British Operations Against The mad mullah
A wargamer's Guide
The Dervish Army
The Mullah’s warriors, like those of the Mahdi in the Sudan, were called “Dervish” from the Turkish dervis or Persian darvesh and referred to those warriors fighting for Islam who had devoted themselves to life of poverty. The Mullah could field a maximum of 5,000 of these hard-core warriors made up of a disciplined force of 1,000 riflemen in 10 companies named after one of the Mullah’s ten wives and some 20,000 tribal spearmen. As the campaigns progressed his following varied in strength, increasing, dwindling and reforming according to the Mullah’s successes or defeats though it never quite disappeared until the very end.
Each of the tribes fought under its own war leader who was not usually the tribal chieftain. Below this were several commanders in charge of tribal detachments. The commanders were advised by a master of ritual on how favourable any proposed actions might be. The warriors of the mullah came from the Irir, whose clans were the Dir, the Issak and the Hawiye and the Darod made up of the Mijjerten and Ogadeni clans. In the south the Saab had the Digil and Rahanwein clans.
The tribes of Somalis claimed descent from a common ancestor and were subject to the decisions of the tribal council, the Shir, consisting of tribal chiefs and elders chosen by the tribes and sub-tribes. A Great Chief, like the Mullah, might inherit their status but their leadership had to be approved by the tribes through the Shir. The Mullah was so successful militarily that he faced no challenges to his leadership but this very lack of a contender meant that there was no successor.
As warriors, the Somalis were harsh and uncompromising capable of travelling 40-50 miles a day with only their weapons, a little water and some dried meat. Their tactics were simple, cavalry and camel scouts operated 50 to 70 miles ahead of the main body. They preferred sniping, raiding, ambushes and close fighting in the bush to charges across open ground. Using their small shields of giraffe hide they worked in pairs with spears and daggers to defeat their enemies. While one held or occupied the opponent the other would close in with his spear for the kill.
In the bush visibility was rarely above 400 yards and often 100 yards or less. The low visibility gave the Somalis the advantage in the skirmishes and raids. When they did launch a massed charge they would form up with a single line of spearmen a pace apart followed at a distance by a second line of spearmen and archers while the riflemen, slingers and cavalry providing covering fire from the flanks. The tribal elders were mounted on horses. These tactics bore more than a passing resemblance to those employed by the Mahdist forces in the Sudan a few years before.
In defence, the Mullah’s Dervishes made good use of cover and natural barriers. Often a wadi would be used to conceal the spearmen from enemy view and fire. The wadi itself may have several small forts to form rifle bastions. These were built from stone and mud and blended into the terrain making them difficult to spot until the riflemen inside opened fire. In 1913 the Mullah supervised the construction of a well protected headquarters at Taleh. The main enclosure had 13 stone forts connected by walls around it. These walls were 12 to 14 feet thick at the base and the forts added an extra 6 feet to their height. Overlooking the perimeter at a distance of 200 yards were three 50-60 feet tall forts. These were also strongly built and included granaries and space for livestock. His medical services were rudimentary but, apparently, quite effective even if they were of the “kill or cure” variety! Any wounds inflicted were plastered with camel dung so that they putrefied and healed.
Tribal dress consisted of a robe or tobe made from two pieces of cloth and worn like a Roman toga though some of the isolated tribes wore animal skins. Some warriors wore the half-tobe a shorter version which was folded to leave the wearer naked from the waist up. The normal colour was white but some were dyed red, grey or yellow ochre occasionally with a coloured or patterned border along the bottom edge. The cloth could be soaked in butter to make it wind, damp and cold resistant. Some warriors carried a small leather case around his neck in which was a verse from the Koran. Few tribesmen wore hats and so their distinctive hairstyle was easily seen. A pair of leather sandals completed his outfit. Those who had completed the Hajj to Mecca wore a green sash.
The Mullah himself was distinguished by the stark whiteness of his robes and turban as well as the red wool decorations on his horse harness. His horse was a light bay. He is often described as wearing a green turban instead of the white one.
