Ethiopian Revolution: War in the Horn of Africa

458 Pages·2009·3.04 MB·English

by  Gebru Tareke

The Yale Library of Military History
Donald Kagan and Frederick Kagan, Series Editors
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The Ethiopian
Revolution
War in the Horn of Africa
Gebru Tareke
Foreword by Donald Kagan
and Frederick Kagan
Yale University Press
New Haven & London
Copyright © 2009 by Yale University. All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including
illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by
Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by
reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers.
Designed by Nancy Ovedovitz.
Set in Electra and Trajan types by Tseng Information Systems, Inc..
Printed in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gebru Tareke, 1940–
The Ethiopian revolution : war in the Horn of Africa / Gebru Tareke ;
foreword by Donald Kagan and Frederick Kagan.
p. cm. — (Yale library of military history)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-300-14163-4 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Ethiopia—History—1974–
2. Eritrea—History—Revolution, 1962–1993. 3. Eritrean-Ethiopian War, 1998–
4. Somali-Ethiopian Conflict, 1977–1979. 5. Somali-Ethiopian Conflict, 1979– I. Title.
DT387.95.G43 2009
963.07—dc22
2008044346
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).
It contains 30 percent postconsumer waste (PCW) and is certified
by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In memory of my parents
Widisti Menkir
Tareke Mengesha
And
All those who died for a free, democratic, and secular Ethiopia
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Contents
Foreword by Donald Kagan
& Frederick Kagan ix
Preface xiii
List of Abbreviations xix
Part One THE SPECTER OF REVOLUTION AND WAR / 1
1 Roots and Outcomes of Revolution: A Review / 11
Part Two COMRADES AGAINST COMRADES / 45
2 The Victorious Nationalists: Insurgent Eritrea / 55
3 The Victorious Ethnonationalists: Insurgent Tigray / 76
4 The Vanquished Revolutionary Army: Birth and Evolution / 111
5 The Vanquished Revolutionary Army: Defeat and Demise / 138
Part Three BATTLEFIELD ETHIOPIA / 177
6 Ogaden: “Socialist” Neighbors at War / 182
7 Nakfa: “Even the Mountains Fought” / 218
viii Contents
8 Af Abet: Ethiopia’s Dienbienphu? / 247
9 Shire: “Unexpected Grand Failure” / 262
10 Massawa: The Denouement / 291
11 Conclusions / 311
1998: Postscript 343
Appendixes 351
Notes 355
Bibliography 413
Index 425
Foreword
War has been a subject of intense interest from the beginning of literature
around the world. Whether it be in the earliest literary work in the Western tradi-
tion, Homer’s Iliad, or the Rigvedic hymns of ancient India, people have always
been fascinated by this dangerous and challenging phenomenon. Few can fail
to be stirred by such questions as: How and why do wars come about? How and
why do they end? Why did the winners win and the losers lose? How do leaders
make life-and-death decisions? Why do combatants follow orders that put their
lives at risk? How do individuals and societies behave in war, and how are they
affected by it? Recent events have raised the study of war from one of intellec-
tual interest to a matter of vital importance to America and the world. Ordinary
citizens must understand war in order to choose their leaders wisely, and leaders
must understand it if they are to prevent wars where possible and win them when
necessary.
This series, therefore, seeks to present the keenest analyses of war in its differ-
ent aspects, the sharpest evaluations of political and military decision-making,
and descriptive accounts of military activity that illuminate its human elements.
It will do so drawing on the full range of military history from ancient times to
the present and in every part of the globe in order to make available to the gen-
eral public readable and accurate scholarly accounts of this most fascinating and
dangerous of human activities.
Gebru Tareke’s The Ethiopian Revolution is a remarkable work that tells the
story of an obscure corner of the world unknown to most Americans, but that is
nevertheless bound up in America’s most serious preoccupations. Although the
Horn of Africa seems to most a remote and impoverished area notable chiefly
ix