Role in The Ethiopian Revolt of WWII
Prior to World War II, Sandford had been in Ethiopia until early 1936, but then eventually had to flee to England once it became clear that the 1935-36 Italian invasion of Ethiopia would succeed. Once in England, Sandford maintained contact with the exiled Selassie, who was based in Bath.
In August 1939, the head of the Middle East Command in Cairo, General Sir Archibald Wavell, summoned Sandford for duty. Wavell made Sandford a colonel and put him in charge of the Ethiopian Section in Middle East intelligence. Sandford immediately began liaising with resistance groups in Ethiopia, and in January 1940 toured the French- and British-held territories bordering Ethiopia to solicit support for a planned Allied-backed Ethiopian revolt against the Italians. The British plan to foster and assist the Ethiopian revolt was called Mission 101.
Overall, Sandford's tour was relatively successful, and so upon his return to Cairo Sandford selected the team he would use to implement Mission 101 and drew up two plans of action: Scheme A, which dealt with military preparations and the British role, and Scheme B, which focused on the propaganda methods to be used. As soon as Italy declared war on 10 June, Sandford and his team swung into action implementing his plan. Sandford oversaw Mission 101 until the arrival of Orde Wingate.
Later in war and in immediate post-war years, Sandford served again as advisor to Emperor Selassie, both in military and political roles.
Read more about this topic: Daniel Sandford (British Army Officer)
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