The sun never sets

When facing the powerful Gugesa rebels, Tafari was fully prepared for the battle.

This opportunity enabled the imperial army to overcome the communication difficulties caused by Ethiopia's inconvenient transportation and complex terrain, and Tafari quickly completed the encirclement of the rebels.

Later, Gugesa's army was lured by Tafari's advance troops and mistakenly entered the encirclement. Tafari bombed them with artillery and airplanes. At the same time, the airplanes also distributed leaflets signed by Archbishop Cyril, calling on Christians not to work for Gugesa. This move undermined the morale of the rebels and they surrendered one after another. The war lasted from early morning until almost noon. Mulugita commanded the army to charge intensively and wiped out the enemy in one fell swoop. Gugesa himself was seriously injured and died.

After the massive rebellion was defeated, Queen Zewditu of Ethiopia fell ill and died a few days later, and Haile Selassie ascended the throne. The new Ethiopian emperor had traveled to Europe and Asia and realized the gap between African and Eurasian powers, so he quickly carried out reforms after becoming emperor.

Haile Selassie promulgated Ethiopia's first constitution, the "1931 Constitution" in 1931. The constitution established a parliamentary system, with a Senate and a House of Representatives to discuss matters referred to it by the emperor. Senators were elected from the nobility upon nomination by the emperor. House of Representatives members were nominated by the nobility "until the people are able to hold elections."

The Constitution also stipulates that the work of the judicial department should be strengthened, and judges should be "selected and appointed from people with judicial experience" and exercise their duties independently. The state's fiscal revenue belongs to the national treasury and can only be used "in accordance with the provisions of the annual budget" when needed. These regulations have some restrictions on feudal forces. There are also some provisions in the Constitution to protect the rights of the people, such as recognizing that citizens' private property is inviolable, citizens have the right to work, freedom of residence and migration; opposing forced labor, safeguarding human rights, etc.

The above are all reforms in politics, economy and diplomacy. While carrying out the above reforms, Haile Selassie was very aware that the war between Italy and Egypt was only a matter of time. Therefore, in addition to his great efforts in foreign and domestic affairs, Haile Selassie paid more attention to the construction of the military level. However, although Haile Selassie had defeated the main feudal warlords in the country before, he still did not achieve complete victory.

在意大利即将发起进攻的时候，埃塞俄比亚的军队主要由下述几个部分构成。第一部分也是最具现代化和战斗力的是海尔·塞拉西仿效西方建立起来的皇帝卫队和中央军，其中皇帝卫队装备最好，同时也接受军事训练最多，在开战前该部包含12个轻机枪排、3个重机枪连、1个迫击炮分队、1个骑兵中队、3个营的驮运火炮部队、1个电报通讯排、1个医疗部队以及1支军乐队在内共计约不到2000人。

The central army was mainly composed of riflemen, who also numbered several thousand. The above troops were trained by Austrians, Germans, but mainly Belgians, and adopted Western models in discipline, equipment and training. However, in general, the Egyptian regular army, headed by the Emperor's Guard, had less than 1 people and was very limited in size.

In addition, there are the troops of local warlords and governors. Most of these troops are traditional Ethiopian armed forces. To be honest, although their firearms penetration rate is not low, in fact, since the governors themselves are mainly responsible for purchasing the troops in various places, the weapons they are equipped with can be said to be varied.

Finally, there are tribal warriors from various Ethiopian tribes, who often wear distinctive costumes representing their respective tribes, and hold various weapons they are good at. The better ones have rifles that their grandfathers used in the First Italo-Ethiopian War, while the worse ones are often equipped with medieval scimitars and spears, but they have the advantage of being numerous and united against the same enemy, so they are not incapable of fighting.

Both the Anglo-French Alliance and the People's Revolutionary League had contacted the Ethiopian royal family, wanting to sell weapons and equipment to Ethiopia and provide military instructors to Ethiopia, but were rejected by the Ethiopian royal family.

Perhaps the Ethiopian royal family was worried about things like becoming too powerful or usurping the throne. Although they are Africans, Ethiopia's level of civilization is not low. If it were a thousand years ago, it would have been considered a true empire. If they were luckier, they might have been able to establish a great empire spanning three continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa.

