Losing an Empire: Fascist Italy’s Defeat in the Horn of Africa 1940–1941 and its Memory

Abstract

This article analyses the campaign in Italian East Africa from an Italian point of view. It starts by setting out the grim strategic situation the commander in chief, the Duke of Aosta, was facing at the outbreak of hostilities. It then proceeds to cover the three phases of the campaign: the period from June 1940 until the end of the year, the second phase between January and May 1941, including the fall of Keren and Addis Ababa, and the third and final period until November 1941. This contribution will highlight the problems the Italian military struggled with, its shortcomings, but also its dogged defence, e.g. at the battle of Keren. The second part of this article looks at how the memory of the campaign was formed after the Second World War and how it related to more general aspects of Italian colonial history.