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Campaign of the Sultanates

Campaign of the Sultanates
Part of the Italian Somali Wars and the interwar period

Somali Dubat camel colonial troops under command of Italian Colonel Camillo Bechi
Date1925-1927[1]
Location
Horn of Africa, Italian Somaliland
Result

Italian Victory

Territorial
changes		 Italian occupation and disintegration of the Majeerteen Sultanate and Sultanate of Hobyo
Belligerents

Kingdom of Italy

Majeerteen Sultanate

Sultanate of Hobyo
Commanders and leaders

Kingdom of Italy Maria De Vecchi Italian Somaliland Hersi Gurey

Osman Mohamoud (king)  Surrendered
Ali Yusuf Kenadid

Strength
Kingdom of Italy 6 Banaadir battalions, 3 Eritrean battalions:[a]
12,000 men,[b] 135 artillery pieces, 3 aircraft[4]		 Unknown
Casualties and losses
550 Italians, and 456 Somali Dubats/Eritrean Askaris Unknown possibly Heavy
Stages of the Campaign
1 October–December 1925
2–10 December 1925
26 March-20 August 1926
December 1926
January–February 1927
February–March 1927
Italian naval bombardment of Bargaal

The Campaign of the Sultanates refers to when in the mid-1920s, under Benito Mussolini’s Fascist regime, the Italian government ordered the full military occupation of Somalia through the Royal Corps of Colonial Troops, which led to armed resistance and rebellions across the country.[5] With the arrival of Governor Cesare Maria De Vecchi on 15 December 1923, things began to change in Somalia, Italy had access to these areas under the successive protection treaties, but not direct rule. The Fascist government had direct rule only over the majority of Benadir territory. Given the defeat of the Dervish movement in the early 1920s, and the rise of fascism in Europe, on 1925, Mussolini gave the green light to De Vecchi to start the takeover of the northern sultanates. Everything was to be changed and the treaties abrogated.[6]

Background

[edit]

With the arrival of Governor Cesare Maria De Vecchi on 15 December 1923, things began to change in Somalia, Italy had access to these areas under the successive protection treaties, but not direct rule. The Fascist government had direct rule only over the majority of Benadir territory. Given the defeat of the Dervish movement in the early 1920s, and the rise of fascism in Europe, on 1925, Mussolini gave the green light to De Vecchi to start the takeover of the northern sultanates. Everything was to be changed and the treaties abrogated.[7]

Capo Hersi Gurey in Rome, 1938

Campaign

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Sultanate of Hobyo

[edit]
Omar Samatar a Somali rebel leader attacking&killing Captain Franco Carolei in Ceelbuur, Somalia.

Italians swiftly invaded Hobyo, with Ali Yusuf Kenadiids surrender, victorious against the sultan's forces, the populace had yet to accept Italian rule without a fight. Commissioner Trivulzio, assigned with administering Hobyo, reported the movement of armed men towards the borders of the sultanate before and after the annexation. As preparations were underway to continue the Corpo Zaptié's advance into Majeerteen Sultanate, a new threat emerged. One of Sultan Ali Yusuf's commanders, Omar Samatar, attacked and captured Ceel Buur. In which he personally murdered Italian Captian Francesco Carolei, after which he cut off the captains right hand and threw it over the forts wall, to signal to his army that the rebellion was now underway.[8]

Italian Army burial of Captain Francesco Carolei

Omar Samatars forces then stormed the fort, and held Ceel Buur on the 9th of November 1925. The local populace sided with Omar, and soon enough the Italians had a full-scale revolution on their hands after Omar followed up his previous success with the capture of El-Dhere. The Corpo Zaptié tried and failed to recapture El-Bur from Omar. By 15 November the Italians had fled to Bud Bud, ambushed by partisans the whole way and rather diminished in forces and resolve.[9][10]

A third attempt was planned, but before it could be executed the commander of the operation, Lieutenant-Colonel Splendorelli, was ambushed and killed between Bud Bud and Bula Barde. Italian morale hit rock bottom, and Hobyo seemed a lost cause as Omar Samatar stood poised to reconquer Hobyo itself. In an attempt to salvage the situation, governor De Vecchi requested two battalions from Eritrea and assumed personal command. The rebellion soon spilled over the borders into the Benadir and Western Somaliland, and Omar grew increasingly powerful. The disaster in Hobyo shocked Italian policymakers in Rome. Blame soon fell on Governor De Vecchi, whose perceived incompetence was blamed for Omar's rise. Rome instructed De Vecchi that he was to receive the reinforcement from Eritrea, but that the commander of the Eritrean battalions was to assume the military command and De Vecchi was confined to Mogadishu, and limited to an administrative role. The commander was to report directly to Rome, bypassing De Vecchi entirely.[11]

