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127-571: The Patriot movement was primarily based in the rural Shewa , Gondar and Gojjam provinces, though it drew support from all over occupied Ethiopia. Several hundred Eritreans also participated. Small cells operated in Addis Ababa and other towns, known as Wust Arbagna (Insider Patriots). The Black Lions took part in the movement. In 1937/1938, there were an estimated 25,000 active Patriots in Ethiopia. The average band of resistance fighters

254-450: A Muslim state ( Makhzumi dynasty ), which G. W. B. Huntingford believed was founded in 896, and had its capital at Walalah . In a recent discovery, a team of French archaeologists uncovered three urban centers believed to have been remnants of the former Sultanate of Ifat , with the Nora site in eastern Shewa being the most notable among them. Yekuno Amlak based his uprising against

381-685: A coordinated attack. The deposed government in Gore was never able to provide any meaningful leadership to the Patriots or remaining military formations but sporadic resistance was undertaken by independent groups around the capital. On the night 26 June, members of the Black Lions destroyed three Italian aircraft in Nekemte and murdered twelve Italian officials, including Air Marshal Vincenzo Magliocco . The Italians had been hoping to gain support in

508-633: A few loyal followers and by the British officials George Steer and Edwin Chapman-Andrews. In the capital of Sudan, the Negus, now identified as Mister Smith , came into contact with emissaries of the resistance leaders and issued a first proclamation to the Ethiopian population on 8 July 1940 in which he praised the courage of the "chiefs and warriors of Ethiopia", made it known that their suffering

635-579: A foreign war to distract public opinion. Other historians such as Pietro Pastorelli have argued that the invasion was launched as part of an expansionist program to make Italy the main power in the Red Sea area and the Middle East . A middle way interpretation was offered by the American historian MacGregor Knox , who argued that the war was started for both foreign and domestic reasons, being both

762-631: A group of "Youth Ethiopians". On this occasion, Marshal Graziani decided to spare the life of the Abyssinian leader who, after consultations with Rome, was declared a prisoner of war and then deported to Italy. After the failed attack on Addis Ababa , Wondosson Kassa decided to take refuge with his men around Mount Abuna Yosef before resuming guerrilla warfare in September 1936 near the town of Lalibela . Marshal Graziani took brutal measures against this resistance group, also employing, according to

889-467: A group of arbegnoch led by Kefle Nasibu and Belai Haile attacked the encamped Italians and massacred them. 12 Italians were killed and all of their aircraft were destroyed, among the dead were Italian aviators Vincenzo Magliocco and Antonio Locatelli . Despite this success, the Italians managed to foment the general revolt of Oromo tribes and on 8 October 1936 they returned to Nekemte where they welcomed

1016-528: A meeting in Debre Libanos , with the presence of Aberra Kassa , Abune Petros and other leaders, a rash plan was decided to assault the capital with five separate columns, counting above all on exploiting a general uprising of the population. The assault began on 28 July 1936 on a foggy morning but, despite some successes, the guerrillas failed to coordinate their attacks; while Aberra Kassa's men arrived by surprise without encountering resistance as far as

1143-766: A military tribunal was set up, and by nightfall, 62 Ethiopians were tried and shot at the Alem Bekagn prison in Addis Ababa. "The Graziani Massacre marked the almost total liquidation of the intellectual component of the Resistance," writes Bahru Zewde. Thousands of Ethiopians of all classes were sent to detention camps at Danan in the Ogaden and Nokra in the Dahlak Archipelago . Conditions at Danan were inhospitable, and Graziani had given orders that

1270-476: A part of Mussolini's long-range expansionist plans and intended to give Mussolini a foreign policy triumph that would allow him to push the Fascist system in a more radical direction at home. Unlike forty years earlier , Italy's forces were far superior to the Ethiopian forces, especially in air power, and they were victorious. Emperor Haile Selassie was forced to flee the country, with Italian forces entering

1397-405: A population estimated in about 1.5 million, with a population density of 6.4/km (16.7/sq mi); Ethiopia with an area of 790,000 km (305,000 sq mi) and a population of some 9.5 million, had a resulting density of 12/km (31/sq mi); sparsely populated Italian Somaliland finally, with an area of 700,000 km (271,000 sq mi) and a population of just 1.1 million, had

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1524-543: A precise military programme against Italy in East Africa which included, among other things, "support for a general revolt in Ethiopia" by supplying weapons and ammunition. In the spring of 1939 the British finally took the first operational measures: General William Platt , the superior commander in Sudan , requested funding from London to supply weapons to the resistance, while General Archibald Wavell , supreme commander of

1651-547: A proclamation stating that "all of Ethiopia is in revolt to expel the Italians". In December 1937 the governor made another attempt to regain control of the Gojjam but the new offensive immediately began with a disaster when on December 7 Colonel Barbacini's column was attacked and disrupted by the forces of Mengesha Gembere, two colonial battalions were surrounded and destroyed by the guerrillas. On 10 November 1937, Mussolini privately informed Graziani that he believed that "his task

1778-580: A short time, deliveries of weapons to the Arbegnoch began and training centres were opened on the border of Sudan, while Colonel Wingate went to Gojjam where he made agreements with General Sandford before returning to Cairo to form the so-called Gideon Force , tasked with penetrating Ethiopia and bringing Haile Selassie back to power. The offensive began in January 1941, the British offensive immediately achieved decisive tactical successes which demonstrated

1905-541: A valiant resistance the guerrillas were defeated and Balcha Safo was killed. Imru Haile Selassie who was still resisting the Italians was forced to retreat south after the Welega Oromo submitted to Italian rule. The Italians followed him, and pinned him down on the north bank of the Gojeb River , where he surrendered on 19 December 1936. He surrendered together with the chiefs Keflè Nasibù and Belai Haile, and

2032-487: A variety of practical tasks useful to the Fascist regime as well as to indoctrinate them with the tenets and lifestyle of Fascist ideology with the aim of creating citizens obedient and subservient to the state. Their propagandistic nature was especially apparent in history textbooks issued to African children, which entirely omitted any discussion of events such as Italian disunity, Giuseppe Mazzini's "Young Italy" movement,

