Battle of Bir Tagrift

Battle of Bir Tagrift
Part of Second Italo-Senussi War

Fascist Italy 's Conquests in Libya from 1928 to 1931
Date25 February 1928
Location
Bir Tagrift, Tripolitania, Libya
32°0′N 13°0′E / 32.000°N 13.000°E / 32.000; 13.000
Result Italian victory
Territorial
changes		 Bir Tagrift and surrounding areas are incorporated into Italian Libya
Belligerents
Kingdom of Italy Cyrenaica Senussi Order
Commanders and leaders
Rodolfo Graziani Sef el-Nasser
Strength
1,500 italians 1,500 rebels
Casualties and losses
92 killed 245–350 killed
Battle of Bir Tagrift is located in Libya
Battle of Bir Tagrift
Location within Libya
Battle of Bir Tagrift is located in Africa
Battle of Bir Tagrift
Battle of Bir Tagrift (Africa)

The Battle of Bir Tagrift took place on 25 February 1928 in Tripolitania, during the Sirtica campaign, as part of the Italian military operations in Libya between 1922 and 1932. It was a significant episode of the Italian colonial repression against the resistance of the local tribes.

Prelude

As military governor of southern Tripolitania between 1926 and 1927, General Rodolfo Graziani devoted himself to strengthening relations with individual tribes. Adopting the strategy of "divide and conquer", he aimed to secure the collaboration of tribal leaders with the Italian forces, using their support as a tool for a further advance southward. The Berbers and some Arab tribes became allies of the Italians. The tribes who offered resistance included the Awlad Sulayman, the Warfalla, the Qadhadhfa, the Zintan, the Awlad Busayf and, later, also the Mashashiya.[1][2]

Beginning in the autumn of 1927, the Italian army began preparations to establish a land link between Tripolitania and Cyrenaica. This objective included the conquest of all southern territories up to the 29th parallel. On the one hand, it aimed to eliminate the threat posed by the rebel tribes of the Mogarba and the Awlad Sulayman in the Sirte desert. On the other hand, General Rodolfo Graziani intended to create a rift between the resistance groups of Fezzan and Cyrenaica, in order to secure a favorable position for the subsequent conquest of southern Fezzan.[3][4]

On 1 January 1928, Graziani's Tripolitan column set out from a point 50 kilometres west of Sirte, while the Cyrenaican column moved from Agedabia. The two units rejoined on the Mediterranean coast, near the town of Ras Lanuf. The Libyan resistance fighters retreated, avoiding direct confrontation. The offensive achieved its first success the following day, when Mohammad al-Rida, who was coordinating the resistance from his headquarters in Gialo, offered his unconditional surrender to the Italians at Agedabia. Following al-Rida's surrender, his position as deputy commander of the Senussi was assumed by Omar Mukhtar.[5][6]

Conquest of Libya by fascist Italy in Tripolitania and Cirenaica in 1927.

Once the reconquest of Tripolitania was concluded, there remained some desert areas that were not completely pacified. Among these, the Bir Tagrift basin was the scene of a bloody battle in February 1928.

Location

It is difficult to locate the Bir Tagrift colony precisely on a map.[7] However, it is known that it is a deep desert depression in Tripolitania of about eight kilometers, which certainly would not have helped the maneuverability of the Italian forces.[8] According to the memoirs of Rodolfo Graziani himself, the area was surrounded by rocks and cliffs up to 200 meters high.[8]

Battle

In February 1928, the 1,500 Senussi rebels led by Sef el-Nasser were operating along the 29th parallel.[8][9][10][5][11] They had camped near the Bir Tagrift wells, while Graziani, on the night of 24 February, marched 2,000 kilometres from Zella towards En Nofila, on the Gulf of Sirte , with the 25th Eritrean battalion and the 6th Libyan battalion , the mounted group, the meharists of the 3rd and 4th Saharans under the command of the "Duke of Puglia" Amedeo di Savoia-Aosta , and a contingent of irregulars, with the objective of reaching the wells.[12] The Italians then possessed 1,500 soldiers and 3,000 camels. They arrived the next morning, camping about 15 kilometers from the valley.[9]

The Senussites took advantage of the unfavourable terrain for the Italians to attack: starting from 8:00 in the morning, the 25th Eritrean battalion was the target of numerous assaults, which however were repelled with great courage. The column was led by the Duke's Saharans who, once they had pushed deep into the valley, were targeted by enemy rifle fire. Meanwhile, other Libyans also attacked the rearguard of the Saharans, to cut off the Italians' retreat. Rodolfo Graziani himself led the tail of the column, avoiding being blocked and surrounded.[13] Artillery support was essential to keep the Libyans away, but after hours of fire the sand ended up blocking the cannons, and the Italians were forced to counterattack with bayonets.[8] With the support of the Italian Air Force, the general assault was repelled, thus putting the guerrillas into retreat. On the battlefield, they left from 247 to 300 dead, several hundred wounded, to which must be added another 50 losses during the disastrous retreat.[5][11][14]

The victory cost Graziani's men 92 killed in total: 5 officers, 54 men of the rank and file, and 36 between askaris and colonial troops. There were 162 wounded in total: 6 officers, 156 men of the rank and file. Among the fallen we remember Captain Marino Fabbri, decorated in 1930 with the Royal Decree of Gold Medal for Military Valor in memoriam.[15][16]

This battle is represented in an Arabic film named Battle of Bir Tagrift (1981). The flims shows the stiff resistance provided by Senussis against Italians.[17]

References

  1. ^ Gooch 2005.
  2. ^ Ahmida 2009, pp. 107.
  3. ^ Gooch 2005, pp. 1010.
  4. ^ Wright 2012, pp. 142.
  5. ^ a b c Gombár 2015, pp. 92.
  6. ^ Wright 2012, pp. 142–146.
  7. ^ Corradi 1937, pp. 1.
  8. ^ a b c d Frediani 2015, pp. 883.
  9. ^ a b Wright 2012, pp. 143.
  10. ^ Del Boca 2002, pp. 245–251.
  11. ^ a b Gooch 2005, pp. 1011.
  12. ^ Del Boca 1986, pp. 96.
  13. ^ Bassi 1928, pp. 57.
  14. ^ Wright 2012, pp. 142–143.
  15. ^ Zita 2021, pp. 206–222.
  16. ^ Bassi 1938, pp. 1–77.
  17. ^ The Battle of Tagrift (1981) ⭐ 6.0 | Action, Drama, War. Retrieved 2025-12-30 – via m.imdb.com.

Bibliography

  • Del Boca, Angelo (2002) [1960]. "Graziani, Rodolfo". In Ghisalberti, Alberto Maria (ed.). Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani. Vol. 58. Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. pp. 245–251. ISBN 978-8812000326.
  • Corradi, Giacomo (1937). Tripolitania. Vol. 34. Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana.
  • Bassi, Mario (1938). La medaglia d'oro Marino Fabbri. Milan: Paravia.
  • Gombár, Eduard (2015). Dějiny Libye [History of Libya] (in Czech). Prague: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny. ISBN 978-8074223631.
  • Ahmida, Ali Abdullatif (2009). The Making of Modern Libya: State Formation, Colonization, and Resistance (2nd ed.). New York City: SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0791417621.
  • Gooch, John (2005). "Re-conquest and Suppression: Fascist Italy's Pacification of Libya and Ethiopia, 1922–39". Journal of Strategic Studies. 28 (6): 1005–1032. doi:10.1080/01402390500441024.
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