A typical warrior carried a spear or two in one hand and in the other a small round shield, gashan, made of giraffe, rhinoceros, bullock or oryx hide with a central boss and handle. The gashan when not in use could be pushed up the arm to the elbow and was proof against arrows and spears. The main weapon was a heavy bladed stabbing spear about 6 foot long with a broad steel blade. This was a thrusting spear that was particularly effective against horses. The throwing spears were shorter and lighter with long thin steel tips. Some also carried a two foot long double edged bilawa (sword) in a leather scabbard. Both infantry and cavalry carried ebo (javelins) and some hard wood throwing clubs. The horsemen carried both long and short spears. The range of a small, light throwing spear with a thin blade thrown by a foot warrior was about 25 – 30 yards and 37 – 42 yards from horseback.
From 1890 an increasing number of firearms were imported through Djibouti in French held territory. These were mainly of French manufacture, Lebel and Le Gras 1874 model rifles as well as older Martini-Henry and Remington rifles.
The regular army (Maara-weyn) of the Dervish state was organised into seven regiments: Shiikh-yaale, Gola-weyne, Taar-gooye, Indha-badan, Miinanle, Dharbash and Rag-xun. Each regiment had its commander (muqaddim) and varied from between 1000 to 4000 men. A large para-military orce was also drawn from the npmad population. The bodyguards (Gaarhaye) of Muhammad Abdullah Hassan and other senior members of the state were either freed slaves whom he had adopted as sons or riverine groups such as the Reer Baarre. The cavalry, for its part, numbered between 5000 and 10000 mounted horsemen, and the standing army was supplied with modern weapons such as rifles and maxim guns.
The Midgan (Mijjarten) tribesmen from the east and north east of Italian Somaliland were mainly archers who shot poison tipped arrows and who carried a sling for launching arrows. The quiver had a grindstone attached to it for sharpening arrow tips. Typically they wore the half-tobe.
The Mullah, against the fifth expedition could deploy a hard core of 1,000 riflemen in 10 companies named after one of the Mullah’s wives. In addition he had between 3,000 and 5,000 tribal spearmen.
Italeri provide commanders from their Saracen Warriors set and also assorted useful infantry from their Muslim Warriors set.
Caesar has three sets in particular that are useful. The first two are the Bedouins with Camels and the Hebrew Warriors from their Ancients range. These provide the basis of the Mijjarten tribesmen and archers and also reinforce the Waterloo 1815 and Italeri infantry. The third set is the Farm Animals and this provides the highly important goats, sheep and cattle.
HaT Industrie has the forthcoming Taaishi and Hadendowah which look very useful as well as their baggage camels and El Cid Moorish Command.
Airfix/HaT Bedouins are a useful source of troops to provide models in Arab Dress.
The civilian females can be provided by converting suitable figures from various sets – I had some Airfix Wagon Train figures, some American Pioneers and some Atlantic Ancients sets that I converted or painted to suit. There are also a few makers of metal 20mm Arab Civilians that can also be used.
The Warsangali Sultanate,was a Somali Imperial ruling house centered in northeastern and in some parts of southeastern Somalia. It was one of the largest sultanates ever established in the territory, and, at the height of its power, included the Sanaag region and parts of the northeastern Bari region of the country, an area historically known as Maakhir or the Maakhir Coast. The Sultanate was founded in the late 13th century in northern Somalia by a group of Somalis from the Warsangali branch of the Darod clan, and was ruled by the descendants of the Generad Dhidin. In the late 19th century, the influential Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shire governed the Sultanate, assuming control during some of its most turbulent years. The Akil Dhahar ruled south of Sanaag and some portions of the Bari region. In 1884, the United Kingdom established the Protectorate of British Somaliland through various treaties with the northern Somali sultanates, including the Warsangali Sultanate.
Akil Dhahar
Though there are insufficient writings available on Akil Dhahar, according to oral tradition, he fought against the Abyssinians and uprooted Christiancommunities in Galgala, a town that used to have churches and temples. The edifices are still present as historical landmarks. In honor of his accomplishments, Akil Dhahar's name is immortalized in the valley and mountains of the city known as Dhahar.
