Valentino Babini

Valentino Babini (5 December 1889 – 29 December 1952) was an Italian general during World War II. He was one Italy's foremost pioneers in tank warfare and among the most important tank commanders of the Royal Italian Army during the interwar period and the early stages of World War II; in 1940 he coined the motto of Italy's tank troops, Ferrea mole, ferreo cuore ("Iron hulls, iron hearts").

Biography

He was born in Novi di Modena on 5 December 1889, and enlisted in the Royal Italian Army on 3 November 1907, entering the Royal Military Academy of Infantry and Cavalry of Modena. He graduated in 1909 with the rank of infantry second lieutenant, assigned to 70th Infantry Regiment. In 1911 he was transferred to the 84th Infantry Regiment "Venezia", and with this unit he took part in the initial phases of the Italo-Turkish War, distinguishing himself in October 1911 during the consolidation of the Tripoli bridgehead, and subsequently in Bu Meliana, Zanzur and Sciara Zauri. In 1912 he was promoted to lieutenant, and in March 1913 he was awarded the Bronze Medal of Military Valor. After returning to Italy he participated in a course for airship pilots, but with the entry of the Kingdom of Italy into World War I, on 24 May 1915, he returned to the infantry as company commander.

On 8 August of the same year he was promoted to captain, and on 29 October he distinguished himself in the fighting on the Col di Lana (where he led an assault that resulted in the capture of an Austro-Hungarian position and was wounded in action), earning a Silver Medal of Military Valor. During 1917 he was promoted to major, and on 3 November of the same year, during the retreat that followed the battle of Caporetto, he distinguished himself in the defense of the bridge of Pinzano, on the Tagliamento, halting the Austro-Hungarian advance enough to prevent the encirclement of a retreating infantry brigade and earning a second silver medal for military valor.

On 5 December 1921 he returned to Cyrenaica to take part in the pacification of the colony, returning to Italy in October 1925. On 12 December of the same year he was assigned to the Tank Unit (Reparto Carri Armati) where he spent the next twelve years, continuing his military career with promotions to lieutenant colonel (1926) and colonel (31 December 1936); in 1937 he was appointed commander of the 3rd Tank Infantry Regiment.