Italian Military Commanders Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ettore Fieramosca

Ettore Fieramosca (1476-1515) led thirteen Italian knights during the famous challenge ("Disfida di Barletta", in Italian)which took place on February 13th 1503 in BARLETTA, Southern Italy, where the Italians challenged thirteen French knights, led by their captain La Motte who had said that the Italians were not good soldiers.
The Italian knights defeated the French.

Answer: Yes

Fanfulla da Lodi, born in Lodi, a little town in Lombardy, in north-west Italy, was one of the knights who defeated the French during the Barletta challenge of in 1503. He died in 1525, after being a famous military leader.

Answer: Bartolomeo Colleoni

The bronze sculpture of Bartolomeo Colleoni in Venice was made by Andrea Verrocchio.
B.Colleoni (1400-1475) at first fought in the wars between Venice and Milan, but later became commander in chief ('condottiero', in Italian) in the service of Venice.

As for Il Gattamelata, i.e. Erasmo da Narni, Braccio da Montone and Niccolò Piccinino, they all were famous soldiers in the XV century.

Answer: Giovanni de' Medici

Giovanni de' Medici (1498-1526), a great military leader, became Giovanni dalle Bande Nere (of the black bands) in 1521 after the death of the pope Leo X.
His courage and tactical ability were famous, as well as his hold over his soldiers.

Answer: Giuseppe Garibaldi

Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882) was a famous general in both South America and Italy, hence the "two Worlds". He was one of the three patriots who contributed towards the independence and unification of Italy in 1861, especially after his Expedition of the Thousand in 1860.
The other two patriots were Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-1872), an intellectual, and Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour (1810-1861), a statesman and the prime minister of king Vittorio Emanuele II di Savoia.

Answer: Armando Diaz

Armando Diaz, who succeeded Luigi Cadorna as Commander-in-Chief of the Italian Armies, gained two overwhelming victories over the enemy first on June, 1918 in the battle of the Piave river, and then on October 24 - November 3, 1918 at the battle of Vittorio Veneto which resulted in the total collapse and rout of the Austrians.

Answer: Duke of Aosta

Amedeo di Savoia, duke of Aosta, the Italian commander in East Africa, held out for a long time against the British at Amba Alagi, in Ethiopia. He and his soldiers upheld the honour of their country so that they earned the respect of the British, when finally they had to surrendered. The British in fact had admired him and his soldiers for their courage.

Answer: Goffredo Mameli

Goffredo Mameli (1827-1849) an took active part in the Risorgimento, that is the historical process which led to Italian unification in the XIX century. He died at the age of 22, during the defense of Rome against the French who had come to support the Papacy that was hostile to Italian unification.

Answer: True

The Acqui Division and its commander, General Antonio Gandin, made the decision to resist the Germans on the island of Cephalonia, Greece, despite their lack of supplies and lack of direction from the authorities in Rome, after the 8 September 1943 armistice between Italy and the Allies. Later they had to surrender, but General Gandin and almost all the soldiers of the Acqui Division were murdered by the Germans, in spite of Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

Answer: Isbuscenskij

This last great cavalry charge was made by the Italian Savoia Cavalry near Isbuscenskij, Russia, in the Don region, on August 1942, during WWII. About 650 Italian cavalrymen charged a much more numerous Soviet force - and won.