Giuseppe Tellera
| Giuseppe Tellera | |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 March 1882 Bologna, Italy |
| Died | 7 February 1941 (aged 58) |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of Italy
|
| Service/branch |
 Royal Italian Army
|
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands held | Tenth Army (Italy) |
| Battles/wars |
World War II North African Campaign |
| Awards | Gold Medal of Military Valor |
Giuseppe Tellera (March 14, 1882 in Bologna – February 7, 1941) was a general in the Italian Army during World War II.
General Tellera took over the command of the Italian Tenth Army, which at the beginning comprised four Corps on December 23, 1940 from Lt.Gen Mario Berti, after having been Chief of Staff under General Balbo and Graziani. He was an experienced staff officer who had served in the Italian North Africa since 1938. The Tenth army had its headquarters at Bardia in Libya, and was formed by the 10th and 12th Bersaglieri Regiments, 12th, 26th and 55th Artillery Regiments, Machinegun battalions (detached from 55th Savona, 17th Pavia, 27th Brescia and 27th Bologna Divisions), the partially motorized and lightly armoured Babini Brigade consisted of 57 M13s, there Bersaglieri’s Bns, one Motorcycle Bn, an Artillery Regt, two Antitank Companies, an Engineers Company and Supply units.
On 8 December 1940, British General Richard O'Connor launched Operation Compass. Although the Italian forces had supremacy in numbers, the Italian army had more tanks and human resources than the British, it was the quality of the Italian weapons that was questionable. In addition the troops were almost all infantry, and poorly motorized, a real handicap in a war of movement.
Tellera rode into battle in a Fiat-Ansaldo M13 tank during the furious but ultimately unsuccessful three-day battle to break through the British roadblocks at Beda Fomm, which prevented the Tenth Army's further retreat and led to its ultimate surrender. The battle was characterized by repeated - though poorly coordinated - frontal attacks by the Italian armour, and during one of these Tellera's vehicle was disabled, and the General mortally wounded. He was found inside the tank by the British after the battle ended, and died in the hospital the following day.
Struck by his heroic resistance, the British army buried him with military honors in Benghazi.
For his gallantry in action Lt.Gen Tellera was posthumously awarded with the Gold Medal of Military Valor, the highest military decoration in the Italian Army. The award citation read as follow:
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Wikipedia