Themilitary history of Africa is one of the oldestmilitary histories in the world.Africa is acontinent of manyregions with diverse populations speaking thousands of different languages and practicing an array ofcultures andreligions. These differences have also been the source of much conflict for millennia.
Like thehistory of Africa,military history on the continent is often divided by region.North Africa was part of theMediterranean cultures and was integral to the military history ofclassical antiquity, andEast Africa has historically had various states which have often warred with some the world's most powerful. The military history of modern Africa may be divided into three broad time periods: pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial.[1]
In 3100 BC,Upper Egypt andLower Egypt were united byMenes. The end of theOld Kingdom ofAncient Egypt ushered in a period of instability that was not stabilized untilMentuhotep II solidified his rule in about 2055 BC to begin theMiddle Kingdom. This period came to end with the invasion of theHyksos, who introduced thewar chariot. This new technology was quickly adopted by the Egyptians, who succeeded in expelling the invaders at the start of theNew Kingdom in the 16th century BC.
The revitalized Egyptians expanded north and east intoEurasia to theAegean Sea and into much of theLevant, as far as theEuphrates River. Egypt also moved west intoLibya and south intoSudan.
The gradual disintegration in theTwentieth Dynasty allowed the founding of theKushite kingdoms of Nubia, centered onNapata. Kush reached a height underPiye, who conquered Egypt and founded theTwenty-fifth Dynasty. However, the Kushites were gradually driven back to Napata by anAssyrian invasion and then the resistance of theTwenty-sixth Dynasty kings.
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TheKingdom of Axum had one of the most powerful militaries in the world during its era. It was compared with Rome and other world powers of the time. The Empire ruled vast territories from today's westernYemen, Djibouti, southwesternSaudi Arabia, easternSudan, most of Eritrea and the north and central part of present-day Ethiopia.
WhileEuropean exploration began with mapping of the western coasts by thePortuguese, the large-scale intervention did not occur until much later. During the 1529–1543 campaign ofAhmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, which brought three-quarters ofChristian Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia) under the power of theMuslimSultanate of Adal (modern-day Somalia.[2][3] With an army mainly composed ofSomalis,[4] which was equipped by theOttoman empire with musketeers and troops. However, in theBattle of Wayna Daga, a combined Ethiopian-Portuguese force (including Portuguese musketeers) was able to kill Imam Ahmad in retaliation for the death of the former Portuguese commander,Cristovão da Gama and take back Abyssinian territories.
TheEuropeanAge of Discovery brought Europe's thensuperpower thePortuguese empire to the coast of East Africa, which at the time enjoyed a flourishing trade with foreign nations. The wealthy southeastern city-states ofKilwa,Mombasa,Malindi,Pate andLamu were all systematically sacked and plundered by the Portuguese.Tristão da Cunha then set his eyes on Ajuran territory, where the battle ofBarawa was fought. After a long period of engagement, the Portuguese soldiers burned the city and looted it. However, fierce resistance by the local population and soldiers resulted in the failure of the Portuguese to permanently occupy the city, and the inhabitants who had fled to the interior would eventually return and rebuild the city. After Barawa, Tristão would set sail forMogadishu, which was the richest city on the East African coast. But word had spread of what had happened in Barawa, and a large troop mobilization had taken place. Many horsemen, soldiers and battleships in defense positions were now guarding the city. Nevertheless, Tristão still opted to storm and attempt to conquer the city, although every officer and soldier in his army opposed this, fearing certain defeat if they were to engage their opponents in battle. Tristão heeded their advice and sailed forSocotra instead.[6] After the battle the city of Barawa quickly recovered from the attack.[7]
Over the next several decades Somali-Portuguese tensions would remain high and the increased contact between Somalisailors andOttomancorsairs worried the Portuguese who sent a punitive expedition against Mogadishu underJoão de Sepúlveda, which was unsuccessful.[9] Ottoman-Somali cooperation against the Portuguese in theIndian Ocean reached a high point in the 1580s when Ajuran clients of the Somali coastal cities began to sympathize with theArabs andSwahilis under Portuguese rule and sent an envoy to the Turkish corsairMir Ali Bey for a joint expedition against the Portuguese. He agreed and was joined by a Somalifleet, which began attacking Portuguese colonies inSoutheast Africa.[10]
The Somali-Ottoman offensive managed to drive out the Portuguese from several important cities such asPate,Mombasa andKilwa. However, the Portuguese governor sent envoys toPortuguese India requesting a large Portuguese fleet. This request was answered and it reversed the previous offensive of the Muslims into one of defense. The Portuguese armada managed to re-take most of the lost cities and began punishing their leaders, but they refrained from attacking Mogadishu, securing the city's autonomy in the Indian Ocean.[11][12] Ajuran's Somali forces would eventually militarily defeat the Portuguese. The Ottoman Empire would also remain an economic partner of the Somalis.[13] Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries successive Somali Sultans defied the Portuguese economic monopoly in theIndian Ocean by employing a new coinage which followed the Ottoman pattern, thus proclaiming an attitude of economic independence in regard to the Portuguese.[14]
Starting in the 1950s,anti-colonial movements agitated for independence from the colonial powers. This agitation, coupled with an international system that was increasingly hostile to colonialism, led killed to a process ofdecolonization that was often violent.
