East Africa Campaign 1940–41

East Africa Campaign 1940–41 PDF Author: Pier Paolo Battistelli
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 1472860713
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A fascinating study of one of the often overlooked World War II campaigns as British/Commonwealth, Indigenous and Italian forces battled for control of the Horn of Africa. In mid-1940, Italy's East African colonies posed a significant threat to the British Empire, and in particular to the flow of supplies through the Red Sea to Egypt. British High Command feared moves from Italian East Africa and so sent reinforcements to its positions in Kenya and Sudan. Thus began a series of clashes across East Africa, with the British attempting to keep the Italians isolated and unable to threaten British supply lines. In March 1941, British theatre commander General Archibald Wavell opted for a lightning campaign to eliminate the Italian threat for good. Italian military historian Pier Paolo Battistelli provides a fresh account of this campaign, from the initial Italian attacks to the Allied counter-offensive into Eritrea, Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland. Among the actions covered are Addis Ababa, Amba Alagi, Gondar, Tug Argan, and Keren. This work presents an assessment of the forces involved of both sides, including Orde Wingate's Gideon force, pro-Selassié Ethiopian irregulars and Eritrean and Somalian troops, as well as Indian, South African, British and Italian regular forces. With colourful artwork, detailed maps and diagrams, this book highlights an overlooked World War II campaign and the bloody fight for the Horn of Africa.

East Africa Campaign 1940–41

East Africa Campaign 1940–41 PDF Author: Pier Paolo Battistelli
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 1472860713
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A fascinating study of one of the often overlooked World War II campaigns as British/Commonwealth, Indigenous and Italian forces battled for control of the Horn of Africa. In mid-1940, Italy's East African colonies posed a significant threat to the British Empire, and in particular to the flow of supplies through the Red Sea to Egypt. British High Command feared moves from Italian East Africa and so sent reinforcements to its positions in Kenya and Sudan. Thus began a series of clashes across East Africa, with the British attempting to keep the Italians isolated and unable to threaten British supply lines. In March 1941, British theatre commander General Archibald Wavell opted for a lightning campaign to eliminate the Italian threat for good. Italian military historian Pier Paolo Battistelli provides a fresh account of this campaign, from the initial Italian attacks to the Allied counter-offensive into Eritrea, Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland. Among the actions covered are Addis Ababa, Amba Alagi, Gondar, Tug Argan, and Keren. This work presents an assessment of the forces involved of both sides, including Orde Wingate's Gideon force, pro-Selassié Ethiopian irregulars and Eritrean and Somalian troops, as well as Indian, South African, British and Italian regular forces. With colourful artwork, detailed maps and diagrams, this book highlights an overlooked World War II campaign and the bloody fight for the Horn of Africa.

East African Campaign 1940-41

East African Campaign 1940-41 PDF Author: Bisheshwar Prasad
Publisher:
ISBN: 9788182746664
Category : India
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
At the end of the Second World War, a Historical Section was set up, under the Ministry of Defence, to write a detailed history of the war, with particular reference to the operations conducted by the Armed Forces of undivided India. This volume covers the role of Indian armed forces in East Africa, the region covering Eritrea and Ethopia.

The First Victory

The First Victory PDF Author: Andrew Stewart
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300208553
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
A riveting new account of the long-overlooked achievement of British-led forces who, against all odds, scored the first major Allied victory of the Second World War Surprisingly neglected in accounts of Allied wartime triumphs, in 1941 British and Commonwealth forces completed a stunning and important victory in East Africa against an overwhelmingly superior Italian opponent. A hastily formed British-led force, never larger than 70,000 strong, advanced along two fronts to defeat nearly 300,000 Italian and colonial troops. This compelling book draws on an array of previously unseen documents to provide both a detailed campaign history and a fresh appreciation of the first significant Allied success of the war. Andrew Stewart investigates such topics as Britain's African wartime strategy; how the fighting forces were assembled (most from British colonies, none from the U.S.); General Archibald Wavell's command abilities and his difficult relationship with Winston Churchill; the resolute Italian defense at Keren, one of the most bitterly fought battles of the entire war; the legacy of the campaign in East Africa; and much more.

East African Campaign 1940-41

East African Campaign 1940-41 PDF Author: Bisheshwar Prasad
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781474539906
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This volume covers the role of Indian armed forces in East Africa, the region covering Eritrea and Ethiopia. General Wavell, Commander in Chief of Middle East Command, mounted an invasion of Libya and, in spite of superior Italian strength, two divisions (of which the deadliest being the 4th Indian Division) pushed the Italians back in North Africa to Benghazi, of which the battle of Sidi Barani is well known. Then, suddenly, troops had to be sent to Greece to contain the Germans. It was then decided to undertake a campaign in East Africa for which the 4th Indian Division was pulled out of action in North Africa. The plan eventually culminated in a pincer from Nairobi in Kenya in the south and Khartoum in the north. The northern force included the 4th and 5th Indian divisions and the southern one had one South African and two African divisions. The main task of the Indian divisions was to open the route to Massawa and drive the Italians out of Eritrea. Important battles were the capture of Keren and the move to Asmara and beyond. This remarkable achievement by the Indian divisions led to the final victory in East Africa and freeing of the Red Sea and Indian Ocean from any threat. 4th Indian Infantry Division then reverted back to North Africa, but by then the situation there had changed for the worse.

