Dervish State
If you are looking for the page with the statistics about this polity you can find it here:All Statistics
Was a state created by the the independence movement in the Horn of Africa that fought against British and Italian colonial forces.
Establishment
September 1902: In the summer of 1902, Dervish forces conquered the important city of Gallacaio.
Chronology
Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation
Was a global conflict between two coalitions, the Allies (primarily France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Italy, Japan, and the United States) and the Central Powers (led by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire). It was mainly caused by the competition of the western countries over domain in Europe and in the rest of the world with their colonial empires. The war ended with the defeat of the Central Powers. The war also caused the Russian Revolution and the ensuing Russian Civil War.
1.1.World War I African Theatre
Was the African Theatre of World War I.
1.1.1.Somaliland campaign
Was a long guerrilla conflict which took place between 1900 and 1920 in the territories corresponding to present-day Somalia and in the border areas between Somalia and present-day Ethiopia. The Somali Islamist leader Mohammed Abdullah Hassan succeeded in uniting various clans and tribes in his country in a unitary movement of opposition to Italian and British colonial rule.
May 1903: Italian forces moved into Gallacaio, however the Dervish forces managed to escape without losses in the direction of Gumburu and Ual Ual, in the Ogaden region.
July 1903: The Dervishes bypassed the British line of resistance, and settled in the upper Nogal valley, conquering a region between British Somaliland and the Italian protectorate of Migiurtinia and equipped with an outlet to the sea at the small port of Illig.
January 1904: British forces led by General Egerton invaded the Nogal valley and engaged the main Dervish army near the village of Gid Ali in combat on 10 January 1904, inflicting a crushing defeat.
March 1905: On 5 March 1905, Dervish leader Abdullah Hassan signed a truce with the British and Ethiopians in Illig, promising to stop his attacks in exchange for the cession of the territory of Nogal.
October 1908: The Dervishes resumed the conflict. A column invaded the Sultanate of Obbia and attacked the Mudugh region.
December 1911: The sultanates of Migiurtinia and Warsangali suspended the shipment of weapons and food to the dervishes, forcing the Mullah to abandon the valley of Nogal: in November 1911, 6,000 dervishes penetrated the southern regions of Somaliland, severely beating the Dhulbahante tribe and causing a vast exodus towards the cities of the coast.
February 1913: After various raids, in June 1912 the Dervish Mullah moved further south and created an independent Somali national state. The core of his territory was protected by a chain of forts to the west, and went from Mount Shimbiris on the coast to the village of Gid Ali in the interior.
July 1913: In June 1913 a new Italian expedition led to the definitive defeat of the Dervish Bagheri forces and to the occupation in southern Somalia of several inland towns such as Bur Acaba, Baidoa and Bulo Burti, while further north troops of the Sultanate of Obbia reconquered Mudugh from the rebels.
August 1913: On 9 August 1913 a Dervish column engaged the only remaining British mobile force in the Somaliland Colony, Colonel Richard Corfield's Camel Constabluray, near Dul Madoba hill, destroying it.
September 1913: 60 mounted dervishes entered western Somaliland and sacked the town of Burrao.
October 1913: 60 mounted dervishes entered western Somaliland and sacked the town of Burrao.
March 1915: The forces of Migiurtinia reoccupied the Nogal valley and then encroached on Somaliland as well.
March 1915: In February 1915, an offensive by the reconstituted British Somaliland Camel Corps led to the capture of the Dervish fortifications set up on Mount Shimbiris and other minor positions, forcing the Mullah to withdraw his western line of resistance near his stronghold of Taleh.
February 1920: The Dervish Mullah managed to fall back with a core of warriors on Taleh. A land assault was launched on 9 February.
December 1920: On December 21, 1920 (the precise date is not clear) Abdullah Hassan, who was the leader of the Dervish movement, died after six days of illness (also unspecified, malaria or pneumonia). The Mullah's death effectively ended the Dervish Revolt.
March 1905: The "Mad Mullah" Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, declaring himself Mahdi in 1905 in the Nugaal region of Somalia, he claimed to be a messianic figure and leader of the Muslim community.
Disestablishment
February 1920: The Dervish Mullah managed to fall back with a core of warriors on Taleh. A land assault was launched on 9 February.
December 1920: On December 21, 1920 (the precise date is not clear) Abdullah Hassan, who was the leader of the Dervish movement, died after six days of illness (also unspecified, malaria or pneumonia). The Mullah's death effectively ended the Dervish Revolt.
