Chapter 78 Book Three, Chapter Five: The Conquest of the Italian Empire in Africa

The origin and growth of the Italian empire in Africa The fiasco at Adwa in 1896 The Italian invasion of Tripoli in 1911 Mussolini's ambitions Significant developments in Italian colonies Magnificent fortresses and forces Opportunity Wavell's new plan to clear the Sultan of the war Karen could not stand Sanford's uprising The Emperor returned to Abyssinia The Kenyan army did not take advantage of it Smuts pointed to an attack on Kismayo Cunningham proposed a pause in the attack We urge early action to capture Kismayo A blitzkrieg in Italian Somalia Recovers all of British Somalia Attacks on French Somalia and blockades Expelled from the Red Sea to pursue the Italian army, the emperor of Abyssinia returned to the capital, the Duke of Aosta surrendered, and the war in Abyssinia ended.

In 1940, when Mussolini declared war on Great Britain after the fall of France, the Italian empire in North and East Africa was in full bloom.The Kingdom of Italy was a latecomer to the European nation-states that arose in the nineteenth century.The industrial power is weak, and the military power is naturally not strong. However, due to the population expansion, it participated in the competition for Africa under many difficulties. After the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, Italy turned its attention day by day. Expansion into Africa.Sixteen years later, Massawa was occupied and Eritrea officially became an Italian territory.

The Italian colony of Somalia and its outlet to the Indian Ocean also slowly developed.Between these two early colonies was the ancient kingdom of Ethiopia. With the expansion of imperialism in the 1890s, Mr. Crispi [1] marched into this desolate area, hoping to obtain the status of a great power for Italy in European affairs.The disastrous Italian defeat at Adova in 1896, when the entire Italian army invading Abyssinia was wiped out, contributed to his downfall and interrupted Italian adventures in Africa. 【1】Francesco Crispi (1819｜1901), an Italian territorial expansionist, formed a cabinet in 1894 and strongly advocated territorial expansion in Africa and the use of force to conquer Abi sinia.translator

This tragic event is etched in the memory of the Italians.In 1911, the Italian government suddenly sent troops across the sea to Tripoli to start a conquest operation, which shocked the peaceful world at that time.France and Britain needed Italy to counter the growing German threat, while Turkey's defeat in the Balkans in 1912 allowed Italy to establish a fragile foothold on the North African coast.The fact that Italy sided with the victors in the First World War ratified its claim to Tripoli and Cyrenaica, which led it back to the old dream of the Roman Empire, which was soon renamed Libya up.The uprisings of the Senusi order[1] remained a constant challenge to the occupation and colonization of the Arabian Desert by Italy's growing population.

[1] The Islamic order in North Africa was founded in 1837.translator This was the situation when Mussolini seized power in the midst of a fascist surge against Bolshevism.In later years, Italy carried out a planned expansion as a colonial power in Africa.Vast tracts of North Africa were suppressed under the harsh laws of General Graziani's military rule.The uprising was brutally suppressed; immigration increased; the desert was reclaimed; forts and airfields were built; roads and railways spread along the Mediterranean coast.Behind all these enormous, but not ineffective, expenditures of human and material resources, Italy lurks a national desire to avenge the defeat and disgrace at Ardois.I have described in the first volume how Mussolini's determination defeated the timid and half-hearted resistance of Britain through the League of Nations, and made one country lead fifty countries[1] authority is nullified.We have also seen how these conflicts and the conquest of Abyssinia contributed to the outbreak of the Second World War.

[1] Mussolini.One country refers to the United Kingdom. At that time, the United Kingdom planned to use the League of Nations to sanction Italy. See pages 156 and 163 of the original volume of the first volume of this book.translator In June 1940, at a time when the British Empire seemed to be collapsing in the eyes of the Fascists, and France was barely recovering, the Italian empire in Africa was expanding.Libya, Eritrea, Abyssinia and Somalia constitute a vast territory.The land, fed by Italian taxes and painstakingly managed by nearly a quarter of a million Italian colonists under the protection of more than 400,000 Italian and native troops, had begun to prosper.They have fortified their ports in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.The British intelligence agency received timely information on the scale of Italian fortifications, and believed that these ports could be classified as superior naval bases.

