Enrico Pitassi Mannella
Enrico Pitassi Mannella | |
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| Born | 31 May 1882 Cerignola,Kingdom of Italy |
| Died | 1948 (age 66) Rome,Italy |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Italy |
| Service |  Royal Italian Army |
| Rank | Major General |
| Commands | 1st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Center Artillery Branch Ispectorate 19th Infantry Division Venezia XXII Army Corps |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | |
Enrico Pitassi Mannella(Cerignola,31 May 1882 –Rome,1948) was an Italian general duringWorld War II.Anartilleryspecialist, he was known among his colleagues as the "King of Artillerymen".
Biography
[edit]He was born in Cerignola, in theprovince of Foggia,in 1882, to Giuseppe Pitassi Mannella and Amalia Conti, the third of seventeen children. Also known as Errico, after primary school he attended classical studies in aJesuitcollege inMondragone,in theprovince of Caserta.At age nineteen, on 3 November 1901, he entered the Royal Military Academy of Artillery and Engineers inTurin,graduating with the rank of artillerysecond lieutenant,on 21 August 1904. He was promoted tolieutenantafter attending the Application School in Turin, and was then assigned to the 24th Field Artillery Regiment; from 14 July 1910 he was assigned to the central artillery school inNettuno.[1]
He took part in theItalo-Turkish War,where he earned aSilver Medal of Military Valor.He participated in theFirst World Warwith the 1st Heavy Field Artillery Regiment, with the rank ofcaptainand latermajor,being awarded threebronze medals of military valorfor actions onMonte Cengioin May and September 1916 and on the heights nearMonfalconeon 12 May 1917.[1]
From 30 May 1920 to 15 November 1921, he served as instructor at the central artillery schools of Nettuno andCivitavecchia.After being promoted tolieutenant colonelin 1925, from 24 October 1926 he returned again to the central artillery school, authoring a manual on shooting techniques for artillery officers. In the same year he accompanied ColonelAlessandro Pirzio Birolion a mission at the military academy ofEcuadorand held a series of lectures on technical subjects of artillery in various foreign countries, especially inSpain.[1]
After promotion tocolonelin 1929, Mannella was given command of the 1st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Center, and after promotion tobrigadier generalon 11 March 1935 he commanded the artillery of the 2nd Special Army Corps inEast Africa,participating in theSecond Italo-Ethiopian War,and enteringAddis Ababaon 5 May 1936. From the following 24 May, he returned to Rome, where he remained at the disposal of theMinistry of Italian Africa.From 5 August 1937, he was entrusted the Artillery Branch Inspectorate in Rome and was promoted toMajor General.On 30 June 1938 he was appointed commander of the 19th Infantry Division Gavinana inFlorence,which in 1939 was renamed19th Infantry Division Venezia.[1]
At the end of April 1939, Pitassi left forAlbaniaat the head of his Division, remaining there until 9 June 1940. On the following day, which marked Italy's entry intoWorld War II,he was transferred toLibya,where he was given command of theXXII Army Corps,part of theTenth Armyand composed of the4th Blackshirt Division 3 Gennaioand of the64th Infantry Division Catanzaro.On 29 June 1940 Mannella was tasked with the investigation into the death ofItalo Balbo,governor of Libya, shot down overTobrukon the evening of the previous day in afriendly fireincident. By the autumn of 1940, the XXII Army Corps had been reduced to only one division, the61st Infantry Division Sirte,the other divisions having been transferred to other formations.[1][2][3]
During the British offensive known asOperation CompassMannella was given command of the defence ofTobruk;on 22 January 1941 he was captured in theBritish assault on the town,along with three other generals (Umberto Barberis, Vincenzo della Mura and Adolfo de Leone), Rear Admiral Massimiliano Vietina and over 20,000 of his men. He was sent to aprisoner-of-war campinYol, British Indiaand remained in British captivity until after the war, being finally released in 1946. After returning to Italy, he was briefly president of the military court of Rome, and died in Rome in 1948.[1][4][5][6][7][8][9]
References
[edit]- ^abcdef"Biography of Lieutenant-General Enrico Pitassi-Mannella (1882 – ), Italy".Generals.dk.Retrieved2021-09-17.
- ^Andrea Santangelo, Operazione Compass. La Caporetto del deserto, pp. 42-44
- ^Quilici, Folco (17 May 2014).Tobruk 1940 - Folco Quilici - Google Libri.ISBN9788852049019.Retrieved2021-09-17.
- ^Andrea Santangelo, Operazione Compass. La Caporetto del deserto, pp. 90-91
- ^"La Battaglia di Tobruk (21-23 gennaio 1941) - Difesa Online"(in Italian). Difesaonline.it.Retrieved2021-09-17.
- ^"Le Operazioni In Africa Settentrionale Vol I Sidi El Barrani - Parte Seconda By Biblioteca Militare".Issuu. 2019-09-01.Retrieved2021-09-17.
- ^Grey, Jeffrey (1992-06-26).Australian Brass: The Career of Lieutenant General Sir Horace Robertson - Jeffrey Grey - Google Libri.ISBN9780521401579.Retrieved2021-09-17.
- ^Perrett, Bryan (2015-11-30).Desert Warfare: From Its Roman Origins to the Gulf Conflict - Bryan Perrett - Google Libri.ISBN9781473847460.Retrieved2021-09-17.
- ^Playfair, I. S. O.; Stitt, G. M. S.; Molony, C. J. C.; Toomer, S. E. (2014-08-15).The Mediterranean and Middle East: Volume I The Early Successes Against Italy (To May 1941) [Illustrated Edition].Pickle Partners Publishing.ISBN978-1-78289-558-9.