Ogaden War 1613922 225575828 2008-07-14T11:30:15Z Gyrofrog 52387 Revert to revision 224026696 dated 2008-07-07 00:04:12 by Lightbot using [[:en:Wikipedia:Tools/Navigation_popups|popups]] {{confuse|Insurgency in Ogaden}} {{Infobox Military Conflict |conflict=Ogaden War |partof=[[Cold War]] |image= |caption=Somali [[tanks]] and [[Infantry]] crossing the [[Ogaden]]. |date=1977-1978 |place=[[Ogaden]], [[Ethiopia]] |result=Ethiopian victory |combatant2={{flagicon|Somalia}} [[Somalia]]<br>[[Image:Flag of Ogaden.svg|22px|border]] [[Western Somali Liberation Front|WSLF]]<hr> {{PRC}} |combatant1={{flagicon|Ethiopia|1975}} [[Derg|Socialist Ethiopia]]<br>{{flagicon|Cuba}} [[Cuba]]<br>{{flagicon|South Yemen}} [[People's Democratic Republic of Yemen|South Yemen]]<br>{{flagicon|USSR|1955}} [[Soviet Union]] |commander1={{flagicon|Ethiopia|1975}} [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]]<ref>Gebru Tareke, "Ethiopia-Somalia War," p. 648.</ref><br>{{flagicon|Ethiopia|1975}} [[Aberra Haile Mariam]]<ref>Gebru Tareke, "Ethiopia-Somalia War," p. 645.</ref><br>{{flagicon|USSR|1955}} [[Vasily Ivanovich Petrov|Vasily Petrov]]<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1979/nov-dec/payton.html |title=The Soviet-Ethiopian Liaison: airlift and beyond |accessdate=2008-02-10 |last=Payton |first=Gary D. |date=November-December 1979 |publisher=Air University Review}}</ref><br>{{flagicon|Cuba}} [[Arnaldo Ochoa]]<ref name="EthSom656">Gebru Tareke, "Ethiopia-Somalia War," p. 656.</ref> |commander2={{flagicon|Somalia}} [[Siad Barre]] |strength1=''Beginning of war'':<br>47,000 soldiers in total<br>''On Somali front'':<br>4 infantry brigades (1 mechanized)<br>2 tank battalions<br>2 artillery battalions<br>3 airborne battalions<ref name="EthSom638">Gebru Tareke, "The Ethiopia-Somalia War of 1977 Revisited," in Board of Trustees, Boston University, ''The International Journal of African Historical Studies''. Boston University African Studies Center, 2000, p. 638.</ref><br>''Later'':<br>75,000 fulltime soldiers in 1980<ref>Fred Halliday, Maxine Molyneux, "Ethiopia's Revolution from Above" in ''MERIP Reports'', No. 106, Horn of Africa: The Coming Storm. (Jun., 1982), p. 14.</ref><br>1,500 Soviet advisors<br>18,000 Cubans<ref name="EthSom656" /><br> 2,000 South Yemenis |strength2=''Beginning of war'':<br>35,000 soldiers<br>23 motorized and mechanized battalions<br>9 tank battalions<br>9 artillery battalions<br>4 airborne battalions<ref name="EthSom638" /><br>''End of war'':<br>SNA 63,200<ref>Gebru Tareke, "Ethiopia-Somalia War," p. 640.</ref><br>WSLF 15,000<br> |casualties1='''Ethiopia''':<br>6,133 killed<ref name="EthSomCas">Gebru Tareke, "Ethiopia-Somalia War," p. 665.</ref><br>10,563 wounded<ref name="EthSomCas" /><br>3,867 captured or missing (including 1,362 deserters)<ref name="EthSomCas" /><ref name="EthSom664">Gebru Tareke, "Ethiopia-Somalia War," p. 664.</ref><br>'''Cuba''':<br>400 killed<ref name="EthSom664" /><br>'''South Yemen''':<br>100 killed<ref name="EthSom664" /><br>'''USSR''': 33 killed<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.soldat.ru/doc/casualties/book/chapter6.html#6_8 |title=Russia and the USSR in the wars of the 20th century, statistical study of armed forces' losses '''(in Russian)''' |accessdate=2008-02-01 |last=Krivosheev |first=G.F. |date=2001 |publisher=Soldat.ru}}</ref><br>''Equipment losses'':<br>23 Aircraft<ref name="EthSomCas" /><br>139 tanks<ref name="EthSomCas" /><br>108 APCs<ref name="EthSomCas" /><br>1399 vehicles<ref name="EthSomCas" /> |casualties2=6,453 killed<ref name="EthSomCas" /><br>2,409 wounded<ref name="EthSomCas" /><br>275 captured or missing<ref name="EthSomCas" /><br>''Equipment losses'':<br>28 Aircraft<ref name="EthSomCas" /> (1/2 of Air force)<br>72 tanks<ref name="EthSomCas" /><br>30 APCs<ref name="EthSomCas" /><br>90 vehicles<ref name="EthSomCas" />|}}{{Campaignbox Horn of Africa}} The '''Ogaden War''' was a conventional conflict