Amedeo Guillet Amedeo Guillet ( February 7 , 1909 – June 16 , 2010 ) was an officer of the Italian Army . He was born in Piacenza , Italy . Descended from a noble family from Piedmont and Capua . His parents were Franca Gandolfo and Baron Alfredo Guillet , a colonel in the Royal Carabinieri . Following his family tradition of military service , he enrolled in the Academy of Infantry and Cavalry of Modena at the age of 18 , thus beginning his career in the Royal Italian army . Dying at the age of 101 , he was one of the last men to have commanded cavalry in war . Guillet , with the nickname of " Devil Commander " , was famous during the Italian guerrilla war in Ethiopia in 1941 – 42 because of his courage . Pre World War II . Guillet was wounded in a tribal rebellion when stationed in Libya . An excellent horseman , Guillet was selected for the Italian Olympic equestrian team and was due to compete in the Berlin 1936 Summer Olympics . Instead , in late 1935 , he used the connections of his powerful relatives to transfer to the Spahis of Libya and participate in the Italian conquest of Ethiopia . He distinguished himself in numerous cavalry actions and subsequently volunteered to serve in Spain during the Spanish Civil War . He had been offered the post of aide - de - camp by General Luigi Frusci , and was proud to have won the coveted post without the help of family connections . During the Spanish Civil War , Guillet served as commander of a Company of Arditi of the Division " Fiamme Nere " before becoming commander of a Tabor of Moroccans . He distinguished himself at the capture of Santander and at Teruel , winning the Silver Medal for gallantry . Returning to Italy , and the Italian colony of Libya - where he was a particular favourite of the governor , Italo Balbo - Guillet encountered the anti - semitic , pro - Nazi phase of Italian Fascism . He did not like what he saw and asked for a posting in Italian East Africa , whose new Viceroy was the respected Amedeo , Duke of Aosta , who was a mentor of Guillet . In Italian East Africa he carried out various policing operations against insurgents loyal to the toppled Emperor Haile Selassie . World War II . In the build up to World War II , Aosta gave Guillet command of the 2 , 500 strong Gruppo Bande Amhara , made up of recruits from throughout Italian East Africa , with six European officers and Eritrean NCOs . The core was cavalry , but the force also included camel corps and mainly Yemeni infantry . For Guillet to be given command of such a force while still only a lieutenant was a singular honour . In 1940 , he was tasked to form a " Gruppo Bande a Cavallo " . The " Bande a Cavallo " were native units that were recruited from Italian officers who commanded these units . Amedeo Guillet succeeded in recruiting thousands of Eritreans . His " Band " , already named in the history books as " Gruppo Bande Guillet " or " Gruppo Bande a Cavallo " , were distinguished for their absolute " fair play " with the local populations . Amedeo Guillet could boast at never being betrayed , and 5000 Eritreans knew perfectly well who he was and where he lived . It was during this time in the horn of Africa that the legend of a group of Eritreans with excellent fighting qualities , commanded by a notorious " Devil Commander " was born . Guillet ' s most important battle happened towards the end of January 1941 at Cherù when he decided to attack enemy armoured units . At the end of 1940 , the allied forces faced Guillet on the road to Amba Alagi , and specifically , in the proximity of Cherù . He was entrusted by Duca Amedeo Of Aosta with the task of delaying the allied advance from the North - West . The battles and skirmishes in which this young lieutenant was a protagonist ( Amedeo did not have the appropriates rank , but he commanded an entire brigade ) are boldly written in the British bulletins of war . The " devilries " that he created from day to day , almost seen as a game , explains why the British called him not only " Knight from other times " but also the Italian " Lawrence of Arabia " . Horse charges with unsheathed sword , guns , incendiary and hand bombs against the armoured troops had a daily cadence . A look at official documents show that in January 1941 at Cherù " . . . with the task of protecting the withdrawal of the battalions . . . with skillful maneuver and intuition of a commander . . . In an entire day of furious combats on foot and horseback , he charged many times while leading his units , assaulting the preponderant adversary ( in number and means ) soldiers of an enemy regiment , setting tanks on fire , reaching the flank of the enemy ' s artilleries . . . although huge losses of men . . . Capt . Guillet . . . in a particularly difficult moment of this hard fight , guided with disregard of danger , an attack against enemy tanks with hand bombs and benzine bottles setting two on fire while a third managed to escape while in flames . " In those months many proud Italians died , including many brave Eritreans who fought without fear for a king and a people who they