Siege of Saïo

Siege of Saïo
Part of the East African Campaign of World War II
Belgian forces with captured Italian artillery following the battle
Date 25 March–6 July 1941 Location Saïo Plateau, Ethiopia 08°32′N 34°48′E / 8.533°N 34.800°E / 8.533; 34.800Coordinates: 08°32′N 34°48′E / 8.533°N 34.800°E / 8.533; 34.800 Result Allied victory Territorial changes Galla-Sidamo Governorate liberated by Allied forces
Belligerents
Belgium  Belgian Congo  British Empire Kenya  Ethiopian Empire Air support:  South Africa	Italy Italian East Africa
Commanders and leaders
Auguste Gilliaert Leopold Dronkers-Martens Edmond Van der Meersch J. W. E. Mackenzie	Pietro Gazzera (POW) Carlo De Simone (POW)
Strength
Belgium: ~3,000 troops 2,000 porters United Kingdom: 1 battalion Ethiopian Empire: Unknown number of resistance fighters South Africa: 3 aircraft	7,000–8,000 troops Unknown number of aircraft
Casualties and losses
Belgium: 462 dead	~1,200 dead 6,454 captured
Saïo (Dembi Dolo) Saïo is a market town and woreda (district) in south-western Ethiopia and capital of Kelem Welega Zone of the Oromia Region.

 Belgium

 British Empire

 Ethiopian Empire

Italy

The Siege of Saïo took place during the East African Campaign of World War II. Belgo-Congolese troops, British Commonwealth forces and local resistance fighters besieged the fort at the market town of Saïo in south-western Ethiopia in 1941. The siege lasted for several months, culminating in an Allied attack on the Italian garrison thereby forcing it to surrender.