It feels like quite a long time since I last did a build log here. I have, of course, been building models but haven't blogged any here recently. So I'm happy to be getting one started now and I hope anyone who stops by to take a look will enjoy it.

For this build the central feature was originally going to be a Trumpeter BM-21 Grad but I decided to shelve that for another day in favour of Trumpeter’s BMP-1. The reason for this is mostly to do with wheels- the last project I finished was a wheeled vehicle and I felt like doing something with tracks and I’ve been meaning to get the BMP on the bench at some point as I’ve wanted to build it for ages and to build an African utilised version is also something I’ve wanted to do. So here we are.

In terms of a subject I have chosen to depict an Ethiopian military vehicle from the Second Revolutionary Army (SRA) who were the Government force present during the Battle of Massawa (back then the city was still in Ethiopia but it is now a part of Eritrea), or Operation Fenkil as it is also known.

Fighting against them was the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF). They, along with other groups in Ethiopia, had been at war with the Revolutionary Government, sometimes known as the 'Derg', led by President Mengistu Haile Mariam, in Addis Ababa since the late 1970s.

Massawa would be one of the final battles of the war in Ethiopia- it saw the SRA defeated and the Government would fall just over a year later- hence the reason for the title- ‘Denouement’. The title is actually from a chapter in a book on the conflict I read a while ago, called The Ethiopian Revolution: War In The Horn of Africa by Gebru Tareke.

Throughout the build I plan to include some photos from the conflict and maybe write a few paragraphs here and there about why Massawa happened and what was the lead-up to it. In general the Ethiopian Civil War and the Ogaden War (that occurred in 1977) had ramifications across the Horn of Africa that affect the area even today. Still- if anyone gets bored let me know and I’ll stop!

I plan to create a scene of some sort around the BMP-1 with several figures and probably a building of some description. I haven’t nailed down exactly which ones yet but I do have some ideas. This is, surprisingly, how I end up starting most of my scenes…with a rather loose, shall we say, set of ideas. With that in mind I will start off with the words of the late, great Rik Mayall- ‘Strap yourselves in…it might be a bumpy ride!’

Since I don’t have too many pictures of the build at this stage (only four) I thought I would post some pictures from the battle. They have been taken from EPLF footage.


WARNING: There are six pictures from the Battle of Massawa below. The sixth and last picture includes very graphic content so please scroll past if you do not want to view it.














So- on with the build.

It starts pretty logically as you might imagine with the running gear.







The idler wheels are of a particularly interesting design in that there are five etch ribs to be placed in between each of the two wheels that make up the idler. Slightly fiddly but nice once its done.




I know, I know...all that writing and only four pictures of the build. I will have more soon so stay tuned!

Thanks for reading!

MODS: I realise I have spelt 'Denouement' wrong in the title of this post- I've forgotten the 'e' after the 'u' -can one of you guys change it?

Cheers!

Interesting piece of History, good kit too.
Let's see how this turns out then

Bored! Seriously? Ethiopian subjects are very uncommon, let's see what you've got!

"Denouement" English spelling, "Dénouement" French spelling.

Nice project.

Cheers,

Christophe

John, jphillips- Good to have you both along for the build!

Christophe- Thanks for checking in and for the spelling!

So lets get back into this build then.

Compared to some vehicles the BMP-1 running gear is quite simple and spartan- there's not a great deal to it. That being said, Trumpeter have still included plenty of detail. The only problem I've encountered is with PE Parts A-4. As you can see its a small part that sits over the top of the plastic part in the bottom left of the picture with the sides folded down. You need two of these and, for some reason, Trumpeter haven't included bending channels in these PE parts. (Yet PE A-5 is a similar part and it has the bending channels included). Thus getting them to bend exactly right is somewhat difficult. I used my Etch Mate but still couldn't get a totally 90 degree bend on either side with a flat top. Its not a big deal really- the part fits well enough- just seems to be a small oversight in the kit.





You can also see above the mud scraper for the sprocket.

The forward mounted tow/lifting hooks are nicely detailed.



The rear ones are similar and you can see the circular hook that goes along with them here.



The rear doors are the next item up and they are nicely moulded with a decent bit of interior detail (though this kit has no actual interior). For some reason the instructions have you mount a clear periscope inside the rear doors that is a little pointless since the outer face of the periscope is a normal plastic part. I would also say watch out for the door hinges here- I fitted my doors to the hull after I glued the hinges on to make sure they sat right- they don't have a great mounting area on the doors.





The mounting holes on the outer face are for spare track links but I've got Fruil metal tracks for this so I'll likely be mounting them in favor of the kit parts.

On the other side the door is a different shape due to the firing port.





While I was building these I couldn't help but think what it was like to be sitting at the back of the compartment next to these doors filled with diesel going to face an enemy that had a decent proficiency in RPGs and Recoilless Rifles.

So more on the kit soon.

I said I would write a few brief bits of history just to give the setting a bit of context so here we are.

The Fall Of An Emperor

Like a great many other countries in Africa the post-World War Two political landscape began to shift rapidly in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Ethiopia was no different. With more industry, better education and growing cities the rise of opposition to the old system was pretty much un-stoppable.

In 1960 a coup against Emperior Haile Selassie I failed but it would not be the last. A mutiny by the military in 1974 led to civil unrest throughout the country but it lacked any real leadership or momentum for a time.

The ageing Selassie and his ill son and, indeed, the entire Royal Court and Government could not respond in any meaningful way- they had no answers and pretty much no future. There were many civilian political groups at the time in Ethiopia but a lack of any cohesion led to the rudderless nature of the revolt.

Eventually the mutineering military took the reins of revolution whose main idea was a socialist vision of Ethiopia- Ethiopia Tikdem or 'Ethiopia First' as they called it. In terms of administration it bore many of the hallmarks of left wing revolution and the newly formed Provisional Military Administrative Council (or 'Derg') dethroned the Emperor on September 12 without a shot fired- Parliament and the consitution were both scrapped and that ended the ancient rule of the Emperors in Ethiopia.


Well I hope you enjoy the build and the little bit of history there too. I'm still working on the 'setting' for this vehicle but I'm beginning to settle on some things. I think Bravo 6 Vietcong and/or NVA troops might be the best at representing the EPLF (with African replacement heads of course) as they had no real 'official' uniform (although many seemed to favor a light shirt and either short trousers or shorts of a tan color)- they can be seen wearing anything and everything rather like the Ethiopians toward the end of the war.

Karl great to see you back at it will be waching
dave

Dave- Thanks for stopping by mate- glad to have you along for the build!

Once I had the doors sorted out I moved back to the hull. The next thing to do was add the three return rollers to each side.



