Battle of Afabet
Encyclopedia
The Battle at Afabet was a watershed battle in the Eritrean War of Independence
. The Battle occurred from March 17 through March 20, 1988 in and around the town of Afabet
. This was Mengistu Haile Mariam
's first humiliating defeat at the hands of the Eritreans.
n Second Revolutionary Army. Led by Colonel Getaneh Haile, it was composed of three infantry divisions and accompanying support units, and one source states it had between 20,000 soldiers.-22,000 Gebru Tareke noting that morale of the soldiers was at an all-time low, and none of the divisions "had even half of the numbers that would normally constitute an Ethiopian division -- ten to twelve thousand men" -- quotes Ministry of Defense
reports to state that there were 15,223 men in the three divisions.
The Eritrean People's Liberation Front
(EPLF) had attacked the Nadew Command a few months previously, with limited success. On 8 December 1987, the EPLF had attacked one of the divisions of the Command, the Twenty-second, with a force that may have contained as many as five infantry brigades, one mechanized battalion and three heavy-weapon battalions. On the second day of the assault, Eritrean infiltrators destroyed the divisional control center. It required the assistance of the Nineteenth Mountain Infantry division and the 45th Infantry Brigade to halt further advances and repel the EPLF forces. Ethiopian losses in this preliminary engagement were 842 killed, 291 wounded and 615 missing; Eritrean losses have been estimated at 125 killed and 269 wounded. However, the Ethiopian side suffered even graver losses in the aftermath: on Mengistu Haile Mariam
's order twenty senior officers were transferred and the commander of the Nadew Command, General Tariku Ayne, who had been absent from Afabet for medical treatment, was executed outside of Asmara on 15 February 1988. The death of one of Ethiopia's most prominent generals surprised even the EPLF, whose Radio of the Masses broadcast that the Derg had "cut off its right hand with its left hand". The Twenty-second Division was moved to Keren
, and replaced with the Fourteenth Infantry Division.
By mid-March 1988 the Nadew Command had planned to launch an offensive campaign against the Eritrean People's Liberation Front
(EPLF); however, they were pre-empted by the EPLF.
tried to reinforce their position, which was thwarted by the EPLF.
A stumbling block for the EPLF was on the left flank, where their Eighty-fifth Division was held up by the dogged resistance of the Ethiopian Twenty-ninth Mechanized Brigade. It fought without reinforcement for most of a day until its commander gambled on a retreat to Afabet. Lacking time for careful reconnaissance before its withdraw, the brigade was halted when a tank and truck were disabled by Eritrean 100mm guns, the burning vehicles blocking the road. The Ethiopians were forced to destroy their weaponry to prevent them from falling into EPLF hands. The commander of the Second Revolutionary Army came to the battlefield himself to supervise opening the road to Afabet "until he allegedly 'escaped on a camel' just before the fall of the garrison." Once the Ethiopian troops were routed in Hedai Valley, the EPLF stormed and captured Afabet. As the town was a major garrison the EPLF also captured a large cache of weapons in addition to those captured in the valley.
Killion estimates that by the end of the three-day battle, the Eritreans had killed or captured over 18,000 Ethiopian soldiers. One Ethiopian to survive the battle was the commander of the Nadew Command, Colonel Getaneh Haile, who had fought his way to Keren with a single tank and four armored cars. The colonel thanked God for his escape; Gebru Tareke laconically comments that "the deities were not as kind to most of his men, who remained trapped in the town".
The victory over the Nadew Command is considered by the historian Basil Davidson
to be the most significant victory for any liberation movement since the Vietnamese victory at Dien Bien Phu
. It has also been described as the largest battle in Africa since El Alamein
. however, the Ethiopian historian Gebru Tereke disagrees with this comparison to Dien Bien Phu, pointing out that Davidson made his observation from the field as a guest of the EPLF, and that "the Ethiopian armed forces continued to fight, at times quite vigorously, for another three years." He concludes, "From a global perspective, Af Abet was an event whereas Dienbienphu was eventful."
Eritrean War of Independence
The Eritrean War of Independence was a conflict fought between the Ethiopian government and Eritrean separatists, both before and during the Ethiopian Civil War. The war started when Eritrea’s autonomy within Ethiopia, where troops were already stationed, was unilaterally revoked...
. The Battle occurred from March 17 through March 20, 1988 in and around the town of Afabet
Afabet
-Overview:Afabet is the capital of the Afabet district.The site of a major battle in the Eritrean War of Independence, the city is still surrounded by trenches but has been largely rebuilt.-References:*...
. This was Mengistu Haile Mariam
Mengistu Haile Mariam
Mengistu Haile Mariam is a politician who was formerly the most prominent officer of the Derg, the Communist military junta that governed Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987, and the President of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 1987 to 1991...
's first humiliating defeat at the hands of the Eritreans.
Background
The Nadew Command was one of four commands, or army corps, of the EthiopiaEthiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n Second Revolutionary Army. Led by Colonel Getaneh Haile, it was composed of three infantry divisions and accompanying support units, and one source states it had between 20,000 soldiers.-22,000 Gebru Tareke noting that morale of the soldiers was at an all-time low, and none of the divisions "had even half of the numbers that would normally constitute an Ethiopian division -- ten to twelve thousand men" -- quotes Ministry of Defense
Ministry of Defense (Ethiopia)
The Ministry of National Defense of Ethiopia is a cabinet level office in charge of defense related matters of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia...
reports to state that there were 15,223 men in the three divisions.
