Major General Giuseppe Ellena (29 March 1839 – 24 November 1918) was an Italian artillery officer who fought in the First Italo-Ethiopian War.

[4] 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.

[2] Ellena arrived in Eritrea on 17 February 1896, having left Italy with a group of reinforcements on 25 January 1896, and would quickly find himself under the command of Oreste Baratieri.

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.

[5] 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.