If the British Empire collapsed (which was inevitable in Mussolini's view at the time), then Egypt, British Somalia and British East Africa would be merged into the existing territories of Italy, and it would indeed form a vast territory with Italy as its suzerain The land, such a great empire, has not been seen since Caesar.Here lies what the ill-fated Ciano called a once-in-five-thousand-year opportunity.This fascinating castle in the air is now about to be suddenly disillusioned. Our attitude towards the Italians throughout East Africa until December 1940 was purely defensive.On December 2nd General Wavell held a conference in Cairo at which he formulated a new course.He had no intention of penetrating Abyssinia with regular troops, but was about to drive out the Italian troops who occupied Kassala and Galabat in Sudan on July 4, 1940.When these small-scale offensive operations were over, Wavell originally planned to withdraw most of the troops to fight in the Middle East. The patriotic movement, supported and supported by British officers, arms and money, would take on the task of making it difficult for the Italians to hold Afghanistan. Bisignia, thus at last recovering their land.

In January, under the command of General Pratt, the campaign to clear the Sudan began.In the initial stages, the battle went well.Pratt's 5th British Indian Division was reinforced in January by the 4th British Indian Division, transferred from the Western Desert, which had played a role in the victory in the Western Desert last December. .This army is supported by six air squadrons.On January 19, two Italian divisions withdrew from Kassala after being threatened with attack and after being bombed once.Soon they abandoned Galabat and withdrew from the Sudan.From Kassala we continued our pursuit without serious resistance to the exceptionally fortified mountain position at Keren.In the Karen position, the enemy's two standing divisions have solid defense facilities and hold on tenaciously.Several attacks in early February were fruitless, so Platt made up his mind that this position should be captured despite the logistical delays that are inevitable in well-prepared attacks.

During this time progress was made in raising an insurrection in Abyssinia.A modest force under the command of Brigadier General Sanford, which included a battalion of sultans and selected British officers and non-commissioned officers formed the nucleus of the uprising.Among these British officers was Colonel Wingate, who later founded Chishun.As their achievements are getting bigger and bigger, more and more patriots are helping them.The Emperor of Abyssinia returned to his kingdom on January 20, and much of the area west of Gorjam was gradually cleared of the enemy. Those who have read the previous volume will understand that I am not satisfied with the long inaction of the large army in Kenya.Smuts had visited Kenya in November 1940 and urged us to go on the offensive, targeting the Italian port of Kismayo.

He sent me the following telegram: November 5, 1940 While in Kenya I visited most of the front lines and worked out the operational plans with General Cunningham and his staff.There, too, as elsewhere, morale is high and conditions are generally good, but prolonged inaction in and near the desert invites danger.In the immediate term, the most desirable target is Kismaayo, which currently presents a serious threat to our key base, Mombasa.Once Kismayo is captured and held, the bulk of our army can move north from this desolate desert region to threaten Addis Ababa.For the attack on Kismayo, Cunningham requires a larger force than originally conceived, and I am about to send a further brigade of infantry from the Union of South Africa as soon as the ships are ready.A resupply of light machine guns is desperately needed, and more water and supply vehicles need to be prepared.There is serious turmoil in Abyssinia. If we attack from the north and the south, the Italian army may collapse in the summer, so that a considerable number of troops can be freed up for the more important battlefield further north.

