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The World Wars

With the vast majority of the contient under the colonial control of European governments, the World Wars were significant events in the geopolitical history of Africa as well. Africa was a theater of war and saw fighting in both wars. More important in most regions, the [total war] footing of colonial powers impacted the governance of African colonies, through resource allocation, conscription, and taxation. In World War I there were several campaigns in Africa, including the Togoland Campaign, the Kamerun Campaign, the South West Africa campaign, and the East African campaign. In each, Allied forces, primarily British, but also French, Belgian, South African, and Portuguese, sought to force the Germans out of their African colonies. In each, German forces were badly outnumbered and due to Allied naval superiority were cut off from reinforcement or resupply. The Allies eventually conquered all German colonies, though German forces in East Africa managed to avoid surrender thorughout the war though they could not hold any territory after 1917. fter World War I, former German colonies in Africa were taken over by France, Belgium, and the British Empire.

After World War I, colonial powers continued to consolidate their control over their African territories. In some areas, particularly in Southern and East Africa, large settler populations were successful in pressing for additional devolution of administration, so called "home rule" by the white settlers. In many cases, settler regimes were harsher on African populations, tending to see them more as a threat to political power, as opposed to colonial regimes which had generally endeavored to coopt local populations. The Great Depression affected Africa's non-subsistence economy, much of which was based on commodity production for Western markets. As demand increased in the late 1930's, Africa's economy rebounded as well.

Africa was the site of one of the first instances of fascist territorial expansions in the 1930s. Italy had attempted to conquer Ethiopia in the 1890s but had been rebuffed in the First Italo-Ethiopian War. Ethiopia was between two Italian colonies, Italian Somaliland and Eritrea and was invaded in October of 1935 with an overwhelming advantage in armor and aircraft. By May of 1936, Italian forces had occupied the capital of Addis Ababa and the Italians effectively declared victory and consolidated Ethiopia and their other colonies into Italian East Africa.

Since Germany had lost its African colonies following World War I, World War II did not reach Africa until Italy joined the war on June 10, 1940, controling Libya and Italian East Africa. With the fall of France on June 25, most of France's colonies in North and West Africa were controlled by the Vichy government, though much of Central Africa fell under Free French control. After the fall of France, Africa was the site of the most active fighting. In the Western Desert campaign Italian forces from Libya sought to overrun Egypt, controlled by the British. Simultaneously, in the East African campaign, Italian East African forces overran British Somaliland and some British outposts in Kenya and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Italy's efforts to conquer Egypt fell short and without the ability to reinforce or resupply and surrounded by Allied possessions, Italian East Africa was conquered by mainly British and South African forces in 1941. In North Africa, the Italians soon requested help from the Germans who sent men, tanks, and Rommel. The Axis forces experienced a series of succcesses but were unable to push the British out of Tobruk or break through defenses in two tries at El Alamein. In late 1942, Allied forces, mainly Americans and Canadians, invaded French North Africa an Operation Torch, where Vichy French forces initially surprised them with their resistance but were convinced to stop fighting after three days. The second front releived pressure on Egypt and the British in Egypt pushing west to meet up with the Torch forces, eventually pinning German and Italian forces in Tunisia, which was conquered by May of 1943 in the Tunisia campaign, ending the war in Africa. The only other fighting occured in the French colony of Madagascar, which was invaded by the British in May of 1942 to deny its ports to the Axis (potentially the Japanese who had reached the Indian Ocean. The French surrendered in November of 1942.

World War I

Main article: African theatre of World War I

The Berlin Conference of 1884 had provided that African colonies would be neutral in the event of a European war. However, this was quickly abandoned as the British and French invaded the German colony of Togoland days after the initial declaratoins of war. The scale of the fighting in Africa was far smaller than in Europe with most engagments featuring thousands (or even hundreds) of soldiers, rather than tens or hundreds of thousands seen in Europe. In general, the Allied forces had the upper hand in Africa, as a result of longer-established colonies (Germany's colonies dated back only to the 1880s while the Allies had all begun colonization far earlier). Though the Germans won several initial victories and held out in German East Africa for the duration of thw war, the Allies achieved their strategic goal of denying German ships access to African coaling stations and controlling sea trade with African and Asian colonies. During the war, Africans served only rarely as soldiers, however many thousands of Africans were hired or conscripted to carry war materiel for the European forces, and many died as a result of disease or malnutrition. Many more Africans were impacted by having crops, livestock, homes, or equipment requisitioned or destroyed by the opposing forces. In addition, the strains of the war on colonial administrations as well as additional demands placed on native populations led to a number of revolts. These were all put down by colonial forces, though some lasted until after the war was over due to colonial forces' manpower constraints.

There were several campaigns in Africa focused on Germany's African colonies. In each, German forces were badly outnumbered and due to Allied naval superiority were cut off from reinforcement or resupply. In West Africa, British and French forces were able to conquer German Togoland after just a few weeks with little resistnace. In German Kamerun and German South West Africa (present-day Namibia) Allied forces (British and South African respectively) were initially rebuffed in 1914 but by 1916 had ended German resistance. The East African campaign was by far the largest and the only one to last the duration of the war. As elsewhere, the Germans replused the initial British attacks, but were forced out of German East Africa by 1917 after which and were unable to hold territory. They did, however, hold the army together, winning several battles and avoiding destruction by moving through Mozambique, German East Africa and even Northern Rhodesia before surrendering in after the armistice.

After World War I, former German colonies in Africa were taken over by France, Belgium, and the British Empire.

Interwar Years

After World War I, colonial powers continued to consolidate their control over their African territories. In some areas, particularly in Southern and East Africa, large settler populations were successful in pressing for additional devolution of administration, so called "home rule" by the white settlers. In many cases, settler regimes were harsher on African populations, tending to see them more as a threat to political power, as opposed to colonial regimes which had generally endeavored to coopt local populations.

The Great Depression affected Africa's non-subsistence economy, much of which was based on commodity production for Western markets. As demand increased in the late 1930's, Africa's economy rebounded as well.

Africa was the site of one of the first instances of fascist territorial expansions in the 1930s. Ethiopia was, along with Liberia, the last independent African nation. Italy had attempted to conquer Ethiopia in the 1890s but had been rebuffed in the First Italo-Ethiopian War. Ethiopia was bordered by two Italian colonies, Italian Somaliland and Eritrea and as such was a tempting target. Italy began its invasion in October of 1935 with an overwhelming advantage in armor and aircraft. By May of 1936, Italian forces had occupied the capital of Addis Ababa and the Italians effectively declared victory, though sizeable organized Ethiopian forces remained active outside the capital and were not firmly defeated until 1939, though this was nto widely publicized.

World War II

Since Germany had lost its African colonies following World War I, World War II did not reach Africa until Italy joined the war on June 10, 1940. With the fall of France on June 25, most of France's colonies also joined the Axis, though some in Central Africa remained under Free French control.

The summer of 1940 saw the Italians expand their holdings in Eastern Africa on three fronts, taking several towns in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan to the west, conquering British Somaliland to the northeast and moving into Kenya to the south. By autumn, having used a significant portion of their fuel and ammunition in British Somaliland, and unable to resupply due to a naval blockade, the Italians in East Africa took up a defensive posture in the hope that the British would soon be defeated in Egypt, allowing for an invasion of Sudan to link Italian East Africa with Italian Libya.

In North Africa, hostilities also began immediately on June 10 with British troops in Egypt taking some Italian border posts in Libya.