Battle of Gondar
Battle of Gondar | |||||||||
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Part of the Second World War | |||||||||
British and Ethiopian movements against the Italians at Gondar | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Guglielmo Nasi |
William Platt Charles Fowkes | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
41,000 70 guns 1 aircraft |
2 East African Infantry brigades Ethiopian Patriots Kenya Armoured Car Regiment South African Light Armoured Detachment[1] | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
Italian: 407 killed (November 1941), 1,289 killed since June 1940 Ascari: 3,700 killed June–November 1941[2][page needed] Sick and wounded: 8,400 (Italian and Askari)[3] 22,000 prisoners (Italian and Askari) 1 aircraft[4] |
Final assault: 32 killed 182 wounded 6 missing 15 aircraft Tana Lake |
The Battle of Gondar or Capture of Gondar was the last stand of the Italian forces in
Background
After the defeat of the Italians at the Battle of Keren (1 April 1941), many of the remaining Italians withdrew to the strongholds of Amba Alagi, Jimma and Gondar. Amba Alagi fell in May and Jimma fell in July.[5] Gondar is the capital of Amhara on the high ground north of Lake Tana at 7,000 ft (2,100 m). In 1941 it was a road junction but only the Amhara road had an all-weather surface. At Wolchefit, guarded by a garrison of Italian troops, 70 mi (110 km) towards Amhara, the road chicaned up a 4,000 ft (1,200 m) escarpment, some parts having been cut into a vertical cliff. From Wolchefit to Gondar the road traced the edge of the escarpment and at Dabat, 30 mi (48 km) short of Gondar and at Amba Giorgis were small garrisons. Only a minor road from Um Hagar to the north had a junction with the main road. West from the town, a fair-weather road in poor repair, led to Gallabat and had a garrison at Chilga. There were rough tracks to the west of Lake Tana which met at Gorgora and a better road ran east to Debra Tabor, also garrisoned and Dessie. At Kulkaber, 30 mi (48 km) from Gondar, the road passed between Lake Tana and the hills; from Debra Tabor to Dessie, it was a soil road and impassable in rain.[6]
Prelude
The possession of the Wolchefit and Kulkaber mountain passes was instrumental for attacking Gondar. Wolchefit was defended by a garrison of about 4,000 men under Colonel Mario Gonella. The stronghold had been besieged by irregular Ethiopian forces, led by British Major Ringrose, since May 1941; the besieging force was later augmented by the arrival of units from the British Indian Army and part of the 12th African Division. Several attacks and counterattacks were launched between May and August 1941. On 28 September 1941, after losing in combat 950 men and running out of food, Gonella surrendered with 1,629 Italians and 1,450 colonial soldiers.[7]
On 13 November, a mixed force from the British
By this point the Allies had total control of the skies: the Italians had one
Battle
Mountain passes
There were two mountain passes that overlooked the town which were controlled by the Italian troops. They were invested by the two brigades of the 12th (African) Division. The two Italian groups in the passes were cut off and were forced to surrender when their supplies ran out.[12]
Gondar town
Once the Allied troops had taken the passes, they gained control of the heights overlooking Gondar and reached the town on 23 November. The garrison of Gondar was seriously depleted, since many
See also
- List of British military equipment of World War II
- List of Second Italo-Ethiopian War weapons of Ethiopia-Arbegnoch used Ethiopian and captured Italian weapons.
- East African Campaign (World War II)
- List of military engagements of World War II
- Unatù Endisciau
- List of Italian Army equipment in World War II
References
- ^ a b Playfair 2004, p. 320.
- ^ Angelo Del Boca, Gli italiani in Africa Orientale - 3. La caduta dell'Impero. 1,289 Italian officers and soldiers were killed in the Gondar sector from June 1940 to the end of the campaign, 407 of whom in November 1941.
- ^ Maravigna 1949, p. 191.
- ^ a b c Playfair 2004, p. 321.
- ^ Playfair 2004, pp. 200, 310–311, 313.
- ^ Playfair 2004, p. 312.
- ^ Boca 2014.
- ^ Playfair 2004, p. 319.
- ^ a b Mead 2007, p. 142.
- ^ Vincenzo Meleca. "La Battaglia di Culqualber" (PDF). ilcornodafrica.it (in Italian). Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Gustavsson 2014.
- ^ Playfair 2004, pp. 320–321.
- ^ The King's African Rifles - Volume 2
Sources
- Boca, A. del (2014) [1982]. Gli italiani in Africa Orientale: La caduta dell'Impero [The Italians in East Africa: The Fall of the Empire]. Storia e società (Editori Laterza). Vol. III. Roma: Bari, Laterza. ISBN 978-88-520-5496-9.
- Gustavsson, Håkan (14 August 2014). "Maresciallo Giuseppe Mottet". Biplane Fighter Aces from the Second World War. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
- Maravigna, P. (1949). Come abbiamo perduto la guerra in Africa (in Italian). Roma: Tosi. OCLC 716558562.
- Mead, Richard (2007). Churchill's Lions: A Biographical Guide to the key British Generals of World War II. Stroud (UK): Spellmount. ISBN 978-1-86227-431-0.
- ISBN 978-1-84574-066-5. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
- Shireff, David (1995). Bare Feet and Bandoliers: Wingate, Sandford, the Patriots and the Liberation of Ethiopia. Pen & Sword Military 2009. ISBN 978-1-84884-029-4.
Further reading
- Shores, Christopher (1996). Dust Clouds in the Middle East: Air War for East Africa, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Madagascar, 1940–42. London: Grub Street. ISBN 978-1-898697-37-4.