In the summer of 1896, the Italian government planned an expedition into the interior of Somalia with the task of exploring the left bank of the Uebi, making friends with the populations and entering into treaties and trade agreements with them.
The sultan gave permission for free transit in the Gheledi area and announced that he would welcome the expedition in a friendly manner, but instead he prepared to attack it. During the night between 25 and 26 November 1896, the expedition led by the explorer and consul Cecchi (1849-1896) which also included the commanders of the Volturno Mongiardini and of the Relay (following photo) Maffei, was attacked and massacred by Somalis in Lafolè, a village about 20 kilometers from Mogadishu. Cecchi wrote a very interesting report: From Zeila to the borders of Caffa, 1886-87. He then held political positions including that of royal commissioner for Italian Somalia (1896).
The Commander of the Royal Ship Relay Maffei arrived in Mogadishu on November 8 and was preparing for a small expedition towards the banks of the Uebi-Scebeli, the arrival of the Volturno delayed this excursion which was finally set for the 25th of the same month. In addition to the Consul General Cecchi, who took over the direction, the expedition was also attended by the frigate captain Ferdinando Maffei, commander of the Royal Ship Relay, the frigate captain Francesco Mongiardini, commander of the Royal Ship Volturno, the lieutenant of the vessel Onorato Baraldi, the lieutenant commissioner Lucindo Baroni and the servant Pio Caramelli of the Volturno; the lieutenants of the vessel Carlo Sanfelice and Vincenzo De Cristofaro, the medical lieutenant Alfredo Smuraglia, the lieutenant commissioner Bernardo Gasparini, the midshipman Luigi Guzolini, the 3rd class engineer Giuseppe Olivieri, the petty stoker Giuseppe Rolfo, the petty helmsman Nicolò Vianello, the sailors Natale Buonasera and Federico Gregante, of the Relay, and finally the surveyor Filippo Quirighetti, director of the customs of Mogadishu, expressly wanted by the consul Cecchi.
On the 23rd the preparations were completed, ten cargo camels were provided by a Mursala chief who had always served the Italian administration in the past. The caravan left on Wednesday the 25th at 15,00:XNUMX p.m., the Europeans were all provided with mounts, the others had a camel each of those used by the mounted askaris. The caravan was escorted by two "agha" (native commanders) with 70 askaris ('Askari' means soldier and it was a term used for soldiers voluntarily enrolled in the royal corps of colonial troops of Eritrea, established by the royal decree of 30 June 1889 n. 6215, which founded the corps of indigenous troops for the garrisons of Africa).
The expedition camped in the Lafolè bush. Around one o'clock the Somalis suddenly attacked the camp; the defenders, however, held out until dawn, deciding to return to Mogadishu in the certainty that during the day the Somalis would not dare attack the caravan.
At dawn the group set out and marched until seven without problems, then suddenly they were attacked from all sides. Dr. Smuraglia was hit in the back and Vianello in the arm and face. The mission continued to defend itself well from the attackers, keeping them at a distance, and was able to continue and reach the Mursala. As it was about to enter the territory of those tribes considered "friendly", the attack became more intense. One after the other, all the members of the expedition fell; only a few askaris, the petty officer Vianello, and the sailors Gregante and Buonasera barely managed to reach Mogadishu.
The next morning at around 6,00 the first news of the massacre arrived, a woman who had arrived for the market reported having seen the caravan near a place called Lafolè where they intended to camp for the night, and that they were subsequently attacked by the Somalis. Shortly afterward a Somali, one of the camel owners, arrived and reported that the attack had begun that same night, that it had continued during the day and that he did not know the fate of the whites. The first to return to the city were some wounded askaris, others unharmed but all exhausted by the long march and the fight. With them were some Europeans: the sailors Federico Gregante, Natale Buonasera and the petty helmsman Nicolò Vianello, who reported the death of all the members of the expedition.
The next day a caravan left, entrusted to two lieutenants, Caccia with the landing company of the Royal Navy Relay composed of 32 sailors, a 75m/m gun, 8 gunners, caravan drivers with 14 camels loaded with water, food and ammunition, and Mellana with the landing company of the Volturno, with 33 people. Accompanied by an askari as a guide with the order to collect the bodies of the killed, but to retreat if attacked and to be back in the city before sunset, to avoid a new tragedy.
Arriving at the site of the massacre, they found several corpses: those of the fire chief Rolfo, the engineer Olivieri, the aghida Haod, the commander Maffei, Mr. Guzzolini and Dr. Smuraglia. Completely naked with their bodies covered in numerous wounds, all had their throats cut. The caravan was then attacked by hundreds of Somalis and returned to Mogadishu without losses.
In a report to the ministry dated 5 April 1897 from Mogadishu, frigate captain Giorgio Sorrentino, commander of the Royal Navy Elba, extraordinary commissioner and senior commander of ships on the eastern coast of Africa reported: "From the investigation I carried out into the course of the Lafolè massacre, which brought so much mourning to the homeland and to our Navy, it emerged to me that the conduct of the fallen was commendable in every respect, superior and inferior, all united in death, as they had been in life, they defended themselves as long as they had the strength and as long as their ammunition lasted".
On the following 20th April, under the command of frigate captain Giorgio Sorrentino, assisted by midshipman Massimiliano Gonzembach at the head of a unit of 150 Eritrean askaris (brought by the transport Volta), a punitive expedition was undertaken from Mogadishu against the Somali tribes Daùd, Udalàn and Heib Mursala responsible for the Lafolè massacre. The villages of Gellai, Res and Lafolè were set on fire, where various objects belonging to the expedition were found, with 43 dead and hundreds of wounded among the natives, in addition to the killing of the two Somali leaders who had personally killed the consul Cecchi. No losses among the whites and only one fallen among the askaris.
Il Volturno He remained in Mogadishu to protect the city's security and to give a worthy burial to the victims of the massacre. He went to Suez (9-11 April 1897), where he embarked the body of Mrs. Cecchi, who had also died. He reached Pesaro (22-23 May), where he delivered to Mr. Romolo Cecchi the body of his sister-in-law and the effects of his late brother, the consul.
Meanwhile, sailors from the landing group of the Royal Navy Governolo, managed to recover and identify only five bodies during the night; those of commanders Mongiardini and Maffei, of stv De Cristoforo and of commissioners Barone and Gasperini.
Lo Relay left Mogadishu on November 29 under the command of 2nd Lieutenant Arturo Cavassa, who had temporarily assumed command upon the death of Commander Maffei. It returned to Mogadishu on September 25 of the following year for the exhumation of the bodies of the Lafolè massacre, embarked five bodies of identified soldiers, as well as the head of Consul Cecchi, and left Mogadishu with its sad cargo, arriving in Catania on October 15 for the funeral honors of stv De Cristofaro. Other bodies were disembarked in Civitavecchia on the following 20th and in Genoa on the 23rd. The ship then moved to Ancona where it received the relatives of Consul Cecchi whose honors took place in Pesaro on November 7th with due honors. Finally, in Venice, the body of Commissioner Gasparini was disembarked.
The Royal Navy wanted to remember that massacre by naming a coastal submarine "Lafolè" of the 600 series class "Adua" (17 units also called "Africans"). Launched at the Odero Terni Orlando shipyards on 10 April 1938, it entered service on 31 August of the same year. It sank on 20 October 1940 after a clash with English ships.
Photo: web