between [[Somalia]] and [[Ethiopia]] in 1977 and 1978 over the [[Ogaden]] region of Ethiopia. Fighting erupted as Somalia sought to exploit a temporary shift in the regional balance of power in their favour to occupy the Ogaden region, claimed to be part of [[Greater Somalia]]. In a notable illustration of the nature of [[Cold War]] alliances, the [[Soviet Union]] switched from supplying aid to Somalia to supporting Ethiopia, which had previously been backed by the [[United States]], prompting the U.S. to start supporting Somalia. The war ended when Somali forces retreated back across the border and a truce was declared. == Origins of the war == While the cause of the conflict was the desire of the Somali government of [[Siad Barre]] to incorporate the Somali-inhabited Ogaden region of Ethiopia into a [[Greater Somalia]], it is unlikely Barre would have ordered the invasion if circumstances had not turned in his favor. Ethiopia had historically dominated the region. By the beginning of the war, the [[Somali National Army]] (SNA) was only 35,000-men strong<ref name="EthSom638" /> and was vastly outnumbered by the Ethiopian forces. However, throughout the 1970s, Somalia was the recipient of large amounts of Soviet military aid. The SNA had three times the tank force of Ethiopia, as well as a larger air force. The SNA's huge army was a prized and most special landmark of Somalia. In the beginning Somali forces had made significant advances, fighting uphill, and despite being a fraction of the size of the Ethiopian army, were victorious and raised the Somali flag in the Captial, Jijiga. Then massive Cuban and Russian forces sided with Ethiopia and with their military might routed the Somali forces. In addition to previous Russian fund and arms support to Somalia, Egypt send millions of dollars in arms to Somalia, established military training and sent experts to Somalia due to Egypt's longstanding policy of securing the Nile River flow by destabilizing Ethiopia. According to Dr. Daniel K of [[Henderson State University]], ''"Egypt has a long established involvement in the affairs of Somalia... Egypt's policy was designed to prevent the use of the waters of the Blue Nile, Cairo's intervention on the side of Somalia and to subsidize Somalia's attempts to annex a good portion of eastern Ethiopia, which Somalia claims, was certainly not inconsistent with such a policy objective. Thus, in the series of armed conflicts, which raged between Ethiopia and Somalia in 1960, 1964, and 1977–1979, Egypt was involved in support of Somalia."'' Even as Somalia gained military strength, Ethiopia grew weaker. In September 1974, Emperor [[Haile Selassie]] had been overthrown by the [[Derg]] (the military council), marking a period of turmoil. The Derg quickly fell into internal conflict to determine who would have primacy. Meanwhile, various anti-Derg as well as separatist movements began throughout the country. The regional balance of power now favored Somalia. One of the separatist groups seeking to take advantage of the chaos was the pro-Somalia [[Western Somali Liberation Front]] (WSLF) operating in the Somali-inhabited Ogaden area, which by late 1975 had struck numerous government outposts. From 1976 to 1977, Somalia supplied arms and other aid to the WSLF. A sign that order had been restored among the Derg was the announcement of [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]] as head of state on [[11 February]], [[1977]]. However, the country remained in chaos as the military attempted to suppress its civilian opponents. Despite the violence, the Soviet Union, which had been closely observing developments, came to believe that Ethiopia was developing into a genuine [[Marxist-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]] state and that it was in Soviet interests to aid the new regime. They thus secretly approached Mengistu with offers of aid that he accepted. Ethiopia closed the U.S. military mission and the communications center in April 1977. In June 1977, Mengistu accused Somalia of infiltrating SNA soldiers into the Somali area to fight alongside the WSLF. Despite considerable evidence to the contrary, Barre insisted that no such thing was occurring, but that SNA "volunteers" were being allowed to help the WSLF. == Course of the war == Somalia decided to make a decisive move and invaded the Ogaden at 0300 [[13 July]] [[1977]] ([[Ethiopian calendar|5 Hamle, 1969]]), according to Ethiopian documents (some other sources state [[23 July]]).