Ethiopian Order of Battle Second Italo-Abyssinian War

Ethiopian forces in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War

Second Italo-Abyssinian War

The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...

besides the Central Army were mobilized from various provinces under their local leader. According to 1935 Italian intelligence estimates of the Ethiopian provinces and their forces on the eve of hostilities the Ethiopians had an army of 350,000 men. Strengths where known are noted followed by their leader. Modernized forces in Bold.

Ethiopian Army 1935

Addis Ababa

Emperor Haile Selassie
- 3 Battalions of the Imperial Guard Kebur Zabangna
  Kebur Zabangna
  Kebur Zabagna or Zebenya was the Ethiopian Imperial Guard. Also known as the First Division, this unit served the dual purposes of providing security for the Emperor of Ethiopia, and being an elite infantry division...
- Cadet school (Mobilized as a Guard battalion late in the war with Cadets as officers with militia soldiers.)

Northern front

Army of the Left - Ras Imru Haile Selassie

Imru Haile Selassie

Leul Ras Imru Haile Selassie was an Ethiopian noble, soldier, and diplomat. He was also the cousin of Emperor Haile Selassie.-Biography:...

(Grazmach
Ethiopian military titles
The military ranks of the Ethiopian Army originally came from the traditional organization of their forces. An army in the field or in camp was composed of a vanguard, main body, left and right wings and a rear body...

= "General/Commander of the Left")

Gojjam
Gojjam
Gojjam was a kingdom in the north-western part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Marqos. This region is distinctive for lying entirely within the bend of the Abbay River from its outflow from Lake Tana to the Sudan...

Provincial Armed Forces (Sefari) - Ras Imru Haile Selassie
- 13,000 regulars
Wolqayt
Wolqayt
Wolqayt is a woreda and region in northwestern Ethiopia...

and Semien
Semien province
Semien Province was a historical province of northwest Ethiopia, often called Gondar. It was located south and west of the Tekezé River, and north of Lake Tsana. It was south west of Enderta Province, west of Tembien Province, and east of the Sudan. To some extent it covered the territory of the...

Sefari - Fitawrari
Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles
Until the end of the monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia: the Mesafint or princes, hereditary nobles, formed the upper echelon of the ruling class; while the Mekwanint were the appointed nobles, often of humble birth, who formed the bulk of the nobility...

Ayalew Birru
Ayalew Birru
Ayalew Birru, or Ayyalaw Birru, was an Ethiopian army commander, a patriot, and a cousin of Emperor Haile Selassie I.-Biography:...
- 10,000 mountaineers
Gojjam Levies - Dejazmach Gessesse Belew (later deserted, revolted)
- 12,000 men

Mahel Sefari (Army of the Center) (70,000 regulars) - Ras Mulugeta Yeggazu

Mulugeta Yeggazu

Ras Mulugeta Yeggazu, was an Ethiopian government official. He served as Imperial Fitawrari, Commander of the Mahel Sefari of the Ethiopian Army during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.-Biography:...

of Illubabor

Illubabor

Illubabor can refer to:*Illubabor Province, historic subdivision of Ethiopia*Illubabor Zone, Ethiopia...

Amino Provincial Sefari
Gubba Provincial Sefari
Gurage
Gurage
Gurage is an ethnic group in Ethiopia. According to the 2007 national census, its population is 1,867,377 people , of whom 792,659 are urban dwellers. This is 2.53% of the total population of Ethiopia, or 7.52% of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region...

Provincial Sefari
Jimma
Jimma
Jimma, also Jima, is the largest city in southwestern Ethiopia. Located in the Jimma Zone of the Oromia Region, it has a latitude and longitude of . The town was the capital of Kaffa Province until the province was dissolved. Prior to the 2007 census, Jimma was reorganized administratively as a...

Provincial Sefari
Mui
Mui River
The Mui is a river of southern Ethiopia. Located inside Omo National Park, it is a tributary of the Omo River on the right side, merging with the larger stream at ....

Provincial Sefari
Om Hajer Provincial Sefari
Sela Provincial Sefari
Sodo
Sodo
Sodo or Wolaita Sodo is a town in south-central Ethiopia. The administrative center of the Wolaita Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region, Sodo has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation between 1600 and 2100 meters above sea level...

Provincial Sefari
Welega
Welega Province
Welega was a province in the western part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Nekemte. It was named for the Welega Oromo, who are the majority of the population within its boundaries....

Provincial Sefari

Army of the Right- Ras Kassa Haile Darge

Kassa Haile Darge

Ras Kassa Haile Darge GCVO, GBE , was a Shewan nobleman, the son of Haile Wolde Kiros of Lasta and Tisseme Darge, and grandson of Ras Darge Sahle Selassie the brother of Menelik II's father....

(Qegnazmach
Ethiopian military titles
The military ranks of the Ethiopian Army originally came from the traditional organization of their forces. An army in the field or in camp was composed of a vanguard, main body, left and right wings and a rear body...

