Battle of Keren

The Battle of Keren (Italian: Battaglia di Cheren) took place from 3 February to 27 March 1941. Keren was attacked by the British during the East African Campaign of the Second World War. A force of Italian regular and colonial troops defended the position against troops mostly from Sudan and British India and Free French forces. The town of Keren, in the colony of Italian East Africa, was of tactical importance to both sides. The road and railway through Keren were the main routes to the colonial capital of Italian Eritrea at Asmara and the Red Sea port of Massawa, which surrendered to the British after the battle.

Colonised by the Italians in 1885, Italian Eritrea was used as a staging ground for Italian invasions of the Ethiopian Empire in the First and Second Italo-Abyssinian Wars. The second invasion began in 1935 and Ethiopia fell in 1936. Ethiopia, Italian Somaliland and Eritrea were combined to form Italian East Africa (Africa Orientale Italiana) part of the Italian Empire. Following the Italian declaration of war on 10 June 1940, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini ordered his troops to capture British Somaliland and border towns in the Sudan and Kenya.^{[citation needed]}

Eritrea has three climate zones: a coastal region of sandy plain and low scrub, a cool and fertile highland plateau in the north and the hot and arid Afar Depression in the south. The coastal region runs inland for 16–32 km (10–20 mi) in the east with elevations of up to 500 m (1,650 ft) and is hot and humid for most of the year, with June, September and October the hottest months. At Massawa the average temperature is 31 °C (88 °F) and in summer can reach 49 °C (120 °F) in the shade. Most rain falls in the summer monsoon, with occasional showers in the winter. In the escarpments and valleys, the climate is temperate with only summer monsoon rains, except close to the coast, where there is some winter rain. May is the hottest month. Approaching the highland plateau, the elevation rises steeply to 1,800 m (6,000 ft), with some peaks 3,000 m (10,000 ft) high and the ground declines to the west. It is cooler, with the monsoon from June to September and light rain in April and May. The temperature is highest during the dry season from November to April and above 2,600 m (8,500 ft), sub-alpine temperatures are found. The high ground continues into northern Ethiopia, where the mountains and ravines make ideal defensive terrain.

The British responded by building up a force of more than two divisions in Sudan and three in Kenya by early February 1941. The Sudan-based forces—commanded by Lieutenant-General William Platt and under the command of General Archibald Wavell (Commander-in-Chief British Middle East Command)—had invaded Eritrea through Kassala on 18 January and by 1 February had captured Agordat about 160 km (100 mi) further east.

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan shared a 1,600 km (1,000 mi) border with Italian East Africa. On 4 July 1940 it was invaded by an Italian force of about 6,500 men from Eritrea, which advanced on a railway junction at Kassala and forced the British garrison of 320 men of the Sudan Defence Force (SDF) and some local police to retire, after inflicting casualties of 43 killed and 114 wounded for ten casualties. The Italians also drove a platoon of No 3 Company, Eastern Arab Corps (EAC) of the SDF, from the small fort at Gallabat, just over the border from Metemma, about 320 km (200 mi) south of Kassala and took the villages of Qaysān, Kurmuk and Dumbode on the Blue Nile. From there the Italians ventured no further into Sudan, owing to lack of fuel. They proceeded to fortify Kassala with anti-tank defences, machine-gun posts and strong-points, later establishing a brigade-strong garrison. The Italians were disappointed to find no strong anti-British sentiment among the native population.

Keren was not fortified but it is surrounded on most sides by a jumble of steep granite mountains and sharp ridges which gave the defending forces on the high ground a distinct advantage. Control of the mountains provided the Italian artillery with perfect observation of an attack. The narrow Dongolaas Gorge at 15°45′34″N 38°25′16.8″E / 15.75944°N 38.421333°E / 15.75944; 38.421333 (Dongolaas Gorge) through which the road and railway from Agordat to Keren passed was dominated on the south eastern side by the massif of Mount Zeban and Mount Falestoh on which stood the imposing defences of Fort Dologorodoc at 15°45′14.9″N 38°25′30.6″E / 15.754139°N 38.425167°E / 15.754139; 38.425167 (Fort Dologorodoc). The other side of the gorge was commanded by the mass of Mount Sanchil with a saddle of secondary summits, Brig's Peak, Hog's Back and Flat Top stretching north-westwards toward Mount Sammana. In front of the Sanchil feature on its south western side was a secondary ridge, feature 1616, which became known as Cameron Ridge, overlooking the Ascidera Valley and the railway line.

The 5th Indian Infantry Division began to arrive in Sudan in early September 1940 and the 29th Indian Infantry Brigade was placed on the Red Sea coast to protect Port Sudan, the 9th Indian Infantry Brigade south-west of Kassala and the 10th Indian Infantry Brigade (William Slim) were sent to Gedaref with the divisional headquarters, to block an Italian attack on Khartoum from Goz Regeb to Gallabat, on a front of 320 km (200 mi). Gazelle Force (Colonel Frank Messervy) was formed on 16 October, as a mobile unit to raid Italian territory and delay an Italian advance. Late on 30 January, Gazelle Force was ordered to pursue the Italians retreating down the road to Keren.

As the British approached Keren, Brigadier-General Nicolangelo Carnimeo, commander of the 2nd Eritrean Division and the X Territorial Defence Command, drew in the 5th Colonial Brigade and 44th Colonial Brigade from positions to the north. The 42nd Colonial Brigade had reached Keren from Agordat almost intact and the 2nd Colonial Brigade, which had suffered greater casualties there, was reforming. The 11th Regiment of the Savoia Grenadiers and the Alpini Battalion of the 10th Savoia Grenadiers had just arrived after a three-day non-stop truck journey from Addis Ababa while the 11th Colonial Brigade was also in place, having been called from reserve in Addis Ababa. The 6th Brigade, having relinquished its responsibilities at Metemma, was also making its way to Keren.