The first successful anti-colonial armed struggle in Africa was theTunisian War of Independence (1952–1956), but the most famous may be theAlgerian War of Independence (1954–1962), both againstFrance.
Other example of successful armed resistance is thePortuguese Colonial War (1961–1974), which led to the independence ofAngola,Guinea-Bissau andMozambique.[15] TheRhodesian Bush War (1966–1979) was not against a colonial metropole, but theminority white government ofIan Smith.
These national liberation movements were informed by the successfulguerrilla warfare doctrine used in theIndonesian National Revolution (1945–1949) and theFirst Indochina War (1946–1954). The insurgents' goal was thus not to win the war — and no colonial army was ever defeated — but simply not to lose, thus making the conduct of the war unbearable for the colonial power over the long term.
The writings ofFrantz Fanon on the Algerian conflict became hugely influential on later African conflicts. These conflicts benefited from internal ideological and organizational cohesion, sympathetic diplomatic backing in global forums, some financial backing (in particular from the Nordic states) and military training and supplies from the Soviet bloc.[15]
Two national liberation movements that became violent and were unsuccessful in that they did not lead tode facto capitulation and independence were theMau Mau Uprising (1952–1960). Colonial security forces were reinforced by regular troops from the metropolitan power and the insurgent groups were hampered by a lack of military equipment and training, as well as the absence of a friendly adjoining country offering sanctuary.[15]
There have been two liberation movements against an African power over the borders drawn during the colonial period. ThePolisario Front began a struggle in 1973 for the independence ofWestern Sahara againstSpain and thenMorocco, when the North African country invaded.
InEritrea, theEritrean Liberation Front and laterEritrean People's Liberation Front carried out anindependence struggle againstEthiopia that culminated successfully in 1991.
In two special cases, and in contrast to these bloody wars, bothNamibia'sSouth-West Africa People's Organisation (1960s–1990) and the activities ofUmkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing ofSouth Africa'sAfrican National Congress, utilized armed conflict comparatively less in their struggles.