Then there was a semi-circular shaped part to add near the front suspension area on each side and then the vented rear track guards.





Then it was on to the suspension itself. This is made up of four single struts for the middle and two-part reinforced struts at the front and rear on both sides. Positioning and fit is perfect for the four single pieces and the reinforced parts are just as good.





And that is the hull done. Next up is the tracks and my next update will cover that.

Years of Uncertainty And The Rise Of Mengistu Haile Mariam

When the Derg finally seized power from the Emperor the only thing that was certain was that the old order was gone- what the new order would be was very much hanging in the balance.

In terms of politics all the discourse at this time in Ethiopia was on the left- varying groups of leftists vied to be the true group that spoke for the people. The Derg itself was split between moderates under General Aman Mikael Andom and hardliners under Major Mengistu Haile Mariam.



Disgareements led to Andom’s murder in 1974 and the subsequent turmoil both within the Derg and within Ethiopian politics led to much bloodshed and a period known as the ‘Red Terror’ that lasted until the outbreak of war with Somalia in 1977.

The Derg and Mengistu used the political turmoil and the onset of insurgent activity in the East of the country (sponsored largely by Somalia and somewhat of a prelude of the war to come in 1977) to claim they were, in their claim to power, safeguarding the revolution and national unity. By the end of the Ogaden War the shift to a military dictatorship under Mengistu was fully under way.

Mengistu himself was a sparsely educated soldier who joined the military at 18 and became an Officer before being sent to the US twice in the 1960s to learn about ordnance. His rise owed a great deal to his political shrewdness and his calculating ambition.

Gebru Tareke describes him as ‘mercurial, given to extremes…scruplulous, tireless, graceful…treacherous, ruthless and cowardly’ but also ‘unostentatious and not personally corruptible’. Tareke ends one of his descriptions of Mengistu with ‘no wonder that there is no person in Ethiopia today as widely revered or as fiercely reviled as Mengistu’.

Many thanks to Jacques for correcting the title spelling of the thread !

And as always- thanks for reading.

Did any Ethiopian vehicles have markings?

Empire City Decals has one set of markings for an Ethiopian Army T-55 set in the 1990s. However, a description of the camo pattern and the white numbers used are present, but no nationl marking. The code on the packet is ECD3502 (the entire set includes decals for at least 20 other T55s).

Long ago (mid 80s), I made an M-47 of the Ethiopian Army and recall seeing an Ethiopian roundel apllied to the turret, so I applied it. I'm not sure if that application applies today. But hey, there are no rules/standards when 3rd world armies start applying markings...if at all. If I were to make another Ethiopian vehicle, I would not hesitate to add a roundel.

If you want a roundel, you might be able to still find Roundels of the World, Part 1, North Africa, and it looks like the catalog number appears to be ZTZSP1 (I can't recall who the manufacturer is). There are 29 countries of decals in the pack...with about 2 dozen roundels for each country in various sizes...assuming 1/72, 1/48 and 1/35 scale for both aircraft and armor applications. If anyone is having trouble getting Ethiopian anything, I'll donate a pair of each size of the roundels and you will have to decide which suits your needs. Keep in mind I'm not giving away my entire set!

Thanks for the info John- just to add that Star Decals also do several African markings sets one of which includes markings for an Ethiopian tank, a T-55. But as you pointed out there are no rules and standards in regards to African vehicles, at least not in the time period we are talking about here.

I believe, seeing from footage and some photographs, that some markings were common on tanks from both the EPLF and Ethiopian forces (and probably Tigrayan PLF forces as well). But I've not seen any markings at all on anything smaller- like BMPs. I doubt I'll add markings to mine but I'm always looking for references so I may consider adding some if I come across anything.

After viewing Star Decals web site, I'm gonna step out here and call them what use to be...Bison Decals. I have very similiar sheets of decals under the Bison name that more than match almost one to one the Star Decal. I'm not sure what happened there, but I do recall there was a period where Bison COULD NOT be ordered. Maybe they went through a reorganization?? Anywho, the decals certainly go where no other decal maker goes!!

hey Karl check this out http://star-decals.net/star35949.html
this might help dave

Dave- I don't see any Ethiopia decals in that link- that one has Uganda, Somalia, Sweden (ONU) and Australia (UN). As far as I can see the only one Star Decals do with an Ethiopian vehicle is this one:

http://star-decals.net/star35950.html

Is that the one you meant?

yes that was the one sorry Karl
dave

In this post I am going to talk about tracks. The Trumpeter kit tracks are individual workable links. They are excellent kit tracks- I tried a length of ten tracks and simpley pulled each track off the sprue by hand (obviously they need a bit of sanding before attaching them if you are going to use them) and clicked them together. Despite their size they are easy to fit and sturdy when handled- they will not come apart easily and are nicely detailed on inner and outer surfaces.

So why not use them?

Well that’s a good point- the pros are obvious but there are also downsides to using tracks like these. Firstly they will come apart if handled roughly and some rough handling is sometimes needed to get them to fit onto the actual vehicle. However, the main problem with these tracks comes with the weathering stages- plastic tracks do not take well to enamel based weathering products or any product in fact that uses minerals spirits- it will weaken the plastic and if the tracks are glued together it can weaken the glue joins and make them fall apart. The way to beat this is to not use mineral spirit based products and avoid spirits altoghether when painting and weathering these sort of tracks. You can achieve excellent results using acrylic paints, acrylic washes and dry pigments.

But if you like using enamel products and you want sturdier tracks that will stand up to the harshest weathering then metal tracks are the way to go. There are several companies out there that produce them. For this project I have gone with Fruils…



…which I…enjoy…at least that’s what I keep telling myself.

You get three bags of links including some that have a slightly rounded link connector (but it is hardly noticeable) for areas where the track will curve around the sprocket and idler areas. You also get a roll of thin wire. In some sets you also get new metal sprockets, but there are none in this kit. The detail on the tracks is as good as you would expect- the only real difference between them and the kit tracks though are that the outer face is deeper and has more raised detail.



It would be great if you could just dive right in and start assembling the tracks but Fruils take a bit of prep work before you even get to that point.

First off I’ll talk about the most important piece of kit for doing metal tracks.



Yes, it’s a bucket. Why a bucket? If you just pop your sanity into the bucket for the duration of building the tracks and keep an eye on where you put it the whole process will go a lot smoother.

So, with that done, each link has to be connected to the next one with the wire- like a track pin on real AFV tracks. The problem is that although each track has a channel through it it will not be wide enough to accept the included wire- so each track has to be drilled out along the channel to accept the wire. Usually a drill bit of around 0.5mm will suffice but be sure the drill bit isn’t so big that it will risk destroying the track link completely- the tracks are metal but it is quite soft and you can easily drill through at an angle if you are not careful.



