Battle of Kuwayfia

The Battle of Benghazi (1911)
Part of The Italo-Turkish War
Date 20 October 1911 - 18 October 1912 Location Benghazi, Ottoman Tripolitania (now Libya) 32°07′14.33″N20°05′10.21″E / 32.1206472°N 20.0861694°E / 32.1206472; 20.0861694 Coordinates: 32°07′14.33″N20°05′10.21″E / 32.1206472°N 20.0861694°E / 32.1206472; 20.0861694 Result Italian Victory
Belligerents
Italy	Ottoman Empire Senussi Order
Commanders and leaders
Admiral Augusto Aubry General Ottavio Briccola General Giovanni Ameglio General Raynaldo D'Amico	Chakir Bey Aziz Ali Bey El-Masri
Strength
15,000 [1]	2,900 [2]

Map of Benghazi illustrating the defensive redoubts (ridotta) and the major places where fighting occurred

The Battle of Benghazi occurred during the Italo-Turkish War when the Kingdom of Italy attacked and took possession of the major port cities of the Ottoman Empire's northern African Tripolitania province, now Libya. Benghazi was one of the five strategic port cities captured and held by the Italians during the entire length of the war.

Background

On 28 September 1911, the Italian Chargé d'Affaires presented the Turkish government in Constantinople with an ultimatum demanding that the Ottoman Empire consent to the military occupation of its northern African provinces of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica by Italy within 24 hours. As their justification, Italy claimed that the action was necessary to end the disorder and neglect of those territories. The Ottoman Empire refused and on 29 October 1911, the Italian government declared war on Turkey. ^[3]

At the time that the war began, Turkey's military presence in northern Africa was weak. The Turks had approximately 5,000 men in Tripoli and 2,000 men in Cyrenaica. The fortifications along the coast were antiquated and the armaments were second-rate. The Italians expected that a show of force might be enough to cause the Turks to avoid warfare and seek a diplomatic solution. To that end, the Italian plan was to capture and occupy the major ports along the Mediterranean, namely Tripoli, Tobruk, Derna, Benghazi, and Homs. ^[4]

Immediately following the declaration of war, the Italian Navy established a blockade of 700 nautical miles along the shores of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica and took command of the eastern Mediterranean in order to transport an expeditionary force to the African coast. The first city targeted for invasion was Tripoli, where the Turkish garrison quickly evacuated the city with the exception of 150 men manning the artillery of the five coastal forts. The remainder of the Turkish forces withdrew to the safety of the village of Gharian in the hills, a two day march south of the city. On 30 September, the Italians demanded that the Turks surrender the city by the 2nd of October. Three days later when no response was received from the Turks, the Italians began a bombardment of the Turkish forts. After eight hours of bombardment spanning two days, the Turks evacuated the forts and withdrew south of the city. On 5 October, the Italians landed a force of 1,200 men and claimed the city. ^[5]

After the capture of Tripoli, the cities of Tobruk, Derna, and Homs were attacked and captured in succession, leaving only Benghazi, the second largest garrison among the five ports, to be attacked. ^[6] Beginning on 13 October, however, the Italians began to move the 15,000 men of the 2nd Infantry Division to Benghazi. The first group of Italian soldiers began to arrive off shore at Benghazi on 18 October. ^[1] Shortly thereafter, Italian Admiral Augusto Aubry demanded that the Turkish force of 400 regular and 2,500 irregular troops surrender the city. The Turkish commander of the garrison, Chakir Bey refused. ^[2]

Amphibious landing at Benghazi

On the morning of 19 October, the Italian Navy off shore of Benghazi began the bombardment of Benghazi. Bombarded were Juliana Beach where the Italians intended to land; the Turkish barracks at Berca, approximately three miles southeast of the city; the Berca fortress and nearby Governor's residence; and the Turkish armory north of the town. ^[7] Simultaneously, 800 Italian marines landed on Guiliana Beach unopposed and established an artillery battery on the high ground of the Cape. The landing on Juliana Beach surprised the Turks. Most of the Turkish infantry was deployed either north toward the armory or south of town away from the shore. The Turks quickly counter-attacked the Italians taking a position on a narrow strip of ground south of the town between Buscaiba Point on the shore and a salt lake to the west. From this point, the Turks attempted to retake Juliana Beach and the high ground at the Cape. The counter-attack, however, was forcefully repelled by Italian naval gunfire. ^[8] During that time, a second Italian landing party attempted to capture the custom house wharf, but was repelled by heavy Turkish rifle fire. After withdrawing from the custom house wharf, the Italians proceeded to demolish the area by means of a bombardment from their warships. ^[9]

