The Ogaden War was one of those conflicts where you couldn't help but hope that both sides would somehow lose in the end. Fought between the totalitarian, genocidal Derg regime of Ethiopia and the similarly totalitarian, genocidal Somali Democratic Republic, the war was fought over the disputed Ogaden region, which was under Ethiopian control but had a population largely comprised of ethnic Somalis and was the subject of Somalian territorial claims.
One of the groups taking advantage of the turmoil following the Derg's seizure of power was the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF). The Somali government, wishing to unite all Somali-inhabited territories in the Horn of Africa into a Greater Somalia, supported the WSLF by sending them supplies and even allowing Somalian volunteers to fight alongside them. Understandably, the Derg was displeased and tensions between the two countries mounted. Despite attempts by Fidel Castro to facilitate a peaceful resolution, Somalia invaded Ethiopia in July 1977, meeting with initial success but being driven back by Ethiopian counterattacks and eventually forced out entirely by March 1978. The invasion was a disaster for Somalia, which lost a third of its army and half its air force, and it helped spark a serious rebellion that eventually overthrew the government.
But what if Somalia had won the war?
One of the groups taking advantage of the turmoil following the Derg's seizure of power was the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF). The Somali government, wishing to unite all Somali-inhabited territories in the Horn of Africa into a Greater Somalia, supported the WSLF by sending them supplies and even allowing Somalian volunteers to fight alongside them. Understandably, the Derg was displeased and tensions between the two countries mounted. Despite attempts by Fidel Castro to facilitate a peaceful resolution, Somalia invaded Ethiopia in July 1977, meeting with initial success but being driven back by Ethiopian counterattacks and eventually forced out entirely by March 1978. The invasion was a disaster for Somalia, which lost a third of its army and half its air force, and it helped spark a serious rebellion that eventually overthrew the government.
But what if Somalia had won the war?