His Imperial Majesty around the time of the Italian Invasion of
1935
Ever since
the crushing defeat of the Italian Army at Adowa in 1896, Italian officials,
especially colonial officials had chaffed at the lack of revenge, or restoration
of their honor. Revenge for Adowa was considered essential for Italian prestige
in Europe. Italian colonies in Libya, Italian (southern) Somaliland and Eritrea
were unprofitable, and in the case of Libya, unstable. The Italians increasingly
saw Ethiopia as their natural hinterland for their Somaliland and Eritrean
colonies. A vast territory of industrious people, fertile soil, untapped mineral
wealth and the prestige of ancient empire were a prize that they were simply
unwilling to pass up for good. The fact that relations between Ethiopia and
Italy had been outwardly warm since the war of 1896 was no deterrent. As Crown
Prince and Regent, the Emperor had visited Rome in 1923 and met with King Victor
Emmanuelle and Queen Helena, as well as Italy's brand new Premier, a vulgar
braggart and demagogue named Benito Mussolini. During the visit of Prince Regent
Tafari, the leader of the Socialists in the Italian Parliament, and a vocal
opponent to Mussolini's fascism, mysteriously disappeared. A racist cartoon in a
Rome Daily depicted the Ethiopian Prince asking el Duce if he had eaten his
opponent, as if that was typical behavior for Ethiopian leaders to eat their
enemies. The Italian and Ethiopian governments renewed the treaty of Friendship
and Commerce, and the King of Italy decorated the Prince with the Order of the
Annunziata, entitling him to be called a "cousin" of the King of Italy. The
Prince of Udine (later made king of the fascist puppet state in Croatia), an
actual cousin of the King of Italy had even attended the Emperor's coronation in
1930. At the same time, the new fascist government was laying down plans for the
eventual conquest of the Ethiopian Empire. The excuse that Italy needed was
provided by the infamous Wal Wal incident and the un-demarcated border between
Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland. Wal Wal was a outpost in the Ogaden desert that
had wells used by the Somali nomads that freely crossed between British, French
and Italian Somalilands, and the Ethiopian Ogaden. The treaty that set down the
border between Italian Somaliland and Ethiopia stated that the border ran
parallel to the Benadir coast of Somalia at a distance of 21 leagues. What was
unstated was if this meant 21 standard leagues or 21 nautical leagues. The
Italians insisted on the nautical leagues, as this would push the border further
inland, while the Ethiopians maintained it was absurd to claim that the treaty
used nautical leagues to measure a distance on dry land. Nevertheless, a
contingent of Italian soldiers occupied the wells at Wal Wal and built a small
fort on what Ethiopia claimed was clearly Ethiopian territory, and had been
administered by the Ethiopians. Ethiopian territorial troops under the command
of Fitawrarri Shiferaw (posthumously created a Dejazmatch)confronted the
Italians, and after repeated requests for the Italians to leave the site,
gunfire was exchanged. The fighting grew fierce and Italian airplanes bombed
Ethiopian positions. Ethiopia complained to the League of Nations, calling on
the collective security agreements imbodied in the charter to be invoked and
applied. The Italians railed that it was Ethiopia that had attacked an Italian
fortification. The Emperor assumed that the League would protect all members
from aggression once the victim party was ascertained. In order to leave no
doubt as to who was the aggressor, and in a move that showed exactly how much
faith he had put in the League, the Emperor ordered all Ethiopian forces to
withdraw from large areas along the borders with Italian Somaliland and Eritrea.
In the meantime, Italy charged that its honor had been impinged. Ethiopia was
depicted at the League as a savage and barbarous land where slavery and
brutality were the common way of life, a land that did not deserve to be treated
equally with "civilized countries". Ethiopia was urged to find a way to
accommodate the "civilizing influence" of Italy territorially in the Ogaden and
even in Tigrai in the north. The Ethiopian government refused all such urgings
as impinging on it's sovreignity. In November 1935, thousands of Italian troops
accompanied by even more native colonial "Askari" troops crossed into Tigrai
from Eritrea in the north under the command of Feild Marshal De Bono, an elderly
and cautious officer who planned to progress slowly into the Empire. They were
quickly followed by similar forces from Italian Somaliland in the south and east
commanded by Marshal Graziani.