African nations have made great efforts to respect international borders as inviolate for a long time. For example, theOrganization of African Unity (OAU), which was established in 1963 and replaced by theAfrican Union in 2002, set the respect for the territorial integrity of each country as one of its principles in OAU Charter.[16] Indeed, compared with the formation of European countries, there have been fewer international conflicts in Africa for changing the borders, which has influenced country formation there and has enabled some countries to survive that might have been defeated and absorbed by others.[17] Yet international conflicts have played out by support for proxy armies or rebel movements. Many states have experienced civil wars: including Rwanda, Sudan, Angola, Sierra Leone, Congo, Liberia, Ethiopia and Somalia.[18] Wars of national liberation also often took up a Marxist, Marxist-Leninist, or Maoist character in ideological terms, where the independence of African nations was raised in Marxian terms. Early examples included theUnion of the Peoples of Cameroon armed movement against French colonialism, a Marxist-Leninist insurgency, followed by similar movements in Congo (theSimba Rebellion).Che Guevara participated in the latter, and opined in 1967 that Africa was not ready for revolution. Despite this, inZanzibar before and after unification with Tanzania, forms of socialism took hold. In Sudan underGaafar Nimeiry, in Somalia underSiad Barre, in Ethiopia under the Dergue andMengistu Haile Mariam, in Congo Brazzaville under various administration from the 1960s onwards including that ofDenis Sassou-Nguesso, in Benin underMathieu Kerekou, in the Seychelles underFrance-Albert René, in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau before Portugal's 1974 Carnation Revolution, Marxism-Leninism was fashionable. Even after 1990, there are some examples of Military Marxism, such as a militia established byErnest Wamba-dia-Wamba in Eastern Congo in the 1990s.[19]
The boundary marking a civil war is blurred in Africa as many civil wars involved foreign backers if not active belligerents. Libya's actively intervened into Chad with air forces, and France retaliated with support for the other side. Sudan experienced a prolonged civil war, resulting in the separation of South Sudan as an independent state. Similar to South Sudan, Eritrea won independence from Ethiopia. Congo's civil war involved seven states, among them Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Uganda. Eritrea is under United Sanctions for its alleged support role in the civil conflict in southern Somalia. Sierra Leone's civil war was ended with the restoration of ousted civilian government by British and Nigerian forces. Angola's civil war involved Cuban, American and Chinese backing for differing groups.
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North Africa andSouthern Europe face each other across theMediterranean Sea. Most of the southern areas of North Africa are cut off by the vast inhospitableSaharadesert. Therefore, the coastal areas have many resources to support the needs of large armies and the moderate-to-hot climate makes the movement of forces across vast stretches of land very feasible. North Africa has been the source of both cultural and economic interactions as well as military rivalries that became famous wars in history.
Egypt is located in Africa, and theAncient Egyptian Empire was noted for its use of massed horse-drawnchariots in warfare, as well as fighting against invading empires fromBabylonia,Assyria, and thePersian Empire.
Ancient Greece and the armies ofAlexander the Great (336 BC–323 BC) invaded and conquered some parts of North Africa and his generals set up thePtolemaic dynasty in Egypt. The armies of theRoman Republic (509 BC–31 BC) and theRoman Empire (31 BC–AD 476) subsequently conquered the entire coastal areas of North Africa. The people ofCarthage fought the bloody and lengthyPunic Wars (264 BC–146 BC) against Rome.
Each century has seen the invasion of North Africa by various peoples, empires, nations and religions, and each in turn yielded its wars and conflicts.
Beginning in the 7th century, the military victories of theUmayyads, theAbbasids, theFatimids, theMamluks and theOttomans ensured and consolidated the strength and continuity ofIslam in North Africa over many centuries.
Attacks by theBarbary pirates, based in the North African areas ofAlgeria, prompted the building of theUnited States Navy, including one of America's most famous ships, theUSSPhiladelphia, leading to a series of wars along the North African coast, starting in 1801. It was not until 1815 that naval victories ended tribute payments by the U.S., although some European nations continued annual payments until the 1830s. TheUnited States Marine Corps' actions in these wars led to the line, "to the shores ofTripoli" in the opening of theMarine Hymn.
The arrival of moderncolonialism,World War I andWorld War II brought armies from afar to fight in North Africa, often against each other and not always against the native inhabitants. Battles such as theTunisia Campaign eventually yielded the first battlefield victories of theAllies of World War II against theAxis powers of World War II. These battles were fought and won by the Allies in North Africa such as at theBattle of El Alamein in 1942, one of the most significant and pivotal battles of that war, during theNorth African campaign. At theBattle of the Kasserine Pass, the Germans first faced themilitary of the United States.
When modern Islamic countries gained their independence in North Africa, often following serious warfare (such as during theAlgerian War of Independence against the French), theArab–Israeli conflict became the main focus of significant battles. During the 1973Yom Kippur War, the Egyptian army broke through theBar Lev Line, invading theIsraeli-heldSinai Peninsula, resulting inUN cease-fire afterUnited Nations Security Council Resolution338,339 and340, which finally led to strategic and political gains for Egypt and Israel.
