Alfredo Serranti

Alfredo Serranti (25 May 1896 in Rome – 21 November 1941 in Culqualber Pass) was an officer in the Royal Italian Army during World War II. He was killed in action during the battle of Culqualber and posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor.

Biography

He was born in Rome on May 25, 1896, the son of Angelo Serranti and Celeste Boni, and after graduating as an accountant at the local "Leonardo da Vinci" Technical Institute, in 1915 he enlisted as a volunteer in the Royal Italian Army, as an artillery officer. He fought during the First World War with the 26th Field Artillery Regiment, distinguishing himself on Monte Sabotino in September 1917 and on Montello in June 1918, actions for which he was awarded two bronze medals for military valor. By the end of the war he had been promoted to lieutenant.

In 1920, at his request, he was transferred to the Carabinieri corps, assigned to the Legion of Bologna. In 1924 he was again transferred to the Royal Colonial Corps of Tripolitania, being promoted to captain in 1931, after which he returned to Italy, initially serving in the Carabinieri Legion of Rome and then in that of Palermo, where he remained until 1936. At the outbreak of the war with Ethiopia he was transferred to Somalia and assigned to the Carabinieri truck-mounted bands, distinguishing himself in the battle of Gunu Gadu (Ogaden) in April 1936, where he was decorated with his third bronze medal for military valor for the courage shown in the fighting. He was promoted to major in 1938 and stationed in Ethiopia, and upon Italy's entry into World War II, on 10 June 1940, he assumed command of the Carabinieri Group of Gondar, later renamed 1st Mobilized Carabinieri Group, consisting of seven officers, 219 Italian non-commissioned officers and Carabinieri, and 180 native Zaptié.