How Italy Was Defeated In East Africa In 1941

How Italy Was Defeated In East Africa In 1941


In October 1935 Italian troops invaded Ethiopia –  then also known as Abyssinia – forcing the country's Emperor, Haile Selassie, into exile. Ignoring protests from the League of
  Nations, the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini proclaimed a new Italian empire in East Africa, comprising Ethiopia and the pre-existing territories of Italian Somaliland and Eritrea.
Following early successes by Italy's ally, Germany, in the Second World War, Mussolini declared war on Britain in June 1940. This meant that British possessions in East Africa, as well as British-controlled Egypt and the vital supply route of the Suez Canal, were now threatened.

The Italians attacked border posts in Kenya and Sudan, and captured British Somaliland in August. The Italian Viceroy, the Duke of Aosta, then ordered his troops to halt, allowing the initiative to pass to the British.

General Archibald Wavell, British Commander-in-Chief Middle East, planned a three-pronged counter-offensive to dismantle Italy's East African Empire. His force was outnumbered, but he had air support from the Royal Air Force (RAF).

In January 1941 Lieutenant General William Platt led forces from Sudan into Eritrea. The Italians quickly retreated and, in March, Indian and British troops won an important victory at Keren.
 through the bush, 22 January 1941.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Alan Cunningham advanced north from Kenya into Italian Somaliland, while a third force crossed from Aden to retake British Somaliland by amphibious assault. These then linked up and pushed deep into Ethiopia.

Photographs

Ethiopia during the Second World War

iopian men gather in Addis Ababa, heavily armed with captured Italian weapons, to hear the proclamation announcing the return to the capital of the Emperor Haile Selassie in May 1941.

See object record

In April British troops entered the capital Addis Ababa, and Haile Selassie returned in triumph on 5 May. The Duke of Aosta chose to fight on, and led his men to the mountain stronghold of Amba Alagi, near the Eritrean border. Here they held out for a further two weeks before surrendering.

The campaign in East Africa, 1941

ish troops use a bulldozer to pull down a fascist stone monument at Kismayu in Italian Somaliland, 11 April 1941.
last Italian troops in East Africa were defeated at the Battle of Gondar in November 1941. But several thousand escaped to wage a guerrilla war until September 1943, when Italy surrendered to the Allies.
A Brief History Of The Eighth Army And The Desert War
The Eighth Army, formed in September 1941, was a diverse formation made up of units from all corners of the British Empire, with infantry divisions coming from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India.

A Short Guide To The War In Africa During The Second World War

In 1940, Italy's fascist dictator Benito Mussolini wanted to expand his African Empire. His forces in Ethiopia attacked neighbouring British possessions, but in 1941 were expelled and defeated.

A Quick Guide To The Air War Over North Africa In The Second World War

When fighting commenced in North Africa in June 1940, the Royal Air Force's (RAF) Air Headquarters Egypt immediately mounted bombing missions against Italian targets in Libya and helped repel the Italian offensive into Egypt.

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