As you can see here I have a pin vice with a bit in it. This will give you good control over the drilling process. The problem is it will take ages. The first few times I did Fruils I used a pin vice. Then I started carefully using a power drill.



The risk here is that it then becomes very easy indeed to wreck a track link as the power drill will just chew it up. But if you practice it becomes easier and, just as with the pin vice, it all becomes faster once you develop a rhythm.

My drill, like most these days, has a flat bottomed base.



This means that you will be able to drill in a steady fashion without having to support the drill. This is how I hold the track link:



Usually a power drill like this will have multiple speed settings and a fairly responsive trigger meaning you can control it so you get the right amount of power to easily drill a channel but not so much that you wreck the link.

I will say that you will, if you use a power drill, likely wreck some links. Its not that big a deal- there are usually some extra in the kit. With a pin vice you will likely end up wrecking some as well. Its really up to you to use what is comfortable but having done both I can say that working with the power drill is much faster and easier.

Right so now we have a nice even channel through each link ready to accept the wire. Cutting the wire to length can be done in several ways but I’ve always gone with the same technique for cutting (and track assembly) that I saw in a TMMI magazine article a good while ago now.

First thing is to measure a link- then add a few millimetres to that length so that you will have some of the wire left poking out from the side of the link. Then get a drill bit and tape off that measurement on the bit.



Next take a block of wood (an old figure pedestal base is handy here) and drill down to the length taped on the drill bit.Then you can insert the wire and cut at the top of that hole and you have a perfect length of wire to use as a track pin.



Now you need to assemble the tracks. They should go together easily and then it is just a matter of sliding the wire along the channels to connect each link and provide the working pivot. Unfortunately the wire Fruil insist on giving out is not massively strong- it will bend and warp and can be difficult sometimes to force through the channel. On some occasions less pressure and more jiggling about will get the wire through- other times it needs a bit of force. However, if you really hate the wire then you can switch to more durable brass wire- this will not bend nearly as quickly and can be forced through the channel quite easily. Just make sure you have a decent supply of it in the correct size.



Once you have a run of links (I usually assemble ten in one go) it is time to glue the track pin. The best thing to use is low viscosity superglue. Use a paper-clip (or something like it) to place a dab of superglue close to where the wire goes into the channel. Capillary action will draw the glue into the channel and cement the wire in place.



Then simply trim away the excess wire and give the track a bit of a workout to make sure the glue hasn’t messed up the pivot.



And then you just build up the track like that to the required length.

Here is a comparison of a length from the kit tracks and the metal ones:







Don’t forget to get your sanity out of the bucket when the tracks are done.

I also have a list of FAQs that crop up whenever these tracks are being done:

Are they done yet?
How many more links?
Surely that’s too many?
Should I have the chicken or the beef?

Hopefully those will be of some assistance.

I’ll have more on the tracks when I get both runs all built up. I also have some updates on the BMP itself to come soon so stay tuned!

Eritrea: Nationalism and the Emergence of the EPLF

The roots of the Eritrean conflict goes back to the 14th Century AD when the Ethiopian King decided that the two northernmost areas of the country (Tigray and Eritrea) should be divided for administrative purposes. This divide eventually became a kind of permanent boundary after the Italians colonized the area in the 1890s.

Eritrea only became a part of Ethiopia again in 1952. The intervening ‘colonial’ years had seen a great many societal (democratic institutions), cultural (different language and customs) and religious (nearly half the population were Muslim- this clashed with the rather ‘second class citizen’ treatment of Muslims in Ethiopia) changes in the country- ones that saw the Eritreans distance themselves from any perceived Ethiopian identity. The dismantling of their limited autonomy by the Emperor would lead to the creation of the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) in exile in Egypt in 1960.

This broadly leftist force modelled itself on many other Arabic and North African liberation movements of the period. Their first ‘attack’ was a kind of bandit raid in 1961 and their insurgency would grow from there. They were not alone in their rebellion but they did crush the only other major force- the Eritrean Liberation Movement (created in exile in Sudan in 1958)- although political factionalism would remain a problem in the ELF for many years to come.

The initial counter-insurgency response by the Ethiopians was somewhat successful but the insurgency grew and acts included the very public destruction of three Ethiopian Airlines planes on the ground in Europe and Pakistan between 1969 and 1970.

Factionalism would eventually split the ELF and produce the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) which had a closer political outlook to Chinese Communism. The new group still fought bitterly with the old and this period is known as the First Civil War in Eritrea. However they did join forces for an important offensive in 1976 that nearly took the entirety of Eritrea from Ethiopian forces- but they failed to take the major cities and in 1978 the Ethiopians, with a revamped military force, pushed them back to the Sahel region.

In 1980 the peace between the two groups would again erupt into warfare and this ‘Second Civil War’ saw the EPLF and the Tigrayan Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) destroy the ELF. After this the only political and military force in Eritrea was the EPLF.

Thanks for reading.

Fitting the hull top to the bottom is not called for in the instructions until late in the build but there’s really no reason why it can’t go on earlier and I usually do with AFV kits if at all possible. So as soon as everything was done on the lower hull I out the top on. The fit was excellent- the only area that I am concerned about is where the upper hull meets the lower at the front-the join lines are long and needed a bit of sanding. I’m not sure if they will need any more work until I get some primer on the model.

I replaced the small grab handles toward the front of the hull and have left some hatches open and closed others. I plan to add some crew and detail on the inside of the hatches that need it. As far as I know the fibreboard backing on the hull top crew doors is correct for non Warsaw Pact vehicles (instead of the anti-radiation cladding). A hinge is needed on the inner face on these doors and the inside of the Commanders hatch needs a handle and leather strap added. Two gun port doors have also been left open and I will attempt to build the inner face of these.





Various small hooks and tie downs also have to be placed about the hull alongside convoy lights and the clear parts for the periscopes.





The bow plane I wanted in the stowed position and it goes in followed by the side lights and their protective frames.









Next is the engine grilles and the exhaust outlet- the exhaust is particularly well done using three PE strips for the angled outlet- they just drop in on the plastic which already has the correct angle moulded in. Then the protective grille is put on over the top.



The Commanders spotlight also requires some very fine and easy to bend PE parts for the cradle and its attachment points.







Ethnic Nationalism: The TPLF

The Eritrean struggle for independence is a fairly straightforward story to understand in that relatively united population with a separate identity from those governing them sought to create their own country. The Tigrayan story is a more difficult story to understand.

