ABYSSINIA'S ARMY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22215, 16 September 1935, Page 12

ABYSSINIA'S ARMY

SMALL ARMS POSITION SHORTAGE OF AMMUNITION GUERILLA TACTICS Abyssinia's military strength is largely a matter of conjecture. Perhaps the host basis of calculation is manpower. There are only six aeroplanes, the artillery is considered a joke even by the Abyssinians themselves, and their resistance, if the trouble ends in Avar, will depend upon infantry and mounted tribesmen who use sword and lance.

It has been estimated by the Times correspondent in Addis Ababa that the J Emperor could quickly muster 500,000: men who possess their own rifles, 14,000; of modern pattern, Mausers or Lebels i imported by the Belgian military mis- ; sion during the past three years, and j 16,000 modern rifles and 600 light! automatics bought against coffee and imported with difficulty through Jibuti ] last year. There are also some hundreds of machine-guns. , Highly Prized Ammunition The rifle in the hands of most of the tribesmen is the Gras, a model of 1870. A recent explorer who went into the Aussa country mentioned that rarely did a man possess more than 10 rounds of ammunition, which was so highly prized that rifles were not used in hunting. Often these cartridges do not respond to the hammer, says another writer. Obviously much of this ammunition is bad through deterioration. Incidentally it might be remarked that the tribesmen give no care to their rifles. There is no greasing and even regular soldiers of the Imperial Guard have been seen to shove the muzzles of their rifles into the ground and use them as shooting sticks.

One of the Emperor's greatest anxieties is in the matter of rifle and machine-gun ammunition. An ammunition factory was once established by an Englishman in Addis Ababa, but it has long been closed and the vital parts have been removed. The correspondent mentions that the Imperial Guard is believed to possess only 10.000,000 rounds of rifle ammunition. There has been practically no rifle practice on account of the shortage. Abyssinia's Real Strength Observers scoff at the training "a la Beige" of men in Addis Aba.ba. They consider that ability to march in step and slope arms will not give an atom of benefit to Abyssjnia's fighting strength, which will lie in guerilla tactics.

The Times article concludes: —" The Ethiopian, in spite of parade-ground treatment, remains Vi fine soldier, and those who call him excitable and uncontrollable are belied by the amazing restraint and discipline which lie has shown, on his Emperor's orders, during the last eight months. If he can husband his ammunition, concentrate and attack by night, lacerate communications, and scatter to snipe and hunt his enemies by using cover in the daytime—a sport at which he is brilliant he may well giv6 Italy a very long war. He has not the resources of ammunition that Morocco could obtain, but there is evidence enough that sensible guerilla tactics are being passed round among the common people by worn of mouth. " The Ethiopian's natural qualities mav compensate for his lack of leaders, and his incredibly difficult Amharic plateau, cleft by ravines and torrents, where everv track shuns the va leys and picks the most precarious way along the highest points, is a factor which may long embarrass an Italian invader.