Somaliland Camel Corps - Somaliland Campaign

Somaliland Campaign

On 9 August 1913, the "Somaliland Camel Constabulary" suffered a serious defeat at the Battle of Dul Madoba at the hands of the "Mad Mullah." Hassan roamed British Somaliland and had already evaded several attempts to capture him. At Dul Madoba, 57 members of the 110-man unit were killed or wounded. The dead included the British commander, Colonel Richard Corfield.

On 12 March 1914, the British set out to create what was to become the "Somaliland Camel Corps" the better to maintain order in the protectorate, much of which was coextensive with the Warsangali Sultanate's and Dervish State's respective domains. The corps served against the "Mad Mullah", but after a total of four major expeditions to capture him, Hassan remained on the loose. During the same period, the corps set an impressive standard by covering one-hundred-and-fifty miles in seventy-two hours. The camel corps grew to include some 700 mounted riders.

In November 1919, the British launched the fifth and final expedition. In 1920, a combined land and air offensive — which included the Somaliland Camel Corps, the 12 aircraft of the Royal Air Force's Z Force, Somaliland Police, elements from the 2nd (Nyasaland) Battalion and 6th (British Somaliland) Battalion of the King's African Rifles (KAR), and an Indian battalion — defeated Hassan's Dervish army and occupied the capital.

During the period between World War I and World War II, the Somaliland Camel Corps was re-configured to better to defend the protectorate in the event of a future war. In 1930, Colonel Arthur Reginald Chater of the Royal Marines was placed in command of a slightly smaller corps of five-hundred troopers. Like many other colonial units the Somaliland Camel Corps had British officers. In the late 1930s, the corps was given 900 British pounds to build pillboxes and reserve water tanks. After the financial crisis of 1931, the Somaliland Camel Corps numbered 14 British officers, 400 African Askaris, and 150 African Reservists.