Tigray is the northernmost region of Ethiopia bordering Amhara and Afar (and formerly the region, but now the state of, Eritrea). The people there have a distinct identity from those in other regions but, unlike the Eritreans, their identity was expressed in a more ‘provincial’ way in that they have that identity but see it as a part of a shared Ethiopian identity.

The Ethiopian Revolution brought with it the accusations that the Tigrayans were not fully supportive and nor were they interested in a strong and united Ethiopia, accusations which increased with the hardliners rise to prominence in Addis Ababa. Pro-Tigrayan movements actually pre-dated the revolution and were largely a result of the great social change in the post-World War II period- particularly the access to higher educational institutions. Addis Ababa University would be the birthplace of the Tigrayan Peoples Liberation Front and its rival the Tigrayan Liberation Front (TLF).

The TPLF’s armed conflict with the Derg began in February 1974 in an area called Shire. The initial group was small and needed training help from the EPLF. However this initial strike for independence soon got mired in a civil conflict (not unlike in Eritrea) between various Tigrayan groups. This war saw the biggest rivall groups stake their claim- the TLF wished for full independence with the possibility of creating a state with Eritrea at some point while the TPLF sough autonomy within the Ethiopian nation.

Eventually the TPLF would see off its rival by killing the top leadership of the TLF. Except that only gave breathing space to another group- a well funded and equipped monarchist organisation called the Ethiopian Democratic Union (EDU) which invaded the region. However, this group made the error of attacking an Ethiopian military force-it lost, and with it lost any momentum they had. Without a distinct goal the EDU began to lose any focus and the TPLF slowly, mainly through guerrilla warfare, gained the upper hand.

But still another group confronted them- this time an Ethiopian group called the Peoples Revolutionary Party (EPRP) which only really differed in strict ideological terms to the TPLF but, unlike them, believed it spoke for the whole Ethiopian nation. Battles erupted between the two groups in 1978 via which the TPLF emerged as the victor.

It has to be said though that things might have been very different had the Derg decided to act in Tigray during this period of civil conflict. As it turned out the Government in Addis Ababa was pre-occupied elsewhere which gave the TPLF some breathing space in which to emerge as the sole voice of the Tigrayan people.


Right now I’m still working on the tracks. More updates soon.

Thanks for reading.

The turret of the BMP is quite small but there’s plenty of detail on it. However, for some reason, there are some prominent tie downs missing. These would usually be used to stow the tarpaulin. The strapping for it should be in several places around the rear half of the turret but there’s none on the kit. I’m planning to add this in the next update.

Despite this omission of detail the turret builds up nicely with the Gunner’s sighting devices and periscopes as well as the option of a metal gun barrel which I opted to use over the plastic version- which is actually a nice one piece moulding as well.









The track runs are also now complete and run to 87 links each, two more than the instructions suggested for the plastic tracks.



I have some AK burnishing fluid which I have never used before but I’m planning to utilise it for this build to see how it goes.

There are some bits of the model that still need attention- the main things are the hatches- two of which need interior handles, straps and fibre board backing and I plan to leave one of the rear crew doors (maybe two) open for a figure so I need to install the inner hinge for these. Then the two gun port doors also need an interior face. The tool clamps for the spade usually mounted on the right side of the hull is also missing so I’ll be adding that if I can find some clamps in the spares box.

The Revolutionary Army

Obviously the TPLF and EPLF were fighting against Government forces in their struggles during the Ethiopian Civil War. Just like those two organisations the army of Ethiopia had its own struggles as the Derg sought to create a new ‘Revolutionary’ army in the wake of the Revolution itself.

The Imperial force that the Derg inherited was one of the biggest in Africa with nearly 42,000 men under arms among the Army, Navy and Air Force. Despite being well trained and disciplined the Imperial force, apart from perhaps the Air Force (which was well equipped, well staffed and had received American training), was ill-prepared to fight a war. Despite decent training, and being a largely homogenous, all volunteer force with a deep sense of pride and discipline, the actual soldiers were not terribly well educated.

As well as this towards the end of the 1960s the Ethiopian High Command (along with senior politicians) began to get increasingly worried about their regional rival- Somalia- and their rapidly improving military. Revolution overtook the Imperial military while they were still worried about this.

As we know the Revolution was guided (and taken over wholesale) by Imperial Military officers- this may give reason as to why the military was not immediately disbanded or heavily purged (though purging would come eventually) as is sometimes the case in the event of revolution. In turn the fact that the Derg were from the military meant it both controlled and supported the state. The cause of national unity became the cause of the military.

The first moves to re-organize and revamp the military began in 1974 when purges against enemies of the state began. The US in 1976 decided to withdraw as the main military patron of the country and this ushered in 14 years of Soviet military patronage. During this initial phase of reorganisation war with Somalia would break out and the next round of serious reorganisation would not take place until 1978 and would include a revamping of equipment, training and tactics under close Soviet guidance before conscription was eventually introduced. The third phase of ‘re-organization’ if it could even be called that, would see further conscription and the use of para-military groups to shore up a severely weakening military as the civil war began to take its toll.


More updates soon.

Thanks for reading.

coming along nicely Karl.
I usually assembly my metal tracks while watching a movie or 2

Thanks for checking in Dylan and for your comments, much appreciated. Its a good idea to have something on in the background to break up the monotony of building the tracks. I think I might do this next time I get a set of these !

When I had the hull and turret finished in terms of the kit instructions I was aware there were several things I could add, like the aforementioned tarpaulin straps around the turret. I also thought it would be a good time to check out Jacques Duquette's build on the BMP-1.

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/201579&page=1

This thread has fantastic info about what details Trumpeter omitted from the kit. Once I had read through it I made a mental list of what I was going to add- the turret strapping, the spade on the top right of the hull, the crow-bar like tool on the left rear, an additional grab handle on the left of the middle of the hull, the missing fuel filler cap on the rear deck between two of the crew doors and the missing un-ditching log tie down straps.

So first up was the turret straps. This great walk around by Robert De Craecker on Prime Portal was a big help with this (and with all the other bits on my list):

http://www.primeportal.net/apc/robert_de_craecker/bmp-1_east_german/

There are nine straps going round the turret from about the 2’clock to the 10’clock positions. I used a piece of tape with even measurements between nine points stretching from these positions- positioned around the height that seemed appropriate for the top-most straps.



I then used a very thin drill piece to make two holes on either side of the markings on the tape. To get the bottom holes I just drew a straight line down the hull between the two points already drilled. Then it was a case of running more tape around the turret so the points were at the same height and drilling the holes out.

