Dervish War

Belligerents

• British Empire
• Italy
• Ethiopia (1900–1904)

• Dervish State
• Supported by:
• Ottoman Empire
• Ethiopia (1915–1916)
• Germany

Commanders and leaders

• Eric Swayne (WIA)
• Richard Corfield†
• William Manning
• Adrian Carton (WIA)
• Robert Gordon
• Giacomo De Martino
• Menelik II

• Mohamed Hassan#
• Ismail Mire
• Haji Sudi†
• Nur Aman#
• Hasna Doreh
• Ibrahim Boghol†

Strength 28,000 ~25,000Casualties and losses British forces suffered approximately 660 killed and over 1,000 wounded, with additional casualties among locally raised units. 4,000 Dervishes killed 100,000–150,000 deaths in Somaliland

The Dervish War, also called the Somaliland campaign, was a conflict in the Horn of Africa, between the Dervish, a movement led by Sayid Muhammed Abdullah Hassan, which continued independently for 21 years between 1899 and 1920, and the imperial powers of Abyssinia, Britain and Italy.

The opening battle of the rebellion saw the Dervish attack the Ethiopian garrison at Jigjiga in March 1900 and take control of parts of the eastern Ogaden region. The Dervish then declared war on the British colonial administration in Somaliland. The Ethiopian Empire, the Kingdom of Italy and some Somali clans also fought against the Dervish. The British launched five military expeditions, mainly in the Nugaal Valley, between 1900 and 1920 against the Dervish, while the Dervishes often attacked the British or Italian controlled parts of Somaliland. The conflict ravaged the region's economy. It has been estimated that around one-third of the population of Somaliland died during the Dervish rebellion.

During World War I, the Ottoman Empire and Germany supported the Dervish movement; with their defeat, the Dervishes were left with no allies. The British thus launched a massive combined arms offensive on the Dervish forts. The Dervish retreated to their capital at Taleh, which was aerially bombed and then captured by the British, leading to the fall of the Dervish movement and bringing the conflict to an end.