- Guglielmo Nasi
Guglielmo Ciro Nasi (
21 February 1879 -21 September 1971 ) was an Italian General who fought in theItalian East Africa duringWorld War II .Biography
Nasi was born in
Civitavecchia ,Italy . From 1924 to 1928, Nasi was the military representative of the Italian Royal Army ("Regio Esercito ") inParis .In 1928, Nasi was sent to the Italian colonies as Chief-of-Staff for the Colonial Troops. Nasi was Vice-Governor of
Cyrenaica from 1934 to 1935, Governor ofHarar from 1936 to 1939, and Governor ofShewa from 1939 to 1940. He also served as a Vice-Governor ofItalian East Africa from 1939. Nasi promoted a moral reformation of the military and civil administration. He showed notable skills in dealing with indigenous chiefs.In April 1936, during the
Second Italo-Abyssinian War , Nasi commanded the left column of three columns during GeneralRudolfo Graziani 's advance on the southern front. Most of Nasi's troops were Libyans.After the beginning of
World War II , Nasi led the Italian conquest ofBritish Somaliland in August 1940. He successfully invaded British Somaliland and forced the defending British and Commonwealth forces to flee by sea toAden .In early 1941, during the British counter-offensive, Nasi was forced to retreat to the stronghold of
Gondar .During the East African Campaign, Nasi led the last stand of an Italian garrison in
East Africa . On6 July , after Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, and GeneralPietro Gazzera surrendered, Nasi became the actingViceroy andGovernor-General ofItalian East Africa . While he held out long after other Italian strongholds had fallen, Nasi finally surrendered his stronghold ofGondar on28 November 1941 .Nasi was sent to
Kenya as aprisoner of war . After the death of Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, he was responsible for the 60,000 Italian prisoners kept there.Nasi returned to Italy in 1945. Four years later he was appointed as Commissar for Somalia when the latter was assigned to
United Nations suzerainty.Nasi died at
Modena in 1971.Aftermath
Although Nasi is ranked among the list of Criminals of War of the post-war
Ethiopia n government, Italian historianAngelo del Boca considers him the best officer of the Italian Royal Army ("Regio Esercito ") inEast Africa . Solomon Getahun supports this less critical view of Nasi, noting that his behavior towards the inhabitants of Gondar and the adjoining territories helped him sustain the fight against both British and Ethiopian forces long during his final months. [Solomon Getamun, "History of the City of Gondar" (Africa World Press, 2005), pp. 38f]ee also
*
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
*East African Campaign (World War II)
*Italian conquest of British Somaliland
*Battle of Gondar Notes
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