The First Victory: The Second World War and the East Africa Campaign

by Andrew Stewart, Michael Page (Narrator)

Surprisingly neglected in accounts of Allied wartime triumphs, in 1941 British and Commonwealth forces completed a stunning and important victory in East Africa against an overwhelmingly superior Italian opponent. A hastily formed British-led force, never larger than 70,000 strong, advanced along two fronts to defeat nearly 300,000 Italian and colonial troops. This compelling book draws on an array of previously unseen documents to provide both a detailed campaign history and a fresh appreciation of the first significant Allied success of the war. Andrew Stewart investigates such topics as Britain's African wartime strategy; how the fighting forces were assembled (most from British colonies, none from the U.S.); General Archibald Wavell's command abilities and his difficult relationship with Winston Churchill; the resolute Italian defense at Keren, one of the most bitterly fought battles of the entire war; the legacy of the campaign in East Africa; and much more.

Genres: World War II, History, Africa, Military History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Military Fiction

Audio CD

First published November 22, 2016

Reviews

[Jesper Jorgensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no knowledge at all about WWII in East Africa. For that reason alone this audiobook was very interesting.
However, the book is a bit dry and names, numbers and unknown places are relentlessly presented to you.
And that is why I believe that this book ideally must be read as, a book.

Hard to imagine how they could run a war in that environment with the resources they had. (Who can imagine a RN Walrus observation plane used as TAC air, bombing and strafing??)

The narrator, Michael Page, does an excellent job and I love his diction. To me, very, very British. (English is not my native language but I never heard anyone say dates as “two May” or “thirteen April”)
Sometimes the sentences are very long and I could not help my self from thinking, that if Mr. Page does not inhale now, he will faint from lack of oxygen 😊

[Arthur · Rating 2 out of 5]

A 9 and a half hour unabridged audiobook. The East African battles (not to be confused with North African) in 1941, during WW2, are probably the ones I know least about (well, perhaps Burma) so figured I give this one a shot.

The book seems primarily focused on the biographies and strategies of the British, giving rather scant (in comparison) information on Italian officers and strategies. Even at the end of the book British and German sources are used to explain the loss for the Italian side, rather than finding any Italian accounts.

This campaign has definitely been overlook historically and I'm glad this book tries to correct that. But for me to just fell short. It was okay.

[Shrike58 · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I liked about this monograph is that the author put in the effort to make use of new sources, and puts several interesting twists on this story. Perhaps most relevant is that Stewart sees the British victory in East Africa as having several aspects of strategic importance, most notably that it made the British logistical situation in North Africa much more tenable. It was also the beginning of the British military truly fighting as a "Commonwealth" force, as without the white "dominions," India, and African colonial troops, the British land forces would have had even less staying power.

As for the Italian forces in theater, Stewart actually has a good bit of respect, but there is no denying that they under-performed. It might have simply boiled down to older Italian generals being reluctant to invest too much energy in a war that they saw as mostly benefiting Berlin.

About my only complaint is that this book needed actual orders of battle for the forces involved.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid account of largely forgotten campaign of strategic importance

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overshadowed not only by future victories in North Africa and Europe, but also by contemporary defeats in Greece, the East African campaign was a lone light in the early years of the war, marked by setbacks and reversals for the Allies. Outnumbered and outgunned in a vast, poorly-provisioned countryside, the British and Empire forces managed to defeat a greater Italian army and end the Italians’ strategic goals in East Africa. Elements of future campaigns could be seen: a daring amphibious landing in Berbera prefigured similar combined-arms operations in Normandy and the South of France; mechanised infantry and air support demonstrated the importance of air superiority and combined-arms warfare; the vast coalition of soldiers taking part from every corner of the British Empire alongside Ethiopian patriots, Free French, and Belgians presaged the great contributions the free world made against Hitler.

This is a complete history of the East African campaign from the initial Italian games to the final defeat in their mountaintop fortresses. Obviously, by the title, this is a history of the British and Commonwealth forces during this campaign so the Italian contribution is limited. However, for a more detailed look at the Italian experience of the war in Africa, Gooch has written an excellent history of the Italians’ war. This is an in-depth military and political history of the campaign, focusing too on the build-up and aftermath of the successful campaign as well as its implications for the wider war effort, especially in North Africa.

There were many brave and heroic exploits, including two of the earliest Victoria Cross awards for bravery, a final last-ditch cavalry charge, and even a mutiny. Yet despite this victory, This campaign has long been overshadowed by events in North Africa and in the Balkans. Even the generals in charge downplayed their efforts and as a result, the East African campaign, despite being a great victory, faded from popular memory. In order to right this wrong, this history finally brings to light an important aspect of the British contribution to the war and the contribution the East African campaign made the overall war effort.

[John Purvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The First Victory” eBook was published in 2016 and was written by Andrew Stewart. Mr. Stewart has published 8 books.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘PG’ because it contains scenes of Violence. The story is set in East Africa during the period 1939-42. This is the non-fiction account of the defeat of the Italians by the British in East Africa.

As expected for Non-Fiction, this book is full of names, dates and facts. Some chapters have more than 100 footnote references. The last 26% of the book is reference material. I thought that the 9+ hours I spent reading this 328 page book were interesting, but dry. I have read quite a bit about the history of WWII, but never this aspect of it. The cover art is reasonable for the topic. I give this book a 3.6 (rounded up to a 4) out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

[Kent Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Victory on a shoestring

Fascinating account of Ethiopian liberation during wwII. First modern joint campaign with air, ground, and naval planning etc. Resource starved interwar British army formations outmaneuver Italian army.

