Second Italo-Ethiopian War

• 1. Colonial Origins And Walwal Incident

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  On the 23rd of November 1934, an Anglo-Ethiopian boundary commission arrived at the Welwel oasis in the Ogaden region. The party included Ethiopian and British technicians alongside an escort of approximately 600 soldiers. Both sides knew that Italian forces had installed a military post at Welwel and were not surprised to see an Italian flag flying over the wells. The Ethiopian government had notified Italian authorities about the commission's activity and requested cooperation. When British commissioner Lieutenant-Colonel Esmond Clifford asked for permission to camp nearby, the Italian commander Captain Roberto Cimmaruta rebuffed the request. Fitorari Shiferra, leading the Ethiopian escort, made camp without noticing Somali troops. Clifford withdrew his contingent to Ado while Italian aircraft began flying overhead. For ten days both sides exchanged threats sometimes standing no more than two meters apart. Reinforcements increased the Ethiopian contingent to about 1,500 men and Italians to roughly 500. On the 5th of December 1934 shots were finally fired. An Italian armored car and bomber aircraft supported their position though bombs missed their targets. Machine gunfire from the car caused about 110 Ethiopian casualties while 30 to 50 Italians and Somalis died. This incident triggered the Abyssinia Crisis at the League of Nations.

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• 2. Military Mobilization And Strategic Planning

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  At 5:00 am on the 3rd of October 1935 Marshal Emilio De Bono crossed the Mareb River advancing into Ethiopia without declaring war. Two hundred thousand soldiers of the Italian Army attacked from Eritrea while a minor force under General Rodolfo Graziani moved from Italian Somalia. The Italian forces included I East African Army Corps under General Ruggero Santini and II East African Army Corps led by Lieutenant General Pietro Maravigna. The Eritrean Army Corps commanded by General Alessandro Pirzio Biroli formed the center. Eight regular mountain and blackshirt militia infantry divisions arrived in Eritrea alongside four regular infantry divisions in Italian Somaliland totaling about 685,000 soldiers. The Regia Aeronautica deployed 205 aircraft while the Royal Navy transported tons of ammunition and food supplies. In contrast Ethiopian forces numbered between 350,000 and 760,000 men with only 25% receiving military training. Their army possessed approximately 400,000 rifles of every type and condition along with 234 antiquated artillery pieces mounted on rigid gun carriages. Only about 25% of the Ethiopian army had any formal training while most carried spears or bows alongside obsolete equipment. The Imperial Guard wore distinctive greenish-khaki uniforms resembling those of the Belgian Army standing out against white cotton cloaks worn by other fighters.

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• 3. The Christmas Offensive And Chemical Warfare

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  In December 1935 the Ethiopian army completed its mobilization preparing to launch what became known as the Christmas Offensive. Ras Seyum Mangasha held positions around Abiy Addi with roughly 30,000 men while Selassie advanced from Gojjam toward Mai Timket with another 40,000 troops. Ras Kassa Haile Darge moved from Dessie supporting Seyoum in the center pushing toward Warieu Pass. Ras Mulugeta Yeggazu led approximately 80,000 men taking positions on Amba Aradam a steep-sided flat-topped mountain blocking Italian advances. Four commanders commanded about 190,000 men facing Italian forces. On the 15th of December battles erupted near May Timket where soldiers of Ras Imru attacked units led by Major Criniti. Fierce fighting continued at Dembeguina Pass along the Gondar-Adwa track causing heavy losses for both sides including the loss of some 15 tankettes by Italians. Despite initial successes the Ethiopians could not capitalize due to superior Italian weaponry and aerial bombardment using chemical weapons. Mussolini authorized the use of mustard gas with the Regia Aeronautica dropping 330 tons over four months violating the 1925 Geneva Protocol. The gas was sprayed from above on Ethiopian combatants and villages creating what historians describe as terrible rain that burned and killed.