Thin wire was then bent around needle nose tweezers to get the strapping tie down points.







For the strapping I decided to start with the bottom because the bottom strap is just a simple stretch of leather (or whatever material was used).



As you can see my strapping is just Tamiya masking tape cut to size and wrapped around the metal tie down. I’m just about to start on the upper straps which are slightly more involved as they need a buckle/fastening mechanism.

I also did some work on the hull. Firstly was adding the tool clamps for the spade carried on the middle right of the turret. Trumpeter had actually moulded a solid strap for the bottom of the spade but that is next to useless without the actual spade or the handle clamp. I raided the PE spares box and found some tool clamps- they are probably not the exact type used on the BMP-1 but I reckon they are better than nothing!



Then another grab handle was added on the middle left of the hull (the one you see in the centre of the next picture).



As discovered in Jacques’s thread on the BMP-1 the fuel filler cap on the rear deck of the hull is also missing from the kit. This is basically a small round collar with a filler port in the middle set at an angle. I drilled a hole in between the two crew doors for the port.



If I can I like to cannibalise un-used kit parts if at all possible and thats what I did here after noticing the hole I drilled was a similar size to the AT missile included in the kit. Since I wasn’t using it I thought it might come in handy to create the collar around the filler port.



The bottom of the missile would be my donor for the collar and so it was drilled out and sawed off before being sanded down to the correct (or near enough!) size and glued in place.



Now I just need to find or make a suitable part for the filler port itself.

The Ogaden War- Part 1

The Ogaden war of 1977 is not massively well known but the results of the war are more obvious as we shall see. Indeed the outcomes of the war are still affecting the Horn of Africa to this day and will likely continue to affect it for some time to come. For this and other reasons it is a fairly important war and one that was central to the futures of both Somalia and Ethiopia.

The war itself didn’t break out until 1977 but there had been trouble brewing over the area for many years. The Ogaden region is mostly desert but it was inhabited by ethnic Somalians. The creation of the Somalia state in 1960 saw them lay claim to an area they described as ‘Western Somalia’. But this area, while including the Ogaden, also included several more areas in regions that bordered the Ogaden where Somalis where a minority but that were agriculturally rich and would be of much value to the Somalian state.

The situation began to build up a head of steam in 1975- particularly with the actions of the Somali Government under General Mohammed Siad Barre. He saw the Ethiopian Revolution as his opportunity to grab the Ogaden while the Ethiopians were temporarily weakened and distracted.

The Somalis activated two guerrilla forces in the Ogaden, the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) and the Somali-Abo Liberation Front (SALF)- basically these two groups and there actions were to be a kind of pre-cursor to a conventional offensive. The aim was to weaken the Ethiopian hold in their areas of operation. They did this mostly via tried and tested guerrilla tactics- essentially dismantling the Ethiopian Government apparatus in the Ogaden and in some areas of neighbouring regions. These groups could easily hit the weak points in the Ethiopian defences and melt back into an enthusiastically supportive native people thus making it extremely difficult for the Ethiopians to counter their actions.

Conventional war only really began on June 13th 1977 when Somali regulars (although devoid of insignia) entered Ethiopia and began advancing into the Ogaden. The Soviets tried to intervene and establish a ceasefire between the two socialist neighbours but Barre would not listen and pressed on with his objectives.

Unfortunately Barre did not expect the Soviets to withdraw aid and military advisors- some of whom ended up flying to Ethiopia a few weeks later replete with expert, first hand and fresh knowledge of the Somali military and their plans for invasion. The Cubans who had also tried hard to broker peace also cut ties with Somalia and began to provide aid and combat troops to the Ethiopians.

The initial stages of the war went decisively in Somalia’s favour- they enjoyed superior equipment, more tanks, better artillery, better mobilisation, leadership and organization. Their speedy offensive essentially overwhelmed a weak and unprepared Ethiopian military whose own artillery and anti-tank weapons were virtually useless- though there were some fierce defensive actions. The initial Somali offensive deeply Ethiopian territory, capturing over 350,000 square kilometres- threatening vital Ethiopian towns and infrastructure.

More updates soon.

Thanks for reading.

Returning to the tarpaulin straps on the turret; the next piece of work to be done here was to add the upper straps with a small buckle from an Aber PE set.





The buckle will enable me to ‘tie up’ the straps as they are usually seen when they are not carrying the tarpaulin. I also plan to rip some of them up to suggest damage and I’m thinking of replacing one or two with rope as ‘repaired’ pieces.

Also missing from the kit is a kind of crow bar on the back left side of the hull- it includes the bar itself, a back stop in front of the convoy light, a tool clamp mid-way up and a circular holding piece at the far end. The backstop and tool clamp both came from PE spares and the circular holding piece is part of one of the kit tracks cut and drilled to the size needed. The crow bar itself, as per the spade, is not on board.

You can see the bar on the right of this picture.



And here is the back-stop, tool clamp and holding piece that I’ve done.



I next turned my attention to the straps for the un-ditching log. The eyelets for the straps above the rear doors are the only part included in the kit. The tie downs for the straps and the strap itself is missing.

The tie downs are simple to make- they are basically just small grab handles. For the strap itself I used a kind of plastic-tape- I would mention where I got it or what it is called as it is useful tape but I can’t remember where I got it! Electrical tape would be close to what it is. I used this kind of tape instead of Tamiya Masking tape because in reference photos the straps for the un-ditching log appear to be thicker than that which I could make with masking tape.

Here is a reference photo of one of the straps.




And here are my straps.





The last thing to add in this area was the guide points for stowing the tow cables- again the cables and the guide points are missing from the kit- the only thing included is the horns to hook the ends of the cable. At the rear of the hull there are two guides on each side of the un-ditching log straps and another guide further up located near one of the crew periscopes.

Here is a reference for the area.




My guide points were made from PE spares so they are not exactly the right shape but they are better than nothing.



So the hull is now pretty much finished.





I still have to finish the fuel filler port, the inside of two firing ports and replace a couple of horns that are supposed to anchor the ends of the two cables. That’ll be in the next update.

The Ogaden War- Part 2

The first five months of the war waxed and waned between Somali offensive and desperate Ethiopian defense. For the first few months the area shown on the maps below was the focus of much of the fighting.





This area was strategically important to both Ethiopia and Somalia- it was a rail and road hub from Adids Ababa and many of the important routes south went through these areas.

The Somalis forces, while they did have a superiority in artillery, tanks and mechanised forces often failed to press home advantages quickly enough- for instance they let Ethiopia bring in armoured reinforcements in Dire Dawa in August and with the help of the Ethiopian Air Force they were beaten back.