Considering the eons-old clan rivalries which have been the bane of Somali states from time immemorial, it turned out to be far more successful than the Eritrean regiments in reversing the rebellion, the Habar Gidir were led by commander Hersi Gurey.[12] Although many members of the Habar Gidir sided with Omar Samatars popular resistance originally.[13]

Habar Gidir cavalry in Hobyo

With the steam taken out of the rebellion, and the military forces heavily reinforced with the battalions from Eritrea, the Italians retook Ceel Buur on 26 December 1925, and eventually compelled Omar Samatar to retreat into Ogaden, where skirmishes between his remaining forces and Italian soldiers would continue. Although these fumbles against Hobyo, had been disastrous for the Italians, and Mussolini’s pride.[14][15]

Invasion of the Majeerteen Sultanate

[edit]

The new Alula commissioner, presented Boqor Osman with an ultimatum to disarm and surrender. Meanwhile, Italian troops began to pour into the sultanate in anticipation of this operation. While landing at Haafuun and Alula, the sultanate's troops opened fire on them. Fierce fighting ensued and to avoid escalating the conflict and to press the fascist government to revoke their policy, Boqor Osman tried to open a dialogue. However, he failed, and again fighting broke out between the two parties. Following this disturbance, on 7 October the Governor instructed Coronaro to order the Sultan to surrender; to intimidate the people he ordered the seizure of all merchant boats in the Alula area. At Hafun, Arimondi bombarded and destroyed all the boats in the area.[16]

On 13 October Coronaro was to meet Boqor Osman at Baargaal to press for his surrender. Under siege already, Boqor Osman was playing for time. However, on 23 October, Boqor Osman sent an angry response to the Governor defying his order. Following this a full-scale naval attack was ordered in November. Baargaal is bombed by the Italian cruiser 'Campania'  for 22 hours after initial Italian efforts to take the town are pushed back and several Italian officers are killed.

Bombardment of Bargaal
Aftermath of the bombings

The attempt of the colonizers to suppress the region erupted into an explosive confrontation. The Italians were meeting fierce resistance on many fronts. In December 1925, led by the charismatic leader Hersi Boqor, son of Boqor Osman, the sultanate forces drove the Italians out of Hurdia and Haafuun, two strategic coastal towns.

Hersi Boqor, son of Boqor Osman, who led the rebellion

Another contingent attacked and destroyed an Italian communications centre at Cape Guardafui, at the tip of the Horn. In retaliation, the Bernica and other warships were called on to bombard all main coastal towns of the Majeerteen. After a violent confrontation Italian forces inevitably captured Eyl, which until then had remained in the hands of Hersi Boqor. In response to the unyielding situation, Italy called for reinforcements from their other colonies, notably Eritrea. With their arrival at the closing of 1926, the Italians began to move into the interior where they had not been able to venture since their first seizure of the coastal towns. Their attempt to capture Dharoor Valley was resisted by Hersi Boqor, and ended in failure for the Italians.[17]

Aftermath

[edit]

Due to the immense retaliation of the Majeerteen, Italians were not able to entirely capture Majeerteenia until late 1927, when after the conflict at Iskushkuban Hersi Boqor and his top staff were forced to retreat to Ogaden in order to rebuild the forces. However, they had an epidemic of cholera which frustrated attempts to entirely recover his force and re-capture territory.[18]

Boqor Osman Mahmud II to the far left, with his brother, Yusuf Mahmud and son, Musa Osman in exile, Mogadishu

The Italian Government eventually conquered and merged many sultanates and British protectorates (British Jubaland) to form Italian Somaliland. Mussolini who first criticised Maria De Vecchi heavy-handed tactics which claimed the deaths of a few Somalis, realised that the pacification of Somalia offered great potential for regional expansion.[19] However, instability persisted throughout the years.[20]

