|
Operation Canvas
The East African campaign (also known as the Abyssinian campaign) was fought in East Africa during the Second World War by Allies of World War II, mainly from the British Empire, against Italy and its colony of Italian East Africa, between June 1940 and November 1941. The British Middle East Command with troops from the United Kingdom, South Africa, British India, Uganda Protectorate, Kenya, Somaliland, West Africa, Northern and Southern Rhodesia, Sudan and Nyasaland participated in the campaign. These were joined by the Allied of Belgian Congo, Imperial Ethiopian Arbegnoch (resistance forces) and a small unit of Free French Forces. Italian East Africa was defended by the (Italian East African Armed Forces Command), with units from the (Royal Army), (Royal Air Force) and (Royal Navy). The Italian forces included about 250,000 soldiers of the (Royal Corps of Colonial Troops), led by Italian officers and NCOs. With Britain in control of the Suez Canal, the Italian forces w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mediterranean And Middle East Theatre
The Mediterranean and Middle East theatre was a major theatre of operations during the Second World War. The vast size of the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre saw interconnected land, naval, and air campaigns fought for control of the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East and Southern Europe. The fighting started with Italy's declaration of war against the United Kingdom and France, until 2 May 1945 when all Axis forces in Italy surrendered. However, fighting would continue in Greece – where British troops had been dispatched to aid the Greek government – during the early stages of the Greek Civil War. The British referred to this theatre as the Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre (so called due to the location of the fighting and the name of Middle East Command), the Americans called it the Mediterranean Theater of War and the German informal official history of the fighting is the Mediterranean, South-East Europe, and North Africa 1939 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uganda Protectorate
The Protectorate of Uganda was a protectorate of the British Empire from 1894 to 1962. In 1893 the Imperial British East Africa Company transferred its administration rights of territory consisting mainly of the Kingdom of Buganda to the British government. In 1894 the Uganda Protectorate was established, and the territory was extended beyond the borders of Buganda to an area that roughly corresponds to that of present-day Uganda. History Background In the mid-1880s, the Kingdom of Buganda was divided between four religious factions – Adherents of Uganda's Native Religion, Catholics, Protestants and Muslims – each vying for political control.Griffiths, Tudor. "Bishop Alfred Tucker and the Establishment of a British Protectorate in Uganda 1890–94." Journal of Religion in Africa, vol. 31, no. 1, 2001, pp. 92–114. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1581815. In 1888, Mwanga II was ousted in a coup led by the Muslim faction, who installed Kalema as leader. The following ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pietro Gazzera
Pietro Gazzera (11 December 1879 – 30 June 1953) was an officer in the Italian Royal Army during World War II, as well as a prewar Italian politician. Gazzera was born in Bene Vagienna, he joined the Italian Army and fought in the Italo-Turkish War and World War I. He was one of the signatories of the Armistice of Villa Giusti, which ended the war with Austria-Hungary on the Italian Front. In 1928, starting as the Under-Secretary in the Ministry of War, Gazzera was the Minister of War from 1929 to 1933.Time MagazineRetort/ref> From 1 August 1938 to 6 July 1941, Gazzera was the Governor of Galla-Sidamo in Italian East Africa. General Gazzera commanded forces in the "Southern Sector" (the Galla and Sidamo area around Jimma) during the East African Campaign. Following the fall of Amba Alagi in May 1941, Gazzera succeeded Amedeo, Duke of Aosta as the acting Governor-General of Italian East Africa. After Jimma fell on 21 June, Gazzera staged a mobile defense and held out ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amedeo, 3rd Duke Of Aosta
Prince Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta (Amedeo Umberto Isabella Luigi Filippo Maria Giuseppe Giovanni di Savoia-Aosta; 21 October 1898 – 3 March 1942) was the third Duke of Aosta and a first cousin once removed of the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III. During World War II, he was the Italian Viceroy of Italian East Africa (''Africa Orientale Italiana'', or AOI). Biography Amedeo was born in Turin, Piedmont, to Prince Emanuele Filiberto, 2nd Duke of Aosta (son of Amadeo I of Spain and Princess Maria Vittoria), and Princess Hélène (daughter of Prince Philippe of Orléans and Princess Marie Isabelle of Orléans). As his patrilinal great-grandfather was King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, he was a member of the House of Savoy. He was known from birth by the courtesy title of ''Duke of Apulia''. Amedeo was a very tall man (in stark contrast of the King who was known to be quite short). According to Amedeo Guillet, he was once referred to by a journalist as "Your Highness" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auguste Gilliaert
Auguste-Édouard Gilliaert (7 March 1894 – 10 May 1973) was a Belgian colonial lieutenant general who served in both world wars, and a commander of the ''Force Publique'' in the Belgian Congo. Career Early life and World War I After joining the Belgian Army in 1910, Gilliaert received an officer's commission in July 1914. With the outbreak of World War I, he fought in battles along the Yser River, near Ostende. In 1916, he volunteered for service in Central Africa, in what was then the Belgian Congo, and took part as a captain in the East Africa Campaign fighting in German East Africa. Gilliaert returned to Belgium in 1919, commanding units at home and in occupied Germany. World War II By World War II, Major-General Gilliaert was the commander of the "Belgian Expeditionary Forces" in East Africa during the East African Campaign of World War II. The Belgian Expeditionary Force was a Free Belgian colonial unit composed of troops from the Belgian Congo. In July 1941, Gilli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abebe Aregai
