08 Sep 1935 - Khartoum, Sudan

[Diarist]

I retired too early last night to hear about the bridges being blown but I was wide awake when we learned that Italian and Eritrean forces had crossed the Mareb river into northern Abyssinia at 05:00 this morning without a formal declaration of war. It doesn't mean that we British are at war but it does set several things in motion:

    i) in the late afternoon eleven 'Abyssinian" squadrons will be flown from Sudan and Kenya to Abyssinia,

    ii) Major Aude Wingate's irregulars have the permission to disrupt Italian operations. Primary targets include a truck bomb outside General de Bono's main HQ in Asmara, all warships         still in port will be attacked with limpet mines, raids on airfields to destroy aircraft on the ground and fuel/ammunition stocks,

    iii) ammunition and fuel depots supporting the attacking enemy columns,

    iv) destroying parts of the cable transport system between Asmara and the Red Sea port Massawa as well as least one of the tunnels along the railway connecting the two cities,

    v) at least two of the reservoirs supplying Asmara with water are to be attacked.

Most of 154th Brigade will begin moving south to Kassala but one battalion will move to the border south-east of Khartoum and arrive there after dark. There's not much that our platoon and the Highlander's support company can do except wait for the closing of the Suez Canal signal from London. It's going to be a long day.

[Diarist]

I won't say that we are celebrating here but after all the months of planning we are relieved that the Italians have finally made their move. A war of conquest, without a formal declaration of war won't help them at League of Nations meeting planned tomorrow. I hope the League Council is also angry with Italy starting this war on the eve of the Geneva meeting. Nobody in the international community is openly supporting Mussolini and so far I have heard nothing about an official statement from Rome.

But we are celebrating Major Wngate's successes, i.e. the sabotage acts in Asmara and Massawa. The Italian Army of East Africa Headquarters in Asmara has been bombed with over 200 dead. No word if General de Bono, their commander, is a casualty. Two dams have been destroyed and a third is leaking badly and could burst at any moment. Explosions have been reported in the naval base at Massawa but we don't know what has been damaged.

The dining facility was half empty this evening but we could stay late because some us know that we'll be doing nothing tomorrow. The earliest is possibly Wednesday. I can't imagine the British and French governments announcing the closure of the Suez Canal on Monday evening.