Arbegnoch

Common card · No. 352460

The Arbegnoch (Amharic: ዐርበኞች, romanized: ārbenyoch, lit. 'Patriots') were Ethiopian resistance fighters who opposed the Italian occupation of Ethiopia during the period of Italian East Africa (1936–1941). Resistance began during the final stages of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War but took a more organized form after the Italian capture of Addis Ababa in May 1936. The movement evolved in two phases: an initial stage of semi-conventional warfare led largely by remnants of the imperial army and members of the upper nobility, followed by a prolonged period of guerrilla warfare after 1937 led by regional chiefs, local leaders, and fighters drawn from the broader population. Encouraged by the exiled emperor Haile Selassie, resistance groups spread across much of the country, from Gondar in the north to Omo region in the south. The patriots relied on guerrilla tactics such as ambushing Italian convoys, destroying roads and bridges, attacking isolated garrisons, and disrupting communications. They...

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