2159-578: A very low density of 1.5/km (4/sq mi). In February 1937, following many murders of Italian and Eritrean soldiers and an assassination attempt on Italian East Africa's Viceroy , Marshal Rodolfo Graziani , Italian soldiers raided the famous Ethiopian monastery Debre Libanos , where the assassins were believed to have taken refuge, and executed the monks and nuns. Afterwards, Italian soldiers destroyed native settlements in Addis Ababa , which resulted -according to Ethiopian estimates- in nearly 30,000 Ethiopians being killed and their homes left burned to

2286-530: Is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire . The modern Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa is located at its center. The towns of Debre Berhan , Antsokia , Ankober , Entoto and, after Shewa became a province of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa have all served as the capital of Shewa at various times. Most of northern Shewa, made up of the districts of Menz , Tegulet , Yifat , Menjar and Bulga ,

2413-531: Is over" and announced his recall and the appointment of Duke of Aosta. Despite the viceroy's protests, Mussolini stood by his decisions, he informed the Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta of his forthcoming assignment and appointed General Ugo Cavallero , military superior commander over East Africa. Duke of Aosta was appointed by Mussolini to replace Graziani as Viceroy of Italian East Africa. He was more open-minded than his predecessor and well-suited to encourage

2540-479: Is populated by Christian Amharas , while southern Shewa, despite being historically inhabited by Amhara, is currently inhabited by the Gurages , Oromo and Argobba Muslim populations. The monastery of Debre Libanos , founded by Saint Tekle Haymanot , is located in the district of Silalish, Shewa Modern Shewa includes the historical Endagabatan province. Shewa first appears in the historical record as part of

2667-717: Is related to the Amhara tradition of an arrogant king, which is attributed to Emperor Dawit II . However, he also notes that Sarako is the Gurage name for Emperor Zara Yaqob , from this he concludes that the Oromo acquired the Sarako tradition through their contact with the Gurage. The Amhara Shewan ruling family was founded in the late 17th century by Negasi Krestos , who consolidated his control around Yifat and extended his territory to

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2794-552: The Comando Supremo (Italian General Staff) had planned for a war after 1942. In the summer of 1940, Italy was far from ready for a long war or for the occupation of large areas of Africa. Hostilities began on 13 June 1940, with an Italian air raid on the base of 1 Squadron Southern Rhodesian Air Force (237 (Rhodesia) Squadron RAF) at Wajir in the East Africa Protectorate (Kenya). In August 1940,

2921-721: The Linea dell'Impero , a flight connecting Addis Ababa to Rome . The line was opened after the Italian conquest of Ethiopia and was followed by the first air links with the Italian colonies in Africa Orientale Italiana (Italian East Africa), which began in a pioneering way since 1934. The route was enlarged to 6,379 km and initially joined Rome with Addis Ababa via Syracuse , Benghazi , Cairo , Wadi Halfa , Khartoum , Kassala , Asmara , Dire Dawa . There

3048-676: The Battle of Gogetti . A total of 4,000 Patriots are estimated to have been killed in the battles, of whom 1,600, including Destaw, were executed. The situation in Addis Ababa in the first weeks after the conquest was difficult for the Italians; communications were possible only through the long route from Eritrea , violence and disorder were widespread within the city, while Marshal Rodolfo Graziani , initially having only 9,000 soldiers, feared an attack by Ethiopian guerrillas who were reported "all around Addis Ababa"; there were rumors that many thousands of arbegnoch were ready to attack. The situation of

3175-548: The Eritrea Governorate and Somalia Governorate . Reconstruction efforts after the war in 1936 were partially focused on benefiting the Muslim peoples in the colony at the expense of the Amhara to strengthen support by Muslims for the Italian colony. Italy's Fascist regime encouraged Italian peasants to colonize Ethiopia by setting up farms and small manufacturing businesses. However, few Italians came to

3302-629: The Harar , Galla-Sidamo , Amhara , and Addis Abeba Governorates . The Addis Abeba Governorate was enlarged into the Scioa Governorate with territory from neighboring Harar, Galla-Sidamo and Amhara in November 1938. Italian East Africa was briefly enlarged in 1940, as Italian forces invaded British Somaliland , thereby bringing all Somali territories, aside from the small colony of French Somaliland , under Italian administration. However,

3429-600: The Harla people according to the Karrayyu Oromo. According to oral traditions, Shewa had a powerful king named Sarako, who prevented the people from bearing arms. A certain giant arose against Sarako, and his children, and destroyed them. When the clans of the Borana, Gombichu and Ada, entered Shewa, they found no-one to stop them, since the children of Sarako had been killed. Enrico Cerulli believes that this tradition

3556-701: The Ottoman Empire , were portrayed through an unflattering lens. Use of the Fascist salute was mandatory in schools for African children, who were constantly encouraged to become "little soldiers of the Duce ", and every day there was morning ceremony at which the Italian flag was hoisted and patriotic songs were sung. Italian children, whose education the Fascist government prioritised over that of Africans, received education similar to that in Fascist Italy's metropole , though with some aspects of it tailored to

3683-561: The Zagwe dynasty from an enclave in Shewa. He claimed Solomonic forebears, direct descendants of the pre-Zagwe Axumite emperors, who had used Shewa as their safe haven when their survival was threatened by Gudit and other enemies. This is the reason why the region got the name "Shewa" which means 'rescue' or 'save'. This claim is supported by the Kebra Nagast , a book written under one of

3810-401: The protectorate of British Somaliland was occupied by Italian forces and absorbed into Italian East Africa. This occupation lasted around six months. By early 1941, Italian forces had been largely pushed back from Kenya and Sudan . On 6 April 1941, Addis Ababa was occupied by the 11th (African) Division , which received the surrender of the city. The remnants of the Italian forces in

3937-536: The revolutions of 1848 , or Giuseppe Garibaldi's Expedition of the Thousand and instead stressed the "glories" of the Roman Empire and those of the Italian state that claimed to be its successor. Glorification and lionisation of Mussolini and his "great work" likewise pervaded them, while periods during which Libya and other then-Italian possessions had been controlled by older, non-Italian empires, such as

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4064-430: The 784 km long Djibouti-Addis Ababa , was acquired following the conquest of the Ethiopian Empire by the Italians in 1936. The route was served until 1935 by steam trains that took about 36 hours to do the total trip between the capital of Ethiopia and the port of Djibouti . In 1938 following the Italian conquest, train speed was increased with the introduction of four high capacity railcars "type 038" derived from

