Campaign in East Africa June 1940–November 1941

The East Africa Campaign was a series of battles in the Horn of Africa between Allied forces (mainly units from Commonwealth states) and Axis forces (predominantly Italian units). The Italian forces were weak and their only notable successes were the capture of Kassala in Sudan in July 1940, and the invasion of British Somaliland in August 1940 (recaptured by an amphibious attack from Aden in March 1941). In January 1941, the Allied northern offensive advanced into Eritrea from Sudan, taking Agordat, Keren and Massawa, forcing Italian surrender. The southern front moved north from Kenya, into Italian Somaliland taking Mogadishu, and up into Abyssinia. Italian forces in the Ethiopian highlands were isolated, and the Allied forces merged to liberate Addis Ababa on 6 April. Emperor Haile Selassie formally returned a month later. The last Italian strongholds at Jimma and Gondar and Amba Alagi fell over the following months.