East African Campaign

The East African Campaign refers to the battles fought between British Empire and Commonwealth forces and Italy 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.

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Contents

1 Political situation

2 The Italian Invasion of British Somaliland

2.1 Insights from the campaign
2.2 Sources Used

2.2.1 Major Sources
2.2.2 Other Sources

3 Allied counter-offensive

3.1 Northern front
3.2 Southern front
3.3 Seaborne assaults
3.4 The capture of Addis Ababa

4 Political settlement

5 External links

Political situation

Italy conquered and occupied Abyssinia in 1936 and eventually created Italian East Africa (in modern-day Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia). 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

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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 contral 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 sucessfully 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 and 120 missing. The Italians lost about 2,050: 465 KIA, 1,530 wounded and 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�. Wavell never had a significant command again.

After this victory, the Italians soon began a series of minor raids in to Sudan and Kenya, including the capture of Buna and small territorial advances.

Insights from the campaign

1. This campaign shows Italian forces were capable of co-ordinating columns separated by many miles of desert.

2. British forces showed good discipline in the retreat and were able to salvage most of their forces.

3. This is the only campaign the Italians won unaided in World War II.

Sources Used

Major Sources

�The Italian Invasion of British Somaliland 1st-18th August 1940�, by Lt Col JEB Barton. Section 5 Chapter M

Other Sources

�Italian invasion of British Somaliland�, UK PRO Ref WO106/2336.

War Diary HQ Somaliforce Jul-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 1-3 incorporated)�, The War Office

Allied counter-offensive

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A Second World War Map of Italian East Africa in 1941

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 Asmara 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 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 Somalialand, 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.

Political settlement

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.