The 103rd Commando Division () were the commando forces of the

Ethiopian Ground Forces The Ethiopian Army () is the land service branch of the Ethiopian National Defense Force. It is the senior of the two uniformed military branches. The force engages in land warfare and combined arms operations, including armored and mechanize ...

under the

People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE; ) was a socialist state that existed in Ethiopia and present-day Eritrea from 1987 to 1991. The PDRE was established in February 1987 as a Marxism-Leninism, Marxist-Leninist one-party state upo ...

. It was activated and began training in January 1987. It was part of the 604th Corps and was described as "the cream of the Ethiopian Army".

Creation

In early 1987, the government began the process of expanding commando units. The division was created on 13 January 1987, with at its head Colonel Getahun Wolde Giorgis. It was based out of

Bahir Dar Bahir Dar () is the capital city of Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Bahir Dar is one of the leading tourist destinations in Ethiopia, with a variety of attractions in the nearby Lake Tana and Blue Nile river. The city is known for its wide avenues li ...

Amhara Region The Amhara Region (), officially the Amhara National Regional State (), is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people, Amhara, Awi people, Awi, Xamir people, Xamir, Argobba people, Argobba, a ...

with a potential capacity of 10,000 commandos. After initial recruitment, training began at the Harar Military Academy, before commando training began at

Hawassa Hawassa (; ʾäwasa, also spelled Awassa or Awasa) known historically as Adare is a city in Ethiopia, on the shores of Lake Hawassa in the Great Rift Valley. It is south of Addis Ababa via Bishoftu, east of Sodo, and north of Dilla. The ...

and later at Bahir Dar.

Operations

In 1989, the Defence Council sent the 103rd to take part in the defence of the capital during the

Fall of Addis Ababa The fall of the Derg was a military campaign that resulted in the defeat of the ruling Marxist–Leninist military junta, the Derg, by the rebel coalition Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) on 28 May 1991 in Addis Ababa, ...

during the

Ethiopian Civil War The Ethiopian Civil War was a civil war in Ethiopia and present-day Eritrea, fought between the Ethiopian military junta known as the Derg and Ethiopian-Eritrean anti-government rebels from 12 September 1974 to 28 May 1991. The Derg overthre ...

. It also took part in the battles for

Axum Axum, also spelled Aksum (), is a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia with a population of 66,900 residents (as of 2015). It is the site of the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire. Axum is located in the Central Zone of the Tigray Re ...

. In

Tigray The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; officially the Tigray National Regional State) is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob and Kunama people. I ...

, the 103rd Commando Division was to provide the government's last hope in keeping Tigray. These attempts were repulsed on 19 February 1989, the division was defeated in and around

Shire Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the oldes ...

by the

Tigray People's Liberation Front The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF; ), also known as the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, is a left-wing Ethnic nationalism, ethnic nationalist, paramilitary group, and the former ruling party of Ethiopia. It was classified as a ter ...

Personnel

The 103rd during its existence was often seen as a victim of poor command, as it was mostly made up of conscripts and fresh militiamen. General Demissie Bulto, who was involved in the 1989 Ethiopian coup d'état attempt, had his mutilated body dragged in the streets of Asmara by half-drunk commandos. Major Bogale was a brigade commander in the division.

References

Works cited

* {{Cite book , last1=Fontanellaz , first1=Adrien , last2=Cooper , first2=Tom , title=Ethiopian-Eritrean Wars: Volume 2: Eritrean War of Independence, 1988-1991 & Badme War, 1998-2001 , publisher=Helion & Company , year=2018 , isbn=978-1-912390-30-4 , location=Warwick , series=Africa@War No. 30 Military units and formations of Ethiopia Military units and formations established in 1987 1980s establishments in Ethiopia