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• 4. Fall Of Addis Ababa And Imperial Annexation

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  On the 31st of March 1936 Italian forces defeated an Ethiopian counter-offensive at the Battle of Maychew commanding Selassie's main army. Exhausted Ethiopians withdrew while Italian troops counter-attacked killing 8,900 men out of 31,000 present according to Italian estimates. The defeat caused the Ethiopian army to disintegrate as demoralized troops deserted in large numbers. Tribal chiefs accepted Italian bribes turning against imperial forces. On the 7th of April 1936 Haile Selassie issued a proclamation calling all capable males to arms though most lacked training or modern weapons. Badoglio began the March of the Iron Will advancing mechanized columns toward Addis Ababa from Dessie. Selassie reached the capital on the 30th of April where his Council resolved to defend the city before retreating to Gore as a last resort. On the 2nd of May Selassie boarded a train carrying gold from the Ethiopian Central Bank fleeing to Djibouti then onward to exile in the United Kingdom. At 4:00 am on the 5th of May Badoglio drove into Addis Ababa leading 1,600 lorries and tanks. Italian King Victor Emmanuel III was proclaimed emperor on the 9th of May marking the annexation of Ethiopia. Provinces of Eritrea Italian Somaliland and Abyssinia united to form Italian East Africa with fighting continuing until the 19th of February 1937.

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• 5. Yekatit Twelve Massacre And Occupation Repression

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  On the 19th of February 1937 an attempted assassination of Marshal Graziani occurred in Addis Ababa by Eritrean rebels Abraham Deboch and Mogos Asgedom. The campaign of reprisals following this event became known as the Yekatit 12 massacre described as the worst in Ethiopian history. Estimates vary widely with Ethiopian sources claiming 30,000 deaths while Italian sources claimed only hundreds died. A 2017 history estimated 19,200 people killed representing 20% of Addis Ababa's population. Hours after the attack Federal Secretary Guido Cortese gave orders to destroy Ethiopians for three days granting carte blanche to kill and do what they wanted. Italians doused native houses with petrol setting them ablaze while breaking into homes of Greeks and Armenians to lynch servants. Some perpetrators posed on corpses taking photographs as evidence. Over the following week numerous Ethiopians suspected of opposing rule were rounded up and executed including members of the Black Lions aristocracy. Many more were imprisoned even collaborators like Ras Gebre Haywot who had helped identify the assassins. Public executions continued throughout March and April with rebels taken prisoner often executed immediately.

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• 6. International Diplomacy And League Failure

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  On the 30th of June 1936 Haile Selassie spoke at the League of Nations introducing himself as His Imperial Majesty Emperor of Ethiopia. Jeering Italian journalists began yelling insults before being expelled though Romanian chairman Nicolae Titulescu shouted Show the savages the door. Selassie denounced aggression criticizing the world community for standing by concluding It is us today. It will be you tomorrow. France appeased Italy fearing an alliance between Rome and Berlin while Britain followed France's lead due to military weakness. On the 4th of July 1936 the League voted to end sanctions imposed against Italy in November 1935 completing their removal by the 15th of July. Only six nations failed to recognize Italian occupation in 1937 including China New Zealand the Soviet Union Republican Spain and the United States. Mexico remained the sole country strongly condemning Italian sovereignty over Ethiopia respecting independence throughout. Hitler supplied Ethiopians with 16,000 rifles and 600 machine guns hoping to weaken Italy before moving against Austria. By 1938 both France and Britain recognized Italian control over Ethiopia isolating Mussolini until 1938 when he joined forces with Hitler supporting fascist camps during the Spanish Civil War.

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• 7. Post-War Resistance And Allied Liberation

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  On the 21st of December 1937 Rome appointed Amedeo Duke of Aosta as new Viceroy and Governor General of Italian East Africa instructing him to take a more conciliatory line. The army of occupation numbered 150,000 men though garrisons increased to 250,000 soldiers by 1941 including 75,000 Italian civilians. Abebe Aregai former police chief of Addis Ababa led successful guerrilla units of fifty men after 1937. On the 10th of June 1940 Mussolini declared war on France attacking British Commonwealth forces in Egypt Sudan Kenya and British Somaliland. Selassie crossed into Ethiopia near Um Iddla village on the 18th of January 1941 rendezvousing with Gideon Force two days later. Allied operations largely succeeded by the 6th of April 1941 when Harry Wetherall Dan Pienaar and Charles Christopher Fowkes occupied Addis Ababa receiving surrender of the city. Exactly five years after its fall Selassie made formal entry into Addis Ababa on the 5th of May 1941. Italian guerrilla warfare continued until September 1943 when Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces ended hostilities.

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