Battle of Kassala (1940)

Battle of Kassala
Part of Northern front, East Africa, 1940

Italian artillery firings during the Battle of Kassala
Date4 July 1940
Location
Kassala, Italian East Africa
15°27′N 36°24′E / 15.450°N 36.400°E / 15.450; 36.400
Result Italian victory[1]
Territorial
changes		 Annexation into Italian East Africa
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
Units involved
Strength
Two colonial infantry brigades, four squadrons of cavalry, plus air, artillery and armoured support[2] 500[3]
Casualties and losses
117 casualties[4] 10 casualties[4]

The Battle of Kassala (20 km (12 mi) from the border with Eritrea) was fought in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan near Kassala, in the World War II, on 4 July 1940, between the Italian military and British/Sudanese forces. The battle was early in the East African campaign. The Anglo-Sudanese force garrisoning Kassala was greatly outnumbered and had no heavy weapons, but nevertheless put up a spirited defence before retiring. Kassala was then occupied by the Italians for six months.

Background

Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940. Its territories in East Africa were then immediately cut off from Italy and the Italian colony in Libya, making supply and reinforcement impossible. Mussolini had intended a defensive strategy in Italian East Africa with tactical offensives to protect Eritrea by attacking French Somaliland (now Djibouti) and conducting limited attacks on Sudan.[5] The Italian army in East Africa had one metropolitan division, the equivalent of two more European divisions, was short of heavy weapons and transport and had seven understrength colonial divisions.[6]

Despite the defensive strategy, the Italians were interested in acquiring Kassala, which had a railway link to Port Sudan in order to strengthen their frontier defences and as a starting point for future offensive operations against the British forces in Sudan.[4]

Inspection of a Sudan Defence Force honour guard (undated photo)

An Italian force was concentrated near the Sudan border for an attack on Kassala, comprising two colonial brigades, four squadrons of cavalry, approximately 24 armoured vehicles (a mix of light tanks, medium tanks and armoured cars) and ten batteries of artillery. Italian troops limited themselves to maintaining a defensive position, bar a few attacks across the border and some raids. Some of these operations led to the occupation of Moyale and the Mandera salient in Kenya. In Sudan, the British held the bulk of their regular troops far away from the border with Italian East Africa, in the major cities of Atbara, Khartoum and Port Sudan. The frontier was manned by the Sudan Defence Force (SDF), a uniformed colonial force recruited from the Sudanese, led by British and Sudanese officers, plus local police and irregular scouts. Since the outbreak of war, the SDF had patrolled and raided the Italians. At the time of the Battle of Kassala, the SDF had no artillery. Some companies had light machine guns mounted on lorries, and the force had some armoured cars.[7][2]

The Battle

The Province of Kassala in 1940

The shadow of Francesco Carchidio Malavolti awaits you in Cassala!

— Benito Mussolini in a radio exhortation

The attack, planned and led by the governor of Eritrea and Amhara, General Luigi Frusci, assisted by General Vincenzo Tessitori (who also led one of the columns), was carried out by a significant force of Askari in Italian service. It was divided into three columns, called Gulsa East, Gulsa West and Central, and had air support. The Gulsa West column moved in lorries. To these were added some cavalry squadrons which constituted the vanguard. At 3:00 a.m. on 4 July 1940, the columns advanced towards Kassala from three directions, with starting points 31 to 36 km (19 to 22 mi) apart. The first attack bypassed the Casala and Mocram mountains, was by the cavalry led by Lieutenant Francesco Santasilia of Torpino who was killed.[8][9]

Kassala had a garrison of around 500 men of the SDF and the local police, with no artillery support or armoured vehicles. The defenders remained under cover during a twelve-hour bombardment by the Regia Aeronautica, then emerged to engage the Italians. Despite being outnumbered and having no heavy weapons, the SDF and police put up a spirited defence that inflicted significantly more casualties on the attackers than they suffered themselves.[10] At 1:00 p.m., the Italian cavalry entered Kassala and the Anglo-Sudanese units withdrew.[11][12]

The Italians then set to work preparing Kassala for defence against future attack, with the 12th Colonial Brigade constructing fortifications. The Italians had hoped to find anti-British feeling amongst the local Sudanese population, but during the six month occupation Kassala residents passed intelligence to the British.[10]

An Italian map captured on 25 July showed around 20,000 British and Sudanese troops in Kassala province, which was wildly incorrect and showed British deception operations to exaggerate their true strength had succeeded.[10]

