8 ETHIOPIA IN THE MODERN WORLD HAILE SEIASSIE FROM TRIUMPH TO TRAGEDY Liberation When Mussolini declared war on Britain and France on lO June 1940, Britain moved quickly to punish him where he was most vulnerable­ his African Empire. For a brief period, it was Britain that was punished, but less than a year later Africa Orientale Italiana was under British occupation, Ethiopia had been liberated, and Haile Selassie was back on his throne. It was not superiority in manpower which enabled British Com­ monwealth forces to prevail in 1941. The Italians had far more manpower in East Africa than Britain: 84,000 men, 7,000 officers, and a locally recruited colonial army of 200,000. 1 British Commonwealth forces were scraped together from many sources: Sudan, India, Kenya, South Africa2, Northern Rhodesia, Australia, as well as British regiments that had come directly from fighting in Egypt and a few men from other Middle Eastern locations. Advancing from three directions they overcame Italian regulars and native levies. Not all of the latter remained loyal to Italy. The support - and welcome - British Commonwealth troops received from Ethiopian Patriot forces was essential to their success. But success was not preordained and could never have been taken for granted. There were frustra­ tions and complications. The m~or portion of Africa Orientale Italiana was actually overrun in just four months. From life as an obscure exile in Bath, Haile Selassie suddenly returned to the center of a major historical drama. He arrived in Khartoum on 24 June 1940, having been flown via Malta, Cairo and Wadi-HaIfa on orders of Winston Churchill, who overruled the objec­ tions of the British governor-general and colonial service officers in Sudan who did not want to have an Emperor on their hands. Some of them considered it a mistake for Britain to sponsor his return to Ethiopia. Controversies among British generals and diplomats kept I Del Boca, op.cit., p. 256. 2 The fact that South Mrican troops accounted for an important portion of Commonwealth forces was seldom acknowledged until after apartheid came to an end. The official South Mrican history of these campaigns, with photographs and detailed maps, is the most authoritative source available on them: Neil Orpen, East African and Abyssinian Campaigns, Purnell, Capetown, 1968. 229 P. B. Henze, Layers of Time © Paul B. Henze 2000 230 Layers a/Time the Emperor marking time until almost the end of the year. But the Italians, too, lost valuable time. Instead of a major attack into Sudan­ which they had the strength to undertake - they contented them­ selves with crossing the frontier in early July and briefly occupying Kassala, Metemma and Kurmuk. There was no follow-up. In August the Italians took the offensive against British Somaliland and quickly dealt Britain an embarrassing defeat, occupying the entire Protec­ torate, but it made little difference in the overall scheme of things. British Somali land was briefly incorporated into the Italian Gover­ norate ofHarar. Elated at this easy victory, Mussolini then ordered Marshal Rodolfo Graziani (who had left Ethiopia in 1937) to lead an invading force into Egypt from Libya with the aim, Mussolini hoped, of pursuing British forces to Cairo, but Graziani failed to advance. In early Decem­ ber the British Middle East Commander General Sir Archibald Wavell attacked Graziani's forces at Sidi Barrani and sent them reel­ ing back deep into Cyrenaica. Meanwhile British officers in Sudan had been engaged in pin-prick operations against the Ethiopian border and had been sending weapons and ammunition across the border to Patriot bands in Ethiopia. For months Colonel Daniel Sandford and other British officers had gone deep into Partisan-held territory to boost morale, assess strength, and promise British aid. But no one had come up with a comprehensive operational plan. Haile Selassie was intensely frustrated. He knew there were arguments among the British about his role, or whether he should have any role at all. At the end of October the newly appointed British War Minister Anthony Eden and General Wavell flew to Khartoum to find out why so little was happening. Churchill was eager to see Italy decisively defeated in Mrica. Intelligence on the situation inside the country was clear on the fact that Patriot resistance was steadily growing, but it was also clear that the Patriots' operations lacked the focus of clear leadership. Churchill was convinced that only the presence of Haile Selassie could remedy the situation. So was Eden. Action followed quickly after he and Wavell flew back to Cairo. Serious planning for an offensive into Ethiopia began. Major Orde Wingate was sent from Cairo to Khartoum to work with the Emperor organizing an invasion force. Wingate was well chosen for the role and enthusiastic