However, the Ethiopians were also fighting internal problems which would precipitate a heavy defeat at Jijiga resulting in the loss of the vitally important Marda Pass (which is located West of Jijiga). This ‘mutiny’ was caused by tensions in the military regarding the revolution. There were also a great deal of militia forces fighting alongside the regular army and their poor treatment compared to the regulars was a distinct source of indiscipline. However, by this point the Somalian push coupled with the Ethiopian defines meant the fighting had come to a virtual standstill with either side unable gain an advantage.

Towards the end of the year the Soviets and Cubans had begun massively building up the Ethiopian forces- while the Somalis had only their own insufficient and badly managed supplies to keep them going. By January the Ethiopians were ready to launch a counter-offensive (via a plan which was laid down in a committee chaired by a Russian General who had been a senior advisor to the Somali military). It was, strangely, put into action after a failed Somali attack that was supposed to capture Harar. The Ethiopian and Cuban combat forces moved to wipe out the stalled Somali attack before commencing attacks on the main Somali lines nearby.

By February the Ethiopians and Cubans were able to plan to recapture the strategic Marda Pass and the town of Jijiga via a Russian designed operation. Instead of a frontal assault on the Somalis, a large task force was sent northward bypassing the Marda Pass. This joint Cuban-Ethiopian force re-took town after town advancing towards Jijiga in the face of intense resistance. Another force was airlifted northeast of Jijiga while yet another group moved south to capture the Marda Pass itself. The completely un-supported Somali force in the area hung on for as long as possible before retreating.

This defeat essentially broke the Somali hold on the Ogaden- from then on they wouldn’t put up much of a fight and by early March their forces were making their way home through the Ogaden. The last border post would be retaken on March 23rd, marking the end of the war.

More updates soon.

Thanks for reading!

Apologies for my slow updates at the minute with this- I’ve been busy with a few things and at this point the going in the build is slowing down due to the fact its mostly detailing a few smaller areas. I have also been working on the Ethiopian figures to go with the BMP and they will be covered in the next update.

The Commander and Gunner’s hatches I had left off in order to add some detail to them. The inside of these hatches would have featured some fibreboard and a closing handle/latch- plus the Commander’s hatch also seems to have featured a grab handle.

Creating the hatch fibreboard lining was simple enough- a thin layer of Magic Sculpt which was cut away at the edges and then had a cloth pressed against it to create the textured look before having the blunt end of a drill bit pressed into it. These round areas created by the drill bit are supposed to have small bolts and washers that hold the fibreboard in place but I can’t find anything that could be of use in the spares box and I don’t have a punch and die set. You’ll also probably notice that the Gunner’s hatch lining is a bit lopsided and thats because the piece of putty fell off after it had dried- I used superglue to put it back on but it set almost as soon as the pieces mated and I didn’t want to risk breaking up the putty trying too hard to move it.

The handles/latches are not strictly accurate for the BMP- they came from PE spares and were the only thing I could find that looked close to a latch! The grab handle on the Commander’s hatch is just brass wire and tape.







Detailing the fuel filler cap was fairly simple- its just the end of an MG-42 cut off and pressed down into the collar where I had some putty.



The outside faces of the two right side BMP firing ports (the faces behind the armoured covers) were taken from an MT-LB PE fret (for some reason I had the PE but not an actual MT-LB kit!)- they are not exactly the right shape but they are better than nothing.



I have one or two more small things to do on the BMP but that is pretty much it done before it gets a coat of primer.





Ogaden: The Aftermath


This war lasted barely a year in total length but its shockwaves would reverberate for the next fifteen. The aftermath, I hope you will agree, is fascinating and arguably continues to shape the Horn of Africa to this day.
For Mengistu and Ethiopia victory was sweet. They had defended their territory against their greatest regional challenger, had proven the unity and strength the Revolution had brought to the country and had secured a vital place in the Communist/Socialist world.

Some in the regime more than likely wanted this victory to be seen as the new ‘Adwa’ in 1896 when the Ethiopians defeated Italian invaders. This (and several other invasions of Ethiopia by foreign powers) are seen as vitally important to both Ethiopian society and state.

However, the fact that a massive amount of foreign assistance helped ultimately beat the Somalians, coupled with the fact that victory led to the legitimisation and strengthening of military dictatorship meant victory in the Ogaden was simply not seen as a new ‘Adwa’- nor is it remembered in any such way today.

Another important outcome of this war for the Ethiopians was the consequent rebuilding of the Army- with Cuban-Soviet assistance it would emerge as a well equipped (one of the best in Africa) and well led force capable of taking war to those who sought to break apart the Ethiopian state or who sought to overturn the Revolution.

It must also be clarified that victory did not bring total internal domination for the Derg nor even a complete defeat of the ethnic Somali resistance within Ethiopia. Revolts broke out in the early 80s in many places and the fighting against various Somali backed forces also continued into the 80s- further pressing what had by then erupted into a Civil War.

Perhaps the most interesting outcome of this war lies with Somalia’s defeat. It had cost them dearly- the Barre regime had gambled big and lost big- it had literally nothing to show for the war- it had lost any hope of carving out some of the Ogaden for itself and it was cut off by most of the international community.

Somalia essentially never recovered from the war. The clanism that so divided the country and that the Barre regime had been trying to move away from reared its head again and now the Government was too weak to effectively deal with the consequences. An influx of refugees fleeing the Ethiopians as they re-took the Ogaden and the regime’s clamp downs on dissent (not to mention Barre’s increasing reliance on family and clan members to prop up his Government) led to a sharp decline in the regimes popularity.

As the 1980s ticked by the country became ever more impoverished and the government became more corrupt and repressive. This, in turn, led to armed resistance which came to a head in 1991 when the regime was ousted from power by several guerrilla groups.

Personally what happened next in Somalia (and in the greater Horn region) can be summed up by identifying the leader of one of the groups who helped to oust Barre from power. His name? Mohammed Farah Aidid.

My next update will be about the three figures I am planning to add to the BMP.

Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading!

For the scene I would like to depict in this diorama I need two groups of figures- one Ethiopian Army and the other EPLF. I’ve started with the Ethiopian figures.

The base figures for this are two Verlinden resin sets of US tankers:




The only figure from these sets I am not using is the half-figure hanging out of the co-drivers position on the Sherman. I chose these figures for a two reasons- one being the poses were close to what I wanted and two is the clothes are also close enough.

Photographs of Ethiopian forces during the Civil War are hard to come by and in choosing their uniforms and equipment I have essentially used what I do know to inform my choices. Some footage of surrendering Ethiopians also helped. Basically Soviet equipment and clothing would likely have been used especially considering the massive amounts of it that came into the country since 1977. (I also assume there would have been Ethiopian based production of various things too, like uniforms, munitions and such things.)

