Military forces from Africa have often been seen as weak. Their positive contributions to the world are overlooked. However, some facts about Africa’s military forces and Black personnel will make you proud and impress your friends.
I have compiled some of these facts below:
- In 1895, Ethiopia battled the Italians, who sought to colonize them. Although they had just suffered a terrible scourge, the Ethiopian Army defeated the Italians and remained free.
- The African culture is associated with male military strength. Still, a woman, Etege Tayitu Bitul, was influential in the victory of the Ethiopian army at the battle in Adwa. She was in charge of 6000 soldiers.
- The Egyptian Military Forces currently are 10th in the index list of the world’s largest armies. They have a personnel of 450,000. As of October 2021, this African military had over 30,000 UN peacekeepers combined force. Theirs is also one of the oldest armies in the world.
- Between 1963 and 1974, Guinea-Bissau fought their colonizers, the Portuguese. The latter had no chance but to grant them independence.
- Tunisia’s freedom fighters used guerilla tactics against the French colonizers from 1952 to 1954. This paved the way for their independence.
- Between 1954 to 1962, Algerian forces fought against France for independence. France retreated from Algeria because of the war.
- Although Africans were colonized by foreign powers, their soldiers were no cowards. World War One saw more African involved than any other. The number was about two million African soldiers. Nearly one million Africans were involved in World War Two. They helped stop the Nazi takeover.
The documentation of facts about the African Military is incomplete without the exploits of the Africans abroad, especially in the United States and the United Kingdom:
- There are 2.1 million Black Veterans in the US. In 2016, of the enlisted women in active duty, 30 per cent were blacks.
- Above the 1 million Africans involved in World War Two, 901,896 Blacks in the US were also enlisted.
- 20,000 thousand Blacks were recruited into the Marine Corps during World War Two. They received training at Montford Point Camp, North Carolina.
- 21 Blacks were given the Medal of Honor for their courage after and during the Vietnam war. During the Vietnam war, 7,243 black soldiers sacrificed their lives for their adopted countries.
- Lieutenant Water Tull was the first Black man to get to the level of Sergeant. He was in command of other soldiers in 1916.
- Over 350,000 Blacks were posted on the Western Front with American Expeditionary Forces units during World War Two.
- A total of 15,204 Blacks died in World War One. Sacrificing their lives for the colonizers.
These facts are interesting. They also show the true strength of the African people and their participation in militaries around the globe. Now, you know these, go out there and impress your friends.
