Royal Corps of Colonial Troops

Medal Bar of the Italian merit star for soldiers in the Royal Corps of Colonial Troops.

The Royal Corps of Colonial Troops (Italian: Regio Corpo Truppe Coloniali or RCTC) was a corps of the Italian armed forces, in which all the Italian colonial troops were grouped until the end of World War II in Africa. About 60,000 eritreans askaris fought for the italians

Structure

Since the beginning of the colonial conquest the Kingdom of Italy created military units with colonial soldiers. The main units included as parts of the RCTC were:

• Libya:^[1] Libyan troops, which included the Libyan Meharisti, the Savari and the Spahis.^[2]
• Eritrea:^[3] Eritrean troops, mainly the Eritrean Ascari.
• Somalia:^[4] Somali troops, which included Royal Corps of Somali Colonial Troops, the Dubats and Somali Zaptié.
• Ethiopia: Ethiopian troops (after 1937), which included the Group "Bande Amhara" of Amedeo Guillet.

All these military units underwent a reorganization in the 1930s, but remained active until 1943, when Italy was defeated in WWII.

Libyan paratroopers of the 1 Libyan Division Sibelle

Structure after 1936

The Italian Army started to modernize the colonial units in the mid-1930s. During the conquest of Ethiopia in 1936 and at the beginning of World War II, it also created some Infantry Divisions manned by colonial troops:

• in Libya, the Italian Libyan Colonial Division, the 1st Libyan Division "Sibelle" and the 2nd Libyan Division "Pescatori".
• in Eritrea, the Italian 1st Eritrean Division and the Italian 2nd Eritrean Division.
• in Somalia, the Italian 101 Somali Division ("Prima Divisione Somala") and the Italian 102 Somali Division ("Seconda Divisione Somala")

In those years, there were also special units composed mainly of colonial troops such as the Maletti Group, the Libyan paratroopers (Ascari del Cielo Paratroops) and the Italian Africa Police.

History

These troops were deployed on all fronts in Africa from the First Italo-Ethiopian War, the Italian-Turkish war, the conquest of Ethiopia, until World War II. The colonial soldiers always showed courage and in some cases (like the Eritrean Ascari) fought with heroism.

Except for the German parachute division in Italy and the Japanese in Burma no enemy with whom the British and Indian troops were matched put up a finer fight than those Savoia battalions at Keren (Eritrea). Moreover, the Colonial troops, until they cracked at the very end, fought with valour and resolution, and their staunchness was a testimony to the excellence of the Italian administration and military training in Eritrea ^[5]

The colonial troops were commanded by Italian officers and NCOs, while soldiers were drawn from the Italian colonial territories (and to a smaller extent also from neighboring Yemen).

In 1940, 256,000 Askaris in the Italian Royal Army were present in the local Italian colonies. Of these, 182,000 had been recruited in Italian East Africa (Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia) and 74,000 in Libya.

Honours

The Royal Corps of Colonial Troops has been awarded 4 Gold Medals of Military Valor ("Medaglia d'oro al valor militare"):

• Royal Corps of Eritrean Colonial Troops.

Two Gold Medal of Military Valor:

In one hundred and fifty battles gloriously sustained in the service of His Majesty the King of Italy, gave constant evidence of strong heroic military discipline, of fierce warrior spirit, of unquestioned loyalty and value, lavishing their blood with a zeal and devotion than never had limitations. Eritrea - Tripoli - Cyrenaica, from 1889 to 1929. - May 12, 1930^[6]

With the courage of their race, fueled by love for the flag and the belief in the higher destinies of Italy in Africa, gave during the war, many proofs of the most brilliant heroism. With great generosity, and similar faithfulness, gave their blood for the consecration of the Italian Empire. Italo-Ethiopian War, October 3, 1935 - May 5, 1936. - November 19, 1936.^[7]

• Royal Corps of Libyan Colonial Troops

One Gold Medal of Military Valor:

With the courage of their race - fueled by love for the flag and the belief in the higher destinies of Italy in Africa, gave during the war, many proofs of the most brilliant heroism. With great generosity, and similar faithfulness, gave their blood for the consecration of the Italian Empire. Italo-Ethiopian War, October 3, 1935 - May 5, 1936. - November 19, 1936.^[8]

• Royal Corps of Somali Colonial Troops.

One Gold Medal of Military Valor:

With the courage of their race - fueled by love for the flag and the belief in the higher destinies of Italy in Africa, gave during the war, many proofs of the most brilliant heroism. With great generosity, and similar faithfulness, gave their blood for the consecration of the Italian Empire. Italo-Ethiopian War, October 3, 1935 - May 5, 1936. - November 19, 1936.^[9]

See also

• Ascari del Cielo
• Italian Armed Forces
• Italian Empire
• Italian Eritrea
• Italian Libya
• Italian Somaliland

References

Bibliography

• Mackenzie, Compton. Eastern Epic. Chatto & Windus, London 1951
• Renzo Catellani, Giancarlo Stella, Soldati d'Africa. Storia del colonialismo italiano e delle uniformi per le truppe d'Africa del regio esercito italiano. Vol. I - 1885/1896, Albertelli, Parma, 2002 ISBN 978-88-8737-220-5
• Renzo Catellani, Giancarlo Stella, Soldati d'Africa. Storia del colonialismo italiano e delle uniformi per le truppe d'Africa del regio esercito italiano. Vol. II - 1897/1913, Albertelli, Parma, 2004 ISBN 978-88-8737-239-7
• Renzo Catellani, Giancarlo Stella, Soldati d'Africa. Storia del colonialismo italiano e delle uniformi per le truppe d'Africa del regio esercito italiano. Vol. III - 1913/1929, Albertelli, Parma, 2006 ISBN 978-88-8737-255-7
• Renzo Catellani, Giancarlo Stella, Soldati d'Africa. Storia del colonialismo italiano e delle uniformi per le truppe d'Africa del regio esercito italiano. Vol. IV - 1930/1939, Albertelli, Parma, 2008 ISBN 978-88-8737-265-6
• Gabriele Zorzetto, Uniformi e insegne delle truppe coloniali italiane 1885-1943. Studio Emme, Vicenza, 2003. ISBN 978-88-9013-020-5
• Raffaele Ruggeri, Le Guerre Coloniali Italiane 1885/1900, Editrice Militare Italiana, Milano, 1988.