Battle of Uadi Bu Taga

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Battle of Uadi Bu Taga
Part of the Jebel Akhdar campaign during the Second Italo-Senussi War
Date9 - 11 September 1931
Location
Uadi Bu Taga, near Slonta and Cyrene, Libya
Result

Italian victory[ page needed ]

Belligerents
Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg  Italy Flag of Cyrenaica.svg Senussi Order
Commanders and leaders
Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg Rodolfo Graziani Flag of Cyrenaica.svg Omar al-Mukhtar   Skull and Crossbones.svg
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown

The Battle of Uadi Bu Taga was fought in Libya in September 1931 between Italy and Senusiyya. The battle ended in a key Italian victory.

Contents

Battle and aftermath

At the end of the battle the heaviest clashes during the Second Italo-Senussi War also ended. The campaign was later declared over by General Pietro Badoglio on 24 January 1932. [2] Thanks to the help of the air force, during the battle the Italian soldiers defeated the tribes of Braasa and Dorsa and a unit of Libyan Savaris of the Italian Army captured Omar al-Mukhtar, leader of the rebellion, on 9 September 1931. [3] He was later brought to Soluch and executed by hanging here on 16 September. [4] His aides, including Yousuf Burahil and Fadil Bu Umar, were also executed on 24 September 1932. [5] Rodolfo Graziani stated that during the executions, 20,000 Bedouins were forced to assist the events to show that their aggression towards the Italian colonials was over.

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The Campaign in Jebel Akhdar refers to the fighting between Italian soldiers and Senussi rebels near the forested and mountainous areas of the Jebel Akhdar. The attacks by the Italians were initially met by strong guerrilla resistance, but this resistance soon fell as the Battle of Uadi Bu Taga took place. This conflict resulted in the execution of the main Senussi leaders and, subsequently, the end of the Italian pacification campaign.

References

  1. Gustavo Ottolenghi (1997). Gli italiani e il colonialismo: i campi di detenzione italiani in Africa (in Italian). Sugarco. ISBN   9788871983974.
  2. Wright 1983 , pp. 35–36
  3. Domenico Quirico (2002). Lo squadrone bianco. Milan: Edizioni Mondadori Le Scie. p. 313.
  4. Wright 1983 , pp. 35
  5. Ali Abdullatif Ahmida (2006). "When the Subaltern Speak: Memory of Genocide in Colonial Libya 1929 to 1933". Italian Studies. 61 (2): 175–190. doi:10.1179/007516306X142924. S2CID   161690236.

Sources