Military Wiki
Battle of Agaarweyne
DateOctober 15, 1903
LocationAgaarweyne(Modern day Somali Region,Ethiopia)
Result Dervish victory[1]
Belligerents
Dervish Somali flag Dervish Kingdom of Diiriye Guure British Empire British Empire
Flag of Ethiopia (1897) Ethiopia
Supported by:
Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned Kingdom of Italy
Commanders and leaders
Dervish Somali flag Mohamed Abdullah Hassan
Dervish Somali flag King Diiriye Guure
British Empire Arthur Plunkett
Strength
Unknown 4041 Ethiopian-british soldiers [1]
Casualties and losses
Heavy

200+ soldiers killed

9 officers killed [2] [3]

The Battle of Agaarweyne (also known as Gumburu) was fought on October 15, 1903, in Agaarweyne between the British under Colonel Plunkett and the kingdom of Garad Diiriye Guure. The 16th sultan of the Nugaal sultanate Diiiye Guure by incorporating a haroun for political implementation, and the emir Muhammad Abdullah Hassan for religious fervor, managed to successfully eliminate and destroy the three colonial forces of Abyssinia, Italy and Britain. Reinforced with a superiority in firearms, king Diiriye Guure managed to be victorious and defeated the allied Christian colonial force with their black Christian ally of Ethiopia.[2]

This battle was described as so deadly that random birds of prey who were dissected by their owners were found to have human remains of the casualties inside:

Nin la oran jirey Maxamuud Gurey ayaa gorgorkii dooxay, waxaana calooshiisii laga soo saaray 500 oo xiniinyo rag ah. Inta dhabannada la qabsaday ayaa lays wada eegay oo waxa la yiri, ‘War maanta geyiga Soomaaliyeed wax weyn baa ka dhacay oo aan horay loo arkin bal aan war dhawrro
A man called Mahamud Gurey dissected an eagle. Once dissected he found the remains of 500 human testicles inside. Everyone grabbed their own cheeks surprised and looked at one another and said "It seems that the lands of the Somalis have experienced an event of an extreme magnitude, the likes of which have never been seen before! We must investigate futher."[3]

After the clash, the Darawiish confiscated all equipment belonging to the colonialists in that battle, leaving every British officer dead, including Lieutenant General Arthur William Valentine Plunkett.[4]

References[]

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