The Emperor inspects a gun on the northern front.
The fact that
Italy had crossed deep into Ethiopian territory left little doubt as to who the
aggressor was, but there was still little will to stop the aggression. The
Emperor had put complete faith in the League, and had resisted the calls of his
nobles to declare war because he believed that the League would live up to the
charter and rush in to protect his country. The Emperor's logic was that the
doctrine of "Collective Security" would obligate the League to protect Ethiopia.
An attack on one member of the League was supposed to be regarded as an attack
on all the members. It was this protection that had inspired him to join the
League in the first place back when he was still Prince-Regent and faced with a
hostile nobility which wanted no part of the "foriegners" League. However, at
the time, Hitler was preparing to annex Austria, and the leading voice against
this was Mussolini. Britain and France hoped to use Mussolini as a bulwark
against German designs on Austria, and thus did not want alienate Mussolini over
what they considered an unimportant African remnant. Not only were they not
going to help Ethiopia, but France went so far as to forbid the import of
weapons into Ethiopia on the Addis Ababa - Djibouti railway. Instead they
encouraged mild sanctions on Italy that did not include the all important
petroleum used for military trucks and tanks. The sanctions were esentially
useless. The Foriegn Ministers of France and Britain (Laval and Hoare) were
secretly negotiating a solution that would involve Ethiopia handing over the
Ogaden and most of Tigrai to the Italians, grant English hegemony over the basin
of the Blue Nile, and the French control of the area adjacent to the railroad to
Djibouti. The Emperor would be left with a truncated Empire composed of Shewa
and Wello, with bits and pieces of the Tigrean and Oromo territories. He would
be firmly placed under an Italian protectorate. The Hoare/Laval plan was
denounced by supporters of the Ethiopian cause in Europe when it was leaked, and
the Ethiopians were generally scandalized. The Emperor had no choice left to him
but to try and fight an enemy that had massive material resources prepared to
defeat him. The great negarit (war drum) of Menelik was beaten at the Palace in
Addis Ababa, and war was formally declared. Thousands of irregulars, mostly
armed with old guns from the last century and swords, spears and sheilds,
marched north to confront the huge Italian force which was equiped with modern
tanks, machine guns, artillery and airplanes armed with bombs and poison gas.
Even the modern regular army created by the Emperor was ill equiped to face this
technological onslaught. The soldiers even marched barefoot. Emperor Haile
Selassie at this point knew that a military solution was futile, but he was
determined to fight on militarily and diplomatically until such time as he hoped
the League acted. Empress mobilized the women of Addis Ababa in making bandages
and provisions for the soldiers. She presided over the Ethiopian Red Cross and
became it's patron. The Emperor established his norther front headquarters at
Dessie, and commanded the troops against the Italians. The Italians in the north
were led by Marshal De Bono, a senior officer of the Royal Italian army with
weak ties to the Fascist hierarchy. His cautious and slow approach to the
invasion of northern Ethiopia was regarded with deep impatience by Mussollini
who believed that De Bono was dragging his feet. In the mean time, Ethiopian
Imperial family was horrified when they learned that the Emperor's son-in-law,
Dejazmatch Haile Selassie Gugsa had crossed over to the Italians. Dejazmatch
Haile Selassie was the husband of the late Princess Zenebework, and the
great-grandson of Emperor Yohannis IV. His action is said to have been caused by
his resentment at not having been made king of Tigrai, or at least Ras. This act
of betrayal caused him to still be remembered in Ethiopia as the ultimate
traitor against his country. The Tigrean locals looted his home in Mekele in
anger. Photograpsh were taken of him sitting at a table looking over maps with
Marshal De Bono and his staff and publicized by the Italians, to show Ethiopian
nobles that they could expect good treatment if they collaborated with the
Fascists. In the meantime, Ethiopian troops were being pounded by tanks, heavy
artillery, airplanes and finally poison gas and liquids. Use of poison gas had
been strictly prohibited by the Geneva conventions, yet the world did nothing to
stop Italy. Special spraying mechanisms were installed on the aircraft so that
poisonous substances could be sprayed directly onto the land, poisoning not just
soldiers, but peasants, cattle, fields and bodies of water. Italy even bombed
Red Cross ambulances and clearly marked treatment camps that were run by the
British and French Red Cross. Rases Imiru, Kassa, Seyum, Getachew and Mulugueta
led armies in the north that fought valiantly, but were beaten back by the slow