4191-619: The AOI surrendered after the Battle of Gondar in November 1941, except for groups that fought an Italian guerrilla war in Ethiopia against the British until the Armistice of Cassibile (3 September 1943) ended hostilities between Italy and the Allies. In January 1942, with the final official surrender of the Italians, the British signed an interim Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement with Selassie, acknowledging Ethiopian sovereignty. Makonnen Endelkachew

4318-603: The Abichu territory. He extended the frontier of Shewa into Bulga and Karayu, to the southeast into Arsi, and as far south as the territories of the Gurage. After a few years, Sahle Selassie felt his position secure enough that he proclaimed himself Negus, or king, of Shewa, Ifat, the Oromo and the Gurage peoples, without the authority of the Emperor of Ethiopia in Gondar . After the death of Sahle Selassie in 1847, Shewa fell under

4445-456: The Ethiopian colony, with most going to Eritrea and Somalia. While Italian Eritrea enjoyed some degree of development, supported by nearly 80,000 Italian colonists , by 1940 only 3,200 farmers had arrived in Ethiopia, less than ten percent of the Fascist regime's goal. Continued insurgency by native Ethiopians, lack of natural resources, rough terrain, and uncertainty of political and military conditions discouraged development and settlement in

4572-612: The Ethiopian guerrillas were still in control of some areas of Harar and the Galla-Sidamo Governorate . Amedeo's conciliatory efforts obtained that Abebe Aregai , then the last leader of the " Arbegnoch " (as the guerrilla fighters were called in Ethiopia) made a surrender proposal to the Italians in the spring of 1940 (after the 1939 surrender of Ethiopian leaders Zaudiè Asfau and Olonà Dinkel). The Italian declaration of war on 10 June 1940 and British influence blocked

4699-536: The Ethiopian leader did not show up at the summit meeting scheduled for 14 March 1940. The beginning of the Second World War in East Africa was characterized by a series of Italian victories during the invasion of British Somaliland , however, these successes could not change the overall strategic situation, which was clearly favorable to Great Britain. Without aid and supplies from Italy, the Duke of Aosta and

4826-486: The Ethiopians. For the rest of that day, through Saturday and Sunday, Italians killed Ethiopians with daggers and truncheons to the shouts of "Duce! Duce!" and "Civiltà Italiana!" They doused native houses with petrol and set them on fire. They broke into the homes of local Greeks and Armenians and lynched their servants. Some even posed on the corpses of their victims to have their photographs taken. In three days,

4953-636: The Italian authorities and renounced the rebellion. On the other hand, the long and complex attempts to convince Ras Abebe Aregai, who had by now become the main leader of the Arbegnoch and maintained relations with the French in Djibouti, to renounce the fight, did not achieve success. It seems that in some circumstances he agreed to start negotiations above all to gain time and obtain weapons and supplies; all contacts with Abebe Aregai sought by high-ranking Italian envoys, including General De Biase, came to nothing;

5080-485: The Italian authorities and the propaganda exalted the victory and the execution which seemed to symbolize the definitive victory of fascist Italy. On 19 February 1937 – Yekatit 12 according to the Ge'ez calendar – saw the attempted assassination of Marshal Graziani by Eritrean rebels Abraham Deboch and Mogos Asgedom in Addis Ababa . The Italian response was immediate. According to Mockler, "Italian carabinieri had fired into

5207-517: The Italian forces of General Carlo Geloso before retreating to the mountainous region of Arbegona . With Dejazmach Gabremariam, Dejazmach Beyene Merid ( Shum of modern Bale Province ), and a dwindling number of soldiers, for the next few months Ras Desta eluded the Italians until they were trapped near Lake Shala in the Battle of Gogetti and annihilated. Wounded, Ras Desta managed to escape, only to be captured and hanged by Italian soldiers on 24 February 1937. His body left hanging for days

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5334-402: The Italians had killed between 1,400 and 30,000 Ethiopians in Addis Ababa alone. The attempted murder provided the Italians with the reason to implement Mussolini 's order, issued as early as 3 May 1936, for the summary execution of "The Young Ethiopians", the small group of intellectuals who had received college education from American and European colleges. The same day as the assassination,

5461-464: The Italians improved in mid-July with the arrival of substantial reinforcements which increased the garrison to 35,000 men; moreover, new exhortations were arriving from Rome to the governor to extend the occupation and to "be harsh, implacable with all the Abyssinians..", Mussolini called for a "regime of absolute terror". The arbegnoch of Shewa were actually determined to attack Addis Ababa, in

5588-661: The Italians launched an offensive against the guerrillas near Ejere . Eritrean askaris overran the positions of the guerrillas and killed many of them, including the feared Ethiopian resistance leader Ficrè Mariam. In the following weeks the Italians attacked the Shewan guerrillas in the Awash valley , after fierce fighting, the arbegnoch had to abandon the territories around the capital. The guerrillas of Gurage in southern Shewa led by Balcha Safo were attacked on 6 November 1936 by an Italian mechanized column led by Colonel Princivalle. After

5715-648: The Italians were forced to deploy more troops to Tigray, away from the campaign further south. The Italians began referring to the Patriots as shifta , which roughly translates from Amharic to English as "bandit"; the word also has a connotation of "one who rebels against an unjust authority" and many freedom fighters reclaimed the label and took pride in its usage. On 4 May, Patriots led by Haile Mariam Mammo ambushed an Italian column in Chacha, near Debre Berhan and killed approximately 170 Askari and took four Italians prisoner, who were later released. Addis Ababa fell to

5842-577: The Jubba River, and entered Mogadishu on February 25th with minimal resistance as the Italian-colonial forces quickly disintegrated. Italian domination in East Africa was rapidly collapsing; while the troops showed signs of demoralization and many colonial units deserted, the Ethiopian resistance intensified its activity and in Shoa the uprising of the population became general coinciding with

5969-742: The Mediterranean to Allied merchant ships and endangered British supply routes along the coast of East Africa, the Gulf of Aden , Red Sea and the Suez Canal . (The Kingdom of Egypt remained neutral during World War II, but the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 allowed the British to occupy Egypt and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan .) Egypt, the Suez Canal, French Somaliland and British Somaliland were also vulnerable to invasion, but

6096-533: The Middle East theatre , decided to entrust Brigadier General Daniel Arthur Sandford with an organic project to help the Arbegnoch. General Sandford reached Khartoum in October 1939 and took the first concrete measures by organizing arms depots on the border between Sudan and Ethiopia and entering into contact with some leaders of the resistance including Mengesha Gembere and Taffere Zellechè. During 1939, while

