Libyan resistance movement

Not to be confused with Anti-Gaddafi forces.

The Libyan resistance movement was the rebel force opposing the Italian Empire during its Pacification of Libya between 1923 and 1932.

Leaders	Emir Idris of Cyrenaica Omar Mukhtar Yusuf Burahil Fadil Bu Umar Omar Shegewi
Dates of operation	1911-1918 1923-1932
Country	Italian Tripolitania and Italian Cyrenaica (later Italian Libya), Egypt, Sudan
Motives	Liberation of Libya from Italian colonization
Allies	Senussi Tripolitanian Forces Ottoman Empire (until 1918) Germany (1915-1918)
Opponents	Italy Libyan, Eritrean and Somali colonial troops United Kingdom (1915-1918) France (1915-1918) Pro-Italian Libyan tribes[1]
Battles and wars	Italo-Turkish War World War I (Senussi Campaign) Pacification of Libya

History

First years

Main articles: Italo-Turkish War and Senussi Campaign

The Libyan resistance, associated with the Senussi Order, was initially led by Omar Mukhtar (Arabic عمر المختار ‘Umar Al-Mukhtār, 1862–1931), who was from the tribe of Mnifa. The First Italo-Senussi War had two main active phases: the Italo-Turkish War (1911–12), when Italy invaded Libya, and the Senussi Campaign (1915–17), part of World War I, in which Italian and British forces fought the Ottoman and German-supported Senussi.^[2] The Libyans were eventually defeated. After a period of relative peace, the Second Italo-Senussi War broke out in 1923 and lasted until 1932.

Second Italo-Libyan War (1923–1932)

Main article: Pacification of Libya

Later King Idris and his Senussi tribe in the provinces of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania started to become opposed to the Italian colonization after 1929, when Italy changed its political promises of moderate "protectorate" to the Senussi (done in 1911) and—because of Benito Mussolini—started to take complete colonial control of Libya. Hundreds of Libyans fought in the Italian colonial corps, including the Meharists and Savari troops.

The Libyans suffered between 40,000^[3] and 70,000 deaths^[4] due to battles, deportation and starvation, while the Italian colonial troops lose 2,582 men^[5] Estimated 100,000 to 250,000 indigenous Libyans also immigrated or went into exile during the period from the start of the Italo-Turkish war in 1911 to the end of Italian governance in 1943.^[6]

Aftermath

Resistance was crushed by General Rodolfo Graziani in the 1930s and the country was again controlled by the Italians with the help of Libyan collaborators, to the point that many Libyan colonial troops fought on the side of Italy between 1940 and 1943: two divisions of Libyan colonial troops were created in the late 1930s and 30,000 native Libyans fought for Italy during World War II. Tripolitanian nobles in Egypt established the Libyan Arab Force to fight alongside the Allies.^[7][8][9]

See also

• Gasr Bu Hadi
• Fourth Shore
• Italia irredenta
• Italian Mare Nostrum
• Resistance during World War II

References

1. Saini Fasanotti, Federica (2012). Libia 1922-1931 le operazioni militari italiane (in Italian). Rome: Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito ufficio storico.
2. Rickard, J. (9 September 2007). "Senussi Uprising, 1915–1917". Military History Encyclopedia on the Web. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
3. Mohamed Fekini and the Fight to Free Libya - Angelo Del Boca,Antony Shugaar
4. A Historical Companion to Postcolonial Literatures – Prem Poddar, Rajeev Shridhar Patke, Lars Jensen
5. John Gooch: Mussolini’s War: Fascist Italy from Triumph to Collapse, 1935–1943. o. O. 2020, S. 9.
6. John L. Wright, Libya, a Modern History, Johns Hopkins University Press, p. 42.
7. John, Ronald Bruce St (2015-05-15). Libya: Continuity and Change. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-03654-6.
8. Peters, Emrys L. (1990). The Bedouin of Cyrenaica: Studies in Personal and Corporate Power. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-38561-9.
9. Pollard, Tony; Banks, Iain (2008). Scorched Earth: Studies in the Archaeology of Conflict. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-16448-2.