Military history of Ethiopia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Military history of Ethiopia dates back to the formation of the modern nation in 950 BC. Ethiopia has been involved in most major conflicts in the African region.
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[edit] First Italo-Abyssinian War
The First Italian–Abyssinian War was fought between Italy and Ethiopia in 1895-1896. Unlike most of Africa, Ethiopia was able to avoid being conquered by the European powers. Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1895 but because Ethiopia had established a modern army and broke ethnic barriers to unite, the Italian forces were decisively defeated in a year.
[edit] Second Italo-Abyssinian War
On October 4, 1935 Fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia. Italian forces were able to defeat the Ethiopian forces in 8 months with superior manpower and advanced weaponry. In violation of International agreements, the Italians used poisonous gas in a number of battles; although some historians (for example, Anthony Mockler) consider the effect of this weapon in battle negligible at best, it added infamy to the Italian invasion. Second Italo-Abyssinian War and the Mukden Incident is often seen as a precursor to World War II, and a demonstration of the ineffectiveness of the League. After years of occupation, Emperor Haile Selassie I; with the help of the British, led a large Ethiopian front to defeat the Italian army in 1941.
[edit] World War II
During World War II Ethiopia was under Italian occupation. The liberation of started in early 1941 when British forces joined the large armed resistance called "Arbengoch." By the end of May, the allied forced were able to gain decisive victory against the Italian Army.
[edit] Korean War
Ethiopia sent 1,271 - 3,518 troops as part of the United Nation Forces to aid South Korea. The troops were known as the Kagnew Battalion under the command of General Mulugueta Bulli. It was attached to the American 7th Infantry Division, and fought in a number of engagements including the Battle of Pork Chop Hill. [1] 121 were killed and 536 wounded during the conflict in Korea.
[edit] Derg Rule
In 1974 a military coup overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie and declared Ethiopia a republic. Between 1974 and 1984 a communist military junta called Derg ruled.
[edit] Ogaden War
Somalia invaded the Ogaden region and starting the Ogaden War. Fighting erupted as Somalia attempted a temporary shift in the regional balance of power in their favour by occupying the Ogaden region. The Soviet Union switched from supplying Somalia to supporting Ethiopia, which had previously been backed by the United States. The war ended when Somali forces retreated back across the border and a truce was declared. Ethiopia was able to defeat the Somolian forces with the aid of the USSR and South Yemen. This was the first conflict in which the Mi-24 was used.
[edit] Ethiopian Civil War
The Ethiopian Civil War was a 17 year conflict between the Derg government backed by the USSR against anti-communist rebels backed by the United States. The conflict ended in 1991 with the Derg government defeated and out of power along with Eritrea gaining independence. The Eritrean insurgence that began in 1961 was helped by a nationwide Ethiopian guerrilla campaign of OLF,TPLF and ONLF against the Ethiopian Derg government. At the end of the Civil war, with the Eritrean and Ethiopian victory over the Derg government, Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1991 following a referendum.
[edit] Eritrean-Ethiopian War
The Eritrean-Ethiopian War was a border clash that took place from May 1998 to June 2000. On May 8, a platoon of Eritreans soldier deployed into Badme region.
Fighting escalated to artillery and tank fire leading to four weeks of intense fighting. Ground troops fought on three fronts. Eritrea claims Ethiopia launched air strikes against Eritrea's capital Asmara while Ethiopia accused Eritrea of striking first. The fighting led to massive internal displacement in both countries as civilians fled the war zone.
The conflict ended in stalemate and deployment of UNMEE.
[edit] War in Somalia
In 2006 Ethiopia deployed troops to aide the TFG in the ongoing Somali Civil War[2]. ENDF deployed troops in the northern region to aid the TFG and in the southern region with support from the United States Fifth Fleet. By January 2007 Ethiopian forces were about 200,000 troops.
[edit] References
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