6223-672: The Negus, the last nuclei of resistance of the Italian armed forces in East Africa fell; on 19 May 1941 the Duke of Aosta surrendered at Battle of Amba Alagi (1941) together with General Claudio Trezzani; General Pietro Gazzera ceased resistance at the Siege of Saïo on 3 July 1941, while General Guglielmo Nasi , after a prolonged and fierce resistance at Battle of Gondar , finally had to lay down his arms on 27 November 1941. Shewa Shewa ( Amharic : ሸዋ ; Oromo : Shawaa ; Somali : Shawa; Arabic : شيوا ), formerly romanized as Shua , Shoa , Showa , Shuwa ( Scioà in Italian ),

6350-414: The Patriots' activities. The emperor left 10,000 troops under the command of Aberra Kassa with orders to continue resistance. On 21 June, Kassa held a meeting with Bishop Abune Petros and several other Patriot leaders at Debre Libanos , about 70 km (43 mi) north of Addis Ababa. Plans were made to storm the occupied capital but a lack of transport and radio equipment made it impossible to mount

6477-763: The Ukmar mission was established in Gojjam and in the Gondar area, while Barontini, who acted under the pseudonym of "Paul Langlois" or "Paolo De Bargili", entered into contact with Mengesha Gembere and his guerrillas. In 1938 France and Great Britain had begun to covertly support the Ethiopian guerrillas to undermine the precarious authority of the Italians. In France the government approved a program of "subversive war" and made contact with Abebe Aregai and Geresu Duki; French and British senior officers met in Aden in June 1939 and established

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6604-645: The United Nations granted Italy trusteeship of Italian Somaliland under close supervision, on condition that Somalia achieve independence within ten years. British Somaliland became independent on 26 June 1960 as the State of Somaliland , the Trust Territory of Somalia (ex-Italian Somaliland) became independent on 1 July 1960 and the territories united as the Somali Republic . The colony

6731-425: The actions of repression of the guerrilla led by the Balambaras Geresu Duki, the leader of the resistance in southern Shewa ; on 23 October 1938 four Italian columns, preceded by aerial bombardments, began a concentric maneuver in the Bedachè region to crush the Arbegnoch of Geresu Duki. At first the operation achieved some results; the Italo-Eritreans carried out vast roundups, killed 866 rebels and acted, according to

6858-477: The advancing Italians on 5 May 1936 and the Ethiopians withdrew to nearby areas to regroup; Abebe Aregai went to Ankober , Balcha Safo to Gurage , Zewdu Asfaw to Mulo , Blatta Takale Wolde Hawariat to Limmu and the Kassa brothers ( Aberra , Wondosson , and Asfawossen ) to Selale. Haile Mariam conducted hit-and-run attacks around the capital. Emperor Haile Selassie fled the country with 117 chests of gold ingots which were used to fund his court in exile and

6985-414: The advantage of being in the center of his realm, enabling him to remain in contact with the Christians to the south and the Muslim Oromos in the northeast. The area around these town moreover had rich pastures capable of feeding numerous cavalry and other livestock. After the Egyptian-Ethiopian War , Emperor Yohannes IV , who was angered over Menelik's claim to be the Emperor, marched into Shewa and ravaged

7112-405: The arbegnoch of the Kassa brothers courageously held their positions despite counterattacks by the Italian-Eritrean forces led by generals Italo Gariboldi and Sebastiano Gallina , finally the guerrillas had to flee the city, due to attacks from the air force. One of the arbegnoch leaders, Abune Petros was captured and immediately executed by the Italians. While in Shewa the guerrillas dominated

7239-431: The arrival of weapons and Ethiopian emissaries sent by the British to encourage the intensification of guerrilla warfare. New leaders, such as Sciacca Becchelè, joined the veterans of the resistance and inflicted a series of local defeats on the Italian-Eritrean columns. Soon, the Italian settlers, threatened by the activities of the Arbegnoch, had to abandon all the rural areas and retreat to the larger urban centers. While

7366-409: The birthplace of the future emperors Zara Yaqob and Dawit II . Zara Yaqob and Na'od would then make Debre Berhan and Zway their capitals respectively. In 1528 Shewa was overrun by Muslim invaders from the Sultanate of Adal to the east, and its ancient cities were destroyed. Most of Shewa was overrun by the Oromos during the late 16th century. Its eastern fringe was reportedly inhabited by

7493-448: The budget for the fiscal year 1936-37 had been set at 19.136 billion lira to create the necessary infrastructure for the colony. At the time, Italy's entire yearly revenue was only 18.581 billion lira. The architects of the Fascist regime had drafted grandiose urbanistic projects for the enlargement of Addis Ababa, in order to build a state-of-the-art capital of the Africa Orientale Italiana , but these architectural plans -like all

7620-445: The capital city, Addis Ababa , to proclaim an " Italian Empire of Ethiopia " by 5 May 1936. Some Ethiopians welcomed the Italians and collaborated with them in the government of the newly created Italian Empire , like Ras Seyoum Mengesha , Ras Getachew Abate and Ras Kebbede Guebret. In 1937 the friendship of Seyoum Mengesha with the Italian Viceroy Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta enabled this Ras to play an influential role in securing

7747-467: The center of Addis Ababa where they unleashed panic, Ficrè Mariam was stopped by the course of a flooded stream and then blocked by reinforced Italian units. In the meantime, Abebe Aregai 's arbegnoch initially advanced almost as far as Graziani's residence but were then attacked by Eritrean askaris, the last two Ethiopian columns failed on the first day even to enter into the city due to the nearby floods. Fighting in Addis Ababa continued until 30 July 1936,

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7874-450: The clear inferiority and weakness of the Italian forces. In the northern sector, Indian troops under General William Platt , after the initial advance in the lowlands up to Agordat, had to fight hard to overcome the fierce Italian-Eritrean resistance in the prolonged Battle of Keren , after which they occupied Asmara on 1 April and Massawa on 8 April. In the south, South African and Nigerian troops easily overcame Italian-Somali defenses along

8001-475: The co-operation of the Ethiopian public, he assumed his responsibilities on 22 December 1937. The Italians entrusted anti-guerrilla operations mainly to the colonial brigades of askaris, manned by Italian officers and non-commissioned officers and made up of Eritrean, Somali or Libyan troops used to moving and fighting in East Africa. In addition to the colonial brigades, the Italians also employed local irregular bands led by Italian officers, who were entrusted with

