Battle of Jijiga

The First Battle of Jijiga was part of the 1977 Somali invasion phase of the Ogaden War. For several weeks during August to September, Jijiga would become the site one of the war's largest battles.[2]

First Battle of Jijiga
Part of Ogaden War

Outskirts of Jijiga facing the Marda Pass in 1977
DateAugust — September 1977
Location
Jijiga, Ethiopia
Result Somali victory
Belligerents
Ethiopia Somalia
WSLF
Strength
25,000 soldiers
108 tanks, mostly M47s and M41s		 unknown soldiers
124 tanks, mostly T-54/55
Casualties and losses
Ethiopia:
43 tanks destroyed
28 APCs[1]

Background

Jijiga is a strategic city in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia that lays at the foot of the Marda Pass and dominates the key approach to the major population centers of Harar and Dire Dawa. To approach these cities from the east, an army must first overrun Jijiga and then move on a mountain road through the narrow Marda Pass. Jijiga also serves as a hub for the regions logistical system and together with Harar and Diredawa, forms the administrative, economic, and transport center of the Ogaden. Consequently control of Jijiga became a vital strategic objective for the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) and the Somali National Army (SNA).[3]

Jijiga was also the site of a major Ethiopian military tank base, supply depot and radar installation during the war.[4][5]

Forces Involved

Somalia and WSLF

The Somali National Army (SNA) would commit 124 tanks, mostly T-55s, to the battle.[6]

Ethiopia

Local defenders at Jijiga garrison consisted of roughly 25,000 Ethiopian infantrymen. 108 tanks, mainly M47 Pattons and M41 Walker Bulldogs would also fight to hold the city.[7]

Battle

Siege of Jijiga

In August 1977, the SNA & WSLF forces attacked the Ethiopian garrison in Jijiga.[2] According to the WSLF, the battle for the city would last two weeks.[8] According to Ethiopian reports, the battle had begun on 31 August 1977 with Somali armored assault and air raid aided by "detachments sent by reactionary Arab regimes". The government announced that the attack had been repulsed and claimed to shoot down five Somali MiG-21s (two in air combat, three to surface to air missiles).[9]

Long range artillery guns, like the 155mm, were reportedly used "with devastating effect" during the battle and were a significant factor in the WSLF-SNA's ability to seize the city.[10]

Fall of Jijiga

The Sunday Times would report that the Third Division of the Ethiopian Army began to break and retreat through the Kara Marda pass in early September. It was further reported that following the withdrawal through the pass, the army refused to fight for nearly 10 days in protest of mismanagement by the government and dire logistical issues.[10] On 12 September 1977 Somali forces reportedly captured Jijiga.[2] Despite the cities capture, the Somali government would publicly deny the involvement of the Somali National Army in the Ogaden, instead claiming that victories were being achieved by the WSLF.[11][10]

After being asked about the status of Jijiga at a press conference in Addis Abba on 18 September, Mengistu would publicly claim that Somali forces had been repulsed and that a battle was still ongoing for the city.[12] Reporters who would visit the city in late September would verify that the Jijiga's capture.[13] It would not be until 16 October that the Ethiopian government would acknowledge the city's loss.[14]

Reporters visiting the battlefield would not that in comparison to the city, little evidence of fighting existed in the Kara Marda pass, suggesting a full retreat by Ethiopian forces contrary to government claims.[13]

Losses

A major radar installation on the peak of the Kara Marda mountain overlooking the city was destroyed by WSLF insurgents.[8] The loss of the station would open a significant gap in the Ethiopian air defence system, allowing the Somali Air Force to take an active role in the campaign.[10]

The Ethiopians lost 43 tanks during the battle, including 11 T-34/85 and 32 US made tanks as well as 28 Armoured personnel carriers.[1]

Impact and consequences

In response to the fall of Jijiga, the Ethiopian government issued several directives to mobilize the population for war and appeals to communicate the seriousness of the situation. Ethiopian radio broadcast directives calling upon people in the area of Jijiga, Harar, and Dire Dawa to arm themselves with any means available. The government announced that local neighborhood associations would be authorized the power to draft men and women and send them to military units while radio broadcast ordered all retired members of the armed forces up to 60 years old to immediately present themselves for military service.[3] The call to arms of all veterans and retirees under 60 was motivated in large part by the losses at Jijiga.[10]

The city was turned into a training center for the Western Somali Liberation Front.[15]

References
  1. "Ethiopian-Somali Conflict. Keesing's Record of World Events. Volume XXIV, January, 1978" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-07-05. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
  2. Bruce D. Porter (1986-07-25). The USSR in Third World Conflicts: Soviet Arms and Diplomacy in Local Wars. pp. 185–186. ISBN 9780521310642. (Cambridge University Press, 1986)
  3. Times, Michael T. Kaufman Special to The New York (1977-09-18). "Ethiopians Fall Bach From Somali Onslaught at Jijiga". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  4. Africa. Africa Journal. December 1977. p. 35.
  5. To the Point; News in Depth. Vol. 6. African International Publishing Co Ltd. 30 September 1977.
  6. John G. Jesse, Neal G. Jesse and John R. Dreyer, Small States in the International System: At Peace and at War (Lexington Books, 2016), p. 148
  7. KS-a-LIZ.pdf Ethiopian-Somali Conflict. Keesing's Record of World Events. Volume XXIV, January, 1978
  8. "COMMENTATOR VIEWS JOURNALISTS' VISIT TO JIJIGA". Daily Report: Sub-Saharan Africa. Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 190 (77): B3–B4. 30 September 1977 – via Readex.
  9. "Ethiopia claims Somali tank attack broken". The Times. Reuters. 3 Sep 1977. p. 4.
  10. Gilkes, Patrick (2 Oct 1977). "This could be Ethiopia's last stand in Ogaden war". The Sunday Times. p. 9.
  11. Ottaway, David B. (17 Sep 1977). "Ethiopia Mobilizes More Men As Ogaden Position Worsens". The Washington Post. pp. A16.
  12. "MENGISTU HOLDS PRESS CONFERENCE 18 SEP". Daily Report: Sub-Saharan Africa. Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 77 (181): B9. 19 September 1977 – via Readex.
  13. "Visit confirms fall of key base, pass in Ethiopia". The Washington Post. Reuters. 29 Sep 1977. pp. A16.
  14. "ACTING FOREIGN MINISTER ADMITS FALL OF JIJIGA". Daily Report: Sub-Saharan Africa. Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 77 (200): B2. 16 October 1977 – via Readex.
  15. To the Point International. Vol. 4. African International Publishing Co Ltd. 1977-11-14. p. 29.

Further Sources

"The Capture of Jigjiga (Jijiga) in the 1977 War Between Ethiopia" (video). Taariikh Archive.

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