South Africans advance into Abyssinia

31st January 1941: British forces must cross searing hot deserts and unmapped African bush before they can engage the Italian occupiers

Thousands of camels were needed to transport British supplies into Abyssinia.

As the British began turning the tables on the Italians in North Africa, they were poised to launch a separate campaign against them in East Africa. The objective was to restore the Emperor of Abyssinia, regarded by many of his subjects as a living god, to his throne. The Itali…