8128-405: The colony proved to be a failure in the end, with only one twentieth of Italian colonial soldiers possessing any literacy. During World War II, which saw the liberation of Italian East Africa from Fascism, few Africans displayed any loyalty to the Fascist state that the state's schools had so fervently tried to instill, and Ethiopia post-World War II found itself impoverished of skilled workers due to

8255-431: The conference of 28 October 1940 with General Archibald Wavell and Alan Cunningham and with Field Marshal Jan Smuts , the final decision was taken to support the return of the Negus, to consider the guerrilla warfare as a "war of liberation", above all to supply the fighters with weapons and equipment; furthermore, Mission 101 would be strengthened with the sending of the eccentric and capable Colonel Orde Wingate . In

8382-433: The contrasts between the Duke of Aosta were accentuated, convinced of the need to reduce the violence and brutality of the fight against the guerrillas, and General Cavallero determined to maintain operational control of the war against the guerrillas, in Rome Mussolini expressed his discontent with the situation in East Africa. In early 1939 the senior commander in East Africa therefore resumed major military operations against

8509-532: The countryside, the attempt to organize a solid resistance movement in the west of the Abyssinian territory was unsuccessful due to the opposition of the leaders of the Oromo population, who were traditionally hostile to the Amhara rule. Marshal Graziani, urged by Mussolini, decided to intervene immediately in western Ethiopia by sending a small air expedition to Nekemte. On June 26 1936, the Italian air expedition landed in Nekemte to meet with local Oromo chiefs who had wished to submit to Italian rule. The next night

8636-433: The countryside. The Italians invested substantively in Ethiopian infrastructure development. They created the " imperial road " between Addis Ababa and Massaua , Addis Ababa and Mogadishu and Addis Ababa - Assab . 900 km of railways were reconstructed or initiated (like the railway between Addis Ababa and Assab ), dams and hydroelectric plants were built, and many public and private companies were established in

8763-478: The crowds of beggars and poor assembled for the distribution of alms; and it is said that the Federal Secretary, Guido Cortese, even fired his revolver into the group of Ethiopian dignitaries standing around him." Hours later, Cortese gave the fatal order: Comrades, today is the day when we should show our devotion to our Viceroy by reacting and destroying the Ethiopians for three days. For three days I give you carte blanche to destroy and kill and do what you want to

8890-441: The descendants of Yekuno Amlak, which mentions Shewa as part of the realm of Menelik I . Aksum and its predecessor Dʿmt were mostly limited to Northern Ethiopia and Eritrea during the 1st millennium BCE. However, Shewa eventually became a part of Abyssinia upon the rise of the Amhara Solomonic dynasty . Dawit I and his successors stayed in Fatagar (part of Shewa) for a long time in Tobya (Yifat, Fatagar). The province served as

9017-577: The directives of the viceroy and of Mussolini himself, "with the utmost energy", but in the end even Geresu Duki escaped, together with his guerrillas, from the hunt of the occupying forces. At the same time in Begemder and in Gojjam the revolt had already began to intensify; the Arbegnoch in Gojjam ambushed two colonial battalions and in Amhara attacked Italian settlers at work on the Gondar-Debre Tabor road, which remained permanently threatened by guerrillas. The repressive operations of 1938 therefore did not obtain decisive results, moreover, in this period

9144-609: The enlarged colony was dismembered only a year later, when in the course of the East African campaign the colony was occupied by British forces. Fascist colonial policy in Italian East Africa had a divide and conquer characteristic. To weaken the Orthodox Christian Amhara people who had run Ethiopia in the past, territory claimed by Eritrean Tigray-Tigrinyas and Somalis was given to

9271-401: The fall of Addis Ababa, Haile Selassie arrived to the capital together with Wingate's Gideon Force. At 3.30 pm the Negus entered the capital in an open car, welcomed by the population; The Arbegnoch of Abebe Aregai, about 7,000 guerrillas, escorted the imperial procession during its passage through the city streets. In the following months, after the liberation of the capital and the return of

9398-461: The fleeing Arbegnoch bands; in the Gaia-Zeret massacre, approximately 1,200-1,500 Ethiopians, the vast majority of whom were civilians taking refuge in a cave, were killed with gas or machine gun fire. Due to the failure of his strategy, General Cavallero was finally recalled to Italy on 10 April 1939 and replaced by General Luigi De Biase, while General Nasi, a supporter of a severe policy towards

9525-559: The fords on the Nile to prevent the guerrillas from escaping. Despite the considerable deployment of forces, the campaign did not achieve definitive results. The garrisons besieged by the guerrillas were relieved and the prolonged clashes at Gojjam against the men of Belay Zekele, Mengesha Gembere, and Meslin Scilesci ended in March 1938 with the retreat of the guerrillas who dispersed throughout

9652-431: The generals accused of not acting with the necessary energy to eliminate the resistance. The governor then issued new draconian orders stating that it was "time to put an end to weaknesses" and requesting to be regularly informed of the "number of people who have gone to arms". Lessona left Addis Ababa on 21 October while Marshal Graziani began the general autumn offensive against the guerrillas of Shewa. On 27 October 1936,

9779-482: The ground. The massacre has come to be known as Yekatit 12 . After the massacres, Graziani became known as "the Butcher of Ethiopia". He was subsequently removed by Mussolini and replaced by Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta , who followed a more conciliatory policy towards the natives, obtaining a huge success in pacifying Ethiopia. By the eve of the Italian entry into the Second World War (January/February 1940)

9906-465: The guerrillas proclaimed holy war against the Italians in response to the massacres of Coptic Christians by Muslim askaris following the assassination attempt on Marshal Graziani. By the month of August 1937, two Italian brigades were forced to withdraw from Begemder due to increased guerrilla attacks and in Gojjam forces under Belay Zeleke successfully raided colonial garrisons. Major Liverani's column

10033-510: The indigenous population, became vice-governor general. In December 1938, the Communist Party of Italy had already sent a mission to Ethiopia to assess the situation, make contact with the Ethiopian guerrillas and start a training program. Giuseppe Di Vittorio spoke about it with Spanish Civil War veteran Anton Ukmar in the winter of 1937 and the decision was made on 8 December 1938, the first to leave and reach Ethiopia via Khartoum