advance of De Bono and his well armed troops. Impatient with the slow pace of
the war, Mussollini removed De Bono and replaced him with Marshal Badoglio. As
the Italians battled through Tigrai and northern Beghemider with the forces of
Rases Seyoum, Imiru, and Kassa, the Emperor assembled his forces and prepared to
meet the facist invader at Mai Chew in southern Tigrai. Shortly before the
battle, the Emperor is said to have given a great traditional Giber Feast in a
cave near Mai Chew. Some believe that constant delays in attacking the Italians
cost the Ethiopian side the element of suprise at Mai Chew. Although they fought
valiantly, it was in vain, and the Ethiopian forces were smashed by the Italians
and began to retreat in haste. Taking this opportunity, Raya and Azebo tribesmen
attacked the retreating forces of the Emperor in revenge for a recent raid to
stop them from raiding and rustling cattle, and in anger over the just announced
death of Lij Eyasu who many of them still regarded as their rightful monarch.
Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini
Oddly, while the army retreated in disarray, the Emperor seemed to retreat in
leisure. He did not retreat with the army, but behind it, a dangerous situation
that upset some of his advisors as dangerous opening him up for possible
capture. The monarch had perhaps given up on earthly powers and was turning to
higher authorities. Emperor Haile Selassie paid a secret visit to the churches
at Lalibella to pray, taking the time to visit the distant church of Our Lady at
the summit of Mt. Asheten as well. This trip was a huge detour that extended his
retreat considerably and dangerously. Finally, the Emperor finished his prayers
and then proceeded out of Wello and on to Addis Ababa. Upon his arrival an
emergency meeting of war leaders and nobles was held at the palace to decide
what the next action should be. It was agreed that Addis Ababa would be
impossible to defend, and that in the interests of preserving the Imperial
house, the Empress and the Imperial family should immediately leave for
Djibouti, and board an English ship for Palestine. A debate was held as to what
the Emperor himself and the government should do. Some believed that it would be
best to relocate the government to Gore, in the remote south. The Emperor agreed
with this and ordered that it be done immediately. It was then discussed whether
it would be wise for the Emperor to move with the government to Gore, and fight
on, or leave with his family and present the plea of the Ethiopian people in
person before the League of Nations in Geneva. One of his long time supporters
and fellow modernist, Blatta Takkele angrily stated that an Ethiopian Emperor
had never fled a battle, and that Emperor Haile Selassie should die in the glory
of battle rather than go into exile and beg for the help of European
colonialists. Ironically, it was the chief voice of conservatism, Ras Kassa
Hailu, who just as forcefully argued against this traditionalist position
championed by a modernist. The premier prince of the blood argued that if the
Emperor stayed and was killed or captured, the cause of Ethiopia would be
finished as the forces of opposition to the Italians fragmented. By staying
alive and safe abroad, he could appeal for assistance and return some day to
fight again, keeping hope alive for the risistance. The Empress also pulled the
Emperor asside and stressed her agreement with this position. She added that he
should come with her to Jerusalem and pray for the deliverance of their country
with her. Blatta Takelle is said to have horrified the assembled courtiers by
threatening to draw his gun and saying that he would rather shoot the Emperor
himself rather than have his country abandoned by her king. The Emperor made his
decision. On the morning of May 3rd, 1936,The Emperor with Empress Menen, Crown
Prince Asfaw Wossen with Crown Princess Wollete Israel and Princess Ijigayehu
their daughter; Princess Tenagnework and her children, Princesses Aida, Seble,
Sophia,Hirut,Princes Amha and Iskinder Desta; Princess Tsehai; Prince Makonnen
Duke of Harrar; and Prince Sahle Selassie; along with numerous nobles and
officials boarded the train to Djibouti. Crowds assembled to see them off, and
as the trian pulled out, the crowds began to wail. When news that the Emperor
had fled began to spread, panic began to set in. The government had packed up
and departed hurriedly for Gore. The Emperor had appointed his cousin Ras Imiru
as Prince-Regent and Commander-in-Chief. Ras Desta Damtew, the Emperor's
son-in-law and husband of Princess Tenagnework was to continue in command of the
Imperial forces in the south. The remnants of the northern Armies were directed
to join him or Ras Imiru immediately. Dejazmatch Beyene Merid, husband of the
Emperor's eldest daughter, Princess Romanework (from his first marriage)
remained in command of troops in Bale, under the general command of Ras Desta.
