Battle of Gondar
The Battle of Culqualber - Fercaber and Gondar was fought between October 18 and November 28, 1941 during the East Africa campaign between Italian units and Commonwealth forces in Italian East Africa . With the fall of Gondar , Italian colonial rule in East Africa ended.
background
After British Somaliland was lost to Fascist Italy in 1940 , the Commonwealth units launched a major offensive in the region from Sudan and Kenya in early 1941 . The Italian troops, isolated from the motherland, withdrew to the more easily defended Abyssinian highlands. Because of the Abyssinian uprisings, they limited themselves to a few strategically important areas. After the loss of the Italian defensive positions on the Amba Alagi and the strategically important Eritrean city of Keren , Italian East Africa was practically lost in April 1941.
For most of 1941, however, there was still a 40,000-strong force of General Nasi in the Amhara region . North of Lake Tana, his soldiers had holed up in a mountain range over 3,000 meters high. The Italian headquarters were in Gondar . The only traffic routes that led into the Gondar area were, on the one hand, the road leading from the Eritrean capital Asmara, 480 km north-east, to the Uolchefit Pass, and, on the other hand, the road leading from Dessie, 400 km away, via Debra Tabor and Culqualber to Gondar. The Uolchefit Pass was guarded by 5,000 Italian soldiers, but was 112 km from Gondar. The Italian garrison there had no real connection to Gondar because the area between the two places was controlled by armed Abyssinian groups. The road from Dessie to Gondar was only passable during the dry season. In Debra Tabor and Culqualber, Italian associations controlled the only direct access to Gondar. This area was on the one hand easy to defend for the Italian troops, but on the other hand was very poorly supplied. In the second half of 1941 the Italians gradually ran out of supplies there.
A first British attempt to occupy Gondar failed in May 1941, and two attacks by Ethiopian groups on the Uolchefit Pass had also been repulsed. As a result, British fighter jets destroyed Debra Tabor in June. The 5,000 Italian soldiers surrendered there without offering any further resistance. Four weeks later, Indian troops attempted another attack at the Uolchefit Pass, which again failed. It was not until September 27 that South African troops ( Union Defense Force ) occupied the passport, which the Italians had to give up due to a lack of supplies.
Towards the end of the rainy season, planning began for an attack on Gondar and for this purpose reinforcements were brought in from Dessie, including the 12th African Division, which established itself at Debra Tabor. The troops that were on the Uolchefit Pass, along with four Abyssinian combat groups, were also to take part in the attack.
Course of the battle
After the loss of Debra Tabor, the Italian commander Nasi had secured the town of Culqualber (40 km from Gondar) on the access road to Gondar with three battalions and reinforced it with a Carabinieri battalion. These battalions built strong defensive positions there. In September the Allies began to siege Culqualber and the advanced positions of the Carabinieri, which could no longer be supplied.
On October 18, 1941, the first offensive on the ridge of Lamba and Mariam failed due to the determined resistance of the half-thirsty Carabinieri, who, together with other units, even counterattacked and captured considerable quantities of weapons, ammunition and supplies.
Armored British formations arrived at Culqualber over the next few days. In addition, thousands of Abyssinian volunteers were brought together in combat groups led by British officers. In mid-October, the British asked the Italians in Culqualber to lay down their arms, which they refused. Then the Allied artillery preparation began , which was supplemented by bombing from the air.
As of October 21, the British leadership used all means at its disposal to break the Italian resistance. On November 2nd, the Italian field hospital and the Culqualber cemetery were destroyed. On November 5th, the 1st Carabinieri Company repulsed an attack from the south. The main Allied attack began on November 12th, but failed the day after due to resistance from the Carabinieri companies , which launched several counter-attacks with their bayonets attached. After a one-day break, the fighting flared up again between November 15 and 19. In fierce hand-to-hand combat, the Carabinieri repulsed all attacks that were carried out with constant British air support. On November 18 alone, the Italians shot down nine British aircraft with machine guns. On November 20, 57 British fighter planes bombed the Italian positions near Culqualber, which were attacked at the same time by 20,000 soldiers with tank support. On November 21 at 3:00 a.m., the Commonwealth troops stormed the positions of the 1st Carabinieri Company, whose members, with few exceptions, were killed in close combat. The other companies were wiped out in the course of the day, with the Allies having to give up positions they had already taken several times. Towards the end of November 21st, however, the Italian resistance in Culqualber was broken.
With the fall of Culqualber, the way to Gondar was clear. Some Ethiopian combat groups had already settled southeast of the city in mid-November. The 26th East African Brigade was to attack Gondar from the east, the 25th from the south. Several Ethiopian combat groups, led by British officers and NCOs, were ready for further attacks.
The attack began in the early morning of November 27th after strong artillery preparations. Two battalions of the 26th Brigade got into a minefield and then into the Italian crossfire, but nevertheless approached Gondar within 3 km. From there they supported the rest of the brigade attacking from the south-west and the Ethiopian combat groups. Heavy fighting ensued, which dragged on into the night. The Ethiopian combat groups captured two Italian positions south-east of the city on November 28 and killed all prisoners there.
The advance of the 25th Brigade went a little better in the south. The two brigades, together with the Ethiopian combat groups, had completely surrounded Gondar. An attack by British armored vehicles eventually breached the Italian defenses on the main road. Through this breach, reinforcements broke into the city on the afternoon of November 28th, whereupon the Italian command asked for the fighting to cease.
consequences
With the fall of Gondar, Italian colonial rule in East Africa ended. The determined resistance on the Amba Alagi , in Keren and in Gondar came too late and remained without a system. The Italian army waged the war in Italian East Africa in 1941 incoherently and failed to delay the British advance more effectively in advance at various crucial points in order to gain time and keep the Commonwealth troops in the region longer. As early as the spring of 1941, most of these could be relocated to North Africa and fight against Rommel's troops there. The fact that the Italians stayed in Gondar until the end of November 1941 was intended, among other things, to tie allied associations there, but it remained a drop in the ocean.
Others
For use in the Culqualber received troop flag of the Carabinieri , the bravery medal in gold. The interregional Carabinieri command in Messina is now called Culqualber .
literature
- Richard Mead: Churchill's Lions: A biographical guide to the key British generals of World War II. Spellmount, 2007, ISBN 978-1-86227-431-0 .
- David Shireff: Bare Feet and Bandoliers: Wingate, Sandford, the Patriots and the Liberation of Ethiopia. Pen & Sword, 2009, ISBN 978-1848840294 .