One eyed Somalis always brag about how they almost destroyed Ethiopia in the 77 war and the Ethiopians were saved by foreigners like Cuba & Soviets. They conclude that if Ethiopia and Somalia were alone, Somalia will always win. The same narrative is told about the Adal war over and over again about the Portuguese support the Abyssinians got. And yet again the message is clear. If only Somalia and Ethiopia were alone, Somalia will always win the war.
But if the one eyed Somalis opened their other eye, they could see that prior to the 77 war, the Soviets massively built the Somali army and the airforce, supplied it with heavy weaponry etc. But for the one eyed Somalis this doesn't count. The other fact most one eyed Somalis refuse to see is the fact that Ethiopia at that time was literally in a civil war. The new government, the dergue was less than 3 years in power and didn't even control many regions of the country. EPLF in Eritrea, TPLF in Tigray and EDU and EPRP in Amhara region were fighting against the dergue.
When Somalia started the invasion, Jimmy Carter refused to supply weapons to Ethiopia because the dergue deposed the King by military coup. In this chaos and with massive help from the Soviet did the Somalia army attacked Ethiopia.
Yes, in this situation the new and inexperienced government sought help from anyone and it got from the communists. Thank God the Soviets were willing to drop Somalia and switch sides to Ethiopia. The cubans delivered mechanised unites because the Ethiopian army was not prepared for the war. Anyhow this is the context both got support, Ethiopia in the middle of the war and in a very chaotic and unprepared manner and Somalia prior to the war with much time to build its army. The myth it was Somalia vs Ethiopia/its allies is just that, a myths. The same is true about the Adal war, the Portuguese didn't even provide half the support the Ottomans gave to the Adals. The Adals got even artillery, which the Abyssinians never had. But still it is considered not support by one eyed Somalis.
At the end of the day Ethiopia prevailed because as we say "Ye Ethiopia Amlak" or "God of Ethiopia" saved her and will always save her from any attack. God bless Ethiopia and God bless our friends! A friend in need is a friend indeed.
But if the one eyed Somalis opened their other eye, they could see that prior to the 77 war, the Soviets massively built the Somali army and the airforce, supplied it with heavy weaponry etc. But for the one eyed Somalis this doesn't count. The other fact most one eyed Somalis refuse to see is the fact that Ethiopia at that time was literally in a civil war. The new government, the dergue was less than 3 years in power and didn't even control many regions of the country. EPLF in Eritrea, TPLF in Tigray and EDU and EPRP in Amhara region were fighting against the dergue.
When Somalia started the invasion, Jimmy Carter refused to supply weapons to Ethiopia because the dergue deposed the King by military coup. In this chaos and with massive help from the Soviet did the Somalia army attacked Ethiopia.
Yes, in this situation the new and inexperienced government sought help from anyone and it got from the communists. Thank God the Soviets were willing to drop Somalia and switch sides to Ethiopia. The cubans delivered mechanised unites because the Ethiopian army was not prepared for the war. Anyhow this is the context both got support, Ethiopia in the middle of the war and in a very chaotic and unprepared manner and Somalia prior to the war with much time to build its army. The myth it was Somalia vs Ethiopia/its allies is just that, a myths. The same is true about the Adal war, the Portuguese didn't even provide half the support the Ottomans gave to the Adals. The Adals got even artillery, which the Abyssinians never had. But still it is considered not support by one eyed Somalis.
At the end of the day Ethiopia prevailed because as we say "Ye Ethiopia Amlak" or "God of Ethiopia" saved her and will always save her from any attack. God bless Ethiopia and God bless our friends! A friend in need is a friend indeed.
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