TheHorn of Africa faces theRed Sea, theArabian Sea and theIndian Ocean. As such, it has long had interactions with areas inWestern Asia, particularly in theArabian Peninsula, theNear East, and even as far east as theIndian subcontinent. Its coastal plain is hemmed in by mountain ranges which make the movement of large armies difficult and cumbersome and favor local forces that resist.
Countries and areas with ancient histories, such asEthiopia andSomalia, all have had eras of great empires. Various ancient empires extended and consolidated their power over large parts of the Horn region, such as theAxumite Empire (4th century BC–AD 10th century), theZagwe dynasty (10th century – 1270), theSolomonic dynasty (1270–1974), theAdal Sultanate and theAjuran Sultanate.andhiraab imamate.
Somalia's manySultanates each maintained regular troops, In which during Wartime these troops would be able to increase in number. Around the start of the 20th century, theMajeerteen Sultanate,Sultanate of Hobyo, Warsangali Sultanate andDervish State employedcavalry in their battles against the European powers during theCampaign of the Sultanates.
Ethiopian soldiers decisively defeated the Italians at theBattle of Adwa, during theFirst Italo–Ethiopian War from 1889 to 1896. Italy was victorious against Ethiopia during theSecond Italo-Abyssinian War fought from 1935 to 1936, and the country was annexed inItalian East Africa alongside the Italian colonies ofEritrea andSomalia. In the 20th century, the Italians waged theEast African Campaign ofWorld War II; however, the Italian commander,Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, was forced to surrender in 1941. BothGermany andItaly were defeated by the forces ofGreat Britain and its allies, and Italian East Africa was placed under British military administration.
In the later part of the 20th century, several wars were waged in the region, including theEthiopian Civil War (1974–1991), theOgaden War (1977–1978), theEritrean War of Independence (1961–1991), and theEritrean-Ethiopian War (1998–2000). During itssocialist period, Somalia had the largest military on the continent on account of its friendship with theSoviet Union and later partnership with theUnited States.[20] The subsequent outbreak of theSomali Civil War in 1991 led to the disbandment of the Somali National Army (SNA). However, the armed forces were later gradually reconstituted with the establishment of theTransitional Federal Government (TFG) in 2004.
In 1885,Germany established itsGerman East Africa colony inTanganyika. The Germans fought doggedly to maintain their colony during theEast African Campaign ofWorld War I. The German commander,Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck managed to elude capture for over five years.
In the 20th century, a number of groups engaged inguerrilla warfare in their fight to gain independence from the colonial powers, such as theMaji Maji Rebellion (1905–1907) against the Germans inTanganyika (laterTanzania), and theMau Mau Uprising (1952–1960) against the British inKenya.
RecentEast African conflicts have included theBurundi Civil War (1993–2005), the1998 embassy bombings, and theRwandan Civil War (1994). TheUgandan Civil War and theDarfur conflict, among other local conflicts, continue.
See:Central Africa.Central Africa, at times also called Middle Africa, is almost entirely landlocked; it lies astride theequator with heavyrainforestjungles and is rich in minerals and natural products. In ancient times there had been aKingdom of Kongo which confronted invasions from explorers and settlers fromPortugal starting in the 15th century.
The harsh colonial era of theBelgian Congo (1908–1960) gave way to theCongo Crisis (1960–1965) that brought in UN peacekeepers, particularly after the mineral-richKatanga Province failed to secede in 1960, even though it had the support of Belgian business interests and over 6000 Belgian troops.
Subsequent conflicts in the Congo were theFirst Congo War (1996–1997) to oust President Mobutu,Second Congo War (1998–2003) between various factions with the intervention of many other African countries, making this an African regional civil war, and the ongoingIturi Conflict.