Princess Romanework and her two little sons remained behind with the Dejazmatch
rather than go into exile. The chief of the Addis Ababa police, Balambaras
(later Ras)Abebe Aregai began to organize a guerrilla army, set fire to key
structures that he didn't want the Italians to seize and marched out of the
city. With the departure of the Imperial family, the exit of the government and
of the army, disorder began to take root as the residents realized that the city
was on the verge of falling to the hated Italians. Many began to loot and burn,
and foriegn nationals fled to the safety of the compounds of the various
diplomatic missions.
Vittorio Emannuelle III, King of Italy, Proclaimed "Emperor of Ethiopia"
by Mussolini
On May 5th, 1936, the armies of Facist Italy, led by Marshal Pietro Badoglio
marched into Addis Ababa and occupied the city. Promptly, that very day, Benito
Musollini went out onto the balcony of the Venezia Palace in Rome and declared
that "Ethiopia is Italian" before huge throngs of cheering Romans. The King of
Italy emerged on the balcony as the dictator proclaimed him Vittorio Emannuelle,
King of Italy and Emperor of Ethiopia before the wildly cheering masses. The new
"King-Emperor" of the new "Italian Empire" in gratitude bestowed the title of
"Duke of Addis Ababa" as a hereditary title upon Marshal Badoglio, and Marchese
of Neghelli on Marshal Graziani, the commander of the Ialian troops that seized
Harrar. Mussolini appointed Badoglio as the Vice-Roy (Vice-re) in what would
henceforth be refered to as "Africa Orientale Italiana" or Italian East Africa,
and would combine Ethiopia with the Italian colonies of Somaliland and Eritrea.
The title of Niguse Negest (King of Kings) which had been used by the Emperors
of Ethiopia was forbiden to be used for the King of Italy. His new Imperial
title over Ethiopia would be Keasare Ityopia (Caesar of Ethiopia) in an echo of
Italian pretentions to ancient empire. The Italian flag was raised over the
palace of Menelik, and the Italians began to set up colonial administration as
they continued the military campaign to stamp out the resistance in the south.
The Emperor mans an anti-aircraft gun during the Battle of
Maichew
In the
mean time, Emperor Haile Selassie and his family were entering Djibouti. As the
Emperor had left, he had ordered two pominent prisoners be brought to him and be
put on the train. The Imperial train had stopped at Dire Dawa, where the Emperor
had these prisoners brought before him. They were Ras Hailu Tekle Haimanot, the
disgraced Prince of Gojjam, and Dejazmatch Balcha Saffo, the great general of
Adowa and servant of Menelik who had tried to rebel against the then King
Taffari on behalf of Empress Zewditu and the conservatives. He addressed these
prisoners by telling them that although he recognized that they did not favor
him, he hoped that their love of their country would guide them in their
actions, and he released them. Ras Hailu promptly boarded a train for Addis
Ababa and submitted to the Italian forces. He would serve them loyaly for the
duration of the occupation, and in return he was recognized as the senior
"native noble". Dejazmatch Balcha however was a man of a different caliber.
Although aged and very bitter towards the Emperor (whom he continued to
contemptuously refer to as Taffari), he retained a strong love of his country,
an unshakable loyalty to Emperor Menelik, and a deep hatred of Italy going back
to the Adowa campaign. He and a band of followers became guerrilla fighters who
harrassed and made life difficult for the Italian occupiers for months on end.
