Emilio Battisti

Emilio Battisti (22 December 1889 in Milan – 23 November 1971 in Bologna) was an Italian general during World War II.

Biography

He was born in Milan on 22 December 1889, the son of Silvio Battisti and Giuseppina Acconci. After enlisting in the Royal Italian Army he began to attend the Royal Academy of Infantry and Cavalry in Modena as an officer cadet, graduating in 1910 with the rank of second lieutenant in the Alpini corps. He was assigned to the "Vestone" Alpini Battalion of the 8th Alpini Regiment, and a few months later, in 1911, he left to fight in Libya during the Italo-Turkish War, earning two War Crosses for Military Valor. He remained in North Africa until 1913, when he was repatriated. During the First World War, with the rank of captain, he was commander of the 241st Company of the "Val Baltea" Alpini Battalion, under the 4th Alpini Regiment, at the head of which he conquered the Corno di Cavento on 15 June 1917. After promotion to major in October of the same year, until the end of the war he was in the "Exilles" Alpini Battalion of the 3rd Alpini Regiment. He participated in the fighting on the Mrzli, the Vodil, the Adamello, the Crozzon di Lares and the Lobbie, being decorated with a Silver (for the conquest of Corno di Cavento) and a Bronze Medal of Military Valor.

After the war he became one of the founding members of the National Alpini Association, and in 1920 he was the first commander of the newly established "Trento" Alpini Battalion, stationed in Gemona del Friuli. In January 1936, with the rank of colonel and commander of the 7th Alpini Regiment (part of the 5th Alpine Division Pusteria), he left for East Africa, where he participated in the conquest of Ethiopia. He distinguished himself in the course of war operations, being decorated with a second bronze medal for military valor for his role in the battle of Maychew, and returning to Italy in 1937.

In 1938 he volunteered to fight in the Spanish Civil War, where he assumed command, with the rank of colonel brigadier, of the "XXIII Marzo Fiamme Nere" Legionary Division of the Corps of Volunteer Troops, and then of the Flechas Verdes Division. By the end of the war, in 1939, he had been decorated with two more silver medals for military valor, and promoted to brigadier general for war merits.