I have some references I’ll post here of Ethiopian forces surrendering in Massawa. While they are not very good quality (they are screenshots from taped footage) and don't really show in any detail what types of uniform and equipment etc they are using I thought they were relevant to this subject so here they are! I would say some of these forces are not all regular army- some likely belong to auxiliary defense units of various sorts.











So lets start with the BMP crew- there’s two of these figures- one is the vehicle commander and the other is the gunner. The commander is going to be pulling the gunner out of his hatch.

The vehicle commander:







Out of the box this figure was typical Verlinden in that it was a good sculpt but had a fit gap between the torso and the legs- I also tried to use the kit supplied boots but they were just not the correct shape for him to be standing on the rather small turret space beside the gunners hatch. The metal ones are from a 1/35 Fruilmodel academy figure. The head was nicely done but this and the M1911 pistol and mag pouches are going in the spares box.

The first thing to deal with on this figure was the gap between the torso and the legs- they glued together okay but needed some putty (Magic Sculpt) to plug the gap that went all around. As you can see in the box art the figure is wearing the US Tanker jacket and standard overalls beneath it. In order to turn it into Soviet clothing issued to the Ethiopians I needed to remove all the pockets on the trousers. These were then replaced with triangular pocket flaps as seen in the M1981 Summer combat uniform issued to USSR vehicle crews. I then also added a Makarov pistol holster.

For a while I was wondering what to do about the jacket when I thought I could paint it as a kind of tracksuit jacket- which would add a bit of color but also hopefully suggest that at this stage supplies of things like jackets (and indeed uniform discipline) would be in serious decline. It then occurred to me to check what the Ethiopian olympic uniforms of the era were like and I found a photograph of gold medal winning Olympic distance runner Miruts Yifter (‘Yifter the Shifter’ as he was known) on the podium at the 1980 games in a yellow adidas tracksuit.



I thought I would try and do the jacket like this and so I have done an ‘adidas’ symbol on the rear and will likely try and do the raised three stripes down the arms when I get them on.

The other BMP crewman is the Gunner and he is depicted in his standard US overalls. The fit of this figure was similar to the first and needed some tidying up. I then added some new boots from the spares box and then cut off the pockets before adding the correct triangular pattern flaps and a Makarov pistol holster.





Finally the third figure for the BMP is not a crew member- he is depicted as the officer in charge of the infantry unit that would be in the BMP and he is depicted as getting out of a hatch- he will be getting out of one of the rear hatches of the BMP. I am depicting him as the last of the infantry to get out of the vehicle, alongside the two crew also attempting to bail out.
Obviously this figure came in the box as a US tanker in overalls but for me to turn him into a soldier required some modification to the uniform.

From footage of surrendering Ethiopians it would appear a simple uniform jacket of four pockets and trousers of two large pockets around the knee area was the norm, or at least seemed to be worn by more than a few. So I first added the end of the uniform jacket coming down underneath the belt. Then I added an AK-47 magazine carrying pouch (the Soviets had either the standard assault vest or a large pouch to carry their magazines) and a standard water bottle from the old (but still very useful) Tamiya/ICM Russians in Afghanistan set. I will also probably add Y straps and perhaps a map case. I may also end up cutting the pockets off the trousers and re-sculpting them to the side more as they would likely not be toward the very front of the trouser if they were an 'infantry' pattern uniform. The boots are from the old Tamiya Modern US Infantry set.







In terms of heads this is perhaps the biggest challenge of this build. I like using Hornet heads due to their amazing expressions. The problem is they only make (as far as I know) six African heads- five in one set and there is one in a set of faces aiming down sights/squinting.

The problem here is the faces are not particularly expressive and I wanted some particular expressions on the faces of the Ethiopian figures as I will depict them about to be ambushed by an EPLF unit. Hence I wanted surprise and alarm on their faces- none of the Hornet African heads really conveys this so I have used three faces from other sets that show the expressions I want- the challenge will be painting them in African skin tones. It may or may not work but I’m definitely going to give it a shot.

The Vehicle Commander:



The Gunner:



Both of those tanker helmets were taken from the Hornet Modern Soviet Tankmen set- I had to carefully cut and drill the heads out of them! I can’t seem to find anywhere that stocks the TANK Model modern soviet tanker helmets otherwise I would have been using them.

The Infantry Commander:



This head will get a modern style Soviet helmet.

Operation Red Star- Part 1

1981 saw the start of large scale state mobilisation to try and crush the burgeoning Eritrean resistance. The Mengistu regime aimed not only to win a military victory but to win the all important ‘hearts and minds’ of Eritrean provincial society.

In acts perhaps not much seen outside China and the Soviet Union at the time the Government began a massive information and social action campaign in Eritrea. Brutal military methods were done away with- using the carrot was the way to win over society it seemed. Factories were refurbished or new ones built, schools, hospitals, and local government institutions were completely revamped- unemployment and discplacement was tackled with incentives like housing, farming tools, jobs etc.

However, the state also used tools of state surveillance to try and keep a handle on the people it sought to win over- neighbour spying on neighbour was encouraged, self evaluation in public was promoted along with public speeches and activism. Some Eritreans who were not considered a threat were even armed and liaised with local paramilitary forces.

In the meantime the international and internal situation was looking advantageous to the Derg- many countries bordering Ethiopia who may have supported the EPLF were involved in their own problems, Ethiopia was under the Soviet diplomatic shield and the situation in the Ogaden had largely been pacified. A massive military preparation had also been underway in conjunction with planning at high levels which always included Soviet advisors. The buildup meant the EPLF force of around 22,000 fighters (along with a limited number of AFVs and artillery but no tanks) faced an Ethiopian onslaught of over 100,000 including tanks, AFVs, artillery, helicopters, jets and some naval support.

However, the area in which the majority of this campaign was to take place was in the very far north of Eritrea which was sparsely populated, extremely mountainous and partly barren- the EPLF had essentially chosen to make their stand in an area that would prove extremely difficult going for the mechanized warfare on which the Ethiopians were now largely dependent.

There are a few areas of sculpting and equipment still to do on these figures and I will cover that in the next update before moving on to the EPLF figures.

Thanks for reading!

In my last update I introduced you to the Ethiopian soldiers to go into the scene. Today I’m going to introduce two of the five EPLF figures. These are split into two groups- a sniper and spotter who I will outline today and then an assault squad of three figures I will write about in the next update.