never saw or knew . Even today , the " Devil Commander " uses words of deep respect and admiration for that proud population to whom he feels himself in debt as a soldier , Italian and man . He never stops to repeat that " the Eritreans are the Prussians of Africa without the defects of the Prussians " . His actions had the hoped success and saved the lives of thousands of Italians and Eritreans who withdrew in the territory better known as the Amba Alagi . At dawn Gulliet charged against steel weapons with only swords , guns and hand bombs at a column of tanks . He passed unhurt through the British forces who were caught unaware . Amedeo then returned to the steps in order to recharge . In the meantime , the British succeeded to organize themselves and fire at raised zero with their howitzers . The shells ripped open the chests of Guillet ' s horses before exploding . It was the last cavalry charge that British forces faced as well as one of the last in the history of warfare . Guillet then turned to charge again . In the meantime however , the British had organized themselves and fired horizontally with their howitzers . Another cavalary charge took place little more than a year later when a friend of Guillet , Colonel Bettoni , launched the men of the " Savoia Cavalry " against Soviet troops in Russia at Isbuchenskij . Guillet ' s Eritrean troops paid a high price in terms of human losses , approximately 800 died in little more than two years and , in March 1941 , his forces found themselves stranded outside the Italian lines . Guillet , faithful until death to the oath to the House of Savoy , began a private war against the British . Hiding his uniform near an Italian farm , he set the region on fire at night 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 . After numerous adventures , including working as a water seller , Guillet was finally able to reach Yemen , where for about one year he trained soldiers and cavalrymen for the Imam ' s army , whose son Ahmed became a close friend . Despite the opposition of the Yemenite royal house , he succeeded in embarking incognito on a Red Cross ship repatriating sick and injured Italians and finally returned to Italy a few days before the armistice . As soon as Guillet reached Italy he asked for Gold sovereign s , men and weapons to aid Eritrean forces . The aid would be delivered by aeroplane and enable a guerrilla campaign to be staged . But with Italy ' s surrender , then later joining the Allies , times had changed . Guilet was promoted to Major for his war accomplishments and was assigned to the Military Intelligence Agency ( SIM ) . In this role , perhaps ironically , he was chosen by the British for some very dangerous missions on Italian territory that was still under Nazi Occupation . He worked closely with an official of the services , a cadet of Colonel Harari , Victor Dan Segre , who later became his close friend and biographer . Colonel Harari was the commander of the British special unit services that tried to capture Guillet in Italian East Africa . At the end of the war , and with the abolition of the monarchy , Guillet expressed a deep desire to leave Italy . He informed Umberto II of his intentions , but the King obliged him to keep serving his country in whatever form of government it would become . As always , he couldn ' t disobey an order from his King , so he expressed his desire to teach anthropology at university . Later life . Following the war Guillet entered the Italian diplomatic service where he represented Italy in Egypt , Yemen , Jordan , Morocco , and finally as ambassador to India until 1975 . In 1971 , he was in Morocco during an assassination attempt on the King . On June 20 , 2000 he was awarded honorary citizenship by the city of Capua , which he defined as " highly coveted " . On 4 November 2000 , the day of the Festivity of the Armed Forces , Guillet was presented with the Knight Grand Cross of the Military Order of Italy by President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi . This is the highest military decoration in Italy . Guillet is one of the most highly decorated ( both civil and military ) people in Italian history . In 2001 , Gulliet visited Eritrea and was met by thousands of supporters . The group included men who previously served with him as horsemen in the Italian Cavalry known as Gruppo Bande a Cavallo . The Eritrean people remembered Gulliet ' s efforts to help Eritrea remain independent of Ethiopia . Since 1974 Guillet had been living in retirement in Kentstown , County Meath , Ireland although latterly he had spent his winters in Italy . For some years he was a member of and hunted with the Tara Harriers and the Meath Hounds . In 2009 , his 100th birthday was celebrated with a special concert at the Palazzo Barberini in Rome . Amedeo married Beatrice Gandolfo in 1944 . The couple subsequently had two sons ; Paolo and Alfredo . Beatrice died in 1990 . Amedeo Guillet died on June 16 , 2010 in Rome . Documentary Film . In 2007 Guillet ' s life story was the subject of a film made by Elisabetta Castana for RAI .