10160-501: The instructions of Minister Lessona, mustard gases that were used extensively on the villages between Lalibelà and Bilbolà Ghiorghis. Wondosson Kassa was finally intercepted with his men near the source of Tekezé River and on 10 December 1936 was captured by Wollo Oromo collaborators, in the same evening he was then executed. The two other Kassa brothers ( Aberra and Asfawossen ), had taken refuge in Fiche , most of their men went to join

10287-468: The international political situation was rapidly degenerating towards general war, in East Africa the Duke of Aosta adopted a somewhat more "liberal" policy against Arbegnoch guerrilla with negotiations to obtain the peaceful submission of the guerrilla leaders. The attempts of the Duke of Aosta and General Nasi to obtain the submission of the guerrilla leaders by means of negotiations obtained some results: Zaudiè Asfau and Olonà Dinkel reached an agreement with

10414-475: The life of Rodolfo Graziani , educated Ethiopians, already having been distrusted by colonial government authorities and many having already been placed in concentration camps, became victims of state-sponsored mass murder, with much of the intelligentsia of Ethiopia being executed and the remainder exiled to penal colonies on Italian-controlled islands in the Mediterranean Sea . Fascist education in

10541-434: The lines of communication but in turn had 350 dead and 1,200 wounded in five months in Gojjam, mostly askaris and colonial troops. In June 1938 Italian forces encircled Ankober and the surrounding highlands in an attempt to pacify resistance in the region. Haile Mariam was the only Patriot leader who decided to try and effect a break-out and with 500 men he assaulted the Italians in a futile attempt to breach their cordon. He

10668-526: The lives of the 35,000 Italian residents, including 11,000 women and children. On 1-3 April the Italian troops therefore evacuated Addis Ababa and withdrew, in an atmosphere of general collapse. On April 5th, the South Africans reached the outskirts of the city, and where later joined by Nigerian troops and the Arbegnoch bands of Abebe Aregai , on 6 April they entered Addis Ababa without encountering resistance, and on May 5, 1941, exactly five years after

10795-487: The local situation in East Africa. Fascist Italy sought to neutralise any educational institutions which provided instruction to Africans beyond the level expected by Fascist ideology, in particular the secondary education network that prior to the Italian invasion had prepared and enabled a relatively small but significant amount of Ethiopians to study abroad at universities in Europe. In February 1937, following an attempt on

10922-422: The military leaders of the empire soon understood that they would have to face the powerful general offensive of the enemy. After a few months from the start of the war, the resistance of the Arbegnoch resumed with increased intensity, extending its guerrilla actions to areas previously thought to be pacified, such as Galla and Sidamo, where attacks by the "patriots" began. The Arbegnoch were also finally bolstered by

11049-519: The model Fiat ALn56 . These diesel trains were able to reach 70 km/h and so the time travel was cut in half to just 18 hours: they were used until the mid 1960s. At the main stations there were some bus connections to the other cities of Italian Ethiopia not served by the railway. Additionally, near the Addis Ababa station was created a special unit against fire, that was the only one in all Africa. However Ethiopia and Africa Orientale Italiana (AOI) proved to be extremely expensive to maintain, as

11176-448: The most violent repressive tasks. These troops, showed weaknesses in their organization and cohesion and suffered from high rates of desertion. General Cavallero prepared an ambitious plan of global operations to crush the Abyssinian resistance before the beginning of the heavy rains. The new cycle of operations began on 19 January 1938 in Gojjam which was attacked from the north and south by three separate columns while other forces blocked

11303-588: The new number of those executed in Rome. However, the violence of the repression and the apparent successes of the "colonial police" operations did not consolidate the Italian domination in Ethiopia in a decisive way, on the contrary, the growing brutality exasperated the population and increased hostility towards the Italians. A rebellion in Lasta led by Hailu Kebede was initiated in the summer of 1937, this rebellion would progressively extended to other Ethiopian regions,

11430-543: The newly occupied Ethiopian Empire . Italian East Africa was divided into six governorates . Eritrea and Somalia, Italian possessions since the 1880s, were enlarged with captured Ethiopian territory and became the Eritrea and Somalia Governorates . The remainder of " Italian Ethiopia " comprised the Harar , Galla-Sidamo , Amhara , and Scioa Governorates . During the Second World War , Italian East Africa

11557-856: The north to undertake "patriotic resistance against the Italians for taking away the independence of Ethiopia". The Patriot movement only emerged in the spring of 1936 after the Battle of Maychew in the Tigray Region as scattered troops of the Army of the Ethiopian Empire resorted to guerrilla tactics against occupying forces. Local civilians joined in and operated independently near their homes. Early activities included stealing war materials, rolling boulders off cliffs at passing convoys, kidnapping messengers, cutting telephone lines, setting fire to administrative offices and fuel and ammunition dumps and killing collaborators. As disruption increased,

11684-560: The other developments- were stopped by World War II. Prior to Fascism, education in Italian East Africa had primarily been the responsibility of both Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries . With Mussolini's rise to power, government schools were created which eventually incorporated the Catholic missionaries' educational programmes while those of the Protestant missionaries became marginalised and circumscribed. Andrea Festa , who

11811-548: The pre-existing colonies of Italian Somaliland and Italian Eritrea with the newly conquered territory. The maintenance and creation of Ethiopian colonies was very costly. On 10 June 1940, Italy declared war on Britain and France , which made Italian military forces in Libya a threat to Egypt and those in the Italian East Africa a danger to the British and French territories in the Horn of Africa . Italian belligerence also closed

11938-567: The prisoners would receive only the bare minimum of food and water. As Sbacchi notes, "Poor facilities, including latrines, the humid climate, malaria, stomach infections, and venereal disease took many lives, especially among those compelled to work on the irrigation canal or on the banana and sugar-cane plantations." Between ten percent and half of the prisoners died at Danan. Conditions at Nokra were even worse than at Danan, according to Sbacchi. The detainees sent there joined 500 prisoners serving life sentences for serious political crimes, increasing

12065-557: The province, Tewdoros then turned his attention towards the Oromo and according to Zanab "exterminated all the Gallas, from Debre Berhan to Ankober so that their corpses covered the ground like a carpet." Menelik II , who escaped from Amba Mariam at the end of June 1865 when he was twenty one years old, quickly returned to war-ravaged Shewa. During the first part of his reign, he ordered the reconstruction of various fortified towns such as Ankober , Debre Berhan and Warra Ilu. These sites had