= "General/Commander of the right")

Begemder
Begemder
Begemder was a province in the northwestern part of Ethiopia. There are several proposed etymologies for this name...

Sefari - Ras Kassa Haile Darge/Shum Wondosson Kassa
Wondosson Kassa
Wondosson Kassa, also known as Wond Wossen Kassa, was a member of the royalty of the Ethiopian Empire, an army commander, and a patriot.- Biography :Leul Wondosson Kassa was the eldest son of Ras Kassa Haile Darge...
- 53,000 men
Tigray
Tigray Province
Tigray was a province of Ethiopia. The Tigray Region superseded the province with the adoption of the new constitution in 1995. The province of Tigre merged with its neighboring provinces, including Semien, Tembien, Agame and the prominent Enderta province and towards the end of 19th century it...

Sefari - Leul
Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles
Until the end of the monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia: the Mesafint or princes, hereditary nobles, formed the upper echelon of the ruling class; while the Mekwanint were the appointed nobles, often of humble birth, who formed the bulk of the nobility...

Ras Seyum Mangasha
Seyum Mangasha
Seyum Mangasha KBE was an army commander and a member of the Royal family of the Ethiopian Empire.-Biography:...
- 15,000 men
Wag
Wag
Wag is a traditional highland district in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia, in the approximate location of the modern Wag Hemra Zone. Weld Blundell described the district as bounded on the south by the mountains of Lasta, on the east and north by the Tellare River, and the west by the Tekezé...

Sefari - Dejazmatch Haile Kebbede
- 7,000 men (1/6 with rifles)
- 3,000 regulars with 3 machineguns, reinforcement 12/35
Lasta Sefari - Fitawrari
Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles
Until the end of the monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia: the Mesafint or princes, hereditary nobles, formed the upper echelon of the ruling class; while the Mekwanint were the appointed nobles, often of humble birth, who formed the bulk of the nobility...

Andarge
- ? men
Yejju Sefari - Dejazmach Admassu Birru
- ? men

Danakil
Afar people
The Afar , also known as the Danakil, are an ethnic group in the Horn of Africa. They primarily live in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and in northern Djibouti, although some also inhabit the southern point of Eritrea.-Early history:...

region - Dejazmach Kassa Sebhat

400 trained men
100 regulars
5 machineguns

Later Reinforcements

Ifrata

Ifat

The Ifat Sultanate was a medieval Muslim sultanate in the Horn of Africa. Led by the Walashma dynasty, it was centered in Zeila. The kingdom ruled over parts of what is now eastern Ethiopia, Djibouti and northern Somalia.-Location:...

Sefari - Ras Kebbede

? Shewa
Shewa
Shewa is a historical region of Ethiopia, formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire...

n levies

Welega-Ardjo Sefari - Bitwoded

Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles

Until the end of the monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia: the Mesafint or princes, hereditary nobles, formed the upper echelon of the ruling class; while the Mekwanint were the appointed nobles, often of humble birth, who formed the bulk of the nobility...

Makonnen Demissie

12,000 men (best armed of the Northern armies, also had Oerlikon AA guns)

Kaffa

Kingdom of Kaffa

The Kingdom of Kaffa was an early modern state located in what is now Ethiopia, with its capital at Bonga. The Gojeb River formed its northern border, beyond which lay the Gibe kingdoms; to the east the territory of the Konta and Kullo peoples lay between Kaffa and the Omo River; to the south...

Sefari - Ras Getachew Abate

Getachew Abate

Getachew Abate was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire.- Biography :Getachew Abate was the son of Lique Mekwas Abate Ba-Yalew. He had a church education followed by language training at the Menelik School...

? men

To subdue Gojjam revolt

Wollo
Wollo
Wollo was a historical region and province in the northeastern part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Dessie. The province was named after the Wollo Oromo, who settled in this part of Ethiopia in the 17th century...

Sefari - Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen Tafari

Amha Selassie of Ethiopia

Amha Selassie, GCMG, GCVO, GBE was the last Emperor of Ethiopia. First proclaimed Emperor during the unsuccessful coup attempt by the Imperial Guards against his father Haile Selassie I in December 1960, he initially went along with this proclamation under duress. The coup collapsed within days...

from Wollo - Nevraid Aregai
- 1,000 men
from Lekemt - Dejazmach Hapte Gabre Mariam Gabre
- 1,000 men

Southern front

Ogaden
Ogaden
Ogaden is the name of a territory comprising the southeastern portion of the Somali Regional State in Ethiopia. The inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Somali and Muslim. The title "Somali Galbeed", which means "Western Somalia," is often preferred by Somali irredentists.The region, which is...

Ogaden

Ogaden

Ogaden is the name of a territory comprising the southeastern portion of the Somali Regional State in Ethiopia. The inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Somali and Muslim. The title "Somali Galbeed", which means "Western Somalia," is often preferred by Somali irredentists.The region, which is...

