THE MAP OF MASSAUA IN 1888. A UNIQUE GEM

I have finally received this 1937 book, which traces the development of cartography in Italian East Africa, starting from its very beginnings, namely 1885. It contains many maps, and I thought I would share one as a little gift as better expalined furhter.

This book is a truly unique work, providing access to the military maps used by the Regio Esercito throughout its campaigns from 1885 onwards.

In fact, topographical surveys in Eritrea began almost immediately after the occupation of Massawa in 1885. The need for an accurate survey of the small island on which the town stood, as well as the adjoining coastal terrain, prompted the Istituto Geografico Militare (Italian Military Geographical Institute) to dispatch Lieutenant Lavallea as early as 1885 to carry out the necessary topographical work at a scale of 1:10,000.

The survey was based on a small measured baseline and a graphical triangulation derived from it. The area surveyed included the islands of Massawa and Taulud, together with the adjacent coastline.

In 1888, Lieutenant Lavallea himself used this original survey to produce a revised map of the area at a scale of 1:25,000, incorporating the first construction works undertaken by the Italian colonial authorities.

It was from this pioneering cartographic work that the map reproduced here originated. I have now brought it to life in colour, revealing the extraordinary detail of the area as it appeared during the earliest years of the Italian presence in Eritrea.

I wanted to share this little historical gem with all of you through my blog: a rare and, I would venture to say, truly unique piece of military cartographic history.

Copyright Michele SAVASTA FIORE

Here at bigger size to have a full vision of the details.

I have also the Assab's map, original dating 1885, that will be reproduced in my booklet.

ITALIAN COLONIAL CAMPAIGNS 1885 - 1887

The Italian colonial adventure began not at Massawa (Massaua in Italian), but in the small village of Assab, much further to the south. Initially, it was intended simply to serve as a coaling station for Italian ships passing through the Red Sea following the opening of the Suez Canal.

This remarkably detailed map once again reflects the almost obsessive attention to detail characteristic of the Royal Italian Army, whose officer corps, including its senior officers, was still overwhelmingly of Piedmontese origin. This background was reflected in a meticulous approach to surveying and cartography, with virtually every geographical feature carefully recorded.

Assab territories 1880

Copyright Michele SAVASTA FIORE

Of particular interest are the three short exploratory expeditions undertaken to gain a better understanding of the surrounding territory. The map even identifies areas inhabited by ostriches and others where white antelopes could be found.

Rubattino's Farm may be regarded as the very first Italian colonial settlement of all. 

BATTLE OF DOGALI 1887. THE MAP OF MASSAWA (MASSAUA) IN 1885

My booklet on the Battle of Dogali (1887) is gradually taking shape, alongside the other booklets I am preparing on the War of the Spanish Succession (WSS).

For the first time in my work on historical military cartography, I have used contemporary maps to reconstruct a detailed map of the city of Massawa (Massaua in Italian) and its various fortifications as they stood in 1885. To the best of my knowledge, no other maps of the area exist that are either as detailed or as extensive in their geographical coverage.

My next step will be to identify the landing sites and trace the occupation of the various forts and outposts, although the complete collection of maps will eventually be included in the booklet itself. I hope this work will be appreciated.

It is also interesting, particularly for my British friends, to understand how Italy's intervention in this region was, in effect, partly motivated by a desire to assist the British Empire, which was then facing serious difficulties in Sudan. In doing so, Italy acted in a spirit of European solidarity avant la lettre. Indeed, after some initial hesitation, the British themselves came to look favourably upon Italy's colonial venture in Abyssinia. 

Map of Massawa/Massaua and Environs in 1885
Copyright Michele SAVASTA FIORE

RUSSIAN ARMY - 1805 MARIOULPOL HUSSAR REGIMENT

 Time has passed (just look at when I originally published this post), and techniques have improved considerably. So I decided to have another go at depicting a Russian hussar of the Mariupol Regiment in 1805. I was so pleased with the result that I am now seriously considering — unfortunately! — producing a few more paper soldiers, or perhaps even an entire unit in this style, such as a full squadron at a 1:1 scale.

The horse seemed a little too tall for a hussar's mount, so I adjusted the proportions and reduced its height.

BATTLE OF LUTZEN 1632 - THE COLOURS OF THE SACHSEN WEIMAR LEIBREGIMENT

I meant to bring a little order to these flags, which relate to one of my previous historical studies on this regiment at the Battle of Lützen in 1632.

In the centre is shown the colonel’s colour, already at that time with a white field, while around it are displayed five company colours, all bearing, in various ways, the colours of Saxony.

Colours of the Sachsen Weimar Wilhelm Leibregiment
Copyright Michele SAVASTA FIORE

Then I realized that the flags for Companies 7, 8, 9 and 10 were missing (the regiment in fact fought at the Battle of Lützen with 10 companies, each with its own flag), so I wanted to put that right. Now all 10 flags are there.

Copyright Michele SAVASTA FIORE

Copyright Michele SAVASTA FIORE

BATTLE OF DOGALI 1887 - THE COLONIAL ARMY OF THE KINGDOM OF ITALY

After several years since I first carried out my research and prepared the material, the time has finally come to present the splendid uniforms worn by the Italian soldiers — the famous “Five Hundred” — who fell heroically at Dogali.