'' Ras'' Abebe Aregai (Amharic: አበበ አረጋይ; 18 August 1903 – 17 December 1960) was an Ethiopian military commander who served as Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 27 November 1957 until his death. He was a victim of the unsuccessful 1960 Ethiopian coup. During the Italian occupation, he led a group of resistance fighters. They were collectively known as the '' Arbegnoch'' (), and operated in Menz. The British IWM labeled Abebe “one of the bravest men in the modern world.” Early life Abebe was born on 18 August 1903 in the village of Woira Amba-Jirru in northern Shewa. His father was Aregai Bechere, an ethnic Amhara, and his mother was Askale Gobena, an ethnic Oromo and the daughter of ''Ras'' Gobena Dacche. He served in the '' Kebur Zabagna'', rising to the rank of Major before transferring to the police, and by 1935 had been granted the title of '' Balambaras''. He was the chief of police of Addis Ababa when the Italians invaded Ethiopia in 1936. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haile Selassie I
Haile Selassie I (born Tafari Makonnen or ''Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#Lij, Lij'' Tafari; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as the Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles, Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (') under Empress Zewditu between 1916 and 1930. Widely considered to be a defining figure in modern History of Ethiopia#Modern, Ethiopian history, he is accorded divine importance in Rastafari, an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic religion that emerged in the 1930s. A few years before he began his reign over the Ethiopian Empire, Selassie defeated Ethiopian army commander Gugsa Welle, Ras Gugsa Welle Bitul, nephew of Empress Taytu Betul, at the Battle of Anchem. He belonged to the Solomonic dynasty, founded by Emperor Yekuno Amlak in 1270. Selassie, seeking to modernise Ethiopia, introduced political and social reforms including the 1931 Constitution of Ethiopia, 1931 constitution and the Abolition of slavery i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Cunningham
Sir Alan Gordon Cunningham, (1 May 1887 – 30 January 1983), was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the British Army noted for his victories over Italian forces in the East African Campaign (World War II), East African Campaign during the Second World War. He then commanded Eighth Army in the desert campaign, but was relieved of command during the ''Operation Crusader, Crusader'' battle against Erwin Rommel. Later he served as the seventh and last High Commissioners for Palestine and Transjordan, High Commissioner of Palestine. He was the younger brother of Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, Lord Cunningham of Hyndhope. Early life and military career Cunningham was born in Dublin, Ireland, the third son of Scottish Professor Daniel John Cunningham and his wife Elizabeth Cumming Browne. He was educated at Cheltenham College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich before taking a Commissioned officer, commission in the Royal A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Platt
General Sir William Platt (14 June 1885 – 28 September 1975) was a senior officer of the British Army during both the First and the Second World Wars. Early years Platt was educated at Marlborough College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. On graduating from the latter, Platt was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Northumberland Fusiliers in August 1905. From 1908 to 1914, he served on the North-West Frontier in India where he won the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and was mentioned in despatches for the first of six such citations. Platt was promoted to lieutenant in June 1909 and captain in November 1914. First World War From 1914 to 1918, Platt fought in France and Belgium on the Western Front during the First World War. Between 1915 and 1916, he was appointed brigade major of the 103rd (Tyneside Irish) Brigade, a Kitchener's Army formation, and was promoted brevet major in December 1916. Between 1916 and 1917, Platt was a General Staff Office ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alfred Reade Godwin-Austen
General Sir Alfred Reade Godwin-Austen, (17 April 1889 – 20 March 1963) was a British Army officer who served during the First and the Second World Wars. Early life and military career The second son of Lieutenant Colonel A. G. Godwin-Austen, late the 24th and 89th (The Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot, Reade Godwin-Austen was born in Frensham, Farnham in Surrey, on 17 April 1889. He was educated at St Lawrence College, Ramsgate, and later at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, to pursue a military career, following both his father and great-grandfather. Godwin-Austen was a great-grandson of Major General Sir Henry Godwin, who commanded the British and Indian forces in the Second Anglo-Burmese War. His uncle was Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen, who gave his name to the highest mountain in the Karakoram range; this mountain is now better known as K2. Upon passing out from Sandhurst, Godwin-Austen was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the South Wales Bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archibald Wavell
Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, (5 May 1883 – 24 May 1950) was a senior officer of the British Army. He served in the Second Boer War, the Bazar Valley Campaign and the First World War, during which he was wounded in the Second Battle of Ypres. In the Second World War, he served initially as Commander-in-Chief Middle East, in which role he led British forces to victory over the Italian Army in Eritrea- Abyssinia, western Egypt and eastern Libya during Operation Compass in December 1940, only to be defeated by Erwin Rommel's Panzer Army Africa in the Western Desert in April 1941. He served as Commander-in-Chief, India, from July 1941 until June 1943 (apart from a brief tour as Commander of American-British-Dutch-Australian Command) and then served as Viceroy of India until his retirement in February 1947. Early life Born the son of Archibald Graham Wavell (who later became a major-general in the British Army and military commander of Johanne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Equatorial Africa
French Equatorial Africa (, or AEF) was a federation of French colonial territories in Equatorial Africa which consisted of Gabon, French Congo, Ubangi-Shari, and Chad. It existed from 1910 to 1958 and its administration was based in Brazzaville. History Established in 1910, the Federation contained four colonial possessions: French Gabon, French Congo, Ubangi-Shari and French Chad. The Governor-General was based in Brazzaville with deputies in each territory. In 1911, France ceded parts of the territory to German Kamerun as a result of the Agadir Crisis. The territory was returned after Germany's defeat in World War I, while most of French Cameroon, Cameroon proper became a French League of Nations mandate not integrated into the AEF. French Equatorial Africa, especially the region of Ubangi-Shari, had a similar concession system as the Congo Free State and similar atrocities were also committed there. Writer André Gide traveled to Ubangi-Shari and was told by inhabita ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