But it was already 1934, and Ethiopia was no longer civilized enough. The Syndicate and the League had expanded so much that the Ethiopians did not trust them. Similarly, the Ethiopians were also worried about Germany, and finally chose the Belgians as the target of military cooperation.

Chapter 873: Choice

The Belgians performed well in the World War. They fought the German army until the last moment, and only stopped resisting when the last fortress of Liege was destroyed by German artillery.

Because of the Belgians' hard work, the German army spent a week longer than planned in Belgium, casting a shadow over the Schlieffen Plan from the very beginning.

Although Belgium's national strength is not strong enough, their army is good, and it is not a problem for them to teach the Ethiopian army. And because the equipment of the Belgian army is not good, they have to learn from the Ethiopian army.

The combat effectiveness of the syndicate, German and People's Revolutionary League troops all relied too much on advanced weapons and equipment and sufficient logistical supplies. This is not a bad thing, but the Ethiopians cannot learn it.

Belgian military advisers have improved the weapons that soldiers use to carry in the Ethiopian army.

The backpacks for food greatly reduced the logistical burden of the Egyptian army. At the same time, leggings were also seen as a rare improvement.

In addition, when the military advisers were building a new army for Ethiopia, they equipped each soldier with military boots like in the West. However, Ethiopians preferred to run barefoot in the wild. Although the Belgian military advisers were helpless, they were also surprised to find that this did not affect the Ethiopian soldiers' ability to cross mountains and rivers.

As early as the 20s, when Italy was expanding its military and preparing for war, Selassie had actually seen Mussolini's intention to fight. However, due to the country's weak national strength at that time, Selassie could only try to use diplomatic means to delay the outbreak of the war as much as possible.

The peace and friendship treaty signed between Italy and Egypt in 1928 once made Selassie think that he had gained a rare buffer, but just six years later, Italy began to frequently provoke the Egyptian army in Somalia. The most serious of these was the Walwal incident on December 6, 1934, when the Italian army crossed the border into the Walwal area and attacked the local Ethiopian garrison post, and war was imminent.

On the Italian side, the Italian army deployed heavy troops in three strategic directions from Eritrea in the north to Italian Somalia in the south. Among them, the main attack force was placed in Eritrea in the north, while the southern wing and the center were used for support. According to this plan, the main force of the Italian army in the north was commanded by General De Bono, the commander-in-chief of the Italian army in Northeast Africa. Its combat sequence was the First, Second and Third Armies of Eritrea. Later, the Fourth Army of Eritrea and two columns of Generals Mariotti and Kuture were added, with a total of 25 people, including 112 tanks, 3700 vehicles, 580 artillery pieces and 126 aircraft. Its goal was to break the Egyptian army's defense line from the north and directly attack the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

In the southern battlefield, that is, the Italian Somalia direction, there are two battle groups, about 11 people, commanded by General Gragioani, including 45 tanks, 1850 vehicles, 117 artillery pieces, and 38 aircraft. In addition, there is also a battle auxiliary group of 1.7 people in the central direction. The goal of the latter two groups is to attract the attention of the Egyptian army and support the northern battlefield.

Mussolini learned from the lessons of forty years ago and deployed nearly 400,000 troops at the beginning. He not only had an advantage in weapons and equipment, but also in manpower.

Italy sent 100,000 volunteers to the North American battlefield, but in order to deal with a semi-feudal African country, Mussolini prepared nearly 400,000 troops!

When the Walwal incident broke out, the League's ambassador to Ethiopia warned Emperor Haile Selassie, "Italy is about to invade Ethiopia, and they have prepared hundreds of thousands of elite troops!"

The Blackshirts were not considered a first-rate army in the world, but to the Ethiopians, they were definitely elite. Moreover, "the Italians also prepared poison gas bombs."

The Syndicate also reminded the Ethiopian government, and the information they provided was more detailed. The Italian army was making final preparations before the war. If it were a real power, it would start the attack in about two or three months. However, Italy's strength was limited, and its transportation and material allocation capabilities were not as good as those of a real power. It would take longer to mobilize the army and stockpile ammunition and food.

According to the French Commune's speculation, it would take the Italians at least half a year to get their troops in place, and then another two months to stockpile supplies. The war should start in August next year, and it is possible that it could be earlier or later.

