Battle of Misrata

Battle of Ain Zara

Part of: Italo-Turkish War

date	June 16 to July 8, 1912
place	Misrata , Tripolitania , today Libya Coordinates: 32 ° 22 ′ 40 ″  N , 15 ° 5 ′ 25 ″  E
output	Italian victory

Parties to the conflict
Kingdom of Italy	Ottoman Empire
losses
23 dead 112 wounded	500 dead 500 wounded

The Battle of Misrata took place during the Italo-Turkish War from June 16 to July 8, 1912 in front of the city of Misrata ( Tripolitania ), which was one of the most important positions of the Ottoman-Arab armed forces.

background

During the Italo-Turkish War, the city of Misrata on the coast between Tripoli and Sirte became an important supply base for war material in support of the Ottoman-Arab troops. The Italian high command had already planned to capture the city for December 1911, but adverse weather conditions prevented a landing on the coast and so the plans had to be postponed.

In June 1912, the high command finally decided to start the operation. A division of seven infantry battalions of the 40th, 50th and 63rd infantry regiments, the Alpini battalions "Verona" and "Mondovì", an Askari company of the 5th Eritrea battalion, a squadron of the 16th "Lucca" regiment of light cavalry, four artillery batteries and other units.

course

On June 16, 1912, troop transports brought the units under the protection of the battleships Re Umberto , Sicilia and Sardegna and the torpedo boats Airone and Clio to the coast of Misrata and a battalion near Bu-Sceifa. The landing troops, supported by rifle fire from the Re Umberto, overcame the resistance of some Ottoman and Arab troops who had holed up behind the dunes on the beach, captured Bu-Sceifa and worked their way to the edge of Misrata. After more troops had landed, Qasr Ahmad was occupied and developed into a troop base.

On July 8, 1912, the Italian infantry began their advance, supported by the cavalry. After fierce fighting, the village of Ras Zarrugh was captured, and shortly afterwards Misrata itself was conquered. The Italian troops hoisted their flags in the castle. A total of seven officers and 23 soldiers died on the Italian side in the Battle of Misrata, and 112 were wounded. On the Ottoman-Arab side, 500 dead and as many wounded were estimated.

consequences

After the capture of Misrata, the Italians reinforced the city with units of the 50th and 63rd Infantry Regiments, the Alpini Battalions "Verona" and "Mondovì", a company of Eritrean Askari, some artillery batteries, engineers and service personnel. Ras Zarrugh was expanded into a garrison with troops from the 35th Infantry Regiment.

Misrata remained in Italian hands until August 1915 when, faced with the uprising in Libya and the impossibility of Italy involved in World War I to send reinforcements, all Italian troops were withdrawn from the city. Misrata was finally retaken by Italian troops in 1922 during the Second Italo-Libyan War .

literature

• William Henry Beehler: The History of the Italian-Turkish War: September 29, 1911, to October 18, 1912 . United States Naval Institute, Annapolis 1913 ( digitized version )
• V. Giglio, A. Rivenni: Le Guerre Coloniali d'Italia . Francesco Vallardi Editore, Milan 1935
• Charles Stephenson: A Box of Sand: The Italo-Ottoman War 1911–1912 . Tattered Flag Press, Ticehurst 2014

Individual evidence

1. ↑ E. Scarpa: Le infantry Italiane nelle guerre Coloniali . (= Storia delle fanterie italiane , Volume IV), Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito Ispettorato dell'Arma di Fanteria, Rome 1952, pp. 278-284
2. ^ Mariano Gabriele: La Marina nella guerra Italo-Turca . Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare, Rome 1998, p. 175
3. ↑ L. Tuccari, I Governi Militari della Libia . Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito Ufficio Storico, Roma 1994.