12192-447: The recently conquered Empire of Ethiopia . Victor Emmanuel III of Italy consequently adopted the title of " Emperor of Ethiopia ", although this was not recognized by any country other than Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan . The territory was divided into the six governorates : Eritrea and Somalia , consisting of the respective former colonies, enlarged with territory from Ethiopia. The remainder of " Italian Ethiopia " consisted of

12319-560: The region by sending the party to talk with the local populace. The viceroy of the new Italian East Africa colony, Rodolfo Graziani , ordered the town to be bombed in retaliation for the killing of Magliocco (his deputy). Negative reactions from the locals forced Patriots to depart; Desta Damtew , the commander of the remnants of the Ethiopian Army, withdrew his troops to Arbegona . Surrounded by Italian forces, they retreated to Butajira , where they were defeated 19 February 1937 in

12446-593: The release of 3,000 Ethiopian POWs being held in Italian Somaliland . Mussolini's international popularity decreased as he endorsed the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany , beginning a political tilt toward Germany that eventually led to the downfall of Mussolini and the Fascist regime in Italy in World War II . Italian East Africa was formed on 1 June 1936, shortly after the conquest, by merging

12573-465: The repression against the bands of Hailu Kebede who suffered attacks from the air force and mustard gas; the guerrillas abandoned Sekota and were surrounded, Kebede after a tough resistance was finally captured by colonial soldiers on September 24, 1937 and was executed via beheading. Marshal Graziani returned to the capital on 3 October 1937, but despite the end of the Lasta revolt, the guerrilla warfare

12700-514: The resistance by organizing an ambitious operation against the fighters of Abebe Aregai, General Cavallero entrusted Colonel Orlando Lorenzini colonial forces to mop up Menz , however, the results were not conclusive, the main guerrilla leaders escaped the roundup which lasted until the end of March 1939. Furthermore, on 9-11 April 1939, the Italian-Eritrean troops began a new episode of brutal violence against civilians who were following

12827-514: The resistance leader of Abebe Aregai , they had agreed to surrender to the Italians on 21 December 1936. The two Abyssinian leaders were then executed on 18:35 on the same day. After the death of the Kassa brothers and the capture of Ras Imru, at the end of 1936 only Desta Damtew still remained active after having moved with about 2,000 men to the Sidamo region, in November he had repeatedly attacked

12954-460: The rule of his son, Haile Melekot . Shewa soon attracted the attention of Emperor Tewodros II , who mobilized his army in Wollo and advanced into Shewa in October 1855. The Emperor advanced into Tegulet and around the same time the Oromo seized the opportunity to rebel and burnt Ankober to the ground. Haile Melekot, decided to prevent Debre Berhan from falling into the hands of his enemy and had

13081-423: The sacred place of Debre Libanos . On the morning of 21 May 1937, Muslim Libyan and Somali askaris (45th Muslim Colonial Battalion) led by General Pietro Maletti executed 297 monks and 23 laymen. Three days later they would mow down 129 deacons, thus bringing the number of victims to 449. Maletti sent Graziani a telegram with the inscription "Complete liquidation", as proof of the massacre, and Graziani communicated

13208-626: The situation of the Italians in East Africa was becoming increasingly difficult, the British political-military leadership, after some initial hesitation, had finally taken the decision to energetically support the insurrectional war in Ethiopia by authorizing the Negus Haile Selassie to return to the theatre of operations; he was first transferred to Egypt where he arrived incognito with the pseudonym of Mister Strong on 25 June 1940 and then arrived in Khartoum on 2 July accompanied by

13335-624: The south by conquering Menz , Tegulet and Merhabete from the Oromos. Upon rising to power, Sahle Selassie aligned himself to the Abichu Oromo and turn his attention to the Tulama Oromo , whom he defeated in the early 1820s. He followed this victory by rebuilding Debre Berhan, which had been burned in an Oromo raid, as well as a number of other towns and consolidated his hold by founding a number of fortified villages, like Angolalla , in

13462-414: The spread of news of the British advance. The guerrillas attacked the Italian units retreating from the southern front who were trying to regroup to the capital. The Duke of Aosta had decided that the defence of Addis Ababa was now impossible and had therefore ordered the retreat with the surviving troops; he intended to open negotiations with the British to cede the capital in an orderly fashion and safeguard

13589-498: The submission of important local leaders. On 11 October 1936, the Minister of Colonies Alessandro Lessona had arrived in Addis Ababa, to confer personally with Marshal Graziani; regarding the tactics to be followed to crush the Ethiopian resistance and ensure total domination over the territory. After observing the ongoing fighting between guerrillas and Italian troops, the minister immediately entered into conflict with Graziani and

13716-516: The sudden bad news, seemed unable to control the situation and indulged in recriminations, especially against the governor of Amhara Governorate , Alessandro Pirzio Biroli . The news of the Ethiopian revolt aroused strong emotion in Italy as well; Mussolini urged Graziani's return to Addis Ababa and sent reinforcements, while Minister Lessona authorized the use of "every means" against the rebels, "including gas". On 19 September Marshal Graziani finally managed to concentrate large forces in Lasta and began

13843-405: The territory. In the month of April, the Italian-Eritrean columns joined Debra Markos and continued vast mopping-up operations against the resistance leaders of Mengesha Gembere and Belay Zekele who had, according to Italian sources, suffered over 2,300 casualties, but still managed to escape the operation. General Cavallero's forces were able to occupy the territory, increase the garrisons and extend

13970-567: The total number incarcerated to 1,500. The inmates suffered from lack of fresh water, sunstroke, marsh fever, and dysentery. The climax of the violence was reached in May 1937 with the tragic events of the Debre Libanos massacre. Investigators found that Abraha and Mogus had stayed a while at Debra Libanos, and slight circumstantial evidence suggested that the monks had foreknowledge of their plans. Marshal Graziani decided to retaliate by striking

14097-522: The town put to flames, he then fled to a nearby hill where he hoped to hide but soon died of an illness on November 10. After Haile Melekot' death, Tewdoros' opponents rallied behind the late king's son, Menelik II . Tewdoros left his camp at Debre Berhan and pursued the boy to Bakarat where he was captured and imprisoned at his mountain stronghold in Amba Mariam . After crushing the Amhara opposition in

