Luigi Frusci

Who was Luigi Frusci?

Luigi Frusci was an officer in the Italian Royal Army during World War II.

Frusci fought on the southern front for General Rodolfo Graziani during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. In April 1936, during the Battle of the Ogaden, Frusci commanded the center column of three columns attacking the Ethiopian "Hindenburg Wall".

Frusci was the deputy commander of the Italian "volunteers" in the Corps of Volunteer Troops during the Spanish Civil War.

During World War II, Frusci was a Lieutenant-General and the Italian Governor of Eritrea. As a Lieutenant-General, he commanded Italian forces fighting in Eritrea during the East African Campaign. In mid-1940, Frusci oversaw the initial Italian attacks into the Sudan Later in 1940, even when ordered to do so, he chose not pull out of the Sudan. Instead, he rebuffed the initial efforts of British and Commonwealth forces to retake the border towns. In November, an assault on Gallabat was stopped short of its goals, the attacking force was hit hard from the air, and the position was re-taken by Italian ground forces.

After the British and Commonwealth forces crossed the border and launched an offensive in January 1941, Frusci also oversaw the defensive actions at Agordat, Keren, and the rest of Eritrea.