Rosa Dainelli (2 May 1901 – 17 March 1973) was an Italian doctor from

Cuveglio Cuveglio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan and about northwest of Varese. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,228 and an area of .All demographic ...

who was working in

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 ...

during

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 opposing ...

, when Allied forces liberated all of East Africa from Italian occupation in the Horn of Africa and returned it to the

Ethiopian Empire The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that histori ...

. She subsequently participated in the

Italian guerrilla war in Ethiopia The Italian guerrilla war in Ethiopia was a conflict fought from the summer of 1941 to the autumn of 1943 by remnants of Italian troops in Ethiopia and Somalia, in a short-lived attempt to re-establish Italian East Africa. The guerrilla campaign w ...

against the Allies before returning to Italy.

Historical background

Italian holdouts fought a guerrilla war in Ethiopia after the Allied victory at the

Battle of Gondar The Battle of Gondar or Capture of Gondar was the last stand of the Italian forces in Italian East Africa during the Second World War. The battle took place in November 1941, during the East African Campaign. Gondar was the main town of Amhara in ...

in November 1941, which marked the end of the last regular Italian forces active in the field in East Africa. They fought in the hope of an Italian victory with the help of

Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...

in Egypt and in the Mediterranean that would originate a possible return of the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

in East Africa.

Dainelli guerrilla action

Dainelli became an active member of the ''Fronte di Resistenza'' (Resistance Front), an Italian paramilitary organization which fought the Allies in the

from December 1941 until the summer of 1943. In August 1942 (some sources claim the date of attack was actually 15 September 1941.) she entered a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

ammunition dump in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

and blew it up, surviving the subsequent explosion. Dainelli was taken prisoner by the British shortly after. This act of sabotage destroyed the ammunition for the new British

Sten The STEN (or Sten gun) is a family of British submachine guns chambered in 9×19mm which were used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War. They had a simple design and very low production cos ...

submachine gun and delayed the deployment of this stopgap, extremely simple and cheaply made submachine gun that used regular 9x19 mm Parabellum ammunition, for many months. Dainelli was famous as one of the few women who actively participated in the Italian guerrilla war in Ethiopia after the East African campaign. After the successful sabotage she was quickly captured with her brother Giulio, and interrogated by the Allied authorities in Ethiopia before eventually being released. After the war, Dainelli moved to Switzerland in 1945, where she worked in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

at the"

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

. She was nominated, after the end of the war, for the Italian iron medal of honour ("croce di ferro").Roncari, p.46

Notes

Bibliography

* Cernuschi, Enrico. ''La resistenza sconosciuta in Africa Orientale'' (in Italian). Rivista Storica, dicembre 1994.(Rivista Italiana Difesa) * O'Kelly, Sebastian. ''Amedeo - the true story of an Italian's war in Abyssinia'' 2002 Paperback * Rosselli, Alberto. ''Storie Segrete. Operazioni sconosciute o dimenticate della seconda guerra mondiale'' (in Italian). Iuculano Editore. Pavia, 2007 * Di Lalla Fabrizio, “Le italiane in Africa Orientale. Storie di donne in colonia” (in Italian). Solfanelli Editore, Chieti, 2014, pp. 93, 143. * Di Lalla Fabrizio, “Sotto due bandiere. Lotta di liberazione etiopica e resistenza italiana in Africa Orientale” (in Italian). Solfanelli Editore, pp. 153,199, 234. * Roncari, Giorgio. "Rosa Costanza Danieli. Una vita coraggiosa". Tra memoria e storia (Menta e Rosmarino). Treviso, 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dainelli, Rosa Italian people of World War II 1940s in Ethiopia 1973 deaths Italian East Africa Women in World War II 1901 births

Historical background

Dainelli guerrilla action

See also

Notes

Bibliography