This is exactly in line with my opinion.That brigade has been shipped from Cape Town.I know everything is being prepared to march in January before the rainy season begins.So I was taken aback when I saw the following telegram: General Wavell to Chief of the Imperial General Staff November 23, 1940 Cunningham had decided that a daring campaign was impossible this winter.He proposed a series of skirmishes in northern Kenya in mid-December and requested that two West African brigades be sent to fight. The South African High Commissioner told us that General Smuts had hoped to attack Kismaayo in January, but that, despite the dispatch of the 3rd South African Union Brigade, the attack had apparently been postponed until May, to which Smuts expressed disappointment.At the National Defense Council meeting on November 25, 1940, I questioned why the planned attack on Kismayo had been postponed until May.Sir John Deere said he had received a telegram from General Wavell, saying that he would shortly be calling a meeting of the commanders, including General Cunningham, to discuss plans for the next six months. We were all dissatisfied with Deal's answer, and the Defense Committee therefore requested the Chiefs of Staff to ask General Wavell to give a full explanation of the matter and to report back to the Prime Minister. I send the following memorandum to the Secretary of State for War and the Chief of the Reich General Staff: November 26, 1940 I know that you will send detailed reports on the reasons you are now giving for not being able to attack Kismayo before May, and that you will try not to back down on these grounds.But if it was decided that no action would be taken before May, the West Africa Brigade would have to sail to the west coast on the first empty transports to replace the battalion now stationed in Freetown. It is most regrettable to ask to keep that traveler without taking them into action. As a result of the meeting held by Wavell on December 2, it was decided to attack the Italian army in Kassala and to instigate an uprising in Abyssinia in every possible way. However, the attack on Kismayo still had to be postponed until after the spring rains. That is May or June. I continue to blame the military in Kenya for being too large and doing nothing. Prime Minister to General Wavell January 26, 1941 Your telegram of the 21st puzzles me.I thought you were going to have a strong strategic reserve in the Egyptian Delta, which would be in the spirit of our instructions from here.There was indeed no need to send another South African division to augment the 70,000-strong force of all arms, which is currently doing virtually nothing in Kenya.I have asked General Smuts and he has agreed to leave the destination of this new division unfixed for the time being, because I think he may be willing to send this division north to join the Army of the Nile after arrangements for transport ships etc. .You seem unwilling to accept a South African division, and under the circumstances it takes more than half the distance to transport a South African division than from home, how can you expect me to be in great difficulty with shipping (in fact it has affected us Importing food and munitions), to transport more divisions from home to the Middle East for you?I do hope to have the two South African divisions now in Kenya transferred to the Egyptian Delta within a few months, and the West African brigade to be transferred to Freetown as agreed.The gradual deployment of South African forces to the main battlefields is a bold and rational policy of General Smuts, and we cannot in any way disappoint him. Under strong domestic pressure, Wavell finally decided to start action before the rainy season.He encouraged the Kenyan command, and we soon received the following news: The troops in Nairobi were expected to execute the Canvas plan (the attack on Kismaayo) between February 10 and 16. ).This heralds a real operation on the battlefield in East Africa.I was overwhelmed with relief when I received the telegram from General Wavell on February 2, 1941.He said in this telegram: I have approved in Kenya the proposal to take Kismayo on a trial basis around mid-February.The enemy has a strong position and our supplies are limited, but I think the operation has a good chance of success.In short, I have given instructions to Platt and Cunningham to attack Italian East Africa with maximum force within the next two months.So we made progress.It turned out how exaggerated the difficulties were by the commanders on the ground, and how right we were at home in urging them to hurry. General Cunningham's big offensive was scheduled to begin in February.An Italian force of six brigades and six field cohorts held the Juba River, with Kismayo at its mouth.General Cunningham deployed four brigades facing this force on 10 February.Our army entered Kismayo on the 14th without encountering resistance. The enemy's main position was at Jelib, north of the port of Kismaayo, across the Juba River.On the 22nd, our army attacked the position from the enemy's two wings and its rear, and achieved great results.The entire enemy army was