Eritrean Ascari The Eritrean Ascari were indigenous soldiers from Eritrea , who were enrolled as askari s in the " Royal Corps of Colonial Troops " ( " Regio Corpo di Truppe Coloniali " ) of the Italian Army during the period 1889 - 1941 . Characteristics . These regular troops played an important role in the initial conquest of the various colonial possessions of the Kingdom of Italy . Subsequently acted as garrison and internal security forces in the Italian Empire , and finally served in large numbers during the Italian conquest of British Somaliland and the East African campaign of 1940 - 41 . History . " Except for the German parachute division in Italy and the Japanese in Burma no enemy with whom the British and Indian troops were matched put up a finer fight than those Savoia battalions at Keren ( Eritrea ) . Moreover , the Colonial troops , until they cracked at the very end , fought with valour and resolution , and their staunchness was a testimony to the excellence of the Italian administration and military training in Eritrea " The Italian Army made extensive use of locally recruited indigenous soldiers in Italian East Africa . These troops comprised infantry , cavalry and some light artillery units . They were recruited initially from Eritreans and subsequently from Somalis , with Italian officers and some non - commissioned officers . The Italian Askaris fought in the First Italo – Ethiopian War , the Italian - Turkish War , the Second Italo - Abyssinian War and World War II ( East African Campaign ) . Out of a total of 256 , 000 Italian troops serving in Italian East Africa in 1940 , about 182 , 000 were recruited from Italian Eritrea , Italian Somalia and the just recently occupied ( 1935 – 36 ) Ethiopia . In January 1941 , British Commonwealth forces invaded Ethiopia and the majority of the newly recruited Ethiopian Askaris serving with the Italian Army in East Africa deserted . Most of the Eritrean Ascaris however remained loyal until the Italian surrender four months later . Development of the " Ascari " . The name " ascar " is the Arab word for " soldier " . The Eritrean Ascari originated from a mercenary Arab group employed by the Ottoman Empire and called " Basci Buzuks " . This irregular force was created in Eritrea by the Albanian adventurer Sagiak Hassan , who worked for local Eritrean tribes in the second half of the 19th century . In 1885 the Italian colonel Tancredi Saletta , commanding officer of the Italian troops during the conquest of Eritrea , brought the Basci Buzuks ( with their armaments and families ) into Italian service as irregular auxiliaries . In 1889 the first four regular battalions of Eritrean soldiers were created in Asmara . Those Eritrean troops were incorporated into the Italian colonial Army with the name " Ascari " . They were successfully used in battle by the Italians , for the first time , against the Dervisci in Sudan . Initially the Eritrean Ascaris comprised only infantry battalions , although Eritrean cavalry squadrons ( " Penne di Falco " ) and mountain artillery batteries were subsequently raised . By 1922 units of camel cavalry called " meharisti " had been added . Those Eritrean camel units were also deployed in Libya after 1932 . During the 1930s Benito Mussolini added some armored cars units to the Ascari . Eritrean regiments in Italian service wore high red fezzes with coloured tufts and waist sashes that varied according to each unit . As examples , the 17th Eritrean Battalion had black and white tufts and vertically striped sashes ; while the 64th Eritrean Battalion wore both of these items in scarlet and purple . The Eritrean Ascari had the following ranks , from simple soldier to senior non commissioned officer : " Ascari " - " Muntaz " ( corporal ) - " Bulukbasci " ( lance - sergeant ) - " Sciumbasci " ( sergeant ) . The " Sciumbasci - capos " ( staff - sergeants ) were the senior Eritrean non - commissioned officers and were chosen according to their fighting performance in battle . All commissioned officers of the Eritrean Ascari were Italian , like famous Indro Montanelli Prior to World War I service with the Ascari had become the main source of paid employment for the indigenous male population of Eritrea . During the expansion required by the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1936 , 40 % of eligible Eritreans were enrolled in these colonial troops . Performance in battle . The Eritrean Ascari were considered the best of Italy ' s colonial soldiers , with a reputation similar to that of the Gurkha s in the British Empire forces . Notable events in the history of Italy ' s Eritrean Ascaris included : Amedeo Guillet and his " Gruppo Bande Amhara " . One of the most famous Italian officers who commanded groups of Eritrean Ascari in Ethiopia and Eritrea was Amedeo Guillet . At the beginning of World War II the Italian Viceroy Amedeo Duke of Aosta gave lieutenant Guillet command of the 2 , 500 strong " Gruppo Bande Amhara " , an irregular unit made up mainly of recruits from Ethiopia ' s region of Amhara . This force was primarily a cavalry one , but also included camel mounted troops and some Yemeni infantry led by Eritrean Ascari NCOs . At the end of 1940 the British Empire forces faced Guillet on the road to Amba Alagi close to Cherù . He was charged with the task of slowing the allied advance from the North - West . His Eritrean / Tigrian ascaris had some success in doing this but suffered many casualties . Guillet ' s most important battle happened towards the end of January 1941 at Cherù when he decided to attack enemy armoured units . At dawn the " Gruppo Bande tigray " , armed only with sabres , rifles and hand grenades charged an allied column which included armoured vehicles . They passed unhurt through the British force who were caught unaware . Guillet then turned to charge again . In the meantime however , the British had organised themselves and fired horizontally with their howitzers , inflicting heavy losses on the Italian - led troops and their horses . This was the last cavalry charge the British faced and the last but one in the history of Italian cavalry . Guillet ' s Eritrean ascaris suffered losses of about 800 in little more than two years . In March 1941 his forces found themselves stranded outside the Italian lines . Guillet began a private war against the British . Hiding his uniform near an Italian farm , he conducted guerrilla raids with his remaining ascaris against British and Ethiopian forces for almost eight months . He was one of the most famous Italian " guerrilla officers " in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia during the Italian guerrilla war against the Allies occupation of the Italian East Africa . Eritrean Ascari after World War II . Many Eritrean Ascari fought for the independence of Eritrea after WWII . The most famous was Hamid Idris Awate , nicknamed the " Father of Eritrea " because he fired the first shots of the Eritrean War of Independence against the Ethiopians . After the official end of the Italian Empire in 1947 , the Italian government has dedicated some efforts to maintain organizations related to the Ascari in Italy and Eritrea . In 1950 the Italian authorities created a pension fund for nearly 140 , 000 Eritrean Ascari who had served in the Italian colonial Army . Even if the amount was minimal ( the equivalent of $ 100 yearly ) , this was paid in the Italian Embassy of Asmara and was of some value in the underdeveloped economy of Eritrea after World War II . In 1993 1 , 100 Ascari were still living in Eritrea , but by 2006 only 260 were known . One surviving ascari , Beraki Ghebreslasie , lives in Rome .