[Nishant Pappireddi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-done account of the British Empire's victory in the East African Campaign, often overlooked.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book on a neglected subject but was still disappointed at its "British" centric overview of the war against the Japanese. British forces made up a tiny percentage of the forces who liberated Ethiopia and drove the Italians out of the Horn of Africa. While Andrew Stewart does attempt more balance from the frankly absurd official histories and earlier accounts he still fails to dig deeply into the war fighting techniques, strengths and weaknesses the Indians, South African, Central and West African soldiers, officers and yes, Generals bought to this conflict. A good example is the South African general George Brink who had spent time embedded in the emerging German Army in the inter war period and studied their armoured warfare doctrine and brigade level organisation and restructured the Union Defence Force to create highly mobile integrated forces using shock warfare to disrupt the italians. The UDF's innovative use of armoured cars designed and manufactured in SA supported by 20 000 all weather trucks that transported the 40000 SA and Rhodesian troops in the liberation of Somalia, ethiopia and eventually into Eritrea. The role of the "Patriots" of Ethiopia is also brushed over with more attention paid to the group of talented but eccentric British officers who led them.

My grandfather served as an attached Royal Engineer to the Sudan Defence Force throughout much of the campaign (four years) and he told me about some of the bungling leadership, combat avoidance and mutiny amongst the British troops that is glossed over in this account. The British treatment of its colonial and dominion troops in both WW wars was shocking and left deep scars that shaped its relationship with these countries after the war during the end of empire, all of these tensions played out in this campaign. A remarkable campaign. Sadly Churchill allowed his personal animus towards General Wavell to cloud his judgement on the issues related to this campaign. A good read despite limitations...

[Caleb D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andrew Stewart’s The First Victory looks at the East African Campaign (1940–41), where Allied forces—mostly British and Commonwealth troops along with African soldiers—fought against Italian East African forces during World War II. Stewart argues that this campaign was the Allies’ first real victory of the war, and he shows how important it was in boosting morale and protecting key trade routes through the Red Sea.

This isn’t a light read—it’s a thick history book packed with detail. Stewart goes through the campaign step by step, explaining not just the Allied advances but also why the Italians made the choices they did. That makes it more balanced than many books that only tell one side of the story.

Some of the battles he covers include the Italian invasion of British Somaliland, the battles at Gallabat and Agordat, the long and bloody fight at Keren, the fall of Massawa, and the eventual surrender at Amba Alagi and Gondar. Each chapter digs into the challenges of terrain, logistics, and the mix of forces that had to work together in order to win.

Because of the level of detail, this book may not be the best fit for the casual reader. But for anyone who wants to understand Africa’s role in the war and how the East African Campaign shaped the bigger picture, Stewart’s book is an excellent resource.

I’ve given this book a 5 out of 5 because of the detail that Stewart includes about the Kenyan efforts and due to the overall detail included throughout.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

In sub-Saharan Africa the Horn of Africa has seen the most modern conventional conflict. A good read on the campaign in East Africa in World War II that looks at the first of these. Basically the Italians had no chance of re-supply and were overwhelmed but, over-performed in some circumstances notably at Karen. At Karen and Gondar the Italian strategy was able to create the sort of mountain warfare they had experienced in World War I.

Orde Wingate is a legendary figure of this campaign but, Stewart argues successfully his role has been some what over stated and the impact of his shifa forces was overstated. Gazelle Force in this telling gets its due.

A criticism I would have is the abrupt stop in 1941 when in fact some Italians operating with shifa c0nducted a guerrilla campaign that continued until after Italy switched sides in World War II. This is important not as a foot note to history but, because many of the African leaders working with the Italians went on to become important figures in the Eritrea's own struggle for independence.

[Scott Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid overview of an overshadowed campaign in World War II, The Allies (mainly the English) defeating the Italians in Ethiopia and Northeastern Africa in the early part of the war. The Italians made their claim to this part of the world prior to the war, but once hostilities commenced, the British made their move, along with Imperial troops and local allies, to defeat the Italians. The British did manage to win its first victory, but between other campaigns (the Germans invaded Greece on the day of the final Italian defeat in Ethiopia), and future action in that part of the world (see the Afrika Corps of Rommel and the great turn at El Aleman). This is primarily military history. Not superb writing, but it is an interesting story. Worth the listen for the WWII student.

[Matthew Sparling · Rating 2 out of 5]

An OK book but nothing special. In some ways it was very detailed and in other it was very high level gloss over. It made it kind of confusing. Also I found the descriptions of the parts of Africa to be lacking. I listened to the audio book so maybe the digital or hard cover had maps but I kept having to stop listening and switch over to an old map online to determine the locations the author was talking about which made the book less enjoyable.

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stewart provides an excellent narrative and analytical study of one of WWII's least-known campaigns. Stewart effectively argues that the campaign was of vital importance to Britain's global strategy, despite being overshadowed by events further north. He also does much to rescue Wavell's reputation from Churchill's disapproval.

[Cam Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite part:

Some weeks after the battle Cunningham flew up over Amba Alagi. Later his aide wrote that it was ‘the most terrific stronghold. We flew round it and saw the holes in the side of the mountain side where the Wops hid during the short battle. It looks as though nothing could have taken it even after years of siege, and only Wops could have given it up after such a short fight.’

[Roberta Westwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably good

I’ll admit to multi tasking while listening to this, and the narrator wasn’t quite strong enough to draw me in, so I know I missed alot. It may very well be an excellent treatment of the subject matter, but don’t feel I can judge. I will say that pickings are slim on WWII in Africa, so it was good to see it.

[Ben GS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook

[Nick Harriss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. While I had some understanding of this theatre, this book brings my knowledge to a much greater level, and did it in an entertaining way.