Giuseppe Tellera Giuseppe Tellera ( March 14 , 1882 , Bologna – February 7 , 1941 ) was a General in the Italian Army during World War II . Italian Tenth Army . General Tellera took over the command of the Italian Tenth Army , which at the beginning comprised four Corps on December 23 , 1940 from Lt . Gen Mario Berti , after having been Chief of Staff under General Balbo and Graziani . He was an experienced staff officer who had served in the Italian North Africa since 1938 . The Tenth army had its headquarter at Bardia in Libya , and was formed by the 10th and 12th Bersaglieri Regiments , 12th , 26th and 55th Artillery Regiments , Machinegun battalions ( detached from 55th Savona , 17th Pavia , 27th Brescia and 27th Bologna Divisions ) , the partially motorized and lightly armoured Babini Brigade consisted of 57 M13s , there Bersaglieri ’ s Bns , one Motorcycle Bn , an Artillery Regt , two Antitank Companies , an Engineers Company and Supply units . Operation Compass . On 8 December 1940 , British General Richard O ' Connor launched Operation Compass . Although the Italian forces had supremacy in numbers , the Italian army had more tanks and human resources than the British , it was the quality of the Italian weapons that was questionable . In addition the troops were almost all infantry , and poorly motorized , a real handicap in a war of movement . Tellera rode into battle in an Fiat - Ansaldo M13 tank during the furious but ultimately unsuccessful three - day battle to break through the British roadblocks at Beda Fomm , which prevented the Tenth Army ' s further retreat and led to its ultimate surrender . The battle was characterized by repeated - though poorly - coordinated - frontal attacks by the Italian armour , and during one of these Tellera ' s vehicle was disabled , and the General mortally wounded . He was found inside the tank by the British after the battle ended , and died in the hospital the following day . Struck by his heroic resistance , the British army buried him with military honors in Benghazi . Awards and Honours . For his gallantry in action Lt . Gen Tellera was posthumously awarded with the Gold Medal of Military Valor , the highest military decoration in the Italian Army . The award citation read as follow : " “ Chief of staff of the Armed Forces North Africa , with organized and active perception , especially in the period that led to the victory of our arms Sidi El Barrani . He took over , in a particularly critical situation , the command of an Army Corps , kept during the forced withdrawal from Cyrenaica Gebel , more serene calm , giving evidence of high - capacity light control and eminent personal worth . In the battle of South Bengasino when the enemy had made impossible the withdrawal of our troops on Agedabia , stopped in a two days fighting , the vehemence of the opponent , and inflict heavy losses , forcing it to desist from its push into Sirtica . Gather the troops remaining in extreme defense in a place of particular importance , he tried repeatedly , with great personal risk , to collect the last means to break through and break the enemy encirclement . In this supreme and heroic effort , fell gloriously on the field , properly sealing a life of dedication to the entire country ” . Sidi El Barrani ( AS ) , September 1940 - Agedabia , February 6 , 1941 . "