

but, in August 1917, he was sent to

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

. With only a few brief postings elsewhere, Maletti remained in

Italian North Africa Libya ( it, Libia; ar, ليبيا, Lībyā al-Īṭālīya) was a colony of the Fascist Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Italian Cyrenaica ...

(''Africa Settentrionale Italiana'', or ASI) until 1934 to quell

Libyan resistance The Libyan resistance movement was the rebel force opposing the Italian Empire during its Pacification of Libya between 1923 and 1932. History First years The Libyan resistance, associated with the Senussi Order, was initially led by Omar Muk ...

there. In 1926, he was promoted to

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

(''Tenente Colonnello'') and, in November of that year, Maletti returned to Italy for a short period of time. In 1931, may be after his participation in the campaign aiming

Kufra Kufra () is a basinBertarelli (1929), p. 514. and oasis group in the Kufra District of southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. At the end of nineteenth century Kufra became the centre and holy place of the Senussi order. It also played a minor role in ...

under

Rodolfo Graziani Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli (; 11 August 1882 – 11 January 1955), was a prominent Italian military officer in the Kingdom of Italy's '' Regio Esercito'' ("Royal Army"), primarily noted for his campaigns in Africa before and durin ...

in January that year, he was promoted to

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

(''Colonnello'').

Ethiopia

In May 1934, Maletti again returned to Italy. But, in January 1935, he was transferred to

Italian Somaliland Italian Somalia ( it, Somalia Italiana; ar, الصومال الإيطالي, Al-Sumal Al-Italiy; so, Dhulka Talyaaniga ee Soomaalida), was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia. Ruled in the 19th centur ...

for the Italian invasion of Ethiopia. He fought throughout the campaign on the "southern front" under the overall command of

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

. Maletti earned a promotion to

Brigadier-General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

(''Generale di Brigata''). Prior to the

Battle of Genale Doria The Battle of Ganale Doria (also known as the Battle of Genale Dorya or as the Battle of Genale Wenz) was a battle in 1936 during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. It was fought on the "southern front". The battle consisted largely of air attac ...

, Maletti commanded a

flying column A flying column is a small, independent, military land unit capable of rapid mobility and usually composed of all arms. It is often an ''ad hoc'' unit, formed during the course of operations. The term is usually, though not necessarily, appli ...

which was sent to attack a group of retreating Ethiopians. His pursuit ended when the Ethiopians were joined by a relief column and then turned on Maletti. Both sides claimed victory after some confused fighting. After Ethiopia was defeated, Maletti stayed in

Italian East Africa Italian East Africa ( it, Africa Orientale Italiana, AOI) was an Italian colony in the Horn of Africa. It was formed in 1936 through the merger of Italian Somalia, Italian Eritrea, and the newly occupied Ethiopian Empire, conquered in the Seco ...

(''Africa Orientale Italiana'', or AOI) until April 1937. General Pietro Maletti Italian and Libyan troops that between May 18 and May 22, 1937, massacred between 1700 and 2100 people at the

Debre Libanos Debre Libanos (Amharic: ደብረ ሊባኖስ, om, Dabra libanose) is an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo monastery, lying northwest of Addis Ababa in the North Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region. It was founded in 1284 by Saint Tekle Haymanot as D ...

Monastery, including all 297 monks and 23 lay people who served the monastery, and the many pilgrims who had come to celebrate the patron saint of the monastery. The soldiers then looted the monastery carrying off crowns and robes of several of Ethiopia's past Emperors, and numerous manuscripts that have never been recovered.

World War II

In June 1938, Maletti was promoted to the rank of

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

(''

Generale di divisione Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an Division (military), army division. The rank originates from the General officer#French (Revolutionary) system, French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The ...

''). In 1939, he was intended to assume command of the

28 Infantry Division Aosta 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

. On 10 June 1940, Italian dictator

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

declared war on

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. On 22 June, France fell and signed an armistice. British-occupied

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

became the focus of the Italian forces in Libya. Maletti was diverted from his intended command and returned to

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

(''Africa Settentrionale''). In Libya, he took command of a special ''

ad hoc Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with ''a priori''.) Com ...

'' grouping of

motorized infantry Motorized infantry is infantry that is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles, and from light infantry, which ca ...

and

tanks A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine ...

which was called the "

Maletti Group The Maletti Group ( it, Raggruppamento Maletti) was an mechanised unit formed by the Italian Royal Army () in Italian North Africa (, ASI), during the initial stages of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The Italian army ...

" (''Raggruppamento Maletti''). In September 1940, Maletti commanded this ''ad hoc'' group during the

Italian invasion of Egypt The Italian invasion of Egypt () was an offensive in the Second World War, against British, Commonwealth and Free French forces in the Kingdom of Egypt. The invasion by the Italian 10th Army () ended border skirmishing on the frontier and began ...

. After initially becoming lost whilst making his way to the staging area, he advanced into Egypt and occupied fortified positions near

Sidi Barrani Sidi Barrani ( ar, سيدي براني ) is a town in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, about east of the Egypt–Libya border, and around from Tobruk, Libya. Named after Sidi es-Saadi el Barrani, a Senussi sheikh who was a head of i ...

. On 9 December 1940, Maletti was killed in action at the fortified Nibeiwa Camp when British forces

counterattack A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek ...

ed during the early stages of

Operation Compass Operation Compass (also it, Battaglia della Marmarica) was the first large British military operation of the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) during the Second World War. British, Empire and Commonwealth forces attacked Italian forces of ...

. The destruction of the Maletti Group is described by Walker in ''Iron Hulls, Iron Hearts'': Walker's indication that none of the Italian artillery were able to penetrate the armour of the Matilda tanks is confirmed by the war diaries of the British Armoured regiments and the British official histories which show that only a single Matilda was knocked out. Research by Sadkovich erroneously says that the Maletti Group's anti-armour guns were able to destroy 35 out of 57 Matildas prior to their own destruction. Also Walker's statement that Maletti was ''caught completely off guard'' should be revised. On December 8 Maletti had already correctly alerted the nearby 2nd Libyan Division that the unusual low-level flying activity by the RAF was probably intended to mask the movement of armoured units and at 06.30 December 9th (well before the beginning of the actual main assault) he was already in contact with the commanders of both the 1st and 2nd Libyan Divisions reporting the British preparatory movements. In reality Maletti was killed at about 09.00 AM, while directing the fire from a 47/32 anti-tank guns section on the northern sector of the Nibeiwa strongpoint. He was awarded the

Gold Medal of Military Valour The Gold Medal of Military Valour ( it, Medaglia d'oro al valor militare) is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia for deeds of outstanding gallantry in war by junior officers and soldiers. The fac ...

Notes

References

* * *

External links

Link to photograph and other details (in Italian).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maletti, Pietro 1880 births 1940 deaths People from Castiglione delle Stiviere Italian mass murderers Italian generals Italian military personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Gold Medal of Military Valor Italian war crimes War criminals