Italian Colonial Army

Troops of the Italian Colonial Army designed for use in the 1935-6 Italo-Ethiopian War and later, until the collapse of Italian East Africa in 1941.

In 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia from its colonies in Eritrea and Italian Somalia. After the conquest, Italy consolidated the territories into Italian East Africa. At that point, the askari battalions were designated as Colonial Battalions rather than as Somali or Eritrean.

In addition to the Somalis and Eritreans, we also have the Muslim Askaris raised in Italian East Africa and the Libyan Askaris raised there.

These figures can also be used for the pacification of Libya (1923-32), the East Africa campaign in 1940-41, and the fighting in the Western Desert.

For more troops of the campaigns in the Western Desert in World War II, see the Italians in the World War II section of the catalog.