<ref name="EthSom644">Gebru Tareke, "Ethiopia-Somalia War," p. 644</ref> According to Ethiopian sources, they numbered 70,000 troops, 40 fighter planes, 250 tanks, 350 [[Armoured personnel carrier|APC]]s, and 600 artillery, which would have meant practically the whole Somalian Army.<ref name="EthSom644" /> By the end of the month 60% of the Ogaden had been taken by the SNA-WSLF force, including [[Gode]], on the [[Shabelle River]]. The attacking forces did suffer some early setbacks; Ethiopian defenders at [[Dire Dawa]] and [[Jijiga]] inflicted heavy casualties on assaulting forces. The [[Ethiopian Air Force]] (EAF) also began to establish [[air superiority]] using its [[Northrop F-5]]s, despite being initially outnumbered by Somali [[MiG-21]]s. The USSR, finding itself supplying both sides of a war, attempted to mediate a ceasefire. When their efforts failed, the Soviets abandoned Somalia. All aid to Siad Barre's regime was halted, while arms shipments to Ethiopia were increased. Soviet military aid, only second in magnitude to the October 1973 gigantic resupplying of Syrian forces during the [[Yom Kippur war]], plus Soviet advisors flooded into the country along with around 15,000 [[Cuba]]n combat troops. Other Communist countries offered assistance: the [[People's Democratic Republic of Yemen]] offered military assistance and [[North Korea]] helped train a "People's Militia"; [[East Germany]] likewise offered training, engineering and support troops<ref name=East-Germany-Ethiopia>{{cite web |title=Ethiopia: East Germany |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+et0179) |date=[[2005-11-08]] |accessdate=2007-02-24 |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] }}</ref>. As the scale of Communist assistance became clear in November 1977, Somalia broke diplomatic relations with the U.S.S.R. and expelled all Soviet citizens from the country. Not all communist states sided with Ethiopia. Due to the [[Sino-Soviet split|Sino-Soviet rivalry]], [[People's Republic of China|China]] supported Somalia diplomatically as well as with token military aid. [[Romania]] under [[Nicolae Ceauşescu]] had a habit of breaking with Soviet policies and maintained good diplomatic relations with Siad Barre. The greatest single victory of the SNA-WSLF was a second assault on Jijiga in mid-September, in which the demoralized Ethiopian troops withdrew from the town. The local defenders were no match for the assaulting Somalis and the Ethiopian military was forced to withdraw past the strategic strongpoint of the [[Marda Pass]], halfway between Jijiga and [[Harar]]. By September Ethiopia was forced to admit that it controlled only about 10% of the Ogaden and that the Ethiopian defenders had been pushed back into the non-Somali areas of [[Harerge]], [[Bale province (Ethiopia)|Bale]], and [[Sidamo Province|Sidamo]]. However, the Somalis were unable to press their advantage because of the high level of attrition among its tank battalions, constant Ethiopian air attacks on their supply lines, and the onset of the rainy season, which made the dirt roads unusable. During that time, the Ethiopian government managed to raise a giant militia force in its 100,000s and integrated it into the regular fighting force. Also, since the Ethiopian army was a client of U.S weapons, hasty acclimatization to the new Warsaw-pact bloc weaponry took