I.M. Lewis, in his book A Pastoral Democracy: A Study of Pastoralism and Politics Among the Northern Somali of the Horn of Africa, refers to the Sultan from the colonial literature as a "man of unusual influence," a "man of mercurial image," and a "man of unusual strength." Several Somali Sultanates existed in Somalia prior to the European imperialism of the 19th century, but the Warsangali Sultanate was the only one with a robust tax-based centralized administration. Lewis writes:
Vestiges of a similar degree of centralized administration on the pattern of a Muslim Sultanate, survive today in the Protectorate amongst the Warsangali. Prior to 1920, the Garaad had at his command a small standing army with which, with British support, he fought Sayyid Mahamad Abdille Hassan’s forces. But Garad’s powers’ are dwindling under modern administration.
Sultanates such as these, generally only arose on the coast or through commanding an important trade route, and were largely dependent on the possession and control of a pot or other exploitable economic resources. They were in direct trade and diffuse political relations with Arabia, received occasional Arab immigrants, and were the centres from which Islam expanded with trade into the interior. The Sultanates had to fight to maintain their positions of supremacy against the periodic incursions of raiding parties of nomads, and their authority was never great.
In 1896, a challenge of leadership emerged between a father and son. The powerful Gerad Ali Shire's authority was dwindling and young Mohamoud Ali Shire, with the tacit support of the Isse Garad (Bohogayslabe) sub-clan of the Warsangali Darod, sought to undermine the power of his father. Before then, internal conflict amongst the Warsangali sub-clans had surfaced and had had an effect on Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shire and his ascension to power. The disarray caused by the young Mohamoud amongst the Warsangali was finally settled by the proposal that Mohamoud filsshould become Sultan, while his father could remain Gerad. The Bihidor sub-clan of the Warsangali, however, withdrew their support for the Sultan, deeming him an upstart and an untested authority figure. They subsequently forged an alliance with the Somali religious and nationalist leader Mohammed Abdullah Hassan's Dervish forces in an attempt to defeat Britain and Ethiopia, two powers that were then also vying for control of the Somali Peninsula. In his paper The 'Mad Mullah' and Northern Somalia, the historian Robert L. Hess touches upon this alliance, writing that "in attempt to break out of Obbian-Mijertein circle, the Mullah sought closer alliances with the Bihidor Warsangali of British Somaliland and Bah Geri of Ethiopia." Following an unexpected onslaught, the Sultan ordered his army to retreat from its main military posts in Erigavo, a town which at the time served as a reserve well for the Sultan's horses and as a base for his army. Hassan's alliance with the Bihidor clan was instrumental in extending the Dervish sphere of influence and in expanding his Dervish State's hegemony. On March 3, 1905, Italycame close to signing a treaty with Hassan at Illig, offering him the Nugaal territory as a protectorate. Hassan, however, rejected the offer and his Dervish army continued its anti-imperial resistance struggle. In its early proposal, both the Majeerteen and Warsangali Sultanates also opposed the treaty, as they foresaw potential threats to their own local authority from its hypothetical implementation. These Sultanates thus collaborated to defeat the Dervish forces:
The first success in this Anglo-Italian cooperation came in December 1910. In that month, the British Warsangali and the Italian Mijertain peacefully resolved all their outstanding disputes and, convening in Bander Kasim, agreed to act jointly in combating Sayyid Muhammed Abdullah and his Dervishes..The Mijertain--Warsangali Accord led to a common offensive against the Mullah, whose forces were cut off from arms and munitions smuggled in from the coast. (Hess, 427) In 1920, the Dervishes unexpectedly captured Badhan and besieged Las Khorey. The British Governor at Aden soon sent RAF biplanes to contain the advance of the Dervish army into the Warsangali country. Though the air strikes that bombarded Badhan, Jidali and Talex never did considerable harm to the Dervishes, the Dervishes were still powerful but disorganized and dispersed into unknown areas. Finally, the forces of Warsangali and Dervishes met at Jidali and this was in fact the final decimation of the Dervish movement.
