103rd Commando Division
{{short description|Military unit in Ethiopia}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = 103rd Commando Division
| native_name = 103ኛ የኮማንዶ ክፍል
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| dates = January 1987 – May 1989
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| country = {{flag|People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia}}
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| type = Commando
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| size = Division
| command_structure = {{flagicon|Ethiopia}} Ethiopian National Defense Force
| garrison = Bahir Dar
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| commander1 =
| commander1_label = Commander-in-Chief
| notable_commanders = Colonel Getahun Wolde Giorgis
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The 103rd Commando Division ({{langx|am|103ኛ የኮማንዶ ክፍል|lit|103nya yekomanido kifili}}) were the commando forces of the Ethiopian Ground Forces under the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. It was activated and began training in January 1987.{{sfn|Fontanellaz|Cooper|2018|pp=18, 68}} It was part of the 604th Corps and was described as "the cream of the Ethiopian Army".{{Cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Tom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R4iWDwAAQBAJ&dq=103rd+Commando+Division+ethiopia&pg=PA18 |title=Ethiopian-Eritrean Wars. Volume 2: Eritrean War of Independence, 1988-1991 & Badme War, 1998-2001 |last2=Fontanellaz |first2=Adrien |date=2018-07-31 |publisher=Helion and Company |isbn=978-1-913118-35-8 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Berhe |first=Mulugeta Gebrehiwot |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ud7QDwAAQBAJ&dq=103rd+Commando+Division+ethiopia&pg=PA138 |title=Laying the Past to Rest: The EPRDF and the Challenges of Ethiopian State-Building |date=2020-01-15 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-1-78738-370-8 |language=en}}
Creation
In early 1987, the government began the process of expanding commando units. The division was created on 13 January 1987, with at its head Colonel Getahun Wolde Giorgis. It was based out of Bahir Dar, Amhara Region with a potential capacity of 10,000 commandos. After initial recruitment, training began at the Harar Military Academy, before commando training began at Hawassa and later at Bahir Dar.{{Cite book |last=Ayele |first=Fantahun |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QDPVBgAAQBAJ&dq=103rd+Commando+Division+ethiopia&pg=PA38 |title=The Ethiopian Army: From Victory to Collapse, 1977-1991 |date=2014-10-30 |publisher=Northwestern University Press |isbn=978-0-8101-6805-3 |language=en}}
Operations
In 1989, the Defence Council sent the 103rd to take part in the defence of the capital during the Fall of Addis Ababa during the Ethiopian Civil War. It also took part in the battles for Axum.
In Tigray, the 103rd Commando Division was to provide the government's last hope in keeping Tigray. These attempts were repulsed on 19 February 1989, the division was defeated in and around Shire by the Tigray People's Liberation Front.{{Cite web |author=Bernhard Lindahl |date=2005 |title=Local history of Ethiopia: Ind'Abba Selama - Insway |website=Nordiska Afrikainstitutet [The Nordic Africa Institute] |url=https://nai.uu.se/download/18.39fca04516faedec8b248df7/1580829012370/ORTIND05.pdf}}
Personnel
The 103rd during its existence was often seen as a victim of poor command,{{cite book |title=African Defence |date=1989 |publisher=The Journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TxMyAQAAIAAJ&q=103rd+Commando+Division+ethiopia |language=en}} as it was mostly made up of conscripts and fresh militiamen.{{Cite book |last=Tareke |first=Gebru |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dRIfYPTZxJsC&dq=103rd+Commando+Division+ethiopia&pg=PA276 |title=The Ethiopian Revolution: War in the Horn of Africa |date=2009-06-23 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-15615-7 |language=en}} General Demissie Bulto, who was involved in the 1989 Ethiopian coup d'état attempt, had his mutilated body dragged in the streets of Asmara by half-drunk commandos.{{Cite journal |last=Tareke |first=Gebru |date=2004 |title=From Af Abet to Shire: The Defeat and Demise of Ethiopia's 'Red' Army 1988-89 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3876226 |journal=The Journal of Modern African Studies |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=239–281 |doi=10.1017/S0022278X04000114 |jstor=3876226 |issn=0022-278X|url-access=subscription }} Major Bogale was a brigade commander in the division.
References
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=Works cited=
- {{Cite book |last1=Fontanellaz |first1=Adrien |last2=Cooper |first2=Tom |title=Ethiopian-Eritrean Wars: Volume 2: Eritrean War of Independence, 1988-1991 & Badme War, 1998-2001 |publisher=Helion & Company |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-912390-30-4 |location=Warwick |series=Africa@War No. 30}}
Category:Military units and formations of Ethiopia