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Caesar in Abyssinia
Caesar in Abyssinia hardcover Publication 1936-01-01
- GenresEthiopia
411 pages, Hardcover
First published November 12, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 17, 2022
As the author himself acknowledged, the title of this book is a bit misleading, and initially led me to think it was about the Roman Empire. In fact this is a work of reportage covering the Italian invasion of Abyssinia/Ethiopia in 1935-36. The author was a South African born British journalist who covered the war from the Abyssinian perspective.
In the book the author uses the term “Abyssinia”. Although considered a bit old-fashioned today, I will use it below for the sake of consistency.
In writing this book, G.L.Steer was 100% sympathetic to the Abyssinian side. That wasn’t a problem for me as the reader. Mussolini’s invasion was completely unprovoked and this was a case where one side was clearly in the right and the other clearly in the wrong.
Despite the above, the League of Nations acted in a way that benefited Italy at every turn. Desperate to avoid another European War, Britain and France were already in appeasement mode (and the US was in its inter-war isolationist mood). Probably the worst thing the main powers did was to impose an arms embargo on both sides during to the lead-up to the conflict. There’s no doubt this worked to the comparative advantage of Italy. It’s possible that a supply of modern weapons to Abyssinia might have deterred Mussolini from launching the invasion.
The author is clear that the Italian invasion succeeded only because of their overwhelming superiority in artillery, their use of air power, and the widespread use of poison gas against the Abyssinians, whose soldiers had absolutely no defence against it. You can sense the fury of the author as he describes the terrible burns suffered by Abyssinian soldiers when the Italians used mustard gas. In terms of the “butcher’s bill”, the Italian Air Force had a limited effect, but it had a huge effect on the morale of the Abyssinians. It was demoralising for them to be constantly bombed and to know they had no means at all of hitting back against the bombers. The bombing also meant the Abyssinian armies could often only move at night.
This isn’t though, the book to read if you want a military history of the war. Firstly the author saw every battle from the Abyssinian point of view. Secondly, he was rarely at the front line, as the Abyssinian generals had an understandable suspicion that journalists (especially European ones) would inadvertently report things that would be of help to the Italians. The result was that some parts of the book are quite dull, with the author mechanically reporting the movements of armies, and so forth. For much of this book I felt it was heading for a 3-star rating, but the last section won me over. For one chapter the author hands over to a Col. Konovaloff, a "White Russian" émigré who acted as Haile Selassie’s chief military adviser. He provides an eyewitness account of the last major battle that is much more vivid than the some of the earlier material. Similarly, in the last few chapters, Steer gives us an eyewitness account of the collapse of law and order in Addis Ababa in the last few days before the Italians arrived. It’s a sad, sad tale.
The author wrote a subsequent book about the restoration of Abyssinian independence during the course of WW2. I’d quite like to read that, in order to complete the story.
In the book the author uses the term “Abyssinia”. Although considered a bit old-fashioned today, I will use it below for the sake of consistency.
In writing this book, G.L.Steer was 100% sympathetic to the Abyssinian side. That wasn’t a problem for me as the reader. Mussolini’s invasion was completely unprovoked and this was a case where one side was clearly in the right and the other clearly in the wrong.
Despite the above, the League of Nations acted in a way that benefited Italy at every turn. Desperate to avoid another European War, Britain and France were already in appeasement mode (and the US was in its inter-war isolationist mood). Probably the worst thing the main powers did was to impose an arms embargo on both sides during to the lead-up to the conflict. There’s no doubt this worked to the comparative advantage of Italy. It’s possible that a supply of modern weapons to Abyssinia might have deterred Mussolini from launching the invasion.
The author is clear that the Italian invasion succeeded only because of their overwhelming superiority in artillery, their use of air power, and the widespread use of poison gas against the Abyssinians, whose soldiers had absolutely no defence against it. You can sense the fury of the author as he describes the terrible burns suffered by Abyssinian soldiers when the Italians used mustard gas. In terms of the “butcher’s bill”, the Italian Air Force had a limited effect, but it had a huge effect on the morale of the Abyssinians. It was demoralising for them to be constantly bombed and to know they had no means at all of hitting back against the bombers. The bombing also meant the Abyssinian armies could often only move at night.
This isn’t though, the book to read if you want a military history of the war. Firstly the author saw every battle from the Abyssinian point of view. Secondly, he was rarely at the front line, as the Abyssinian generals had an understandable suspicion that journalists (especially European ones) would inadvertently report things that would be of help to the Italians. The result was that some parts of the book are quite dull, with the author mechanically reporting the movements of armies, and so forth. For much of this book I felt it was heading for a 3-star rating, but the last section won me over. For one chapter the author hands over to a Col. Konovaloff, a "White Russian" émigré who acted as Haile Selassie’s chief military adviser. He provides an eyewitness account of the last major battle that is much more vivid than the some of the earlier material. Similarly, in the last few chapters, Steer gives us an eyewitness account of the collapse of law and order in Addis Ababa in the last few days before the Italians arrived. It’s a sad, sad tale.
The author wrote a subsequent book about the restoration of Abyssinian independence during the course of WW2. I’d quite like to read that, in order to complete the story.
March 25, 2017
Steer shows both writing skill far in advance of the usual journalist and a particular empathy for the Ethiopians (and they for him). The Italian invasion was a shameful conflict with mediaeval equipment and techniques matched against modern military might. That the UK and France did nothing to help Ethiopia and the League of Nations pusilanimousy was a disgrace too. They were to learn the price of appeasement all too soon.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews