Official History of the Operations in Somaliland, 1901 - 1904

Great Britain. War Office. General Staff.

London, Printed for H. M. Stationery office by Harrison and sons, 1907

2 volumes. Octavo, 22 cm. Original red cloth, gilt lettering to spines. Some fray to Vol. I spine edge. 625 pp., illustrations, 50 (of 51) plates (some folded ; including plans, diagrams). 2 folded maps in rear pocket of Vol. I. Scattered foxing, some foxing to plates. Lacking plate 5 in Vol. I. Dampstaining to corner of plates 23 and 24 with some loss.

History of the first three expeditions to British Somaliland from 1901-1904.

The Somaliland Campaign, also called the Anglo-Somali War or the Dervish War, was a series of military expeditions that took place between 1900 and 1920 in the Horn of Africa, pitting the Dervishes led by Mohammed Abdullah Hassan (nicknamed the "Mad Mullah", although he "was neither mad nor a mullah") against the British. The British were assisted in their offensives by the Ethiopians and Italians. 

Hassan united the Somaliland Muslim community stating that the Christian Ethiopians were in league with the British and were bent upon plundering the political and religious freedom of the Somali nation. He soon created the Dervish state and amassed an army of Muslim loyalists. Hassan threatened to drive the Christians into the sea, and he committed the first attack by launching a major military offensive with his 1,500 Dervishes, equipped with 20 modern rifles, on the British soldiers stationed in the region. 

In response to Hassan aggressive actions in 1900, the Ethiopian Emperor Menelik proposed a joint action with the British against the Dervish. In 1901, British Lt. Col. Eric John Eagles Swayne assembled a force 17,000 strong to attacked Hassan’s Dervish army. Hassan was driven across the border into the Majeerteen Sultanate, which had been incorporated into the Italian protectorate. The Ethiopians failed to get a hold on the western Ogaden and the British were eventually forced to retreat, having accomplished none of their goals. In this campaign, borders were ignored by both British and Somali.

The British became convinced of their need of Italian assistance, but memories of the disastrous Battle of Adowa inhibited any Italian fervor for action in the Horn of Africa. In 1903, the Italian Foreign Ministry permitted the British to land forces at Hobyo. The expedition headed by General Manning ended in failure soon after. Hassan defeated a British detachment near Gumburru and then another near Daratoleh. By the end of June 1903, the British would fully withdrawal again. 

After the failure of General Manning's offensive, General Charles Egerton was entrusted with a response. Following extensive preparations, he united his field force at Bacaadweeyn (Badwein) on 9 January 1904 and defeated Hassan at Jidballi the next day. 

In early March, the second phase of operations began culminating in the capture of Ilig. Having defeated his forces in the field and forced his retreat, the British offered the Hassan safe conduct into permanent exile at Mecca 

In 1920, British forces launched a final campaign against Hassan's Dervishes. After three weeks of battle, the Dervishes were finally defeated, bringing an effective end to their 20-year resistance.