Imperial Bodyguard

Kebur Zabagna or Zebenya ( am, ክቡር ዘበኛ, kəbur zãbãňňya, lit=honorable guard) was the Ethiopian imperial guard. Also known as the First Division, this unit served the dual purposes of providing security for the Emperor of Ethiopia, and being an elite infantry division. It was not, however, part of the organizational structure of the Ethiopian regular army as it was part of the ''Zebagna'', the Addis Ababa Guard. The Kebur Zabagna was based at Addis Ababa.

Overview

Richard Pankhurst dates the formation of the Imperial Bodyguard (previously known as the '' Mehal Sefari'') to 1917, when the Regent Ras Tafari (later the Emperor Haile Selassie) assembled a unit under his direct control from men who had trained in the British army in Kenya as well as a few who had served under the Italians in Tripoli. In 1930 as ''Negus'' he invited a Belgian military mission to train and modernize the Ethiopian military, which included the Kebur Zabagna. The unit was organized in three battalions of trained regular infantry armed with rifles, machine guns and mortars; one battalion consisted of men from the earlier ''mahal safari''. The Kebur Zabagna also had one heavy machine-gun company. It was commanded by Ethiopian graduates of Saint Cyr, the French military academy, at the time of the Italian invasion of Ethiopia. As a unit, the Imperial Bodyguard only participated in the Battle of Maychew (31 March 1936), where they inflicted heavy losses on the 2nd Eritrean Division until the Ethiopian troops were forced to withdraw; the Imperial Guard thereafter served in the rearguard. Afterward, many of its members joined the various groups of the Ethiopian resistance. One of these was Kosrof Gorgorios Boghossian, a colonel in the Kebur Zabagna and of Armenian descent, who was the father of noted artist Skunder Boghossian

Following the return of Emperor Haile Selassie to Ethiopia, the Kebur Zabagna was reconstituted, and a Swedish military mission aided in its training. Men for the Kagnew Battalion, which fought in the Korean War, were drawn from the Imperial Bodyguard.

"It remained the elite force of the empire," notes historian Bahru Zewde, "until discredited in the wake of the attempted coup of 1960." That unsuccessful coup had been planned by its commander Brigadier-General Mengistu Neway, and his brother Germame Neway. In 1961 it numbered nine battalions; in 1969 some 7,000 men. In 1974 the Commander was Major-General Tafessa Lemma. The Kebur Zabagna was disbanded after the Derg consolidated their hold on Ethiopia.

The first permanent military band in the country to be established the Imperial Bodyguard Band in 1929 under the direction of Swiss conductor Andre Nicod. Notable members of the Imperial Bodyguard Band included Tilahun Gessesse and Mahmoud Ahmed. It was notable for its implementation of western style military music conventions in a first for any African nation.Kidane, Birhane (1993). The Origin and Development of the Imperial Guard Band (1924–1974). B.A. Thesis, Department of History, Addis Ababa University.

During the Korean War they were armed with American weapons which included the M1 Garand .30-06, M1 Carbine .30 Carbine and some had M1911 .45 ACP pistols.

Notes

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017

Former guards regiments
Military history of Ethiopia
Military units and formations of Ethiopia
Royal guards
Protective security units
History of Addis Ababa