Tancredi Saletta ( Turin, 27 June 1840 - Rome, 21 January 1909) was an Italian soldier, notable for his service in the early days of the Italian colony in Eritrea and for being Chief of Staff of the Italian Army from 1896 to 1908.

Life

Born in Turin, Saletta joined the army at a very young age, joining the Military Academy of Turin in 1856. He fought in the 1860 campaign in the

Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...

, and then in the

Third War of Italian Independence The Third Italian War of Independence ( it, Terza Guerra d'Indipendenza Italiana) was a war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire fought between June and August 1866. The conflict paralleled the Austro-Prussian War and resulted i ...

. He was promoted Colonel in 1880. He led the 1,000-men strong expedition that occupied

Massawa Massawa ( ; ti, ምጽዋዕ, məṣṣəwaʿ; gez, ምጽዋ; ar, مصوع; it, Massaua; pt, Maçuá) is a port city in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak ...

on 5 February 1882, without resistance or protest from its Egyptian garrison; he remained there until November of the same year, when he was replaced by General

Carlo Genè Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: *Carlo (name) *Monte Carlo *Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince Char ...

. Promoted to Major General on March 1887, on April of the same year Saletta was reappointed commander in Eritrea, following the

Battle of Dogali The Battle of Dogali was fought on 26 January 1887 between Italy and Ethiopia in Dogali near Massawa, in present-day Eritrea. History The Italians, after their unification in 1861, wanted to establish a colonial empire to cement their great p ...

, in which an Italian column of 500 soldiers was attacked and destroyed by a larger army led by ''Ras'' Alula. On November, following the arrival of General

Alessandro Asinari di San Marzano Alessandro Asinari di San Marzano was an Italian politician, general, and Senator of the Kingdom of Italy Biography Born in Turin on March 20, 1830 , Alessandro Asinari of San Marzano enrolled in the Turin military academy leaving it just eight ...

with a large expeditionary corps, he returned to Italy. Promoted to Lieutenant General in 1892, in 1896 Saletta was chosen to replace General

Domenico Primerano Domenico is an Italian given name for males and may refer to: People * Domenico Alfani, Italian painter * Domenico Allegri, Italian composer * Domenico Alvaro, Italian mobster * Domenico Ambrogi, Italian painter * Domenico Auria, Italian archite ...

as Chief of Staff of the Italian Army. Having been appointed a Senator in 1900, he left the position and active service in 1908 (being replaced by General

Alberto Pollio Alberto Pollio (21 April 1852 – 1 July 1914) was an Italian general, who was Chief of Staff of the Italian army from 1908 to his death. Life and early career Pollio was born in Caserta, son of Michele and Maria Oberty; at a young age he enrol ...

). He died in Rome in 1909.

References

1840 births 1909 deaths Italian generals People of Italian Eritrea {{Italy-mil-bio-stub