TheKanem-Bornu Empire (9th century–19th century) of ancientChad stretched to parts of modern southernLibya, easternNiger, northeasternNigeria, and northernCameroon until it was overwhelmed by attacks and wars from theFula people,Baggara,Kanembu people, theOuaddai Kingdom and theSokoto Caliphate. Bornu managed to endure the instability prevailing in the region throughout the 19th-century.Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi andhis descendants helped theMais of Bornu to successfully defend the empire against many assaults. It transformed into aSheikhdom after the influence of al-Kanemi, and by extension his descendants, outgrew the Mais'. However, theSudanese warlordRabih az-Zubayr eventually conquered Bornu at the end of the 19th-century, expelling al-Kanemi's descendants. In 1900, ShehuSanda Kura recaptured the Sheikhdom after theBattle of Kousséri, with assistance fromFrench forces. The French forces aiding the Shehu's victory at Kousséri aided them in increasing their influence in Bornu and its eventual colonisation by the French, alongsideBritish andGerman colonial powers.[21][22]
The Arabs and Islamic powers have had an historical impact, as in thehistory of the Central African Republic, thetrans-Saharan slave trade was forcibly imposed upon the people of Central Africa.
The colonial powers, particularlyBelgium andFrance, were dominant during the 18th and 19th centuries.
There have been a number of civil wars and genocides in Central Africa that are also close to East Africa, such as theBurundi genocide and theRwandan genocide (1994). Some of the most notorious military dictators wereBokassa I of Central Africa (1921–1996) andMobutu Sese Seko (1930–1997) ofZaire.
West Africa has known many ancient empires that flourished in ancient times and were involved in wars of both conquest and defeat. TheGhana Empire (750–1036),Songhai Empire (16th century–17th century),Mali Empire (1235–1546), theBambara Empire (1652–1861),Toucouleur (19th century),Sokoto Caliphate (such as theJihad of Usman dan Fodio (1804–1810)),Kénédougou Kingdom (c. 1650–1898),Massina Empire (19th century) rose and fell as they fought wars and won or were defeated.
During thecolonial era, the powers of Europe sought to carve new colonies for themselves. This was made possible geographically because West Africa's coast is on theAtlantic Ocean, making it both open to cultural and trade influences, as well as to conquest by sea. West Africa is rich in many precious metals, minerals and products, which invites the interest and competition of outside powers and influences. There were some bloody conflicts in the 20th century when some of these nations fought against the colonial powers, such as during theGuinea-Bissau War of Independence (1963–1974).
During the centuries, several African countries experienced bittercivil wars, the bloodiest of which was theNigerian Civil War (1967–1970) whenBiafra sought to break away fromNigeria. Other countries have had either civil wars, internal military strife, and militarycoup d'états such as theSierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002),First Liberian Civil War (1989–1996),Guinea-Bissau Civil War (1998–1999). Recent wars have been theCivil war in Côte d'Ivoire (2002–2004), and theCasamance Conflict (1990–present).
Southern Africa, like the other main regions of Africa, is a complex region. It has numerous land-locked countries, but it is most notable in that it is surrounded by both theAtlantic Ocean to the west and theIndian Ocean to the east.
It is in this context that the position of theCape of Good Hope,South Africa, andSouthern Africa as a whole should be appreciated, because in theSouthern Hemisphere, only South Africa, the southern end ofSouth America, andAustralia have this key strategic position.
In addition, from Europe — and also from the east coasts of theUnited States and South America (Brazil,Argentina), the route around South Africa's Cape is the shortest toAsia.
TheSuez Canal did not exist for most of history. It was only completed in 1869, so that all shipping back and forth from Europe to Asia, Arabia, and to most of Africa had and has to be done by the long routes across the seas around South Africa's Cape.
Even after the Suez Canal's completion and modernization, it cannot accommodate larger vessels including many warships, tankers, and cargo vessels. Thus theCape of Good Hope route remains one of the most important and highly desirable routes for free shipping when some of the world's other globalchoke points are closed off or in a state of war.
Wealthy nations are usually great maritime naval powers, and the use ofnavies is tied in with protecting those great nations' trade and their military strength, both of which result ingeostrategic strength. Essentially, the power that has the mightiest navy and prevails on the high seas becomes the world's greatest power, which is something nations have known for a long time, hence their commercial and naval rivalry on the high seas.