place. From October 1977 until January 1978, the SNA-WSLF forces attempted to capture Harar, where 40,000 Ethiopians backed by Soviet-supplied [[artillery]] and [[Armoured fighting vehicle|armor]] had regrouped with 1500 Soviet advisors and 11,000 Cuban soldiers. Though it reached the city outskirts by November, the Somali force was too exhausted to take the city and was eventually forced to retreat outside and await an Ethiopian counterattack. The expected Ethiopian-Cuban attack occurred in early February. However, it was accompanied by a second attack that the Somalis were not expecting. A column of Ethiopian and Cuban troops crossed northeast into the highlands between Jijiga and the border with Somalia, bypassing the SNA-WSLF force defending the Marda Pass. The attackers were thus able to assault from two directions in a "pincer" action, allowing the re-capturing of Jijiga in only two days while killing 3,000 defenders. The Somali defense collapsed and every major Ethiopian town was recaptured in the following weeks. Recognizing that his position was untenable, Siad Barre ordered the SNA to retreat back into Somalia on [[9 March]] [[1978]]. The last significant Somali unit left Ethiopia on [[15 March]] [[1978]], marking the end of the war. == Effects of the war == Following the withdrawal of the SNA, the WSLF continued their insurgency. By May 1980, the rebels, with the assistance of a small number of SNA soldiers who continued to help the guerilla war, controlled a substantial region of the Ogaden. However by 1981 the insurgents were reduced to sporadic hit-and-run attacks and were finally defeated. The Ogaden War weakened the Somali military. Almost one-third of the regular SNA soldiers, one and a half-quarters of the armored units and half of the [[Somali Air Force]] (SAF) were lost. The weakness of the Barre regime led it to effectively abandon the dream of a unified [[Greater Somalia]]. The failure of the war aggravated discontent with the Barre regime; the first organized opposition group, the [[Somali Salvation Democratic Front]] (SSDF), was formed by army officers in 1979. The United States adopted Somalia as a Cold War client state from the late 1970s to 1988 in exchange for use of Somali bases, as well as a way to exert influence upon the region. A second armed clash in 1988 was resolved when the two countries agreed to withdraw their militaries from the border. == External links == *{{cite web |last=Cooper|first=Tom|url=http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_188.shtml |title=''Ogaden War, 1977-1978''|publisher= Air Combat Information Group ''([http://www.acig.org/ www.acig.org)]''|accessdate=2007-03-18}} * [http://www.onwar.com/aced/data/oscar/ogaden1976.htm Ogaden War 1976–1978 at OnWar.com] * [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1984/WTL.htm at GlobalSecurity.org] * [http://www.urrib2000.narod.ru/Etiopia-e.html Cuban Aviation at the Ogaden War] *{{cite web|last=|first= |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1986/KCA.htm |title=''Why Ogaden War''|publisher=[[GlobalSecurity.org]]''|accessdate=2007-03-19}} ==References== {{reflist}} {{Cold War}} [[Category:Conflicts in 1977]] [[Category:Conflicts in 1978]] [[Category:History of Somalia]] [[Category:Rebellions in Africa]] [[Category:Cold War]] [[Category:Wars involving Somalia]] [[Category:Wars involving Ethiopia]] [[Category:Wars involving Cuba]] [[Category:Wars involving the Soviet Union]] [[Category:1977 in Somalia]] [[Category:1978 in Somalia]] [[Category:1977 in Ethiopia]] [[Category:1978 in Ethiopia]] [[cs:Etiopsko-somálská válka]] [[de:Ogadenkrieg]] [[es:Guerra de Ogaden]] [[fr:Guerre de l'Ogaden]] [[id:Perang Ogaden]] [[he:מלחמת אוגדן]] [[lt:Ogadeno karas]] [[hu:Ogadeni háború]] [[nl:Ogaden-oorlog]] [[ja:オガデン戦争]] [[pl:Wojna w Ogadenie]] [[pt:Guerra de Ogaden]] [[ru:Война за Огаден (1977—1978)]] [[sl:Ogadenska vojna]] [[fi:Ogadenin sota]] [[tr:Ogaden Savaşı]]