Finally, when his troops were almost all dead, and he himself was exhausted and
had little hope of success, Dejazmatch Balcha sent a message to the local
Italian commander near Harrar and announced that he was prepared to surrender to
him and to meet at a specific locale. The officer, accompanied by an appropriate
guard in dress uniform went to recieve the surrender. The found the old Oromo
nobleman, wrapped in a traditional white shawl, sitting under a large tree. As
they approached him, he cried out to "Menelik my master" and pulled out a
machine gun, killing all the senior officers before being gunned down himself.
He is upheld as a great hero of the resistance to this day.
Ras Hailu Tekle Haimanot, Prince of Gojjam
Dejazmatch Balcha Saffo (Abba Nefso)
Film
exists of the arrival of the Imperial family of Ethiopia and their retinue at
Djibouti. They recieved a state welcome by the French Governor of the colony.
The Empress is shown wearning a large hat covered by a heavy veil, but eye
witness accounts state that she wept through the whole proceedings. Two trains
had arrived in Djibouti carrying many people into exile with the family.
Ethiopians resident in the French colony lined the roads in Djibouti to see for
themselves if indeed the Imperial family had gone into exile for the first time
in history. When they saw that it was indeed a somber Haile Selassie, and a
weeping Empress, they too were seen to weep according to the Illustrated Times
of London. An English ship had been directed to pick up the Emperor of Ethiopia
and convey him to Palestine. When the ship arrived, it was determined that not
all of the people that had gone into exile with the Emperor would be allowed to
board the ship for Palestine, and when the Imperial family and a small group of
followers (about half of those who had arrived on the two trians) boarded the
ship and set sail, those anguished people left behind stood on the docks and
wailed and wept as the monarch departed. The Emperor relates in his
autobiography how some Ethiopian men and women resident in Egypt rented a boat
as his ship passed through Port Said, and sailed next to it waving an Ethiopian
flag. When he came out on deck to aknowledge them, he saw them break down and
weep, the incident moved him deeply. The Illustrated Times of London printed
photographs of the Imperial couple arriving at Haifa, the Emperor and Empress
looking dejected. They proceeded to Jerusalem to pray, and to settle in while
the Emperor prepared to present Ethiopia's case to the League of Nations at
Geneva.
Foreground, left to right, Princess Tsehai, Prince Makonnen Duke of
Harrar, His Imperial Majesty the Emperor, Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen, in London
during their exile. Behind the Emperor's left shoulder is Dr. Workineh Eshete
(A.K.A. Charles Martin) Ethiopian Minister to the Court of St. James.
The Emperor and his entourage were determined to make a stand against Italy at
the League of Nations. Although France and the United Kingdom had continued to
press Ethiopia to accept partition, and now that the Italians had marched into
the capital, both these powers were leaning heavily towards recognizing Italian
rule over Ethiopia, the Emperor had a strong case to be heard, and they could do
little to prevent Ethiopia from presenting her case. Many roadblocks were set up
though to make it difficult. The Italians spread rumors that the Imperial family
had fled with tons of gold and silver, that the Emperor had ordered the torching
of Addis Ababa and the butchering of the people. In reality, the Emperor had
left to prevent a bloodbath in the city, and he had left with little money,
although he did take with him his crown and the old war tent of Emperor Menelik
to prevent it from falling into the hands of the facists. The Emperor arrived in
Geneva to address the League of Nations in person. He was the first head of
state to appear before the assembly, and the only one who would ever address it.
The assembly of the League of Nations was being presided over by the Romanian
delegate. The gallaries above the floor of the assembly were packed with
journalists, many of whome were Italians. When "His Majesty the Emperor of
Ethiopia" was anounced, the Italian journalists in the gallary began to whistle,
stomp their feet and jeer loudly. The Emperor quietly walked up to the podium
and stood quietly, a small man in a black cape looking up at the loudly
protesting Italians silently. The angry president of the session, the delegate
from Romania (who was chairing the session) lost his temper and demanded that
the security personelle "Remove the savages!", and the Italians were removed
from the gallaries. The Emperor then began his historic speech. The Emperor,
although fluent in French, spoke in Amharic. He traced the history of the
conflict and the atrocities commited by the Italians. He told of the horrors of
poison gas attacks and the death rained on his people. He appealed to the League
to follow through on it's guarantees of collective security, and the promise
that small and weak countries would not be allowed to be the victims of the
large and strong.
