Italian guerrilla war in Ethiopia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Italian guerrilla war in Ethiopia |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of the Second World War | |||||||
|
|||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Kingdom United States Ethiopia |
 Italy |
||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 William Platt Haile Selassie |
Amedeo Guillet Francesco De Martini Other commanders:  Hamid Idris Awate Paolo Aloisi Leopoldo Rizzo |
||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Tens of thousands | 7,000 (including supporters) | ||||||
The Italian guerrilla war in Ethiopia was a secret war fought by Italian soldiers in Ethiopia and Somalia. It happened from 1941 to 1943, after Italy lost the main battles in East Africa during World War II. These Italian soldiers hoped to take back the land that was once part of Italian East Africa. This hidden war continued while the bigger war was still happening in Northern Africa and Europe.
Contents
Why the War Started
By May 1941, Haile Selassie, the Emperor of Ethiopia, had returned to his capital city, Addis Ababa. This meant that Italy's army, led by Benito Mussolini, was defeated in Ethiopia. This defeat was thanks to Ethiopian fighters and Allied troops, mostly from the British Empire.
In November 1941, the last Italian colonial army in East Africa surrendered at Gondar. But many Italian soldiers did not give up. They decided to start a secret "guerrilla" war. They hid in the mountains and deserts of Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia.
About 7,000 Italian soldiers joined this hidden fight. They hoped that the German-Italian army, led by Erwin Rommel, would win in Egypt. If Rommel won, they believed Italy could take back the lands they had lost.
Secret Groups and Early Actions
At first, there were two main Italian secret groups. One was called the Fronte di Resistenza (Front of Resistance). It was a military group led by Colonel Lucchetti. They focused on sabotaging Allied forces and gathering information to send back to Italy.
The other group was the Figli d'Italia (Sons of Italy). This group was formed in September 1941 by Blackshirts. Blackshirts were volunteer soldiers who supported Fascism, a strict political system. They fought against Allied troops. They also bothered Italian civilians and local soldiers (called askaris) who helped the Allied and Ethiopian forces. They called these people "traitors."
Other small groups also fought. Lieutenant Amedeo Guillet led fighters in Eritrea. Major Gobbi had a group near Dessie. In early 1942, Captain Aloisi led a group in Eritrea. They helped Italians escape from British prisoner of war camps in Asmara and Decameré. There were also Italian fighters in British Somaliland in 1942.
These secret fighters were mostly on their own. But sometimes, they got help from Italy. On May 9, 1942, Italian planes flew over Asmara. They dropped leaflets telling Italian colonists that Rome had not forgotten them. On May 23, 1943, two more Italian planes attacked an American airfield at Gura. One plane bombed Port Sudan instead due to fuel issues. Both planes hit their targets and returned safely. This was a big win for Italian propaganda.
Some Eritreans, Somalis, and a few Ethiopians helped the Italian fighters. But fewer people helped after the Axis powers lost the Second Battle of El Alamein in 1942.
These secret groups, called Bande in Italian, operated in a very large area. This area stretched from northern Eritrea to southern Somalia. They used old rifles, pistols, machine guns, grenades, and even small cannons. But they always had very little ammunition.
The Hidden War Continues
From January 1942, many of these "Bande" started working together. They followed orders from General Muratori. He even encouraged the Azebo Oromo tribe in northern Ethiopia to rebel against the Allied forces. This tribe had rebelled before. Allied and Ethiopian forces finally stopped this revolt in early 1943.
In spring 1942, even Emperor Haile Selassie I started talking with the Italian fighters. He was impressed when Rommel won a battle in Tobruk, Libya. Major Lucchetti later said that the Emperor was ready to let Italy protect Ethiopia if the Axis powers reached Ethiopia. But he had conditions:
- All Ethiopians punished by Italy would be forgiven.
- Ethiopians would be part of the government at all levels.
- Emperor Haile Selassie would be part of the future government.
In the summer of 1942, some of the most successful groups were led by Colonel Calderari in Somalia, Colonel Di Marco in the Ogaden, and Colonel Ruglio among the Danakil. Their surprise attacks forced the Allies, led by William Platt, to send planes and tanks from Kenya and Sudan. These forces went to the areas where the Italian fighters were active.
That summer, Allied leaders decided to intern (or hold) most of the Italian people living near the coast of Somalia. They did this to stop them from possibly contacting Japanese submarines.
By October 1942, the Italian fighters started to lose hope. This was because Italy and Germany lost the Second Battle of El Alamein. Also, Major Lucchetti, the leader of the Fronte di Resistenza, was captured.
The secret war continued until summer 1943. Then, the remaining Italian soldiers began destroying their weapons. Some, like Lieutenant Amedeo Guillet, escaped to Italy. Guillet, nicknamed "the Devil Commander" by the British, reached Taranto on September 3, 1943. He asked the Italian War Ministry for a plane full of equipment for attacks in Eritrea. But Italy surrendered a few days later, ending his plan.
One of the last Italian soldiers to surrender was Corrado Turchetti. He wrote that some soldiers kept attacking Allied troops until October 1943. The last Italian officer known to have fought in this secret war was Colonel Nino Tramonti in Eritrea.
Brave Actions by Fighters
Many Italians fought in this secret war between December 1941 and September 1943. Two of them are especially remembered:
- Francesco De Martini: He was a captain in the Military Information Service. In January 1942, he blew up an ammunition storage in Massaua, Eritrea. Later, he organized Eritrean sailors with small boats. They used a radio to tell Rome about the Royal Navy's movements in the Red Sea. He was captured in August 1942. De Martini received Italy's gold medal of honor.
- Rosa Dainelli: She was a doctor. In August 1942, she managed to get into the main ammunition storage of the British army in Addis Abeba. She blew it up and amazingly survived the huge explosion. Her sabotage destroyed ammunition for the new British Sten submachine gun. This delayed the use of these new weapons for many months. Doctor Dainelli was suggested for Italy's iron medal of honor. Some sources say her attack happened on September 15, 1941.
See also
- List of British military equipment of World War II
- List of Second Italo-Ethiopian War weapons of Ethiopia
- List of Italian Army equipment in World War II
