Battle of Sayo
| Battle of Sayo | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of East African Campaign | |||||
|
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| Belligerents | |||||
| Allies | Italians | ||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
| Major-General Auguste-Éduard Gilliaert | General Pietro Gazzera | ||||
| Units involved | |||||
| Forces Publiques | |||||
| Strength | |||||
| 700 soldiers, 400 porters | |||||
Coordinates: 8°32′N 34°48′E / 8.533°N 34.800°E
The Battle of Sayo took place in Abyssinia (modern day Dembidolo, Ethiopia) between the Italian forces of Benito Mussolini and the Congolese forces of the Belgian colonial empire. The battle ended in a decisive victory for the Congolese Free Belgian forces under Major-General Auguste Gilliaert, who took Sayo (spelled Saïo in French) on July 3, 1941, which marked the end of Italian fighting in Abyssinia.
Three brigades of the Congolese Force Publique had been sent to Abyssinia in June 1940 along with British forces to fight the Italians in the East African Campaign. The Congo was then a Belgian colony, and although Belgium had officially surrendered to the Germans in 1940, many elements of the Belgian military continued fighting with the Allies. In May 1941, under Major-General Auguste-Éduard Gilliaert, they successfully cut off the retreat of the Italian army of General Pietro Gazzera, and accepted Gazzera's surrender and that of 7,000 of his soldiers. This was the only Belgian victory in World War II after 1940.
Over the course of the campaign in Abyssinia, the Force Publique received the surrender of nine Italian generals, 370 ranking officers and 15,000 Italian colonial troops before the end of 1941. Five hundred Congolese troops died in the campaign. After the Allied victory in Abyssinia, the Force Publique was renamed the 1st Belgian Colonial Motorised Brigade and served as a garrison in Egypt and in British Palestine in 1943-1944
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