defeated, and more than 30,000 people were killed, captured, or fled into the jungle.Enemy air forces were hammered by South African aircraft and were unable to participate in the battle.Two hundred miles to the north was Mogadishu, the main port of Italian Somalia, and there was now no obstacle to advancing towards it.Our motorized troops entered the port on the 25th and found a large amount of equipment, food and clothing, and more than 400,000 gallons of precious gasoline.Twenty-one destroyed aircraft were on the airfield.General Cunningham rightly judged that his next move would not meet enemy resistance.Although all but one brigade of the 1st South African Division remained in place for use in other campaigns, he still had sufficient offensive forces.The distance is the only problem.Transportation and supplies are the deciding factors.Cunningham, with General Wavell's permission, made Jijiga, no less than 740 miles from Mogadishu, his next target.The troops, resting for only three days, continued to advance on 1 March, overcoming some weak resistance and encountering very little interception by enemy air forces, whose airfields were repeatedly attacked.They reached Jijiga on March 17.These battles were all well fought. Prime Minister to General Wavell March 1, 1941 I sincerely congratulate you on your brilliant campaign in Italian Somalia.Please convey to General Cunningham the gratitude and appreciation of His Majesty's Government to General Cunningham, who has led his spirited, well-trained and well-organized army in a series of valiant, courageous and very successful campaigns.I hope you will ask him to convey this congratulatory message to his troops.Publish the cable if you deem it appropriate. You will no doubt discuss the future of the campaign with General Smuts on the seventh.As you know, I always wanted the South African divisions to go to the Mediterranean coast. General Wavell to Prime Minister March 2, 1941 Thank you very much for your congratulations.I have passed your message to General Cunningham. 2. Cunningham is advancing with lightly armed forces to Fairfer (about 200 miles north of Mogadishu and Doro), which will complete the occupation of Italian Somalia.Owing to the state of supplies and transport, he considered it impossible to march on Harar before the 21st of March.He will be in Cairo on March 7th, and we shall then consult on future plans for operations with the South African divisions. 3. I have instructed Aden to conduct reconnaissance of Berbera in order to recover it if possible. At this point, we can send reinforcements from Aden.Four of our air squadrons stationed there, apart from their duties in the Red Sea, had been dispatched from their central points to attack enemy air bases in support of the campaign being conducted by Cunningham and Platt.On March 16 our two battalions landed at Berbera.A brigade of the enemy defenders was disintegrated, and 200 people were captured.At this time, the entire territory of British Somalia has been quickly recovered, so it is more convenient to support General Cunningham to continue to advance through the port of Berbera.He resumed his advance on Harar, where the defenders surrendered on March 26.He entered Dire Dawa on March 29.Here we are close to the railway from French Somalia.If Vichy France opens the port of Djibouti to us, it will definitely greatly benefit our supplies.But that is not the case.General Cunningham gathered his forces and resources at Dire Dawa for the final push to Addis Ababa.During the month of March, he traveled 850 miles from Mogadishu with the 11th African Division and the 1st South African Brigade.Since crossing the Juba, his troops had killed, captured, or scattered more than 50,000 enemy troops, while his troops had suffered fewer than 500 casualties. As a result of these successes, disputes arose.Generals de Gaulle and Gentilume favored a policy of strict blockade of Djibouti's port, while General Wavell feared that such a policy would be sufficient to induce the Djibouti defenders to persevere in resistance.He suggested that they should be informed that sufficient provisions, such as milk for children, should be brought in to spare them misery; other French colonies; ready to negotiate the use of the railroads of French Somalia to supply his own army, but our views at home are different. Prime Minister to General Wavell April 1, 1941 We believe that you should follow as closely as possible the policy laid down by the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces in the telegram of March 25, and that any amendments which may be necessary should be consulted with General de Gaulle in advance.In particular, the initial contact with French Somalia should be made by the Free French authorities, and the weapon of the blockade should not hesitate to be used as much as possible.Don't worry about hurting Weygand and Vichy's feelings.We have our own way of dealing with them here. 2. I hope that you will be able to give full weight to General de Gaulle's opinion on this and other similar questions.His Majesty's Government has given General de Gaulle a solemn pledge and support for him as