Emperor Haile Selassie sensed that war was coming, but the situation was different from forty years ago. The Italian army was many times stronger than it was then. Most importantly, Mussolini did not underestimate the Ethiopians and would not send less than 20,000 troops to fight in Africa.

The troops Mussolini prepared for the war were twenty times more than the previous one, and they were also equipped with airplanes, artillery, tanks and poison gas bombs. So how did Ethiopia win?

The ambassador of the People's Revolutionary League said that he could sell weapons to Ethiopia and provide military night raiders: 6949, 36135 instructors to teach the Ethiopian army how to fight. However, all of this is not free, and the Ethiopians need to pay with gold or mining rights.

The Anglo-French alliance was also willing to provide weapons, equipment and military instructors to Ethiopia, even for free, which was much more generous than the People's Revolutionary League.

However, Emperor Haile * Sailassie was more wary of the trade unions than the People's Revolutionary League. The People's Revolutionary League just wanted to make some money and infiltrate slowly, but the trade unions' methods were much more violent. Once the trade unions got their hands on it, they might wipe out the royal family at any time.

Some members of the British royal family fled to Canada, and those who did not escape and fell into the hands of the British syndicalists were either shot or guillotined. If it really came to a last resort, Emperor Haile * Selassie would rather choose the [People's Revolutionary League] than the syndicalists.

As Italy's attack was imminent, the Ethiopian government sent a note to the international community, expressing Ethiopia's determination to fight the invaders, and also hoped that the League of Nations would condemn and stop Italy's unjustified invasion.

But the great powers at this time had their own calculations. Germany, on the surface, made limited condemnation, but in fact supported Italy's actions in Africa. The British and French alliance was deeply involved in the North American battlefield, and

And their methods were too brutal.

In the end, the international intervention that Selassie had hoped for did not have the expected effect, but wasted a lot of time in vain. After figuring out this problem, Selassie quickly turned his attention back to the military.

Of course, Emperor Haile * Sailassie still applied for assistance from the People's Revolutionary League. Many times, we think there will be many choices, but there are not. There is only one path to choose from.

Chapter 874: Rules

Ethiopia has gold mines and can pay with dozens of tons of gold, but this is not enough to go to war with a great power. The reserves of copper, iron and some rare metal mines in Ethiopia are very rich, but they have not been mined yet. Even if the alliance obtains the mining rights, it will not be able to mine in a short time, and the Italian attack will come soon (in a few months).

In addition, Ethiopia also has some oil, but the reserves are very small and not as easy to extract and of high quality as those in Saudi Arabia.

In general, Ethiopia does not have many resources to fight a major war. After Emperor Haile Selassie turned to the People's Revolutionary League, the League sent a military advisory group to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. The head of the military advisory group, Sun Chuanfang, proposed a basket of aid plans to Emperor Haile.

The general content of the plan is: the alliance will provide Ethiopia with a loan of 10 billion yuan, of which 5 million will be used for development, and the remaining 5 million will be used to purchase various military supplies for the alliance and pay the instructors' salaries.

The officers came all the way to Africa, and in addition to their original military pay, they also received an allowance. Many Japanese officers signed up enthusiastically. In addition to the title of liberating all mankind, they were attracted by the allowance. The allowance given by the Ethiopian emperor was higher than the officers' salary.

In addition, those who performed well in the advisory group could also be recommended to study in military academies at all levels. Generals such as Nagata Tetsuzan and Ishiwara Kanji, who were transferred to Japan to teach, found ways to join the military advisory group. In addition, there were Obata Toshishiro, Okamura Neiji, Yamashita Tomoyuki, Umezu Mijiro and Tojo Hideki. Many officers from other nationalities also came, and the number of the entire military advisory group reached 300, including some Mongolian cavalry generals.

Ethiopia's weapons and equipment are not very good, but it does have a lot of horses and camels. If they can be used well and a modern cavalry is trained, it should be of great use in the war.

Because the Ethiopian government had wasted several months, Sun Chuanfang, after arriving in Addis Ababa, suggested that Emperor Haile Selassie immediately begin expanding the military and preparing for war.