One has to admit that style was, and still is, something almost innate in Italians. The uniforms, with their striking contrasts of colour, the officers’ blue sash, and the blue band on the helmets of the NCOs — what a touch of style! — make these some of the most beautiful uniforms I have ever reproduced. 

a better view of each:

1887 - Private
Copyright Michele SAVASTA FIORE

Corporal - 1887
Copyright Michele SAVASTA FIORE

Corporal Major

Copyright Michele SAVASTA FIORE

I also wanted to highlight the system used to indicate rank, both among the enlisted men — Corporal and Corporal Major — and among the NCOs — Sergeant and Sergeant Major.

Sergeant - 1887
Copyright Michele SAVASTA FIORE

Sergeant Major - 1887
Copyright Michele SAVASTA FIORE

Second Lieutenant - 1887
Copyright Michele SAVASTA FIORE

And finally, a second lieutenant proudly holding the Italian flag of the Kingdom of Italy — the real flag! — which I then decided to place in a setting with a visual effect that I found particularly striking.

The result makes me think that, even for this largely forgotten battle, since I have already gathered a considerable amount of material, I could put together an interesting booklet, provided there is enough interest among enthusiasts.

Copyright Michele SAVASTA FIOR

BATTLE OF DOGALI 1887: THE NEW DEFINITIVE MAPS

 

The Battle of Dogali – 26 January 1887

On 26 January 1887, a small Italian relief column under Lieutenant Colonel Tommaso De Cristoforis marched from the Massawa area towards the garrison at Saati, which had recently come under attack by the forces of Ras Alula Engida. The column numbered 548 men, drawn from several infantry companies and detachments and supported by a section of artillery or machine-gun personnel. A small body of allied Bazi-Bouzouk irregulars was also present in the area. On the maps, the Italian troops are shown in blue, their local allies in red, and Ras Alula’s Abyssinian forces in yellow. 

Near Dogali, the Italian column suddenly found itself confronted by a vastly superior Abyssinian force. Contemporary and later accounts differ over the exact Ethiopian strength, but it was many thousands strong, while De Cristoforis had barely five hundred men. Realising that retreat over open ground would expose his column to destruction, De Cristoforis occupied the rocky heights around Mehatel Hill and deployed his companies in a defensive perimeter. The scattered Italian positions shown on the maps reflect the desperate effort to hold the dominant ground and prevent the Abyssinians from closing in from several directions. 

Ras Alula’s troops repeatedly pressed against the Italian line, using their overwhelming numerical superiority to envelop the position. The Italians nevertheless held out for approximately four hours. Company after company maintained its ground while the perimeter contracted. The men fired until ammunition became critically scarce, shifting between the rocky positions and supporting one another as successive sectors came under attack. The fighting eventually became extremely close, with the defenders increasingly unable to maintain a continuous line. 

Map h 8.30
Copyright Michele SAVASTA FIORE

Copyright Michele SAVASTA FIORE

The resistance of De Cristoforis’s column became one of the most celebrated last stands of the early Italian colonial period. Whatever judgement is made of the wider colonial policy that had brought them there, the conduct of the soldiers themselves was marked by remarkable discipline and determination. Isolated, heavily outnumbered and with no realistic prospect of immediate relief, they continued fighting even after the tactical situation had become hopeless. De Cristoforis remained with his men and was killed during the final fighting. 

Once the ammunition was virtually exhausted and the defensive positions had been penetrated, organised resistance collapsed. The Abyssinian warriors swept over the surviving Italian positions and the column was effectively annihilated. The official Italian loss figures generally give about 430 dead, including most of the officers, while only a relatively small number of wounded survivors escaped or were recovered afterwards. The Italian Navy’s historical account records that only one officer and 86 soldiers survived from the 548-man column. 

Thus Dogali was not simply an Italian defeat: it was the destruction of almost an entire isolated force. Roughly four out of every five men in De Cristoforis’s column were killed. Many died during the final overrunning of the position after hours of resistance, when the surviving formations had been broken up and ammunition was exhausted. This explains why contemporary Italian memory very quickly transformed Dogali into a symbol of sacrifice: the soldiers had not fled or surrendered as a formed body, but had continued to resist until their small force was overwhelmed. The Italian Presidency’s historical archive itself refers to the episode as the “massacre of Dogali.”

Map h 9.30
Copyright Michele SAVASTA FIORE

Map h 10.30
Copyright Michele SAVASTA FIORE

The battle was nevertheless a clear and important Abyssinian victory. Ras Alula had successfully intercepted the relief column, prevented it from reaching Saati and destroyed it before substantial Italian reinforcements could intervene. Dogali demonstrated both the fighting power of the Ethiopian forces and the vulnerability of small European columns operating inland without sufficient intelligence, security or concentration of force. Its political impact in Italy was immediate and profound, turning the name Dogali into a lasting symbol both of military disaster and of the extraordinary endurance of the men who fought and died there. 

Map final fighting
Copyright Michele SAVASTA FIORE