about the task. Haile Selassie appreciated his dynamism. Wingate quickly developed a plan for gaining maximum effect from the Patriots: ten operational groups, each consisting of a British officer, five British non-commissioned officers, and 200 Ethiopians recruited from refugees in Sudan would be organized. "Fast moving, lightly but Ethiopia in the Modem World 231 well-equipped, they would open up Gojjam ahead of the Emperor and spread the rebellion ... by setting the Patriots an example."3 On 20 November Wingate, accompanied by an Ethiopian aide, Makon­ nen Desta, landed at an improvised airstrip at Sakala (the source of the Blue Nile in the very center of Gojjam) and met Sandford who briefed him on the Partisans' situation in the region. The Italians held very little territory, but the Patriots were rent by rivalries. Sandford was optimistic that the promise of determined British action would have a positive effect and promised that 5,000 mules could be gath­ ered to meet the Emperor's force when it arrived at the top of the escarpment. Wingate returned to Khartoum and began to whip what was chris­ tened Gideon Force into shape. In early December he flew to Cairo to see Wavell. With adequate supplies and air support he promised that there would be little need for regular troops: "Give me a small fighting force of first-class men and from the core of Ethiopia I will eat into the Italian apple and turn it so rotten that it will drop into our hands."4 The Italians knew there were British officers in Gojjam and devel­ oped a plan to entice chiefs loyal to Italy to intrigue against Partisan leaders. On 11 December they brought Ras Hailu back, hoping he would inspire resistance against Haile Selassie's return.5 It was a clever move and temporarily successful. Some Patriot leaders submitted, but the majority of the guerrilla fighters did not. Haile Selassie was alarmed. He was eager to move. He wrote Churchill complaining of delay. Churchill sent a directive to Eden on 30 December: [ ... ]! am strongly in favor of Haile Selassie entering Ethiopia. Whatever differences there may be between the various Ethiopian tribes, there can be no doubt that the return of the Emperor will be taken as a proof that the revolt has greatly increased, and will be linked up with our victories in Libya.6 Stepping on many toes and devoting himself day and night to the task, Wingate spared no effort to ready Gideon Force for action. It crossed into Ethiopia at Omedla on 20 January 1941. Haile Selassie was in the vanguard, accompanied by his most loyal associates.7 3 Mockler, op.cit., p. 285. 4 Mockler, op.cit., p. 292. 5 Mter release at Diredawa in May 1936, Hailu remained in Addis Ababa during the Italian occupation and sought contacts with the conquerors. Graziani as viceroy had found Hailu a useful collaborator, but the Duke of Aosta had kept him at a distance. Neither had permitted him to return to Gojjam. 6 Mockler, op. cit. , p. 312. 7 The distinguished historian W.E.D. Allen, who served as a captain in Gideon Force, published a firsthand account of the experience two years later: Guerrilla 232 Layers of Time Banderachin (Our Fighters), a leaflet developed to support the campaign, was prepared under the direction of journalist George Steer at Roseires in Sudan. It was air-dropped over Gojjam as Gideon Force marched in and carried Haile Selassie's notification of his return. OnJanuary 20 His Majesty the Emperor Haile Selassie, accompanied by the Crown Prince and the Duke of Harar, by the Echege, Ras Kassa, Dejazmach Makonnen Indalkachew, Dejazmach Adefrisu, by his delegate to the League of Nations Lorenzo Taezaz, and by his principal secretary Ato Wolde Giorgis, by the Chief of his Imperial Guard Kenyazmach Mokria, by two powerful Ethiopian and English armies equipped with war material superior to the Italian, crossed the frontier of the Sudan and Ethiopia. [ ... J Therefore we rejoice in the tender mercies of our God and ofJesus Christ and we give thanks before the Divine Throne.s "Two powerful ... armies" was an immense exaggeration. The emperor's party of a few dozen had to camp for a week along the Dinder river while Wingate moved ahead with two trucks on almost impassable tracks to scout out a way to get up the escarpment and meet Sandford at Mount Belaya. Gideon Force assembled there on 6 February. Mockler describes it as ... a motley collection of men and beasts. A few hundred Ethiopian refugees ... plus a bevy of impoverished nobles who had spent the last five years ... in Jerusalem, were balanced by a few hundred Sudanese soldiers with their amateurish British officers. A little group of Kenya settlers, five Australians, a handful of Jews, and several eager young cavalry subalterns from the regiments stationed in Palestine added more to its confusion than to its effectiveness.