The Mijertein Somalis, who in June succeeded launching counter-attack with the aid of their Warsangali allies..Mullah and his followers were driven out of Italian Somaliland into British Somaliland, where they occupied Buhotleh with great cruelty and oppressed the Dolbahante who had shifted their allegiance back to British Somaliland. As a result, the Dervishes abandoned the Nugaal territory and retreated into the Hawd.
Somali-British Treaties
Historically, the British used indirect rule to their advantage to control and exploit territories. Following the British treaty with the Warsangali in 1886, the British Somaliland protectorate was formed. Much of the territory's economy at the time was centered on the trade relationship it had with Aden, Yemen, which was chiefly based on the export of livestock, frankincense, and myrrh in return for food, fabric, and other materials. The protectorate was subsequently administered from Aden until 1898, just before the rise to prominence of Sayyid Muhammad Abdullah Hassan.
The British realized that isolated efforts to pacify Somali authority with treaties were not sufficient, and that doing so could incite trouble within the protectorate. In 1884, the British government thus signed protection treaties with the Issa, Gadabuursi and Isaaq Somali clans, all at once. This particular tripartite agreement was beneficial to the British, as it permitted them to operate harmoniously alongside the existing clan social systems of northwestern Somalia. However, Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shire and his administration in the northeastern part of the Somali territories wielded enough power to continue to exercise independent operation and rule. Article V of the British treaty with the Warsangali acknowledges this continued sovereignty of the Warsangali territories, adding that the British government appointed an ambassador to the region and was in the process of building an office there:
Article V. The British Government shall have the power to appoint an Agent or Agents to reside in the Territories of the Warsangali, and every such Agent shall be treated with respect and consideration, and be entitled to have for this protection such guard as the British Government deem sufficient.
Another Article of the treaty between the Warsangali and the British highlights the independence of the Warsangali from colonial interference vis-a-vis their territories:
Article III. The Warsangali are bound to render assistance to any vessel, whether British or belonging to any other nation, that may be wrecked on the shores under their jurisdiction and control, and to protect the crew, passengers, and cargo of such vessels, giving speedy intimation to the Resident at Aden of the circumstances; for which act of friendship and good-will a suitable reward will be given by the British Government.
The rulers of the earlier Sultanate of Shewa and the Walashma princes of Ifat and Adal all possessed Arab genealogical traditions. During Adal's initial period, when it was centered on the port city of Zeila in present-day northwestern Somalia, the kingdom was primarily composed of Somalis, Afars and Arabs.
There is some debate over the ethnic composition of Adal after its capital moved to modern-day Ethiopia. I.M Lewis states:
Somali forces contributed much to the Imām’s victories. Shihab ad-Din, the Muslim chronicler of the period, writing between 1540 and 1560, mentions them frequently (Futūḥ al-Ḥabasha, ed. And trs. R. Besset Paris, 1897.). The most prominent Somali groups in the campaigns were the Samaroon or Gadabursi (Dir), Geri, Marrehān, and Harti - all Dārod clans. Shihāb d-Dīn is very vague as to their distribution and grazing areas, but describes the Harti as at the time in possession of the ancient eastern port of Mait. Of the Isāq only the Habar Magādle clan seem to have been involved and their distribution is not recorded. Finally several Dir clans also took part.[13]
This finding is supported in the more recent Oxford History of Islam:
The sultanate of Adal, which emerged as the major Muslim principality from 1420 to 1560, seems to have recruited its military force mainly from among the Somalis.
Lewis, on the other hand, notes that the Imam's origins are unknown.[15] Ewald Wagner connects the name ʿAdäl with the Dankali (Afar) tribe Aḏaʿila and the Somali name for the clan Oda ʿAlï, proposing that the kingdom may have largely been composed of Afars.[16] Although Afars constituted a significant part of Adal, Didier Morin notes that "the exact influence of the ʿAfar inside the Kingdom of `Adal is still conjectural due to its multi-ethnic basis."[16] Nevertheless, Franz-Christoph Muth identifies Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi as Somali......End
