Son of SandorJan 25
Jan 25, 1941 #WWII Nigerian, Ghanaian, East African, and South African troops of 11th African Division under British General Harry Edward de Robillard Wetherall and 12th African Division under British General Reade Godwin-Austen crossed into the Italian Somaliland from Kenya. Italian troops withdrew 100 miles behind the Juba River in response. #Somalia
https://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=108
Show threadSon of SandorFeb 5
Feb 4, 1941 #WWII NYT The government, Mr Eden said, would welcome the reappearance of an independent Ethiopian State and would recognize Emperor Haile Selassie's claim to the throne. Britain has no "territorial ambitions" in that country.
https://www.nytimes.com/1941/02/05/archives/british-recognize-claim-of-selassie-eden-says-he-will-be-helped-to.html
Show threadSon of SandorFeb 9
There has long been a history of tension between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which split off from its larger neighbour three decades ago. The countries fought a border war between 1998-2000 in which more than 100,000 people died. The two had been allies in Ethiopia's recent civil war when Eritrea supported its army against Tigrayan forces.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn87lzrj1l7o
Eritrea accuses Ethiopia of fabricating report its troops had crossed the border

Ethiopia had alleged that Eritrean soldiers were on its territory and supporting rebels in the north.

Show threadSon of SandorFeb 9
Feb 9, 1941 #WWII NYT When Winston Churchill some weeks ago in making an appeal to the Italian people told them the British would chew their African empire to pieces. The British have been chewing on the Italian territory to the south of Egypt. A drive has taken them half across Eritrea and they are after Massawa and Asmara, supply headquarters for the Italian Army holding Eritrea and what was Ethiopia, which Mussolini conquered in 1936.
https://www.nytimes.com/1941/02/09/archives/british-fast-wrecking-italys-african-empire-debacle-in-libya-may-be.html
BRITISH FAST WRECKING ITALY'S AFRICAN EMPIRE; Debacle in Libya May Be Followed by Serious Developments in Eritrea And in Ethiopian Regions GERMAN AID IS STILL MISSING

The New York Times
Show threadSon of SandorMar 14

Mar 14, 1941 #WWII NYT Haile Selassie's own army of native troops have driven deeply into Ethiopia. Armed, drilled and officered by the British, they move forward behind British scout planes, with their wings protected by swarms of guerrilla fighters. It speaks well for their discipline that not a word has come from Rome regarding Ethiopian “atrocities.”

* Italian troops used mustard gas in aerial bombardments (in violation of the Geneva Protocol and Geneva Conventions) against combatants and civilians in an attempt to discourage the Ethiopian people from supporting the resistance. Deliberate Italian attacks against ambulances and hospitals of the Red Cross were reported. By all estimates, hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian civilians died as a result of the Italian invasion.
https://www.nytimes.com/1941/03/14/archives/ethiopians-on-the-march.html

ETHIOPIANS ON THE MARCH

ed, Ethiopians on the march

The New York Times
Show threadSon of SandorMar 16
Things could get even worse, experts say, if passage through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, another crucial shipping route in the Middle East, is also disrupted.Bab al-Mandab is a narrow passage for ships entering or exiting the Red Sea, whose Yemeni coastline is largely controlled by the Huthi rebels, an armed group backed by Iran.
https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-huthis-yemen-bab-al-mandab/33708102.html
Next Flashpoint In Iran War? The Bab Al-Mandab Strait Off Yemen's Coast

The Bab al-Mandab Strait off the coast of Yemen -- a key global trade route -- could become the new flashpoint in the US-Israeli war on Iran, experts say.

RFE/RL
Show threadSon of Sandor
Iran would target shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial conduit for global oil and other goods leading to the Suez Canal, if the United States launches a ground invasion. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, like the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Iran, is a chokepoint for global shipping that lies between Yemen and Djibouti at its narrowest point.
https://thedefensepost.com/2026/03/26/iran-red-sea-us-invasion/
Iran Would Target Red Sea Shipping in Event of US Invasion: Local Media

Iran would target shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial conduit for global oil and other goods leading to the Suez Canal, if the United States launches a ground invasion, an unnamed military official tol

The Defense Post
Mar 26 at 8:09amWeb