leader of the Free French Movement. The President had been concerned about the situation of Italian civilians in Abyssinia. former navy personnel to president roosevelt April 4, 1941 The suggestions of Count Sforza (regarding Italian non-combatants) have been carefully considered here.I beg you to understand our difficulties.The Duke of Aosta is indeed going to give up Addis Ababa and lead his troops to the mountains to continue fighting for several weeks or even several months. At the same time, we will be fully responsible for the health and safety of tens of thousands of civilians.We cannot fulfill this task until organized fighting ceases.We haven't even taken the port of Djibouti, the rail lines have been cut, and every ounce of transport we have is being used to support our troops on the expedition.The result is likely to be lamentable chaos, and the whole burden will be upon us, as it was in the concentration camps during the South African War.As long as the Duke stops fighting, we will try our best at once, and it may be possible to get a satisfactory result.The continued resistance of the Italian army in Ethiopia will delay our reinforcements to Libya, and you can see how urgent reinforcements to Libya are now.The continuation of the resistance by the Italians is not merely a matter of giving the enemy great military advantages, but a task which we cannot undertake. Prime Minister to General Wavell May 30, 1941 The recent capture (Djibouti) is appropriate.Consider what kind of troops are needed to break the resistance of the French, and whether they can be found without affecting other needs.The timing of the attack would of course depend on developments in Syria, which might lead to a break with the Vichy government, or perhaps French forces in Syria to cooperate with the Free French.Whatever the circumstances, the operation to occupy Djibouti is appropriate.During this period, the blockade should be enforced with the utmost strictness, while preparatory operations for the massing of forces that you deem useful may be carried out on the Djibouti border. This might avoid actual combat, which is our best wish.Exactly when to start action can only be decided in consultation with us. During this period, the Abyssinian campaign had progressed.The Karen defenders resisted tenaciously.Unable to outflank the two wings of this position, it can only attack directly from the front.Pratt mustered manpower, material, and deployed his two divisions for a frontal attack, but only one road was available, and it was all within the enemy's field of vision. The railroad's terminus was a hundred and fifty miles away, so not only would his various preparations take weeks, but there was no question of a surprise attack at all.At this time, the air force, including the air force dispatched from Aden, played an inestimable role.In the early stages of the campaign the Italian pilots were quite active, but since the arrival of the Tornados to reinforce the South African fighter squadron, we quickly gained the upper hand.During the preparations for the last battle at Keren, the Italians were frequently attacked by land and air.Soon the enemy stopped interfering with our movements, and when the battle broke out, the supporting air force did much to clear the way for our advance and demoralize the enemy.This battle was not easy to succeed, and our army suffered 3,000 casualties.After the first three days, from March 15th to 17th, the fighting was interrupted for a while for reorganization.On the 20th General Wavell telegraphed that the fighting was intense.The enemy counterattacked again and again, and although their losses were severe and they succeeded only once, there was no immediate sign of collapse.Evidently, the Italians fought to the death to preserve the fortress.Their air force was active, and the battle seemed to us from London to be evenly fought, so we raised the question of reinforcements, but they were no longer necessary.On March 25, the onslaught began again. Two days later, the Italian defense line collapsed, and Keren captured it.The pursuit of soldiers is like breaking a bamboo.Asmara fell on April 1, and the Massawa garrison surrendered on April 8, taking 10,000 prisoners. The victory at the Battle of Karen was mainly won by the 4th and 5th British Indian Divisions.I give them due credit for their bravery. Prime Minister to Governor General of India April 7, 1941 The achievements of Indian troops in Eritrea inspired the entire empire.For my part, the zeal and tenacity with which they climbed and finally conquered the forbidding Karen Mountains reminded me of the battles on the Northwest Frontier many years ago.As one of those who have had the honor of serving on the battlefield with Indian soldiers from all over Hindustan, and on behalf of His Majesty's Government, I ask Your Excellency to express our pride and admiration as we watch their deeds , conveyed to them and to the entire Indian Army. I immediately telegraphed Generals Cunningham and Pratt, and their gallant troops: I, and His Majesty's Government, congratulate you on a timely and glorious supreme achievement in this unforgettable