"...Except for the Emperor's Guard and the Central Army, the morale of other troops is also high, but their organization, weapons and equipment, and training levels are very limited, and they can't play much of a role in modern conventional warfare."

"The soldiers must be trained immediately and their weapons and equipment must be replaced. Because war is about to break out, there is no more time to wait for the soldiers to complete all the training subjects. We can only use a quick method to compress the training cycle to three months."

"Given the economic situation of the Ethiopian government and the local geographical environment, your army should give up purchasing heavy weapons such as heavy artillery and tanks, and instead focus on machine guns, mines, mortars and anti-tank guns."

"Aircraft are indispensable. Even if there are no tanks and heavy artillery, there should be a fighter unit for air defense. In order to enhance the combat efficiency of the fighter unit, at least ten radar systems must be deployed."

".......In order to increase the sustained combat capability, it is necessary to establish some five small enterprises in the basic large cities, and build several gun repair factories and bullet reloading factories. The consumption of ammunition in modern warfare is huge, and reloading bullets can effectively reduce the cost of war......."

Sun Chuanfang made very targeted suggestions to Ethiopia, such as establishing a supplementary battalion. When the front-line troops suffered casualties, troops could be immediately drawn from the supplementary battalion for replenishment, thus maintaining the combat effectiveness of the troops to the greatest extent.

Forming more infantry divisions may make the military stronger on paper, but without sufficient weapons, equipment and personnel, the combat effectiveness of the troops will quickly decline.

Emperor Haile * Selassie agreed to most of Sun Chuanfang's suggestions, but he did not agree to a few of them for the time being, or he had other ideas. For example, Emperor Haile did not like the idea of a reloading bullet factory, and he hoped that the [People's Revolutionary League] could help Ethiopia build several light weapons and bullet production lines.

The idea is good, but Ethiopia does not have the corresponding upstream and downstream factories, and the weapons production line is of little use. When materials such as steel and gunpowder need to be purchased from abroad, the price of weapons produced by itself is about the same as that purchased from the alliance, and the quality is not as good as the weapons produced by the alliance.

In addition, Emperor Haile Selassie disagreed with Sun Chuanfang's idea of luring the enemy deep into the territory and concentrating forces to fight a war of annihilation. This was not just Emperor Haile's idea. The Ethiopian military and government did not agree with the strategy and tactics of mountain guerrilla warfare.

Guerrilla warfare comes at a huge cost and cannot achieve victory in a war quickly. Emperor Haile Selassie and his ministers prefer the tactic of keeping the enemy out of the country.

The Ethiopian High Command's Operational Plan

Yes: The army first withdrew 30 kilometers from the border to the mountainous area, and carried out mobile defensive operations with heavy troops to hold the dangerous areas, creating conditions for the subsequent counterattack.

According to this guidance, the Egyptian army's deployment plan was: about 15 to 20 people under the command of Dukes Sejum, Kasa, Murugita, etc. would serve as the first line of defense on the northern front, while about 10 to 15 people under the command of Dukes Nesib and Destalas would form the southern defense line.

The 1 elite troops under the command of the emperor, including 11 central troops, were stationed in the center of the capital as a reserve force, ready to go to the front at any time. The Egyptian army's strategy was basically the same as the strategy used in the First Italo-Egyptian War in 1895, both of which sought to keep the enemy out of the country. So from a certain perspective, both sides in the Second Italo-Egyptian War actually underestimated each other.

After Sun Chuanfang discussed with Nagata Tetsuzan, Gangcun Ningci and others, they thought that the Ethiopian command's idea was a bit taken for granted. The situation of this war was different from that of forty years ago. Continuing to use the previous tactics would only end up passively being beaten.

He argued several times, but his opinions were not accepted. The military advisory group of the Human Revolutionary Alliance had only recently arrived in Ethiopia and was subject to a lot of suspicion and restrictions. Emperor Haile * Selassie only wanted weapons and equipment, and was not very willing to let the Human Revolutionary Alliance interfere in the formulation of tactics.

There was no such thing as the People's Revolutionary League Military Advisory Group for the command of the troops. The Ethiopians still trusted Western military instructors more, especially the Belgian officers.

