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Africa
Front
(30)
1934
December
05
The Walwal incident
On 5 December 1934 Ethiopian soldiers and Somalis in Italian service clashed at the Walwal wells in the Ogaden. Mussolini made it a pretext for war.
1935
October
03
Key event
Italy attacks Ethiopia
On 3 October 1935 Mussolini's troops crossed into Ethiopia without a declaration of war. The League of Nations imposed sanctions but left out oil.
1936
May
05
The Italians take Addis Ababa
On 5 May 1936 Marshal Badoglio led his troops into Addis Ababa. Mussolini declared the war over, but Ethiopia never surrendered; resistance lasted until 1941.
1940
July
04
The Italians take Kassala
On 4 July 1940 Italian troops from Eritrea took Kassala and Fort Gallabat in the Sudan. A handful of Sudan Defence Force men withdrew after hours of fighting.
August
04
The Italians invade British Somaliland
On 3–4 August 1940 General Guglielmo Nasi's columns crossed from Ethiopia into British Somaliland, taking Zeila, Hargeisa and Odweina within days.
11
The Battle of Tug Argan
On 11–15 August 1940 General De Simone's Italians stormed the British-held hills in the Tug Argan pass. After four days the defenders were ordered to withdraw.
19
The Italians take Berbera
On 19 August 1940 the Italians entered abandoned Berbera. British ships had already carried some 7,000 soldiers and civilians to Aden.
27
The Free French take over Cameroon
On 27 August 1940 a handful of Leclerc’s men took Douala without a fight, and Yaoundé a day later. In three days nearly all Equatorial Africa joined de Gaulle.
September
23
The expedition to Dakar
On 23–25 September 1940 a British fleet and de Gaulle’s Free French tried to seize Dakar. Vichy’s defenders drove them off, a blow to de Gaulle’s prestige.
November
12
The Free French take Gabon
The surrender of Port-Gentil on 12 November 1940 ended the Gabon campaign. The Free French had taken Vichy's last colony in French Equatorial Africa.
1941
January
19
The British offensive in East Africa
On 19 January 1941 British and Indian troops entered Kassala, abandoned by the Italians, and pushed into Eritrea. The offensive on Italian East Africa began.
31
The Battle of Agordat
On 31 January 1941 the 4th Indian Infantry Division, backed by Matilda tanks, broke the Italian defences at Agordat in Eritrea. It took the town next morning.
February
25
The British take Mogadishu
On 25 February 1941 General Cunningham’s African troops entered Mogadishu unopposed, two weeks after advancing from Kenya into Italian Somaliland.
28
Raids on Asmara and fighting at Keren
On 28 February 1941 British aircraft bombed Asmara, capital of Eritrea. For four weeks Platt’s troops had been held by the Italians before the Keren mountains.
March
27
The British take Keren
On 27 March 1941 the Italians abandoned Keren and British tanks drove into the town. After twelve days of assault Platt had opened the road to Asmara.
April
06
The British enter Addis Ababa
On 6 April 1941 Cunningham’s troops entered Addis Ababa, given up by the Italians without a fight. Asmara, capital of Eritrea, had fallen five days earlier.
May
05
Haile Selassie returns to Addis Ababa
On 5 May 1941, five years to the day after the Italians marched in, Haile Selassie returned to Addis Ababa and urged Ethiopians not to take revenge on Italians.
18
The surrender at Amba Alagi
In May 1941 British, Indian and South African troops and Ethiopian patriots surrounded Amba Alagi. The Viceroy, the Duke of Aosta, surrendered with honours.
June
11
The fall of Assab
At dawn on 11 June 1941 an Indian battalion from Aden landed at Assab and took the last Italian port on the Red Sea without a fight.
July
03
The surrender of Gazzera
On 3 July 1941 Belgian troops from the Congo attacked the Italians at Saïo. That afternoon General Pietro Gazzera sought terms; he surrendered on 6 July.
November
27
The surrender at Gondar
On 27 November 1941 General Guglielmo Nasi surrendered Gondar to British troops and Ethiopian patriots, ending organised Italian resistance in East Africa.
December
09
The miners’ strike in the Belgian Congo
On 9 December 1941 Force Publique soldiers opened fire on striking Union Minière miners at the football stadium in Élisabethville. Dozens were killed.
1942
April
28
The fleet sails for Madagascar
On 28 April 1942 a fast convoy of British assault troops left Durban for Vichy-held Madagascar. The slower ships had sailed three days earlier.
May
05
The landing on Madagascar
On 5 May 1942 the British landed on Vichy Madagascar. After two days of fighting and a dash by the destroyer Anthony, Diego Suarez fell on 7 May.
November
30
The Free French on Réunion
On 28 November 1942 the destroyer Léopard landed Free French at Saint-Denis. On 30 November the Vichy governor surrendered Réunion without further fighting.
December
28
French Somaliland joins Free France
On 28 December 1942 Djibouti, Vichy's last colony in Africa, went over to Free France. After two years of blockade and hunger, not a single shot was fired.
1943
October
01
The Ruzagayura famine
In autumn 1943 the Ruzagayura famine broke out in Belgian Ruanda-Urundi. Drought, crop disease and wartime requisitions cost tens of thousands of lives.
1944
January
30
The Brazzaville Conference
On 30 January 1944 de Gaulle opened a conference on the future of French Africa at Brazzaville. It promised reform but rejected even distant self-government.
February
20
The Luluabourg mutiny
On 20 February 1944 the Force Publique garrison at Luluabourg in the Belgian Congo mutinied. Unrest spread to Kamina and Jadotville and was met with repression.
November
30
The Thiaroye massacre
On 30 November 1944 General Dagnan massed troops near Dakar against ex-POWs demanding back pay. On the morning of 1 December they opened fire at Thiaroye.