Somaliland Campaign
Encyclopedia
The Somaliland Campaign was a series of military engagements fought early in the 20th century in the Horn of Africa
by British
and Italian
colonial forces against the Dervish State
of the Somali
religious and nationalist leader Mohammed Abdullah Hassan
(colloquially referred to as the Mad Mullah by the British). The campaign took place in the protectorate
of British Somaliland
.
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...
by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
colonial forces against the Dervish State
Dervish State
The Dervish state was an early 20th century Somali Sunni Muslim state that was established by Muhammad Abdullah Hassan, a religious leader who gathered Somali soldiers from across the Horn of Africa and united them into a loyal army known as the Dervishes...
of the Somali
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
religious and nationalist leader Mohammed Abdullah Hassan
Mohammed Abdullah Hassan
Sayyīd Muhammad `Abd Allāh al-Hasan was a Somali religious and patriotic leader...
(colloquially referred to as the Mad Mullah by the British). The campaign took place in the protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
of British Somaliland
British Somaliland
British Somaliland was a British protectorate in the northern part of present-day Somalia. For much of its existence, British Somaliland was bordered by French Somaliland, Ethiopia, and Italian Somaliland. From 1940 to 1941, it was occupied by the Italians and was part of Italian East Africa...
.
British expeditions
- First Expedition – 1900
- Second Expedition – 1901
- Third Expedition – 1903
- Fourth Expedition – 1904
- Fifth Expedition – 19201920 conflict between British forces and Somaliland dervishesThe 1920 conflict between British forces and the Dervish State was the fifth and final British expedition against the Dervish forces of Mohammed Abdullah Hassan , the Somali religious leader. The majority of this conflict took place during January 1920. However, the British began preparations to...