Sefari - Grazmach

Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles

Afawarq Walda Samayat

Afawarq Walda Samayat, or Afework Woldesemait, was an Ethiopian administrator, and commander.-Biography:In 1935, at the outbreak of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Grazmach and Balambaras Afawarq Walda Samayat was the acting Shum of Jijiga...

less than 2,000 men - Fitawrari Badde / Balambaras Ali Nur
Some hundreds of Somali rebels - Omar Samanthar
2 Guard Battalions - Fitawrari Simu and Kebbede
- 1,000 men with machineguns and mortars
Total 3,000 men

Reinforcements

Hararghe
Hararghe
Hararghe was a province in the eastern part of Ethiopia, with its capital in Harar. Including Ethiopia's part of the Ogaden, Haraghe was bounded on the south by Sidamo, southwest by Arsi, west by Shewa, northwest by Wollo, northeast by French Somaliland, and on the east by Somalia.Hararghe came...

Sefari - Dejazmach Nasibu Emmanual

Nasibu Emmanual

Nasibu Emmanual, also Nasibu Zamanuael, was an army commander of the Ethiopian Empire. Along with his brother Wasane, historian Bahru Zewde groups Nasibu "among the most colourful of the first-generation intellectuals" of Twentieth-century Ethiopia...

- C-in-C in Ogaden after Afewerq's death

1 Guard Battalion
Illubabor
Illubabor Province
Illubabor was a province in the south-western part of Ethiopia, along the border with Sudan. The name Illubabor is said to come from two Oromo words, "Illu" and "Abba Bor". "Illu" is a name of a clan, and "Abba Bor" was the horse name of Chali Shone, who founded the ruling family of the area when...

Sefari - Dejazmach Makonnen Endelkachew
Makonnen Endelkachew
Ras Betwoded Makonnen Endelkachew was an Ethiopian aristocrat and Prime Minister under Emperor Haile Selassie. Makonnen was born in Addisge, the nephew of the noted Shewan general and politician Ras Betwoded Tessema Nadew, who introduced him to Emperor Menilek II...
- 12,000 men
Gemu Gofa Sefari - Dejazmach Abebe Damtew
- 3,000 men (described as having scarcely a modern rifle, with ocher and pink headresses)
Arusi
Arsi Province
Arsi was a province of Ethiopia with its capital at Asella. The province was reduced to a Zone of the Oromia Region with the adoption of the new constitution in 1995....

Sefari - Dejazmach Amde Mikael
- 3,000 men (provincial levies)
Kula Sefari - Dejazmach Hapte Mikael
- 1,000 men

Webi Shebelle
Shebelle River
The Shebelle River begins in the highlands of Ethiopia, and then flows southeast into Somalia towards Mogadishu. Near Mogadishu, it turns sharply southwest, where it follows the coast. Below Mogadishu, the river becomes seasonal...

front

Bale
Bale Province, Ethiopia
Bale is the name of two former polities located in the southeastern part of modern Ethiopia.- The medieval dependency of Bale :...

Sefari - Dejazmach Beine Merid
Beyene Merid
Beyene Merid, Beine Merid, was an Ethiopian army commander, a patriot, and the son-in-law of Emperor Haile Selassie I.-Bibliography:...
- 4,000 men

Juba
Jubaland
Jubaland , also known as Azania or the Juba Valley and formerly as Trans-Juba , is an autonomous region in southern Somalia. Its eastern border lies 40–60 km east of the Jubba River, stretching from Gedo to the Indian Ocean, while its western side flanks the North Eastern Province in...

Front

Dolo
Dolo, Ethiopia
Dolo is a town in southeastern Ethiopia, within 30 kilometers of the Ethiopia-Somalia border. Located in the Liben Zone of the Somali Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of...

Garrison - 300 men
Sidamo
Sidamo Province
Sidamo was a province in the southern part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Irgalem, and after 1978 at Awasa. It was named after an ethnic group native to Ethiopia, called the Sidamo, or more particularly, Sidama, who are located in the south-central part of that country...

Sefari - Ras Desta Damtew
Desta Damtew
Ras Desta Damtew was an Ethiopian noble, an army commander, and a son-in-law of Emperor Haile Selassie I.-Biography:...
- 20,000 men (well armed) - Fitawraris Ademe Anbassu and Tedeamme Zelleka
- Guards Battalion - Qegnazmach Bezibibeh Sileshi
- Oerlikon
  Oerlikon Contraves
  Rheinmetall Air Defence AG is a division of German armament manufacturer Rheinmetall, created when the company's Oerlikon Contraves unit was renamed on 1 January 2009 and integrated with Rheinmetall's other air-defence products...
  
  AA guns

Sources

Mockler, Anthony, Haile Selassie's War. New York: Olive Branch Press.
Osprey, Men At Arms #309: The Italian Invasion of Abyssinia 1935-1936

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Ethiopian Army 1935

Northern front

Southern front

See also

Sources