; a new topic for sharing.....................The roll of the aviation during the conquest of Ethiopia.
The air arm was able to carry out its missions of reconnaissance, of scouting, and of photographing. The latter especially permitted the cartographic section installed at Asmara to prepare maps of the varios regions. The aviation was a powerful means of destruction on the battlefield and its action was particularly decisive at the moment when the adversary showed the first signs of weakening and began to retreat. "At that instant, the aviation, launched in mass-reconnaissance squadrons, bombardment squadrons, pursuit squadrons-acting in a powerful defensive spirit, on every occasion transformed into complete routs the retreats which without the air arm would have been able to have been carried out in a normal manner. Such was the case, especially after the battles of Enderta, of Tembien, of Chire, and of Ascianghi."
In these cases the aviation more than fulfilled the mission of cavalry which would not have been able to molest the rear guards and flanks of the
columns of retreat; the aviation practically wiped out the enemy columns."
"Aviation not only contributed to the ground fighting by scouting and bombardment action, it also functioned as a medium of supply. By so doing, it gave the troops an unknown and unexpected freedom and speed of movement by freeing them from the difficulties of supply over difficult communications sown with ambushes. Supply by air enabled large units to live, march, maneuver, fight, resist in unexplored zones. For everything ruggedness of terrain, climate, absence of all vegetation and water-conspired to prevent or at least to render extremely difficult the movements of modern armies.
"Without aviation, the march of the III Corps from Antalo to Tembien by the shell of Gaela -that of the IV Corps across the desert region of Adi-Abo - could not even have been contemplated. In both cases and likewise during the march of the Starace columns on Gondar, Ruggero on Sardo, and the advance of the large motorized column on Addis-Ababa, the air force functioned on various occasions like a real supply train."
Time after time entire squadrons dropped tons of food, water and munitions to the troops. When the materiel was such that it could stand the shock of being dropped to the ground it was merely put in a sack filled with straw or hay, or simply thrown overboard.
"For more delicate provisions the parachute was employed. As for water, it was put in large cylinders holding 100 and 200 liters, having springs to reduce the shock. A trap was opened under the fuselage and the cargo dropped slowly by parachute. In Dankalie, live kids, and even sheep, were transported and dropped in this way through the air for the subsistence of detachments crossing the desert country. This was the first instance of transporting live animals for the supply of units on the march. Considering the tropical temperature of the region, no butchered meat would have remained fresh. In short, during the Ethiopian campaign, aviation succeeded in supplying thousands of men with water, with tinned meat and vegetables, with sacks of flour, biscuits, sugar, fruit, tobacco, cigarettes. It replenished the munitions of units which during the course of combat began to run short; it transported for foot troops, various items of equipment-canteens, shoes, tents, shirts, socks-and dumped alongside motorized columns, tires and even automobile parts. It performed the service of quartermaster; it distributed the mail; it became a flying bank -carrying to various army corps bags of money or bank bills for the purchase of food and the pay of the troops. In the single sector of Eritrea, from 4 to 22 April, the air service supplied the troops by dropping 400,000 kilograms of food stuffs and materiel. It also transported headquarters staffs and even, at the finale, transported from Makalle to Dessye, the high command of East Africa with all its services, its personnel, its records, its installations, its radio stations, its telephone and telegraph centers.
"For the first time in history, the headquarters of an army of 300,000 men was transferred from the rear to the front over a distance of more than 180 miles in one hour and a half."
Source: LA CONQUETE DE L'ETHIOPIE. Gentizón. Review of Military Literature. Sep 1937.
Cheers. Raúl M
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. Cheers. Raúl M 