Sid Guttridge
New Member
Were all the Italian colonial units used in defending Eritrea in 1940/41 raised in Eritrea? Were any Ethiopian-raised units used in Eritrea?
I have an unsourced note that says in 1935 60,200 Eritrean men, (40.3% of all adult males) were in the army. Do we have any figures for 1940/41, when presumably even more were raised? 40.3% is an extraordinarily high figure comparable only to Axis countries in extremis in 1944-45. And unlike them, almost all Eritrean troops were in the infantry and most likely to sustain casualties.
Is there a list of all the Italian Colonial Brigades and Battalions with their origins - Eritrean, Somali or Ethiopian?
Were Eritrean and Ethiopian battalions ever combined in the same Colonial Brigades?
When the Italians surrendered at Amba Alagi in Ethiopia in May 1940, there were several thousand colonial troops present. Were they Eritrean or Ethiopian?
How far did the Italians get in raising regular colonial brigades and battalions in Ethiopia? Were they numbered in the same sequence as the Eritrean colonial units?
Many thanks to anyone who can answer some, any or all these questions.
Sid
I have an unsourced note that says in 1935 60,200 Eritrean men, (40.3% of all adult males) were in the army. Do we have any figures for 1940/41, when presumably even more were raised? 40.3% is an extraordinarily high figure comparable only to Axis countries in extremis in 1944-45. And unlike them, almost all Eritrean troops were in the infantry and most likely to sustain casualties.
Is there a list of all the Italian Colonial Brigades and Battalions with their origins - Eritrean, Somali or Ethiopian?
Were Eritrean and Ethiopian battalions ever combined in the same Colonial Brigades?
When the Italians surrendered at Amba Alagi in Ethiopia in May 1940, there were several thousand colonial troops present. Were they Eritrean or Ethiopian?
How far did the Italians get in raising regular colonial brigades and battalions in Ethiopia? Were they numbered in the same sequence as the Eritrean colonial units?
Many thanks to anyone who can answer some, any or all these questions.
Sid
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