Sun Chuanfang could see that the Ethiopians were just using political tactics, which was not the way to fight a war. War was a continuation of politics, but it had its own laws. Once a war began, everything that could not adapt to the laws of war would be destroyed in the war.

Chapter 875 God Bless

".......Italy is already an industrial country, while Ethiopia is still an agricultural country. The gap in strength between the two sides is too big. Even if the alliance provides some loans to the Ethiopians, it still cannot offset the gap in strength between the two sides..."

Sun Chuanfang sent telegrams to Chang'an every few days. He was not optimistic about the Ethiopian strategy and tactics. Digging trenches and building fortifications to defend the country was not impossible. As long as they had a quarter to a third of Italy's strength, defensive counterattacks were a feasible tactic.

However, the Ethiopians have not established a systematic heavy industry. The country's weapons and equipment are all imported, and it cannot even produce gas masks on its own. Before launching a counterattack, the Ethiopians' strength will be exhausted in positional warfare.

".......unless the Alliance intervenes on a large scale, but this could lead to a full-scale conflict between the Alliance and Germany."

The German government can use not only the power of Germany, but also the power of Austria, Bulgaria, Ottoman Turkey, Egypt, etc. Since the Second Civil War in the United States, the governments of National France and Canada have also begun to move closer to Germany.

Now that the Syndicalists and Germany are teaming up in North America to deal with MacArthur’s military government, is it possible that they will fight the Alliance again in Ethiopia?

It is very likely. Germany can no longer retreat. If it retreats further, people's hearts will be scattered. At that time, it will cause a chain reaction, and Germany will face the huge [Human Innovation Alliance] alone.

Italy's industrial strength is not strong, and its army's combat effectiveness is average, but it can produce nearly two million troops. Even if the equipment is average, it is still a 200 million-man army. Moreover, Italy's navy and air force are not weak, and can even be said to be very good, which is worth winning over.

If the Alliance intervenes heavily in the Ethiopian war, Germany is likely to follow suit, because that would completely tie Italy to the German chariot.

In the telegram Sun Chuanfang sent to Chang'an, he analyzed the combat effectiveness comparison between Ethiopia and Italy. He was not optimistic about the combat effectiveness of the Ethiopian army and believed that the central government needed to be prepared, either to intervene heavily during the war or to wait until Ethiopia was completely defeated and then support an Ethiopian government again.

The Alliance General Staff attached great importance to the opinions of the Military Advisory Group and transferred two divisions of troops to Saudi Arabia. It also expanded the military camps and warehouses on the northern shore of the Gulf of Aden and transported a large amount of weapons and equipment and other military supplies from the country. It also built more airports, some of which were built to the standard of being able to take off heavy bombers.

After the Russian Empire was incorporated into the People's Revolutionary League, a large number of Mosin-Nagant rifles and other Russian-made weapons were withdrawn from active service and only equipped to the garrison in St. Petersburg. Now the troops in St. Petersburg have also replaced them with Mauser rifles and automatic rifles, and the Russian-made weapons and equipment during the world war have been shipped to Saudi Arabia.

Of this batch of weapons, part was sold and half given to Ethiopians, and the rest was stored in warehouses in Sanaa and Yemen. The alliance is willing to support Ethiopians, but it also needs Ethiopians to pay with real money.

Now Emperor Haile Selassie is still trying to balance a few eggs, and the alliance is not in a hurry. The situation will naturally change when the Ethiopian army can no longer hold on.

The alliance was making a lot of noise in the Gulf of Aden, expanding its garrison and selling arms. The Italian government soon received relevant intelligence.

When Mussolini learned the news, he clamored that he had already taken over Ethiopia, and even the alliance could not change this fact, he said!

Fascism is born to

The fascist regime expanded outward and invested all its resources in the military industry, producing a large number of weapons and equipment and training so many troops. If it did not expand, or if it could not obtain enough spoils from the expansion, the fascist regime would collapse from within.

The guns and cannons produced could not be put back into production. They would only depreciate year by year if they were piled up in the warehouse. In order to develop the armaments, the daily consumer goods of the Italians were greatly reduced. The treatment of soldiers was not high, and the living standards of the soldiers' families were even worse. Mussolini successfully created a volcano, a volcano that was about to erupt.

