Ellena was born in
Saluzzo on 29 March 1839. Ellena joined the
Italian Military after getting a degree in
engineering, and became an
artillery officer in 1859. He would serve in the
Austro-Italian War of 1866 and become a teacher at the Artillery and Engineering School of
Turin. Using his knowledge as an artillery officer, in 1873 Ellena wrote about the science behind
artillery shells and the utility of regimental schools. On 16 March 1893 Ellena was granted the rank of
Major General for his long military career and academic work in the study of artillery and regimental schools. A this point in his career, he was considered one of the best artillery officers in the
Italian Army. He was the oldest and latest of the five Italian generals at the
Battle of Adwa to enter
Africa. Despite being the oldest, he deferred to the other officers at the prebattle discussions, although they looked to him to share what the political situation was back in
Rome. He would agree with the offensive that would result in the battle.
The battle took place on 1 March 1896. During it, Ellena commanded the 3rd infantry
brigade, which served as reserves, following the centre. The Italian forces lost and Ellen found himself assisting Baratieri in the retreat. Three of the other four generals died at the battle and the remaining one,
Matteo Albertone, was taken
prisoner. Of the deceased generals' forces,
Giuseppe Arimondi's men would retreat to Ellena's position on Mount Roja and help form the
rearguard for the retreat. Ellena himself was injured during the battle, resulting in him being taken to a
military hospital. While there he would pen letters blaming the loss on a lack of intelligence,
geographical knowledge, and no retreat plans in place. Soon after the battle, he returned to Italy. Ellena received heavy criticism for leaving Africa so quickly after the defeat, but would continue to maintain regular correspondence with Baratieri; during which he blamed the loss on the disobedience of the other generals: Albertone, Arimondi, and
Vittorio Dabormida. Ellena died in 1918 in
Florence. == Written works ==