| First Battle of Massawa | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Eritrean War of Independence | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 EPLF |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Ethiopia | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Mesfin Hagos |
Merid Negussie | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 3,000 men |
6,000 soldiers 1 warship[1] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
At least 2,000 dead 400 wounded[1] | Unknown | ||||||
The First Battle of Massawa took place from 1977 to 1978 in and around the coastal city of Massawa in Eritrea. The port was besieged by the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) against the forces of Ethiopia, and was one of two battles in and around the city.
The battle
On March 25 1977, the EPLF overran the Ethiopian garrisson at Nafka. The fall of Nakfa highly demoralized other garrisons throughout Eritrea. In the next few months, the EPLF controlled Afabet, Keren, Elabored, and Dekemhare and captured many weapons. Similarly, the ELF seized Omhajar, Teseney, Adordat, Mendefera, and Adi Kuala. Though they remained in government hands, Asmara, Barentu, Adi Keyeh, and Maşssawa were now besieged by the insurgents. By late September 1977, EPLF fighters had besieged the town of Massawa.[2] This included the main road used by the garrison for the transport of supplies from Asmara. Essentially the garrison was cut off by land and under siege.[3][4]
On 9 December 1977, the Ethiopian garrison launched a strong counterattack against the EPLF and ELF positions, naval warships began to shell EPLF-held positions, however this attack ended in failure and the Ethiopians were forced to retreat back to Massawa, allowing the EPLF to take control of Dogali. On 23 December 1977, the EPLF managed to take 3/4ths of the town in a assault, forcing the Ethiopian defenders to pull back to Massawa Island.[2][5]After the Ogaden War, the Ethiopian Army regained the initiative, and with the help of the Ethiopian airforce and naval artillery and Soviet arms, launched an offensive to relieve the garrisons of Massawa and Barentu.[1] This offensive led to a withdrawal, dubbed the strategic withdrawal, into Sahel, the strategic, EPLF-held mountaintops around the town of Nakfa.[6]
References
- 1 2 3 Dan Connell (15 July 2019). Historical Dictionary of Eritrea. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 358–. ISBN 978-1-5381-2066-8.
- 1 2 Cooper, Tom (2003-09-02). "Ethiopia and Eritrea, 1950-1991". Archived from the original on 2006-12-06. Retrieved 2006-12-27.
- ↑ Fontanellaz, Adrien. Ethiopian-Eritrean Wars Eritrean war of independence, 1961-1988 · Volume 1. p. 38.
- ↑ Ayele, Fantahun (2014). The Ethiopian Army: From Victory to Collapse, 1977-1991. Northwestern University Press. p. 133.
- ↑ "Another Soviet Push for Power". Time. 1978-02-06. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 2006-12-27.
- ↑ Fontanellaz, Adrien. Ethiopian-Eritrean Wars Eritrean war of independence, 1961-1988 · Volume 1. p. 39.