Moved to East_African_Campaign#The_Italian_Invasion_of_British_Somaliland The East African Campaign refers to the battles fought between the United Kingdom and Italy around the region of Italian East Africa during World War II. This campaign is often seen as part of the North African Campaign. ...

Cause

When Italy entered World War II the Italian forces in Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland greatly outnumbered the British garrison in British Somaliland. The Italians saw the opportunity to pick up an easy victory, and invaded the Protectorate.

Course of the War

The Italian Invasion of British Somaliland

The British forces knew they were badly outnumbered and decided to evacuate the Protectorate. The British government gave permission to evacuate in the event of a serious attack. The Italian forces crossed the frontier in three columns. The western column headed for the coast and then eastwards along the coast road towards the capital Berbera, meeting very little resistance. It reached Berbera after the main column had already captured the town. The eastern and central columns joined up and fought a brief delaying battle at Tug Argan, where the British mauled the two Italian brigades before pulling out in good order to embark at Berbera. The British forces were evacuated successfully.

Result

The British were driven out of British Somaliland. However, the occupation was temporary, the British counterattacked in early 1941 and drove the Italians from all of East Africa. There were some political ramifications from campaign. Churchill in particular was worried that the territory had been abandoned without a fight, because of the low casualty rate. To this Wavell pointed out that this was a textbook withdrawal in the face of superior numbers and said to Churchill “A bloody butcher’s bill is not the sign of a good tactician”. Wavell never had a significant command again. An interesting side effect of these exchanges is that it has ensured that this campaign was very well documented!

Military Insights gained from the war

1. This campaign shows Italian forces were capable of co-ordinating columns separated by many miles of desert.
2. British forces showed good discipline in the retreat and were able to salvage most of their forces.
3. This is the only campaign the Italians won unaided in World War II.

Sources Used

Major Sources

“The Italian Invasion of British Somaliland 1st-18th August 1940”, by Lt Col JEB Barton. Section 5 Chapter M

Other Sources

“Italian invasion of British Somaliland”, PRO Ref WO106/2336.

War Diary HQ Somaliforce Jul-Aug 1940, PRO file WO169/2870. This file contains many reports, photographs of defensive positions and maps.

“History of the Second World War: The Mediterranean and the Middle East Volume 1”, by ISO Playfair. HMSO London 1954. This is the official history

“Revised Notes on the Italian Army (with amendments 1-3 incorporated)”, The War Office