New Perspectives on the East Africa Campaign of the Second World War

Abstract

The East Africa campaign of the Second World War – although the first Allied victory of this conflict – has been largely forgotten by scholars and popular historians. The causes are multi-factored and due mainly, perhaps, to the concurrent and interrelated military operations that occurred in North Africa, the Soviet Union, Greece, and Crete between 1940 and 1941 – operations that had first call on Allied resources, and drew popular attention then as they continue to do now. The East African campaign is as a result one of the war’s forgotten campaigns, despite significant military engagements, the unique military operating environment, the allure of iconic personalities, and the rich human stories associated with it. The historiography remains fragmented with a focus on individual, national histories of the contributions made by the British, Italian, Indian and South African forces, for instance. This special issue, as a counterpoint, brings together a variety of articles covering a range of heretofore neglected topics. Most of the participants in the campaign are addressed in one form or another and in ways that address historical lacunae and complement this literature.