The Imperial
Guard of Ethiopia
Since the Xerxe's
"Immortals" elite units have formed the base of power for many a dictatorship.
Roman Cesars had the Pretorian Guard, Napoleon his Imperial Guard, Mussolini
his "blackshirts" and today the tradition is continued by Saddam Hussein
and his Republican Guard.
Haile Selassie
was no different on March 15th, 1934. His full Imperial Guard was marched
before him in Addis Abba. It had just recently completed it's final equipping
and was fit for action. The unit had been raised by Belgian officers and
each man wore a stark Belgian soldier's uniform to seperate them from the
white shamanas worn by the bulk of the army. The berets worn were
imported from Japan. Missing from the uniform was boots, by order of the
Emperor the unit was to retain the tough bare feet of the rest of his force.
Most important off all was that each man had a modern automatic rifle and
each mounted Guardsmen a fine new horse from Australia. Lacking
however were the ever important radios, gas masks, or motorized transport.
An elite "Guards" unit should be able to defend
it's leader from all threats domestic and foregin. While unable to stop
the Italian army, The Imperial Guard did serve to protect him from rivals
and other internal threats. Most bizarre of all was an incident on September
25th, 1935 when Guardsmen found themselves hunting the Emperor's own escaped
Lions through the streets of Addis Abba. The Lion's of the Lion of Judah
were dispatched and life in the capitol was able to return to normal.
The Belgian instructors(fully paid by the Ethiopians)
were excellent teachers on the day of the parade they had just begun instruction
of all NCOs in reading and writing. Missing from this elite forces
was the usual tough selection process, some Imperial Guardsmen were previously
in the service of the Italians a history that lead some to treachery during
the Italo-Ethiopian War. However, Guardsmen for the most part were fanatical
supporters of the Emperor. At the Battle of Mau Ceti they had the
chance to prove their devotion in a brillitantly executed attack on the
Italian posistion. The charge was ineffective despite making excellent
use of the terrain and as a result were grudgingly praised by their enemies.
After that the unit raced back towards Addis Abba, planning to defend the
capitol from an attack that as a result of the Emperor's train ride to
Djibouti never materialized.
Imperial Guard (3,000 Men)
3 Infantry Battalions*
3 MG Companies
1 Squadron Calvary
1 Brigade of Artillery
2 Batteries
20x Schneider 75mms or Oerlikon
37mms
6x Brandt Mortars
* Records conflicting perhaps as many as 6 at one point during the war
Sources: Haile Selassie's War, La guerra d'Abissinia, 1935-1941(Ethiopian
War), Days of Emperor and Clown