In theUNscheme of geographic regions, five countries constitute Southern Africa. The most powerful isSouth Africa, while the others are the small countries ofBotswana,Lesotho,Namibia andSwaziland. The region is often reckoned to includeAngola (often also included inCentral Africa);Mozambique andMadagascar (also included inEast Africa);Malawi;Zambia; andZimbabwe — as well asComoros,Mauritius,Seychelles,Mayotte, andRéunion, which are small islands in theIndian Ocean.
TheRepublique Democratique du Congo andTanzania, though more commonly reckoned in Central and Eastern Africa respectively, are occasionally included in Southern Africa. This commonality between these countries has had a great influence on their military history.
The most notable wars and conflicts in Southern Africa were those between the colonial powers of Europe who fought to dominate and control the African people of Southern Africa as well as the wars between the British and the whiteBoers, also known asAfrikaners, who were mostly the descendants of earlier colonists introduced by theDutch East India Company.
The Dutch fought theKhoikhoi-Dutch Wars (1659–1677) in the area of present-dayCape Town,South Africa. Anglo-Dutch wars followed, with battles atBattle of Muizenberg (1795) and theBattle of Blaauwberg (1806) that established British power in South Africa permanently.
During theGreat Trek Dutch farmers, ortrekboers, migrated inland from the southern coast and confronted theXhosa in a series ofXhosa Wars (1779–1879) that resulted in the final defeat of the Xhosa.
There was also an inter-African conflict during theNdwandwe-Zulu War (1817–1819) and theMfecane (185–1835) with the triumph of the Zulu. The Boers and Zulus confronted each other at theBattle of Italeni (1838) and theBattle of Blood River (1838), resulting in the defeat of the Zulu, although the Zulu state continued to survive until the conclusion of theAnglo-Zulu War (1879).
The British fought and were defeated by the Boers during theBoer republics during theFirst Boer War (1880–1881) but won theSecond Boer War (1899–1902). Largely under British influence, an autonomousUnion of South Africa developed into a strong white-ruled nation. DuringWorld War I, the Union formed aSouth African Overseas Expeditionary Force to fight for the Allies. Thousands of South African servicemen died atDelville Wood, (Battle of the Somme (1916)) and atPasschendaele (1917). Former Boer leaderJan Smuts distinguished himself by leading successful campaigns inGerman East Africa (Tanzania) andGerman South-West Africa (todayNamibia).
South Africa also contributed heavily to the Allied war effort duringWorld War II, funneling arms and troops into theNorth African andItalian campaigns. A number of South African volunteers also became aces in theRoyal Air Force.
Altogether, 334,000 men volunteered for full-time service in the South African Army during WWII, including some 211,000 whites, 77,000 blacks and 46,000 "coloureds" and Asians), with nearly 9,000 killed in action.
Modern conflicts involving South Africa's predominantly Afrikaner government raged as a result of its controversialapartheid policy, led byUmkhonto we Sizwe, military wing of theAfrican National Congress, and theAzanian People's Liberation Army, which received training and armament fromcommunist states such as theSoviet Union and thePeople's Republic of China. The relatedSouth African Border War broke out when theSouth West African People's Organization (SWAPO) began its struggle to free Namibia from South African rule. South Africa fought a long and bitter campaign against SWAPO and itsAngolan allies from 1966 to 1989. The conflict escalated into major conventional warfare in 1984; between 1987 and 1988 South African,Cuban, and Angolan armies fought theBattle of Cuito Cuanavale: Africa's largest single engagement since World War II.
AnAngolan War of Independence (1961–1974), part of a broaderPortuguese Colonial War in Africa, was followed by theAngolan Civil War (1974–2002). Similarly, theMozambican War of Independence (1964–1974) was followed by theMozambican Civil War (1975–1992). TheRhodesian Bush War (1966–1979) saw the conservative white minority government inRhodesia (Zimbabwe) toppled by nationalist guerrillas.
TheSouth African Defence Forcebuilt nuclear weapons and is alleged to have tested one off its coast (facing theSouth Pole nearAntarctica) as part of what has become known as theVela incident. As of 2014, no other African country has obtained nuclear weapons of any description.
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