The Eritrean People's Liberation Front
Eritrean People's Liberation Front
The Eritrean People's Liberation Front was an armed organization that fought for the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia. It emerged in 1970 as an intellectual left-wing group that split from the Eritrean Liberation Front .-Background:...
(EPLF) had attacked the Nadew Command a few months previously, with limited success. On 8 December 1987, the EPLF had attacked one of the divisions of the Command, the Twenty-second, with a force that may have contained as many as five infantry brigades, one mechanized battalion and three heavy-weapon battalions. On the second day of the assault, Eritrean infiltrators destroyed the divisional control center. It required the assistance of the Nineteenth Mountain Infantry division and the 45th Infantry Brigade to halt further advances and repel the EPLF forces. Ethiopian losses in this preliminary engagement were 842 killed, 291 wounded and 615 missing; Eritrean losses have been estimated at 125 killed and 269 wounded. However, the Ethiopian side suffered even graver losses in the aftermath: on Mengistu Haile Mariam
Mengistu Haile Mariam
Mengistu Haile Mariam is a politician who was formerly the most prominent officer of the Derg, the Communist military junta that governed Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987, and the President of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 1987 to 1991...
's order twenty senior officers were transferred and the commander of the Nadew Command, General Tariku Ayne, who had been absent from Afabet for medical treatment, was executed outside of Asmara on 15 February 1988. The death of one of Ethiopia's most prominent generals surprised even the EPLF, whose Radio of the Masses broadcast that the Derg had "cut off its right hand with its left hand". The Twenty-second Division was moved to Keren
Keren, Eritrea
Keren is the second largest city in Eritrea. It is situated about 91 kilometers northwest of Asmara. The town serves as the capital of the Anseba region, and is home to the Bilen ethnic group.-History:...
, and replaced with the Fourteenth Infantry Division.
By mid-March 1988 the Nadew Command had planned to launch an offensive campaign against the Eritrean People's Liberation Front
Eritrean People's Liberation Front
The Eritrean People's Liberation Front was an armed organization that fought for the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia. It emerged in 1970 as an intellectual left-wing group that split from the Eritrean Liberation Front .-Background:...
(EPLF); however, they were pre-empted by the EPLF.
The battle
On the morning of March 17, the EPLF deployed troops on three sides around Hedai Valley to encircle the Ethiopian garrison. The first unit attacked was the newly-arrived Fourteenth Division. Upon their attack, the Ethiopian forces began to withdraw but were cut off. The battle continued while the Ethiopian garrison from KerenKeren, Eritrea
Keren is the second largest city in Eritrea. It is situated about 91 kilometers northwest of Asmara. The town serves as the capital of the Anseba region, and is home to the Bilen ethnic group.-History:...
tried to reinforce their position, which was thwarted by the EPLF.
A stumbling block for the EPLF was on the left flank, where their Eighty-fifth Division was held up by the dogged resistance of the Ethiopian Twenty-ninth Mechanized Brigade. It fought without reinforcement for most of a day until its commander gambled on a retreat to Afabet. Lacking time for careful reconnaissance before its withdraw, the brigade was halted when a tank and truck were disabled by Eritrean 100mm guns, the burning vehicles blocking the road. The Ethiopians were forced to destroy their weaponry to prevent them from falling into EPLF hands. The commander of the Second Revolutionary Army came to the battlefield himself to supervise opening the road to Afabet "until he allegedly 'escaped on a camel' just before the fall of the garrison." Once the Ethiopian troops were routed in Hedai Valley, the EPLF stormed and captured Afabet. As the town was a major garrison the EPLF also captured a large cache of weapons in addition to those captured in the valley.
Killion estimates that by the end of the three-day battle, the Eritreans had killed or captured over 18,000 Ethiopian soldiers. One Ethiopian to survive the battle was the commander of the Nadew Command, Colonel Getaneh Haile, who had fought his way to Keren with a single tank and four armored cars. The colonel thanked God for his escape; Gebru Tareke laconically comments that "the deities were not as kind to most of his men, who remained trapped in the town".
Evaluation
Not long after this defeat, Berhane Woldemichael wrote in the periodical Review of African Political Economy,- The significance to the Ethiopian regime of the loss of Afabet cannot be overstated. In this single battle, Ethiopia lost whole divisions of its best trained and armed troops. Worse still, it left behind a weapons stockpile that it had amassed to carry out what it believed was to have been 'a decisive offensive' against the EPLF. That 'decisive offensive' was being planned by Soviet military advisors. As it was, the EPLF, clearly outsmarting the Soviets, turned around the 'planned offensive' to their advantage. The Soviet Union had always denied direct involvement in Eritrea but was caught red-handed by the EPLA at Afabet by the capture of three Soviet military personnel.
The victory over the Nadew Command is considered by the historian Basil Davidson
Basil Davidson
Basil Risbridger Davidson MC was a British historian, writer and Africanist, particularly knowledgeable on the subject of Portuguese Africa prior to the 1974 Carnation Revolution....
to be the most significant victory for any liberation movement since the Vietnamese victory at Dien Bien Phu
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. The battle occurred between March and May 1954 and culminated in a comprehensive French defeat that...
. It has also been described as the largest battle in Africa since El Alamein
Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
. however, the Ethiopian historian Gebru Tereke disagrees with this comparison to Dien Bien Phu, pointing out that Davidson made his observation from the field as a guest of the EPLF, and that "the Ethiopian armed forces continued to fight, at times quite vigorously, for another three years." He concludes, "From a global perspective, Af Abet was an event whereas Dienbienphu was eventful."