"What answer
shall I take back to my people?" He asked the league. He also said, "It is us
today, it will be you tomorrow." Prophetic words that foreshadowed the coming
horror of the Second World War. He concluded by telling the assembly that "God
and History shall remember your judgement." It was a historic speech that was
applauded around the world. The Emperor of Ethiopia was toasted and hailed
around the world by anti-facists, and Time magazine named him "Man of the Year".
The Emperor addresses the League of Nations, 1936
In spite of his victory in the battle for public opinion, the League of Nations
did little however to help the Emperor, beyond weak symbolic sanctions that had
little effect on Italy. Although the League did recognize the government at
Gore, and did not accept the Italian arguement that the Ethiopian Empire ceased
to exist due to their conquest, Great Britain, France and the United States all
gave recognition to the Italian conquest of Ethiopia by aknowledging King
Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy as Emperor of Ethiopia. The League accepted the
Emperor's arguement that the Ethiopian government continued to exist at Gore,
and permitted the Ethiopian delegation to continue to sit in the League and
represent that government. The Emperor departed for Britain to begin his new
life in exile. He was assisted in his work by Lorenzo Taezaz, and Eritrean born
loyalist who acted as his primary representative to the Leage and a frequent go
between with exiles and resistance fighters. Azaj Workineh Eshete (Dr. Charles
Martin), the Ethiopian minister to Great Britain was also an active participant
in raising funds and publicity for the cause of Ethiopia. Blatangueta Hirui, the
elderly foriegn minister of Ethiopia worked also towards liberation from exile,
until his death in London in 1937.
The Emperor disembarks at Southampton, to begin his English
Exile
Back in
Ethiopia the Italians were settling in. The Italians took posession of the
capital and set about building the foundations for their new administration. The
former colonies of Eritrea and Italian Somaliland were merged with Ethiopia to
form what they called "Africa Orientale Italiana" or "AOI", a single colony
ruled from Addis Ababa by the Vice-Roy as the representative of the
King-Emperor(Kesare) and the Duce Mussollini. As administative units, the Empire
was restructured into new regions that replaced the old Imperial provinces. The
Ogaden was joined to Italian Somaliland and made the new governorate of "Somali"
based in Mogadishu in the east, the southern kingdoms, provinces and
principalities became the governorate of "Galla-Sidamo" and was ruled from
Jimma. In the north, Tigrai and Eritrea were merged into the governorate of
"Eritrea" based in Asmara, Gojjam, Beghemidir and Simien, Wello and parts of
northern Shewa were merged into the governorate of "Amhara" based in Gondar. The
region surrounding Addis Ababa was first named after the capital, but later was
re-named the governortate of "Shewa" and was ruled directly by the Vice-Roy.
