General Oreste Baratieri (November 13, 1841-August 7, 1901) was commander-in-chief of the Italian forces which were defeated at the battle of Adwa in March 1896 during the Italo-Ethiopian war of 1895-1896.
Born in 1841 at Condino, near Venice, Italy, Baratieri enrolled as a volunteer in the army of Guiseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882), who led the movement for Italian unification and independence. Baratieri served with him in his campaigns in Sicily and southern Italy in 1860, and was subsequently elected deputy in the Italian parliament.
He insisted on joining the expeditionary force of General Alessandro di San Marzano, which was advancing into northern Ethiopia in 1887-1888, and was threatened by the troops of Yohannes IV and his lieutenant Ras Alula. Once on the spot it became relatively easy for Baratieri to make use of his parliamentary and political connections to advance his career. Having commanded a regiment in Eritrea from 1887-1891, he became commander-in-chief of the Italian troops in Africa in 1891, and in 1893 was appointed as civil and military governor of Eritrea with the rank of lieutenant-general. He then opened the colony to investment by private capital, as well as to extensive settlement.
A supporter of Italian expansion, he attempted to extend the borders of Eritrea into Ethiopia. His forces were, however, disastrously defeated by the Ethiopians commanded by Menilek II at the battle of Adwa on March 1, 1896. Summoned by Prime Minister Antonio di Rudini, he appeared before a court martial charged with attacking the enemy under perilous circumstances, and with acting on inexcusable grounds. He was also accused of abandoning his command from midday March 1 to 9 a.m. on March 3. Although acquitted, he was described as a “general who did not stand up to the demands of the situation.”
He retired to Sterzing, Austria (now Vipiteno, Upper Adige, Italy), where he died in 1901, after publishing his apologetic Memorie d’Africa.
S. PIERRE PETRIDES