He is on top of this volcano, and this volcano is bound to erupt. If it fails to burn the enemy, then it will burn Mussolini and his cronies completely.

Therefore, even if the League showed its intention to intervene in Ethiopia, Mussolini could not stop his plan to conquer Ethiopia. On the surface, he seemed very arrogant and made many remarks that looked down on the League, but privately, Mussolini was very nervous.

The Human Reform League is more than ten times stronger than Italy. If it really intervenes in the Ethiopian war on a large scale, like it did against India and the Central American Syndicalist Alliance, the Italian army will most likely be unable to defeat it, even if it sends its most elite Black Shirts.

To this end, the fascist leader Mussolini picked up the "Yellow Peril Theory" created by William II and wanted to use the enemy of the "Human Revolution League" to unite Europe. This move played a role, but only a little.

The German government implicitly expressed its support for the Italian government, and some powerful people agreed with Mussolini's views in private contacts, but trade between Germany and the Alliance increased by 12% year-on-year.

Everything still depends on Italy itself, and other countries can only express their support verbally. What's more, the Anglo-French alliance not only does not support Italy, but also regards Mussolini and his fascist regime as mortal enemies, deploying more than 100,000 troops west of the Alps, as if they want to recreate Emperor Napoleon.

The situation was so dangerous that Mussolini was worried. He slept very late every night. In order to relieve the pressure, he chose to overeat, eating a lot of desserts and goose liver and other delicacies. A lot of fat accumulated in his body and he soon became fat.

Should we launch the Ethiopian war regardless of the consequences, or should we just let it go? This is the question. No matter which option we choose, it is not easy to make.

Mussolini became more haggard in a month, and the dire situation made him feel like he couldn't breathe. At a family gathering, he told his son-in-law Ciano: "I can hardly breathe."

Galeazzo Ciano was an Italian nobleman (count of Cortellazzo and Capri), and the son-in-law of the Italian fascist leader Mussolini. He agreed with his father-in-law Mussolini's lament. The People's Revolutionary League was too powerful, forcing Germany to be careful in dealing with it, not to mention Italy.

"How about we temporarily stop the Africa plan?"

Mussolini sighed and did not answer. Two days later, a message came from the distant East. Mussolini's hesitation was swept away and he immediately became radiant. "This must be God's blessing!"

Chapter 876 Battle Situation

Only two years after the devastating flood in 1933, another devastating flood occurred in the Yangtze River Basin and the Three Gorges Dam was almost completed. If this flood had come two years later, the threat to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River would have been much smaller.

But that’s what happened. In 1935, before the Three Gorges Dam was closed, a major flood occurred in the Yangtze River Basin of the Alliance.

The plans for flood control, rescue and disaster relief were ready, and everything was carried out according to the plan made two years ago. The alliance mobilized cadres and people from the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, dispatched 200,000 people's soldiers and tens of thousands of mechanical equipment to carry out flood control and rescue work.

At this moment, most of the alliance's energy was focused on the flood peak of the Yangtze River, and it paid much less attention to foreign affairs.

The Yangtze River Basin experienced its second major flood in three years. It was impossible to cover up this news, and the alliance did not even think of covering it up. Instead, it publicly commended advanced groups and individuals who participated in the flood fighting and rescue efforts.

Soon, news of another flood in the League spread internationally. Upon hearing the news, Mussolini jumped up, pumped his fist and shouted, "This must be God's blessing!"

In Mussolini's view, Italy had the best opportunity to attack. While the alliance was busy fighting the flood, they flattened Ethiopia in one go, creating a fait accompli. The People's Revolutionary League had no other choice.

Mussolini couldn't wait to deploy troops on the African front to launch an attack, but the troops and supplies were not in place yet. Mussolini could only suppress his anxiety and mobilize all departments in Italy to transport everything needed to Africa as soon as possible.

"We will conquer Ethiopia and take a solid step towards reviving the Roman Empire!"

Under Mussolini's strong order, the Italian army's actions accelerated a lot. On August 1935, 8, when the Allies were busy consolidating the dikes on both sides of the Yangtze River, the Italian army crossed the Arebu River and officially launched a full-scale offensive.

Five hours later, Haile Selassie made a radio address to the nation, calling on the people to take up arms and go to