East Africa 1940-1941 (land Campaign)

East Africa 1940-1941 (land Campaign) PDF Author: Marek Sobski
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 466

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Book Description
When the Kingdom of Italy entered the war in Europe in June 1940, it did so only for a moment to hasten the fall of France and force Britain to the peace negotiations table. With each subsequent month it was turning out that the Italians had got involved in a war that was not going to have a quick and victorious end, and the state of their own unpreparedness for the conflict was shocking.Due to the Italian colonial possessions, the war also spread to East Africa, so distant for Europeans. This is where the situation of the Italian forces turned out to be the most difficult. The troops fighting there, mostly consisting of natives, were disastrously poorly armed, trained only for the purposes of colonial warfare or maintaining internal order in the colonies, cut off from supplies by neighbouring French and British possessions, and the Italian high command lacked the abilities of waging regular campaign. The British Empire, too, began the battle for the Horn of Africa poorly prepared, but quickly realised the importance of this campaign, namely the safety of its own lines of communication across the Red Sea, the Nile and Africa. Having quickly mobilised its forces, it proceeded to eliminate the Italian threat in this part of the world. This work presents in detail the campaign that lasted until November 1941, in which soldiers of about twenty nationalities from three continents fought on both sides for the colonial interests of Italy and Britain. The campaign in East Africa is not only about the frontline combat, it is also a brutal war between Italians and Ethiopian partisans. We also present issues such as the economic situation of Italian East Africa, the fate of the Italians inhabiting it, the history of the countries that constituted it after the campaign ended, and the Italian underground resistance, whose flame was smouldering up to the very armistice between Italy and the Allies.The book is illustrated with 81 photos and 17 maps. Table of contents: IntroductionI. Italian East AfricaII. Empire Under SiegeIII. Unrest Inside Italian East AfricaIV. Italian Troops in East AfricaV. Battle of Kassala and Other Italian Operations On the Border with SudanVI. Italian Activity On The Kenya Border, Capture Of Fort MoyaleVII. The Fall Of British SomalilandVIII. Battle of Gallabat - The First Allied CounteroffensiveIX. End of the Year in the Kenyan SectorX. Mission 101 Moves To GojjamXI. Battle of AgordatXII. Battle Of KerenXIII. End Of The Campaign In The NorthXIV. The British Invasion On Italian SomaliXV. The Fall Of Addis Ababa.XVI. The Allies Enter EthiopiaXVII. Emperor Selassie Returns To Addis AbabaXVIII. Battle Of Amba AlagiXIX. Campaign In The Province Of Galla And SidamaXX. The Last Stand: GondarXXI. New Orders In The Horn Of AfricaConclusionAppendix 1Italian Ranks and Appointments Used Throughout The Book And Their British EquivalentsAppendix 2Traditional Ethiopian AppointmentsAppendix 3Biographies Of The High-Ranking Italian Commanders In East AfricaAppendix 4From "The First Cruiser Tanks" by Peter BrownBibliograph

East African Campaign, 1940-41

East African Campaign, 1940-41 PDF Author: N. A. Qureshi
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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The Forgotten Front

The Forgotten Front PDF Author: Ross Anderson
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750958731
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 466

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Book Description
The First World War began in East Africa in August 1914 and did not end until 13 November 1918. In its scale and impact, it was the largest conflict yet to take place on African soil. Four empires and their subject peoples were engaged in a conflict that ranged from modern Kenya in the north to Mozambique in the south. The campaign combined heroic human endeavour and terrible suffering, set in some of the most difficult terrain in the world. The troops had to cope with extremes that ranged from arid deserts to tropical jungles and formidable mountains, and almost always on inadequate rations. Yet the East African campaign has languished in undeserved obscurity over the years, with many people only vaguely aware of its course of events. Indeed, Humphrey Bogart's famous film, The African Queen, inspired by an episode of the campaign, often provides its only lasting image. The Forgotten Front is the first full-scale history of this neglected campaign. Ross Anderson details the fighting and the strategic and political background to the war and the differing viewpoints of the principal protagonists.

My Reminiscences of East Africa

My Reminiscences of East Africa PDF Author: Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck
Publisher: Ravenio Books
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages :

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Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck (20 March 1870 – 9 March 1964) was a general in the Imperial German Army and the commander of its forces in the German East Africa campaign. For four years, with a force that never exceeded about 14,000 (3,000 Germans and 11,000 Africans), he held in check a much larger force of 300,000 British, Belgian, and Portuguese troops. Essentially undefeated in the field, von Lettow-Vorbeck was the only German commander to successfully invade imperial British soil during World War I. His exploits in the campaign have come down "as the greatest single guerrilla operation in history, and the most successful." [Source: Wikipedia]

East African Campaign

East African Campaign PDF Author: Bisheshwar Prasad
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Three Years of War in East Africa

Three Years of War in East Africa PDF Author: Angus Buchanan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Birds
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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