Harrar and Dire Dawa, and their environs became the "Harrar governortate". The
Vice-Roy took up residence in the Emperor's Guenete Leul Palace. Addis Ababa was
divided between the "Native" and "Colonial" districts. The city market, once
next to the Cathedral of St. George was moved further out and named "Merkato
Indigino" and is still refered to as "Merkato" today. This was the "native"
district of the city. Italian names were given different parts of the City. The
city center of the time was named Piazza (which it is still refered to as even
today), the Casa Populare and Casa I.C.E.S. are even today refered to as
Populare and Casanchis districts of the capital. The Italians would build new
buildings and roads, further modernizing the city of Addis Ababa, and the
ancient towns of Gondar and Jimma were to be similarly developed by the
Italians. Although the Facists ordered strict racial segregation and
non-fraternization, this policy was not agressively enforced. The Italian
soldiers and officers, and later settlers, formed friendships and romantic
liasons, and had children with Ethiopians, relationships that would survive the
occupation. For this reason, many would remain in Ethiopia after the occupation
was over. However, the Fascist doctrine of conquest was based on an ideology of
revenge for the humiliation of Adowa, and the erasing of Ethiopian national
identity. The Italians looted what they could of Ethiopia's heritage. Several
crowns of previous monarchs were taken to Italy on Mussolini's orders. Badoglio
showed one crown to the English writer Evlyn Waugh (a fascist sympathizer) to
confirm that this was in fact the crown of Emperor Haile Sellassie, whose
coronation Waugh had attended five years earlier. Waugh confirmed that the
silver gilt crown was indeed the crown of Emperor Haile Sellassie, but he was
mistaken. The crown used at the coronation in 1930 was solid gold, not silver
gilt, and had accompanied the Imperial family into exile. The Italians carried
off the taller of the two standing obelisks at Axum, and erected it in Rome in
front of the Ministry of the Colonies (the headquarters for the United Nations
Food and Agricultural Organization today) where it still stands. During the
visit to Addis Ababa by the Minister for the Colonies, Lessona, he ordered
several other monuments removed also. Taken to Rome was the Lion of Judah
monument from in front of the Addis Ababa train station. The lion was re-erected
in Rome next to the Vittorio Emanuelle monument. The Italians also removed the
statue of Emperor Menelik from the square in front of St. George's Cathedral and
also the crown from the top of the dome of the Ba'eta monastery where Menelik II
was buried. These two large monuments of the Ethiopian monarchy were removed in
the dead of night, and taken out of the city and hidden. The next morning,
people came out into the streets of the city and saw the empty pedestal of the
statue of Emperor Menelik, and many are said to have beaten their chests and
wept as if at a traditional Ethiopian funeral. The Italians took a host of
valuable works of art, manuscripts, and the entire Imperial archives and took
them to Italy. After a few months as the Vice-Roy of the "King-Emperor Vittorio
Emanuelle III", Marshal Badoglio, "Duke of Addis Ababa" resigned and returned to
Rome, where he could better bask in the glory of being the conqueror of Italy's
new Empire. More of a monarchist than a staunch fascist, he found himself in
constant battles with the Minister for the Colonies, Lessona, over ideological
and jurisdictional issues. He was replaced as Vice-Roy by Marshal Graziani, a
staunch fascist, and a man with a bloody reputation from his ruthless supression
of rebles in Italian ruled Libya. Although the Italians had proclaimed a new
"Fascist Empire", Ethiopia was hardly conquered and pacified. Wide stretches of
the countryside remained outside Italian control, and would remain so for the
duration of the occupation. Although all the major urban areas were firmly
occupied, rural areas remained restive and alive with anti-Fascist activity. The
armys of Ras Imiru and Ras Desta remained in the south, very actively opposing
the Italians. Guerillas were banding together in the central and northern
highlands as well. In particular, Abebe Arregai in Shewa, Belai Zelleke in
Gojjam, and "Amoraw (The Hawk)" Wubineh in Beghemidir led well organized
guerilla forces that harrassed and bloodied the Italians again and again, making
it impossible for them to ever fully extend Fascist rule.
Remnants of the Imperial army however were determined to oust the Italians from
Addis Ababa. The scattered brigades needed someone to lead them, and coordinate
with the guerillas. Soon, the rumors swept through Addis Ababa, that the
Imperial red umbrella's had been seen in Menz to the north. The House of Solomon
was far from finished. In Menz, the sons of the premier prince of the blood, Ras
Kassa Hailu, were rallying the peasantry to the banner of the dynasty.
Dejazmatch Wondwossen Kassa, Dejazmatch Abera Kassa, and Dejazmatch Asfaw Wossen
Kassa began to gather the remnants of the Imperial forces and many more peasants
urban intelegencia who had fled the occupation of the cities into a new army.
With them was the Bishop of Wello, Abune Petros himself, who rallied the
population and exhorted them to refuse the rule of the enemy. The three royal
Dejazmatches captured the imagination of the Shewan loyalists of the dynasty,
and plans were set up to expell the Italians from Addis Ababa.
TO BE CONTINUED......
