Military of Ethiopia

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Military of Ethiopia
Military Manpower
Military age	18
Availability	Males age 15-49: 14,568,277, females: 14,482,885
Fit for military service	Males age 15-49: 8,072,755, females: 7,902,660
Reaching military age annually	Males: 803,777, females: 801,789
Active troops	(ranked 29th)
Military Expenditures
Amount	$300 million (2005 est.)
Percent of GDP	3.4%

The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) is one of the largest military forces in Africa along with Egypt, Eritrea and Morrocco, List of countries by number of active troops|29th]] largest in the world. Force sizes recently varied considerably in light of the end of the war with Eritrea and the intervention in. In January 2007, during the war in Somalia, Ethiopian forces were said to be about 200,000 troops.^[1] This is down from the 252,000 estimated troops in 2002^[2], which was roughly the same number maintained during the Derg regime that fell to the rebel forces in 1991. Since the early 1990s, the ENDF has been in transition from a rebel force to a professional military organization with the aid of the U.S. and other countries. Training in de-mining, humanitarian and peace-keeping operations, professional military education, and military justice are among the major programs sponsored by the U.S.

Ethiopian T-55 in Somalia

[edit] Military Branches

The ENDF consists of the following types of units: Ground Forces, Air Force, Police, Militia.

Ethiopia is landlocked and has no navy; following the independence of Eritrea, Ethiopian naval facilities remained in Eritrean possession and ships which belonged to the former Ethiopian Navy and were based at Djibouti have been sold.

[edit] History of the Army

The Ethiopian army's origins and military traditions span back through the nation's long history. Its modern military history generally dates from its response to the European colonial expansion of the 19th Century during the Scramble for Africa, during which it maintained its independence by defeating the Italian army in the First Italo–Ethiopian War.

[edit] Under Haile Selassie I

Further information: Ethiopian Order of Battle Second Italo-Ethiopian War and Italian invasion of Ethiopia

Modernization of the army took place under the regency of Tafari Mekonnen, who later reigned as Emperor Haile Selassie I. He created an Imperial Bodyguard in 1917 from the earlier mahal safari that had traditionally attended the Ethiopian Emperor; its elite were trained at the French military academy at Saint-Cyr or by Belgian military advisers. He also created his own military school at Holeta in January 1935.^[3]

However, these efforts were not sufficient nor instituted in enough time to stop the rising tide of Italian fascism. Ethiopia lost its independence in the Italian invasion of Ethiopia of 1935-36. The country regained its independence after the 1941 East African Campaign of World War II with the intervention of forces from the British Commonwealth.

[edit] Korean War

Ethiopian soldiers in the Korean War, 1951

In keeping with the principle of collective security, for which Haile Selassie was an outspoken proponent, Ethiopia sent a contingent under General Mulugueta Bulli, known as the Kagnew Battalion, to take part in the UN Conflict in Korea. It was attached to the American 7th Infantry Division, and fought in a number of engagements including the Battle of Pork Chop Hill.^[4] 3,518 Ethiopian troops served in the war; they lost 121 killed and 536 wounded during the conflict in Korea.^[5]

[edit] Communist Era

After the downfall of Haile Selassie, Ethiopia was controlled by Communist regimes which shifted the equipment, organization and doctrines away from Western European and American influences towards those of the Soviet Union and other Comecon countries, especially Cuba.

During this period, Ethiopian forces were often locked in counter-insurgency campaigns against various guerrilla groups. They honed both conventional and guerrilla tactics during campaigns in Eritrea, and the Ethiopian Civil War that toppled Ethiopian former military dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991 and also by repelling an invasion launched by Somalia in the 1977–1978 Ogaden War.

The Ethiopian army grew considerably during this time under the regimes of the Derg (1974–1987) and the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia under the dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam (1987–1991), especially during the latter regime. Estimated forces under arms increased dramatically^[6]:

1974: 41,000 (Derg revolution)
1977: 50,000 (Ogaden War)
1979: 65,000
1991: 230,000 (overthrow of Mengistu)

Cuba provided a significant influx of military advisors and troops over this period, with the largest escalation during the Ogaden War with Somalia, supported by a Soviet airlift^[7]:

1977–1978: 17,000 (Ogaden War)
1978: 12,000
1984: 3,000
1989: All forces withdrawn

[edit] 1991 Order of Battle

By 1991, the Ethiopian army under Mengistu had grown in size, but the regime was overcome by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and other factions. The People's Militia had also grown to about 200,000 members. The mechanized forces of the army comprised 1,200 T-54/55, 100 T-62 tanks, and 1,100 armored personnel carriers (APCs), but readiness was estimated to only be about 30% operational because of the withdrawal of financial support, lack of maintenance expertise and parts from the Soviet Union, Cuba and other nations.^[6]

Army commands consisted of the following:

First Revolutionary Army (headquartered at Harar)
Second Revolutionary Army (headquartered at Asmera)
Third Revolutionary Army (headquartered at Kombolcha)
Fourth Revolutionary Army (headquartered at Nekemte)
Fifth Revolutionary Army (headquartered at Gondar)

To these armies were assigned the operational forces of the army, comprising:

[edit] Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front

Since the fall of Mengistu, the Ethiopian army under the EPRDF has been called into service fighting continuing counter-insurgency campaigns, and also fought to a stalemate in the 1998-2000 Ethiopian-Eritrean War, and drove the Islamic Courts Union out of Somalia in the War in Somalia.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, and with the rise of radical Islamism, Ethiopia again turned to the Western powers for alliance and assistance. After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the Ethiopian army began to train with US forces based out of the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) established in Djibouti, in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency. Ethiopia allowed the US to station military advisors at Camp Hurso.^[8]

[edit] History of the Navy

[edit] Italian naval action based from Eritrea during World War II

Eritrea had been an Italian colonial territory since 1890. Landlocked Ethiopia itself was occupied during the years 1936–1941 by Fascist Italy. Hence there was no Ethiopian navy during World War II. The Italians put the port at Massawa to use, staging 7 destroyers, 8 submarines, and 2 torpedo boats against the British fleet. Four Italian submarines managed to escape, but most of the rest of the combatants were lost in battle, or scuttled before the British captured Massawa.^[9]

[edit] Navy under Haile Selassie

After the end of World War II, Ethiopia was given control over Eritrea and its ports, allowing the creation an Ethiopian Navy.

In 1958, the Ethiopian Navy became a separate branch of the armed forces.^[10] Haile Selassie I appointed Norwegian naval officers to help organize a coastal navy. Also, a number of retired British naval officers acted as advisors and trainers until the advent of the Derg in 1974.^[11] The Emperor also founded the Ethiopian Naval College, located in Asmera (now part of Eritrea). The education comprised a 52-month program of study. Some members of the navy also went on to study at Leghorn, Italy.^[12] Celebrations for Ethiopian Navy Day were held in Massawa, such as the occasion in 1969 when the USS Forrest Royal (DD872)and ships from other nations observed the 1st graduation of new midshipmen; the Forrest Royal also hosted a celebration aboard ship which the Emperor attended.The Emperor was presented with a painting of the Forrest Royal at the celebration.^[13]

The former USS Orca, a World War II-era Barnegat-class small seaplane tender launched in 1942 (similar to the USS Suisun), was transferred to Ethiopia in January 1962. It was re-christened as the Ethiopia (A 01), and served as a training vessel until the loss of the Red Sea coast to Eritrea in 1991. Though unserviceable, it escaped to Yemen, where it is presumed to have been sold for scrap.^[14]

[edit] Navy in the Communist era

During the Communist-run governments of the Provisional Military Administrative Council (also known as the Derg, 1974–1977) and the dictatorial Mengistu (1977–1991), the Ethiopian navy grew under the influence of the Soviet Union.

[edit] Bases

Mitsiwa (Massawa) – Ethiopian enlisted training center^[10]
Aseb – Ethiopian ship repair facilities; also Soviet drydock after 1977^[10]
Dahlak Islands - Soviet naval base with anchorage, naval infantry, and reputed intelligence facilities^[10]
Asmera – Soviet Il-38 maritime reconnaissance naval air station until 1989

[edit] Training

Officer training - The 1984 class comprised 48 ensigns; typical of the size of classes in subsequent years. After the rise of the Communist government in Ethiopia, select members of the navy attended the Soviet Union's naval academy in Leningrad.^[12]

Enlisted training - Seamen, technicians, and marines enlisted men were trained at Mitsiwa; their term of service was for seven years.^[12]

[edit] Forces

By early 1991, the Ethiopian navy was a 3,500-strong force, with the following vessels^[10]:

two (2) frigates
eight (8) missile craft
six (6) torpedo craft
six (6) patrol boats
two (2) amphibious craft
two (2) support/training craft

[edit] Final disposition

The Ethiopian navy was finally dissolved after the independence of Eritrea in 1991. At that time, many ships were sold for scrap in Djibouti, such as the four Peyta-class gas turbine-powered frigates Ethiopia had acquired from the Soviet Union. The navy also had four Osa-class missile boats, one of which is still in use by Eritrea. Though Eritrea wished to purchase up to 16 of the former Ethiopian ships, plans were dropped in September 1996 to avoid exacerbating an international confrontation with Yemen.^[15]

[edit] Equipment

Ethiopian T-55 tanks at the end of the Ethiopian Civil War

The modern ENDF has a wide mix of equipment. It does not produce its own weapons, so all arms must be imported. It has used its position to act as a reseller of arms to other African nations, such as Burundi and Somalia. Many of its major weapons systems stem from the Communist era and are of Soviet and Eastern bloc design.

The United States was Ethiopia's major arms supplier from the end of World War 2 until 1977, when Ethiopia began receiving massive arms shipments from the Soviet Union. These shipments, including armored patrol boats, transport and jet fighter aircraft, helicopters, tanks, trucks, missiles, artillery, and small arms have incurred an unserviced Ethiopian debt to the former Soviet Union estimated at more than $3.5 billion.

Since 1991, there remains a continuing influx of arms from former Eastern bloc countries (Russia, Czech Republic, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Hungary), yet also increasing use of Western equipment (US, Germany, UK, and France)^[16]^[17], and purchases from Israel^[18] and China^[19].

[edit] Ground Equipment

Tanks: 170 T-54/55, 50 T-62, 50 T-72.^[20]
IFV/APCs: 25 BMP-1, 110 M113, 10 BTR-152, 14 BTR-60.
Reconnaissance vehicles: 250 BRDM-2.
Artillery: 5 2S1(M1974), 17 M109.