Battle of Anchem - Battle - Psychological Warfare

Psychological Warfare

On 28 March 1930, when Gugsa Welle's army crossed the border of Begemder Province moving towards Shewa Province, it was met with an unusual sight. Three Ethiopian government biplanes flew overhead. In 1922, Ras Tafari Makonnen had first shown interest in military aircraft and, by 1929, a small Ethiopian air arm was under development and was now used for the first time.

The biplanes dropped numerous copies of two specially created leaflets onto the advancing army. One leaflet bore a message from the newly arrived Abuna Kyrilos. The message from Kyrilos was that anyone who fought against the government forces would be excomunicated. A second leaflet was from King Tafari and Empress Zewditu and it declared Gugsa Welle to be a rebel. In an example of "psychological warfare", the leaflets appealed to the known conservative and religious sympathies of the forces fighting for Gugsa Welle. Some of his army started to desert him.