After the Italian marines had turned back the Turks at Juliana Beach, they secured the area and began to build piers to allow the infantry to disembark from the transport ships. At 10:00 am, General Giovanni Ameglio led the first of the infantry ashore, took command of the operation, and had the marines move inland. As the marines moved south, they came upon a concentration of Turks in the narrow passageway near Buscaiba Point and were unable to continue their advance. In the afternoon, General Ottavio Briccola, the commander of the 2nd Infantry Division arrived on shore with soldiers of the 4th and 63rd Infantry Regiments who reinforced the marines and were ultimately able to dislodge the Turks. General Briccola then proceeded to advance on and attack Berca from two directions supported by bombardments from the Italian warships. In the little town of Sidi Daub the fighting was house-to-house. As evening began to fall, the Turks abandoned Berca and retreated north into the southern neighborhoods of Benghazi. Rather than pursue the Turks into Benghazi, the Italians held their positions and continued to bring men ashore. ^{[8] [10]}

At 7:00 pm, the Italian Navy bombarded the European quarter in the southern part of Benghazi after receiving numerous urgent appeals from General Briccola. After 20 minutes of bombardment, the Turks raised the white flag and began a general retreat out of Benghazi. When the Italians took possession of Benghazi on the morning of 20 October they encountered no resistance in the urban areas. ^{[10] [11]}

Occupation of Benghazi

This article is being rewritten - dated 24 May 2021.

In November 1911, about a month after the occupation of Benghazi, a patrol of Italian cavalry was attacked by fighters loyal to the Senussi Order in Kuwayfia. ^[12] On 28 November, a column commanded by General Carlo D'Amico, a battalion of the 68th Infantry Regiment, two squadrons, and two batteries, the Italians developed a punitive expedition against the village of Kuwayfia. When they arrived, the column was attacked by strong Turkish masses, also hit by artillery fire, were forced to fall back. The column, in the oasis entrance, was subject to a new assault, which was repelled. By the end of the battle, the Italian casualties were 21 dead and fifty wounded, those of the Ottoman-Senussi side were estimated at around 150 deaths over the wounded.

As a result of the victory, General D'Amico was awarded a Cross of the Military Order of Savoy. ^[13]

Citations

1. Beehler (1913), p. 25.
2. Beehler (1913), p. 27.
3. Beehler (1913), p. 16.
4. Reports of the Italian General Staff (1914), pp. 17-20.
5. Beehler (1913), pp. 17-20.
6. Beehler (1913), pp. 21, 29 and 38.
7. Stephenson (2014), pp. 70-71.
8. Stephenson (2014), p. 71.
9. Beehler (1913), pp. 27-29.
10. Beehler (1913), p. 29.
11. Stephenson (2014), p. 72.
12. Italian People.
13. Order of Italian Military – Past Winners.

• Atlı, Dr. Altay. "Turkey in the First World War". Turkeyswar.com. Dr. Altay Atlı. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
• Beehler, Commodore W.H. (1913). The History of the Italian-Turkish War, September 29, 1911 to October 18 1912. Annapolis: The Advertiser-Republican.
• Choate, Mark I. (2008). Emigrant Nation: The Making of Italy Abroad. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN   9780674027848.
• "Italian People". Italian Military Encyclopedia. Milan.
• Order of Italian Military - Past Winners.
• Reports of the Italian General Staff (1914). The Italo-Turkish War (1911-12) (in Italian). Translated by First Lieutenant Renato Tittoni, U.S.M.C. Kansas City: Franklin Hudson Publishing Company.
• Stanton, Andrea L., ed. (2012). "Italo-Ottoman War (Libya)". Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. 1. Los Angeles: SAGE. ISBN   9781412981767 . Retrieved 26 May 2021.
• Stephenson, Charles (2014). A Box of Sand: The Italo-Ottoman War 1911-1912. Ticehurst: Tattered Flag Press. ISBN   978-0-9576892-2-0.
• Wade, Major H.H. (1913). "The Turco-Italian War". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). The Britannica Year-Book 1913. Part 1. London: The Encyclopedia Britannica Company, Limited. Retrieved 26 May 2021.

Further reading

• Askew, William C. (1942). Europe and Italy's Acquisition of Libya, 1911-1912. Durham: Duke University Press.
• Micheletta, Luca; Ungari, Andrea, eds. (2013). The Libyan War 1911-1912. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN   978-1-4438-4837-4.