14224-458: The towns. Menelik, realizing that resistance was futile, was forced to submit to Yohannes. Escaping influence from Yohannes, Menelik moved his capital south from Ankober to Mount Entoto in 1884. There, his wife Taytu Betul was attracted to a nearby spring known as Finfinne by the local Oromo inhabitants. In the spring of 1886, Menelik chose the site for Addis Ababa , his future capital. Building began at once, and, when Menelik became emperor of

14351-444: The underdeveloped country. The most important were: "Compagnie per il cotone d'Etiopia" (Cotton industry); "Cementerie d'Etiopia" (Cement industry); "Compagnia etiopica mineraria" (Minerals industry); "Imprese elettriche d'Etiopia" (Electricity industry); "Compagnia etiopica degli esplosivi" (Armament industry); "Trasporti automobilistici (Citao)" (Mechanic & Transport industry). Italians even created new airports and in 1936 started

14478-559: The very limited and propagandistic education provided to its non-Italian inhabitants under Mussolini's rule. In 1939, there were 165,267 Italian citizens in the Italian East Africa, the majority of them concentrated around the main urban centres of Asmara , Addis Ababa and Mogadishu . The total population was estimated around 12.1 million, with a density of just over 6.9 inhabitants per square kilometre (18/sq mi). The distribution of population was, however, very uneven. Eritrea, with an area of 230,000 km (90,000 sq mi), had

14605-528: The whole country in 1889, Addis Ababa became the capital of Ethiopia. 9°00′N 39°00′E  /  9.000°N 39.000°E  / 9.000; 39.000 Italian East Africa Italian East Africa ( Italian : Africa Orientale Italiana , AOI) was an Italian colony in the Horn of Africa . It was formed in 1936 after the Second Italo-Ethiopian War through the merger of Italian Somaliland , Italian Eritrea , and

14732-566: Was Ilio Barontini who in February 1939 was already able to send a confident report on the qualities and determination of the Abyssinian fighters. In the spring Ukmar and Domenico Rolla also left, accompanied by the French secret agent Colonel Paul Robert Monnier and by the envoy of the Negus Lorenzo Taezaz. After meeting in May 1939 in Abyssinian territory, Ukmar and Barontini split to begin their collaborative and training projects;

14859-619: Was a change of aircraft in Benghazi (or sometimes in Tripoli ). The route was carried out in three and a half days of daytime flight and the frequency was four flights per week in both directions. Later from Addis Ababa there were three flights a week that continued to Mogadishu , capital of Italian Somalia . The most important railway line in the African colonies of the Kingdom of Italy,

14986-550: Was about to end thanks to the help of the "incomparable military power" of Great Britain which would allow them to regain independence; the Negus also appealed to the Eritrean population to join the "Ethiopian brothers" in the fight against the Italians. The British commitment to the Ethiopian resistance was further strengthened after the visit of the Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden to Khartoum; during

15113-421: Was administered by a Viceroy of Ethiopia and Governor General of Italian East Africa , appointed by the Italian king. The dominion was further divided for administrative purposes into six governorates , further divided into forty commissariati. When established in 1936, Italian East Africa consisted of the old Italian possessions in the Horn of Africa : Italian Eritrea and Italian Somaliland , combined with

15240-563: Was destroyed by the warriors of Abebe Aregai, Mesfin Scilesci and Haile Mariam Mammo near Ankober . Hailu Kebede especially in the month of August achieved important successes; his guerrillas attacked and annihilated several garrisons, while in September they inflicted heavy losses on a colonial battalion and devastated the Quoram communications center along the main Asmara-Addis Ababa road. Marshal Graziani, surprised and shocked by

15367-648: Was estimated in 1938 to have included 400 to 500 members, depending on the agricultural season. The Arbegnoch or Patriots were called Shifta by the Italians. The Patriots had the near-total support of the Tewahedo Orthodox Church . The majority of participants were Christian highlanders . Ethiopian Muslims were less involved in the Italo-Ethiopian conflict. A couple months into the Second Italo-Ethiopian War on 9 December 1935, Ethiopian Minister of War Mulugeta Yeggazu ordered all chiefs in

15494-538: Was later annexed by the Ethiopian Empire in 1962. It would remain annexed by Ethiopia until it gained independence as Eritrea . Historians are still divided about the reasons for the Italian attack on Ethiopia in 1935. Some Italian historians such as Franco Catalano and Giorgio Rochat argue that the invasion was an act of social imperialism , contending that the Great Depression had badly damaged dictator Benito Mussolini 's prestige, and that he needed

15621-501: Was made director of the central office governing primary education in Eritrea in November 1932, declared in 1934 that Fascist efforts in education needed to ensure that native Africans were "acquainted with a little of our civilisation" and that they needed to "know Italy, its glories, and ancient history, in order to, become a conscious militia man in the shade of our flag." Such education initiatives were designed to train Africans in

15748-457: Was mortally wounded on 6 June during a major clash at Gorfo in Bulga . On 1 June, General Ugo Cavallero moved north to surround Abebe, and keep him from returning to Menz, and although Abebe made three unsuccessful attempts to break through the Italian lines before the rainy season , after the rains his Arbegnoch were able to return to the comparative safety of Menz . Equally unsatisfactory were

15875-411: Was named as Prime Minister and on 19 December 1944, the final Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement was signed. In the peace treaty of February 1947 , Italy officially renounced sovereignty over its African colonies. Eritrea was placed under British military administration for the duration, and in 1950, it became part of Ethiopia. After 1945, Britain controlled both Somalilands, as protectorates . In November 1949,

16002-539: Was occupied by a British -led force including colonial units and Ethiopian guerrillas in November 1941. After the war, Italian Somalia and Eritrea came under British administration, while Ethiopia regained its independence. In 1950, occupied Somalia became the United Nations Trust Territory of Somaliland , administered by Italy from 1950 until its independence in 1960. Occupied Eritrea became an autonomous part of Ethiopia in 1952, and

16129-470: Was spreading in Begemeder, Gojjam and Semien, many garrisons and isolated Italian residences were attacked and destroyed. Governor Pirzio Biroli was unable to restore order. The guerrillas obtained important successes in Gojjam under the leadership of Belay Zekele and Mengesha Gembere, on 13 and 14 September many Italian garrisons were attacked and surrounded and on 3 November the leaders of the revolt issued

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