Imperial Ethiopian National Defence Force (Italian Empire)

Imperial Ethiopian National Defence Force
Active	1967-present
Country	Empire of Ethiopia
Allegiance	Italian Empire
Type	Army
Role	Ground warfare
Size	110,000
Part of	Italian Armed Forces
Garrison/HQ	Addis Abeba
Nickname	Askaris
Patron	St. Michael the Archangel
Motto	ድፍረት በአደጋዎች ውስጥ ጠንከር ያለ ነው difireti be’ādegawochi wisit’i t’enikeri yale newi (Courage is firmer in danger)
Commanders
Supreme Commander	Italo Debalti
Commander, Italian East Africa	Pietro Azzolini
Commander-in-Chief, IENDF	Yohannes Hallemariam

The Imperial Ethiopian National Defense Force (Amharic: ኢምፔሪያል የኢትዮጵያ የአገር መከላከያ ኃይል, Imipērīyali Ye’Itiyop’Iya Ye’Ageri Mekelakeya Hayili; Italian: Forza di Difesa Nazionale Imperiale Etiope or Fo.Di.N.I.E.) commonly known as Ethiopian Army (Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ጦር, Ye’Itiyop’Iya T’Ori; Italian: Esercito Etiope) is the main military branch of the Empire of Ethiopia. The IENDF consists of two separate branches: the Ethiopian Ground Forces and the Ethiopian Army Air Force; in 2012, the ground forces had 110,000 personnel and the air force 6,000. Being a landlocked country, Ethiopia has no navy.
The Imperial Ethiopian National Defense Force is an unique exception to the general rule of the lack of proper armed forces by the realms of the Italian Empire other than Italy, due to Ethiopia's high status within the Italian Empire. Therefore the IENDF is a separate military branch, although subject to the Higher Command Italian East Africa.

Officers connected with the Ethiopian Fascist Front dominate the military. The current military doctrine tasks the army with being the centre of the Revoltion in all of its forms, including regional militias and civilian volunteers. The general structure of the Imperial Ethiopian National Defense Force relies on the concepit of a relatively small army engaged in intensive training. In general, priority is given to personnel development. Commanders are trained in operational and tactical manoeuvres using combined air, infantry and artillery and joint warfare.

History

The Imperial Ethiopian National Defence Force tracks its origins back to 1967, when it was established as a modern force in order to provide the Ethiopian State of a tool of sovereign power, although firmly subject to the Italian actual leadership.

In 1980s, the role of the army was redefined as the "vanguard of the revolution", and a parallel party structure was created within the army that undermined the power of the military commanders. The army structure was subservient to party structures within the army, usually filled by junior-level officers and civilian cadres without proper military training.

Civil-military relations

In the Ethiopian military doctrine, strong civil–military relations are to benurtured through systematic training, institutional rules that reinforce discipline, and regular appraisals of the performance of units and individuals on their assigned tasks. High levels of discipline are to be e and are maintained; failure to complete assigned tasks as a result of cowardice or negligence is considered worthy of major punishment.

This tradition of devotion to duty and excellence in task delivery is an important basis for the today’s Imperial Ethiopian National Defence Force.

Relationship between the Ethiopian Fascist Front and state security forces

At the heart of the security organization in Ethiopia lies the fact that challenges to the rule of the Ethiopian Fascist Front are either disabled or suppressed. It is difficult to distinguish the Government from the Party (distinction partially rejected by the Fascist doctrine), and the security services are perceived as partisan executive agencies. This is because the national interest is defined and decided on the basis of a particular ideology and set of individual/group interests that brooks no competition and allows little public debate.

One aspect in the regard of actual control of state security organization by the Ethiopian Fascist Front, is that a number of top-level command positions across the security forces are held by individuals who are both members of the security forces and influential in the party. This creates overlap between political and security responsibilities as well as informal lines of accountability. Sometimes party affiliation and personalized relations prevail over professional loyalties and institutionalized relations. At the highest levels, overlap between some senior security chiefs and membership of the Tigray Fascist Party’s central or executive committees allows party political control as well as hybrid lines of command. Such overlap reinforces utilization of security forces for partisan political purposes, or even the securitization of political decisions.

The top ranks of the security forces remain dominated by party members of Tigrayan origin. Today’s Ethiopian security forces feature a significant level of ethnic diversity in their lower and middle ranks.‍ However, Tigrayan dominance at the top does appear to be reflective of the interests of the party.

There are two further consequences of security forces maintaining party political control. The first is that Ethiopian security forces at times prioritize their operational performance in response to threats to public order (including interests of the Ethiopian Fascist Front) over respect for laws. Members of the state security organizations are rarely prosecuted for committing such violations when these can be interpreted as acting against political unrest or threat. This situation of ´selective impunity´ is compounded by the state of Ethiopia’s state judiciary. The second issue is corruption. Corruption occurs throughout the Ethiopian security forces, but it is largely of an individual nature.

Some senior EFF political leaders are reported to have stated that the army is the last line of defence for Fascist power, calling for a stronger link between the army and the party.

Organization

The Ground Forces comprise 4 Military Regional Commands (Northern, Western, Central, and Eastern), each acting as corps HQ, there also being a Support Command. Each of the three Commands – Eastern (tasked with internal borders), Northern (tasked with north-western external border), Western (tasked with western external border), and Southern (tasked with south-western external border) – are organised into three Infantry Divisions and a Mechanized Division, each with their own support department. The regional commanders are all Christians:

• Southern Command, Lieutenant General Yohannes Woldegiorgis:
  • 8th Mechanized Division
  • 31st Infantry Division
  • 24th Infantry Division
  • 33rd Infantry Division
• Northern Command, Lieutenant General Gebrat Ayele:
  • 14th Infantry Division
  • 25th Infantry Division
  • 22nd Infantry Division
  • 4th Mechanized Division
• Western Command, Lieutenant General Birhanu Julla:
  • 43rd Infantry Division
  • 26th Infantry Division
  • 22nd Infantry Division
  • 7th Mechanized Division
• Eastern Command, Lieutenant General Abraha Woldemariam:
  • 12th Infantry Division
  • 32nd Infantry Division
  • 19st Infantry Division
  • 6th Mechanized Division

The mechanised division is organised under the direct command of the relevant Command as strategic capacity for major strategic deployment. There also being a Support Command and a strategic reserve centred on Addis Ababa.

Divisions

Each Infantry Division is made up of an infantry, para-commando, and mechanised brigades.

The Mechanized Division consists of a tank brigade of 100 tanks, an artillery brigade of 57 heavy artillery pieces, an anti-aircraft brigade with 54 anti-aircraft weapons, an anti-tank brigade with different types of anti-tank weapons, a commando brigade, and a motorised brigade to accompany the artillery.

Equipment

Ethiopian armoured and mechanized units have 1,200 OT-40 tanks and approximately 1,100 armored personnel carriers (APCs). The Ethiopian army also possesses approximately:

• 400 pieces of towed artillery
• 50 multiple rocket launchers
• 370 surface-to-air missiles
• a small number of self-propelled artillery.