The battle coincided with the Italian occupation of the lightly defended settlements of Gallabat and Karora on the Sudan / Ethiopia border. On 7 July, the Italians took another border town, Kurmuk, which was defended by 60 Sudanese policemen.[2]

Aftermath

The offensive did not continue into the hinterland, in part due to the arrival of the rainy season in late July, allowing the British to reorganise.[4] A special motorised unit called Gazelle Force was created to counter the Italians, under the command of Colonel Frank Messervy. A British attempt to recover Gallabat in November 1940 was defeated.[13]

On 18 January 1941, Platt occupied Gallabat and on 21 January 1941, the Italian command, under British pressure, decided to evacuate Kassala and other vulnerable positions to shorten the front, a manoeuvre carried out as communicated by bulletin no. 228 of the Italian Supreme Command of 22 January 1941.[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Denison 2007, p. 193.
  2. 1 2 3 Playfair et al. 1957, p. 170.
  3. ↑ Maioli & Baudin 1974, p. 143.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Battistelli 2024, p. 33.
  5. ↑ Butler 1971, p. 298.
  6. ↑ Butler 1971, p. 297.
  7. ↑ Polo 1988, p. 111.
  8. ↑ Petacco 2003, p. 356.
  9. ↑ Del Boca 1986, p. 356.
  10. 1 2 3 Playfair et al. 1957, pp. 170–171.
  11. ↑ Schreiber, Stegemann & Vogel 1995, p. 295.
  12. ↑ Frescaroli 1975, p. 134.
  13. ↑ Petacco 2003, p. 209.
  14. ↑ Frescaroli 1975, p. 143.

Bibliography

  • Battistelli, Pier Paolo (2024). East Africa Campaign 1940−41: The Battle for the Horn of Africa. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-47-286071-2.
  • Butler, J. R. M. (1971) [1957]. Grand Strategy: September 1939 – June 1941. History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. Vol. II (2nd revised ed.). London: HMSO. ISBN 0-11630-095-7.
  • Del Boca, Angelo (1986). Italiani in Africa Orientale: La caduta dell'Impero [Italians in East Africa: The Fall of the Empire] (in Italian). Vol. III. Roma-Bari: Laterza. ISBN 978-88-420-2810-9.
  • Denison, Edward (2007). Bradt Travel Guides: Eritrea. Bradt travel guide. Chalfont St Peter: Globe Pequot Press. ISBN 978-1-84-162171-5 – via Google Books.
  • Frescaroli, Antonio (1975). Vita e morte del soldato italiano nella guerra senza fortuna [Life and Death of the Italian Soldier in the Unlucky War]. Vol. I. Geneva: Ed. Ferni. OCLC 848895647.
  • Maioli, G.; Baudin, J. (1974). Vita e morte del soldato italiano nella guerra senza fortuna: La strana guerra dei quindici giorni [Life and Death of Italian Soldiers in the War with no Luck: The Strange War of Fifteen Days]. Amici della storia (in Italian). Vol. I. Ginevra: Ed. Ferni. OCLC 716194871.
  • Petacco, Arrigo (2003). Black Face (in Italian). Mondadori (Le Scie).
  • Playfair, I. S. O.; et al. (1957) [1954]. Butler, J. R. M. (ed.). The Mediterranean and Middle East: The Early Successes Against Italy (to May 1941). History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. Vol. I (4th ed.). London: HMSO. OCLC 494123451. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  • Polo, Max (1988). Imperio Addio! [Empire Farewell]. Italiani nella II guerra mondiale. La Spezia: Fratelli Melita Editori. ISBN 978-8-84-036026-3.
  • Raugh, H. E. (1993). Wavell in the Middle East, 1939–1941: A Study in Generalship (1st ed.). London: Brassey's UK. ISBN 978-0-08-040983-2.
  • Schreiber, G.; Stegemann, B.; Vogel, D. (1995). Falla, P. S. (ed.). The Mediterranean, South-East Europe and North Africa, 1939–1941: From Italy's Declaration of Non-Belligerence to the Entry of the United States into the War. Germany and the Second World War. Vol. III. Translated by McMurry, D. S.; Osers, E.; Willmot, L. Freiburg im Breisgau: Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt. ISBN 978-0-19-822884-4.
  • Stewart, A. (2016). The First Victory: The Second World War and the East Africa Campaign (1st ed.). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-20855-9.
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