East African Campaign (World War II)
The
East African Campaign refers to the battles fought between
British Commonwealth forces and
Italian Empire forces in
Italian East Africa during
World War II. This campaign is often seen as part of the
North African Campaign. The vast majority of the Allied forces were from
India,
South Africa,
Nigeria and
Ghana.
Italy
conquered and occupied Ethiopia in
1935 and eventually created
Italian East Africa out of newly-occupied
Ethiopia and the Italian colonies of
Eritrea and
Italian Somaliland). Italian troops in Italian East Africa numbered about 250,000, most of them Local East African
askaris recruited by the
Italian Army.
When
Benito Mussolini joined the war against the
Allies in
1940, Italian forces became a potential threat to British supply routes in the
Red Sea and the
Suez Canal. British Commonwealth troops in
Egypt and
Sudan were outnumbered by Italian forces in Italian East Africa and
Libya. Therefore, the British government recognised
Haile Selassie in July 1940 and promised to help him.
 |
The Italian Invasion of British Somaliland |
On
August 3 1940, approximately 175,000 Italian troops — about 70% of them African — under the
Duke of Aosta (a
Field Marshal) and General
Guglielmo Nasi invaded
British Somaliland. The defending force was a small contingent of only four battalions. The Italians advanced in three columns, with the western towards
Zeila, the central towards
Hargeisa, and the eastern towards
Odweina in the south.
Within two days both Zeila and Hargeisa were taken. The occupation of Zeila effectively sealed British Somaliland off from
French Somaliland and Hargeisa is on the main road towards the capital of
Berbera. Odweina fell the following day and the Italians central and eastern columns combined to launch an attack against the main Commonwealth positions at
Tug Argan.
The Commonwealth forces had received minor reinforcements and a new commander, General
Alfred Godwin-Austen, but it was not enough. Within a few days the Allies were forced to withdraw from Tug Argan to Berbera, from where they were successfully evacuated to
Aden, leaving the Italians to take control of Berbera on
August 19 and then full control of all of British Somaliland.
Commonwealth losses in the short campaign are estimated at 260:
*38 killed in action (KIA)
*102 wounded
*120 missing
The Italians lost about 2,050:
*465 KIA
*1,530 wounded
*34 missing
Winston Churchill criticized General
Archibald Wavell, whose
Middle East Command was responsible for the campaign, for the rapid defeat of the Commonwealth forces. Churchill in particular was worried that the territory had been abandoned without a fight, because of the low casualty rate. To this Wavell pointed out that this was a textbook withdrawal in the face of superior numbers and said to Churchill, "A bloody butcher's bill is not the sign of a good tactician."
After this victory, the Italians soon began a series of minor raids into
Sudan and
Kenya, including the capture of
Buna and small territorial advances.
Insights from the campaign
*This campaign shows Italian forces were capable of co-ordinating columns separated by many miles of desert.
*British forces showed good discipline in the retreat and were able to salvage most of their forces.
*This is the only campaign the Italians won unaided in World War II.
After their offensives petered out, the Italians adopted a passive attitude, waiting for the inevitable counterattack. Attention then shifted to the naval sphere. The Italians had a small squadron based at
Assab in Eritrea, which consisted of a small number of destroyers and submarines.
While the Italian naval squadron was not used aggressively, it was viewed as a threat to Allied convoys heading from the
Gulf of Aden to the
Red Sea. As the Italian supply of fuel decreased, so did their opportunity for action. The squadron made one major attempt to attack a convoy, but was roundly defeated. Following that attack, most of the squadron's surface ships were sunk, with the escaping submarines making an epic voyage around the
Cape of Good Hope to return to Italy.
An important aspect of the Allied campaign to retake Ethiopia was
irregular forces. Major
Orde Wingate, later to gain fame in
Burma with the
Chindits was a major mover behind the Ethiopian "patriots" as they were known by the British. The irregulars, formed into the
Gideon Force, disrupted Italian supply lines and provided vital intelligence to British Commonwealth forces.
Northern front
The Allied push to take Ethiopia began once reinforcements arrived from
Egypt. The arrival of an
Australian division in Egypt had released the
Indian 4th Infantry Division — under
Lieutenant General William Platt — from
Operation Compass in the
Western Desert and it was sent to attack the Italian forces from Sudan. On
January 19,
1941, the 4th Division and the
Indian 5th Infantry Division advanced into Ethiopia. Within nine days, Platt's forces had advanced 100 miles (160 kilometres) and captured the heavily fortified town of
Agordat.
Southern front
On January 24, the Commonwealth's Southern Force, comprised of the
South African 1st Division and the
11th and
12th African Divisions (
Nigerian and
Ghanaian troops under British officers), commanded by Lieutenant General
Alan Cunningham invaded
Italian Somaliland, capturing most of it by February 25. The Allies' southern campaign received air support from the
South African Air Force.
Seaborne assaults
In March, a combined Indian-
Free French force was sent by sea from Sudan to northern Eritrea. Following this, in April, an amphibious assault was also made on British Somaliland, staged from Aden.
The capture of Addis Ababa
The three thrusts converged on the Ethiopian capital of
Addis Ababa, which fell early in 1941;
Haile Selassie entered the city on
May 5, which afterwards was observed in Ethiopia as
Liberation Day, a national holiday. The Italians made a final stand around the town of
Golkar, until the Duke of Aosta surrendered on
May 16. Nevertheless, some Italian forces continued fighting on in the province of
Begemder until November.
With the surrender of the Italians, the British, under pressure from the US administration, signed an agreement with Haile Selassie acknowledging Ethiopian sovereignty in January 1942.
*
The Italian Invasion of British Somaliland 1stâ€"18th August 1940, by Lt Col JEB Barton, Section 5 Chapter M.
*
Italian invasion of British Somaliland, UK PRO Ref WO106/2336.
* War Diary HQ Somaliforce Julâ€"Aug 1940, UK PRO file WO169/2870. This file contains many reports, photographs of defensive positions and maps.
*
History of the Second World War: The Mediterranean and the Middle East Volume 1, by ISO Playfair. HMSO London 1954. This is the official history.
*
Revised Notes on the Italian Army (with amendments 1â€"3 incorporated), The War Office.
*
Somalihome Online â€" The Invasion of British Somaliland
*
BBC â€" WW2 People's War: East African Campaign
*
Stone & Stone: The Invasion of British Somaliland
*
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