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The '''East African Campaign''' refers to the battles fought between the
United Kingdom and
Italy around the region of
Italian East Africa during
World War II. This campaign is often seen as part of the
North African Campaign.
==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 Abyssinia numbered about 250.000, most of them native Abyssinians recruited to Italian army.
When
Benito Mussolini joined the war against France and Britain in 1940, Italian forces became a potential threat to British supply routes in the
Red Sea and the
Suez Canal. British troops in
Egypt and
Sudan were outnumbered related to the Italian forces in Abyssinia and
Libya. Therefore, British government recognized
Haile Selassie in July 1940 and promised to help him.
==Invasion of British Somaliland==
On
August 3, Italian forces numbering approximately 175,000, made up of about 70%
askari, invaded
British Somaliland under general
Nasi. Defending against this was a small British force of only four battalions. The Italians advanced in three lines, with the northern line towards
Zeila, the central towards
Hargeisa, and to
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 fells the following day and the Italians soon launch an attack against the main British positions at
Tug Argan.
The British received minor reinforcements and a new commander, general
Alfred Godwin-Austen, but it was not enough. Within a few days the British were forced to withdraw from Tug Argan to Berbera, from where they were evacuated to
Aden, leaving the Italians in full control of British Somaliland.
British losses in the short campaign are estimated at 260 (38 KIA, 102 wounded, 120 missing), and Italian at approximately 2050 (465 KIA, 1530 wounded, 34 missing).
Winston Churchill criticized the rapid defeat of the British forces, but they were defended by general
Wavell, whose
Middle East Command they belonged to, due to the enormous disparity between the size of the two forces.
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.
==British counter-offensive==
After their offensives petered out, the Italians, adopted a passive attitude, waiting for the inevitable British counterattack. Attention then shifted the naval sphere.
The Italians had a small squadron based at
Asmara in Eritrea. This was a threat to the British convoys heading up the
Red Sea. It consisted of a few destroyers and submarines. However, the squadron was not used aggressively and mostly acted as a fleet in being. As supplies of fuel decreased, its opportunities for action also decreased. The Italians made one major attempt to attack a convoy, and they were roundly defeated in doing so. Following that attack, most of the surface ships of the squadron were sunk, and the submarines that escaped made an epic voyage around the
Cape of Good Hope to return to Italy.
British forces were thin on the ground in east Africa, and the two nations that made the greatest contribution to victory on land were
South Africa and
India. South Africa provided much needed airpower and troops from the
Indian Army made up the mainstay of the British ground forces. In the end, two Indian divisions saw combat in Ethiopia.
An important aspect of the 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 referred to by the British. The irregulars, formed into the
Gideon Force, disrupted Italian supply lines and provided vital intelligence to British forces.
===Northern front===
The regular push to take Ethiopia began once reinforcements arrived from Egypt. The arrival of the first Australian division in Egypt had released
Indian 4th Infantry Division from
Operation Compass in the
Western Desert and it was sent to help whith the push in to Ethiopia. It quickly took the offensive from Sudan.
===Southern front===
On January 24th, the British '''Southern Force''', under the command of General
Cunningham invaded
Italian Somaliland, capturing most of it by February 25.
===Amphibious assault===
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. The Italians made a final stand around the town of
Golkar, before they were finally defeated in the middle of 1941.
==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.
==External links==
*
Somalihome Online - The Invasion of British Somaliland
*
BBC - WW2 People's War - East African Campaign
*
stone&stone: The Invasion of British Somaliland
*
Battlefront
*
Comando Supremo: Invasion of British Somaliland - Order of battle
{| id="toc"
|-
| style="background:#ccddcc" align="center" | '''Campaigns and Theatres of World War II'''
|-
| style="background:#ccccff" align="center" | '''Europe'''
|-
| align="center" style="font-size: 90%;" | Poland | Denmark & Norway | France and the Low Countries | Britain | Balkans & Greece| Eastern Front | Italy | Western Front
|-
| style="background:#ccccff" align="center" | '''Asia Pacific'''
|-
| align="center" style="font-size: 90%;" | South-East Asian Theatre | Pacific Theatre of Operations
|-
| style="background:#ccccff" align="center" | '''Middle East and East & North Africa'''
|-
| align="center" style="font-size: 90%;" | East African Campaign | Western Desert Campaign | Tunisia Campaign
|-
| style="background:#ccccff" align="center" | '''Other'''
|-
| align="center" style="font-size: 90%;" | Atlantic Ocean | Mediterranean Sea | Strategic Bombing
|-
| style="background:#ccddcc" align="center" | '''Contemporaneous Wars'''
|-
| align="center" style="font-size: 90%;" | Chinese Civil War | Sino-Japanese War | Winter War | Continuation War
|}