endeavor. Other campaigns to clear the enemy have also been successful.Italy entered the war with nine destroyers, eight submarines, and many smaller ships in the Red Sea.All these ships have now been sunk by the Royal Navy and Naval Air Forces.By April 11, President Roosevelt could declare that the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden were no longer belligerent waters and therefore open to American ships. Remnants of the Eritrean Italian forces retreated 230 miles south through the mountains to establish a position at Amba Araj.General Pratt followed and pursued.At this time, the 4th Indian Division and most of the air squadrons supporting the operation were transferred to Egypt, which will be mentioned below.Pratt then engaged the enemy with the remainder of his force. General Cunningham arrived in Addis Ababa on April 6, and the remnants of the Italian Air Force on the airfield had been blown up.He sent the South African brigade to advance northwards via Dessiers, taking the back route of the Italians at Amba Alaghi. The resistance of the Italians was unsustainable, because their retreat was cut off, and General Pratt attacked from the north. , especially the harassment of the patriots and the machine gun shooting and bombing of our air force.At the beginning of April Wingate's sultan's battalion and local troops, together with irregular troops who had surrendered to the emperor, drove 12,000 of Gojam's enemy troops to Debra Marcos.Half of them were captured, while the rest fled to Gondal in the north.The Abyssinian emperor returned to the capital on May 5. We look back at Mussolini's role in the European crisis, and how he successfully resisted the League of Nations with his attack on Abyssinia leading to war. It can be seen that at that time, such disputes could have been easily eliminated from the gloomy European situation with firmness and action.We have now satisfactorily solved the problem, after all difficulties and dangers.Reminiscing about the past, I can't help congratulating Haile Selassie with excitement. Prime Minister to Emperor of Ethiopia May 9, 1941 Great Britain and the British Empire were relieved to learn that His Majesty the Emperor had returned to the capital, Addis Ababa amidst great jubilation.Your Majesty was the first legitimate king to be deposed from the throne and driven out of the country by the criminals of the Fascist Nazis, and now you are the first to return to your homeland with the sound of triumph.I will in due course convey His Majesty's thanks to those British and British Empire commanders, officers and soldiers who assisted the Ethiopian patriots in finally destroying the Italian military usurpation.His Majesty's Government hopes that Ethiopia will enjoy long-term peace and progress after finally overthrowing the evil forces. The Duke of Aosta was a cousin of the King of Italy.Since 1937 he has been Governor of East Africa and Abyssinia in any of the territories, and since 1939 has been Commander-in-Chief of the Italian Army in those territories.He was a chivalrous and well-bred man who had studied in England and his wife was a French princess. He was not in the favor of Mussolini.The leaders considered him, on some grounds, to be merciless and lacking in military command.He surrendered with the remnants of his troops on May 17 and died a prisoner of war in Nairobi in 1942. Since the start of the war in January, more than half of the original enemy force of more than 220,000 has been captured or wiped out.There are still thousands of people entrenched in the fortresses in the Abyssinian mountains. The destruction of the Italian Empire and armies in East Africa took place simultaneously with many more significant events in other regions, and we can conclude here the circumstances of the East African campaign.Our previous apprehension that the 20,000 Italian civilians living in Addis Ababa might be massacred by the Abyssinians has now been dispelled.Farther north, 4,500 Italians and local conscripts surrendered to a British cavalry battalion and company on July 2, after being forced into Debra Tabor by the patriots.Southwestern Abyssinia had been cleared by the 11th African Division from Addis Ababa and the 12th Division advancing north from the Kenyan border.After a series of campaigns, which were greatly hindered by terrain and weather, by the first week of July they had cleared the whole territory of 40,000 enemy troops.During the summer, the Congolese native army, commanded by Belgian officers, traveled 2,000 miles across Africa from the Congo to fight in the final phase of the campaign and captured 15,000 enemy troops.The only thing left unconquered is Gondar.However, the rainy season has come by this time, so the final blow must be waited for after the rainy season has passed.The encirclement began to tighten at the end of September, and the fighting ended on November 27, with 11,500 Italian prisoners, 12,000 local troops and 48 field guns captured. Mussolini's dream of establishing an African empire by means of military conquest and transplanting Italians there with the spirit of ancient Rome has since been disillusioned.