Legacy of the Sultanates

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Sultanate of Hobyo

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What was left by the previous Sultanate of Hobyo, in terms of culture and political vision, continued Mogadishu. After the destruction of the Sultanate, former members, under new conditions helped in boosting Somali nationalism. The Osmanya script, founder by Ali Yusuf Kenadiid’s son Osman Yusuf Kenadid, and foundation of the Somali Youth League (SYL), owes much regards to the former Hobyo Sultanate. [21]

The Cumar-Samatar Secondary School in the city of Galkacyo, Galmudug state of Somalia, is named after Omar Samatar in remembrance of his fierce struggles and sacrifices against the Italians.[22]

Notes

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  1. ^ The number of Eritrean battalions was reduced to 2 during the few last months of the Pacification campaign.
  2. ^ Including 3,000 dubats, 2,500 tribal irregulars and 500 Zaptié.

References

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  1. ^ Livio Ciancarella (2020). Somalia - Compendio storico (PDF) (in Italian). Ufficio Storico dello Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito.
  2. ^ Robert L. Hess, Italian Colonialism in Somalia, University of Chicago Press, 1966.
  3. ^ Achille Benedetti, La guerra equatoriale: con l’armata del Maresciallo Graziani, Milan: Casa Editrice Oberdan Zucchi, 1936.
  4. ^ "27 febbraio 1927. In Somalia si concludono le operazioni per la pacificazione dei sultanati". italiacoloniale.com. 27 February 2023.
  5. ^ Yuusuf, Muuse (2021-05-20). The Genesis of the Civil War in Somalia: The Impact of Foreign Military Intervention on the Conflict. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7556-2710-3.
  6. ^ "27 febbraio 1927: In Somalia si concludono le operazioni per la pacificazione dei sultanati". Italia Coloniale (in Italian). 27 February 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  7. ^ "27 febbraio 1927: In Somalia si concludono le operazioni per la pacificazione dei sultanati". Italia Coloniale (in Italian). 27 February 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  8. ^ Benedetti, Achille. La guerra equatoriale con l'armata del Maresciallo Graziani. Rome: O. Zucchi, 1936, p. 78.
  9. ^ "27 febbraio 1927: In Somalia si concludono le operazioni per la pacificazione dei sultanati". Italia Coloniale (in Italian). 27 February 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  10. ^ Tripodi, Paolo (1999). The Colonial Legacy in Somalia: Rome and Mogadishu. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9780312221576. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)
  11. ^ Ciisa-Salwe, Cabdisalaam M. (1996). The Collapse of the Somali State: The Impact of the Colonial Legacy. HAAN. ISBN 978-1-874209-27-0.
  12. ^ Bollettino ufficiale delle nomine, promozioni e destinazioni negli ufficiali e sottufficiali del R. esercito italiano e nel personale dell'amministrazione militare (in Italian). Ministero della Guerra. 1940. p. 2968.
  13. ^ Scovazzi, Tullio; Carpanelli, Elena, eds. (2020). Political and Legal Aspects of Italian Colonialism in Somalia (PDF). Turin: Giappichelli. ISBN 9788892183469. Retrieved 2025-08-14.
  14. ^ Ciisa-Salwe, Cabdisalaam M. (1996). The Collapse of the Somali State: The Impact of the Colonial Legacy. HAAN. ISBN 978-1-874209-27-0.
  15. ^ Njoku, Raphael Chijioke (2013-02-20). The History of Somalia. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 979-8-216-09799-0.
  16. ^ Tripodi, Paolo (1999). The Colonial Legacy in Somalia: Rome and Mogadishu. Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  17. ^ Tripodi, Paolo (1999). The Colonial Legacy in Somalia: Rome and Mogadishu. Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  18. ^ Issa-Salwe, Abdisalam (1996). The Collapse of the Somali State: The Impact of the Colonial Legacy. London: Haan Associates.
  19. ^ Mallett, Robert (2018-11-29). Mussolini in Ethiopia, 1919–1935: The Origins of Fascist Italy's African War. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-316-36865-7.
  20. ^ Donati, Sabina (2013-06-26). A Political History of National Citizenship and Identity in Italy, 1861–1950. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-8733-8.
  21. ^ Boahen, A. Adu; Africa, Unesco International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of (1985-01-01). Africa Under Colonial Domination 1880-1935. UNESCO. ISBN 978-92-3-101713-1.
  22. ^ "Taariikhda Cumar samater oo kooban". 23 November 2009.