As you might imagine there is a fair bit of varying equipment that could potentially be used. The main rule of thumb is that it is mostly of Soviet origin or design. At the outset of the Civil War the EPLF was not well stocked with equipment of any sort but by the time of Massawa in 1991 they were probably better stocked with equipment than a great many Ethiopian units- indeed a lot of their weaponry etc was taken from the Ethiopians.

I looked around for suitable figures for a while before finally settling on the Bravo 6 line. The reason for this was the poses, the excellent sculpts and some of the equipment. The picture below of an EPLF sniper is the reason I chose the Vietcong Sniper (Main Force) figure from Bravo 6, also picture below.







As you can see he is wearing a hooded style overall suit that matches the top part of the sniper in the photograph. There were a few things I wanted to change about the figure and the first thing to get stuck into was the weapon- in the kit the VC sniper appears to be using a sighted Moisin-Nagant- I suppose I could have actually used this since there were probably some being used in Ethiopia but it would have been more likely a rifle used by reserve forces and it would be unlikely to have a sight. I wanted to have him using a Dragunov as in the picture.

Most of the Bravo 6 sculpts have excellent weapons but some, like this one, are already attached to the hands of the figures and this meant destroying the weapon and preserving the hands to go onto a new weapon. I carefully cut away the larger parts of the rifle and began hollowing out the hands with a drill and a scalpel to accept a new one. I also used a mug of boiling water to bend the resin hands a little so they gripped the Dragunov more realistically.



The gun itself is from the excellent Zvezda Paratroopers in Afghanistan set- although the barrel needs to be bent back into shape on my example!

Next thing I turned my attention to was the equipment- in the box the sniper comes with a backpack and a canteen. The backpack has an entrenching tool sticking out from under either side of the main flap but to me it looked too small and so I removed it and filled in the spaces with putty. The canteen was fine and went on underneath the backpack. Then I used the Dragunov magazine pouch from the Zvezda kit and added that to the figure.



I then sculpted a small case that would be used to carry the gun sight and added it to the other side of the figure.



The head was nicely sculpted with the hood of the smock up around it so I am leaving it as is.

For the spotter I took a figure from the Bravo 6 Vietcong Fighters (4-5) Local Forces set.





This figure is fairly simple- he is carrying what appears to be a French MAS-36 rifle along with a cartridge belt and an overall/blanket wrapped around his torso. His pose is what I wanted most of all.

First off ~I removed his head and found a suitable replacement that was given a Russian style cap that I hollowed out. This was taken from the Tamiya/ICM Russians in Afghanistan set.





There is a slight bit of size discrepancy between the head and body but its not too bad.

I wanted to have the spotter carrying an AK-47 so that meant giving him relevant equipment and I decided I would have him wearing an AK chest rig which I sculpted with putty.

First thing was getting the shape right. It is kind of like an apron for the chest at this point.





Once the shape was on I left it to dry before adding the standard layout for these vests which is three magazine pouches and four smaller pouches (for grenades etc) either side of these.



I also had another Bravo 6 figure wearing an AK vest so I copied this somewhat and it also helped to get an idea of the scale size I had to sculpt.



The next thing to do was to add the straps- there are four on most of these vests- two going from the front over the shoulders and crossing to anchor at each side and then there are two from each side that ties across the back of the waist. I used doubled up Tamiya tape and Aber buckles for this.





Though you can’t see it in the pictures I also gave him a water canteen from the aforementioned Tamiya/ICM set.

My attention moved to the arms next. In the original pose the figure is holding the rifle close to his chest and looks like he is about to cycle the bolt. I wanted to have him holding a pair of binoculars in one hand and the AK in the other so this meant moving the arms and hands from their original positions. Putty was used to add small spacers on the shoulder areas so the arms would sit at the right angles while the hands had been removed from the body of the rifle and hollowed out to accept the AK in his right hand and a pair of binoculars in the left.





The last thing to do was remove him from the moulded base and add a pair of sandals as the figure comes barefoot and I wanted him in sandals like two of the other EPLF figures. These were added by putting a small base of putty on the bottom of the feet and then sanding it to shape once it had dried. The straps were added with doubled up Tamiya tape cut to size.





So that is these two figures almost ready. I reckon there may be small gaps and imperfections here and there but I will wait until I get a coat of primer on before I address them further.

Operation Red Star- Part 2


The main target of this operation was a small area called Nakfa which sits around 1700 metres above sea level and was the main base for EPLF operations. The Ethiopian Second Revolutionary Army (SRA) was tasked with destroying it. Their plan was a three sided attack from the West, North Earth and East that would also secure the immediate northern area of Eritrea and allow for the area to be re-connected with the Central Government.

Lessons learned by the Soviets and facilitated by the new equipment from the same ally allowed Red Army like operations to commence- with close air support, mechanised infantry advanced as far as they could in vehicles before dismounting and carrying on operations. They essentially had the ability to envelop the enemy but time and again during the operation they were beaten back by Eritrean forces that knew the area intimately and which did not rely on a large logistics operation to keep moving.

The impetus was lost in the West when exhausted, low on supplies and somewhat dehydrated soldiers of the SRA began to forget basic training such as patrolling around encampments close to the enemy. The EPLF rapidly exploited weaknesses such as this and the ferocity and accuracy of their counter-blows soon turned a hasty retreat into a rout from which the SRA could not extract themselves. The Ethiopian retreat in the West allowed for the Eritreans to shift some of their forces to the other side of the Nakfa.

SRA forces had advanced rapidly in the North-East and had taken one of the tallest mountains in the area and held it against repeated counter-attack- they even managed to cut the EPLF’s supply route to Sudan. But a slowing advance gave the Eritreans ample opportunity to grind the Ethiopians down short of their targets.

A similar fate befell the Ethiopians in the East- their initial advance was fast and devastating and their initial objectives were reached. Inaction here seems to have been more down to vacillating commanders who failed to exploit their gains and gave the EPLF a fighting chance- allowing them time to re-group and move forces to areas they were most needed.

Before long the whole offensive had lost its impetus and the EPLF ruthlessly exploited this by deploying their own few helicopters and heavier weapons to strike back against the SRA. By March the Eritreans were bringing in reinforcements from Sudan and re-taking ground they had lost despite the Governments efforts to stem the tide by bringing in reinforcements. The Ethiopians tried to launch fresh offensives (they had launched four by the end of the campaign) and many soldiers fought with bravery, often in hand-to-hand combat.

But by June the writing was on the wall for the Ethiopians- they had failed to achieve any objectives and their army was given a blow it would not recover from. The few short months of Operation Red Star had cost around 43,000 lives on all sides.

In my next update I will detail the last three EPLF figures.

Thanks for reading!