Battle of Keren

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Battle of Keren

Date	1941-02-03 - 1941-04-01
Location	Eritrea
Result	British Victory

Combatants

United Kingdom

Italy

Commanders

general Nicola Carnimeo

Western Desert Campaign
Compass – Sonnenblume – Tobruk – Brevity – Battleaxe – Crusader – Gazala – Bir Hakeim – 1st Alamein – Alam Halfa – Agreement – 2nd Alamein

The Battle of Keren was fought from 1941-02-03 to 1941-04-01, between the colonial Italian army and the invading British and Commonwealth forces during the East African Campaign (World War II). Keren, a town located in the small East African country of Eritrea, was of strategic importance to both forces because its roads and railway systems were the key to access the Eritrean capital of Asmara and the Red Sea port of Massawa.

Originally colonised in 1885, the Italians used Eritrea as a staging ground for the invasion of Abyssina four years before the outbreak of Word War II in 1935. The town of Keren itself had no built-in fortifications or defensive structures, but was surrounded on most sides by large mountains which gave a distinctive advantage for defense of the area.

The battle began with artillery fire between both forces from well-entrenched positions. When neither side immediately gained a distinct advantage, the conflict began to drag out. The British attacked and captured an Italian fortress on Mount Sankil and effectively ended the battle on March 27,1941. Determined Italian troops retreated to Adi Tekelezan. Their new position, however, was considerably less tenable than Keren had been, and Italian forces finally surrendered to British forces on 1941-04-01. Within a week of the Italian surrender at Adi Tekelezan, both Asmara and Massawa were surrendered despite orders from Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini to continue to fight.

Massawa, fallen due to the loss of Keren, was subsequently used as a staging port for both British and American naval forces.

The battle is still today considered a positive episode in Italian military history, despite its outcome, thanks to the bravery of the Italian and colonial troops and the skilled leadership shown by the defeated commander, General Carnimeo.