Italian Conquest of British Somaliland - Observations

Observations

The conquest of the British Somaliland was the only campaign victory Italy achieved — without the support of German troops — during World War II against the Allies.

The campaign in Somaliland was like all the others of the Axis: it initially started with a victory, then after a period of time (like the campaigns in the Balkans, in the Philippines or in Russia), finished with a complete defeat. But in the specific case of the Italian conquest of British Somaliland, the defeat (that happened in spring 1941) was followed by nearly two years of Italian guerrilla warfare.

Other observations are:

• The invasion of British Somaliland showed that Italian forces could co-ordinate columns separated by many miles of desert.
• British forces showed good discipline in the retreat and were able to salvage most of their forces.
• The invasion of British Somaliland was the first campaign the Italians won in World War II.
• British Somaliland was the first British colony to fall to enemy forces in World War II.
• After the first months of the war were over, Mussolini boasted that Italy had conquered a territory (made of British Somaliland, the Sudan area around the border outposts of Karora, Gallabat, Kurmak and Kassala, and the area in Kenya around Moyale and Buna) the size of England in the Horn of Africa.
• The campaign of British Somaliland in August 1940 was the only one in which the British army could not get strong support from the Royal Air Force, showing the importance of the air forces in the Allies' victories.