Wube Aregai

Ethiopian general who led resistance against Italian colonial forces during the 1935 invasion

General Wube Aregai (1890-1970) was a legendary Ethiopian military leader whose defiance against Italian fascism during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War (1935-1941) inspired global anti-colonial movements. As commander of Debre Markos garrison, he led one of the most significant battles at the Battle of Shire on November 1935, where his troops inflicted heavy casualties on Mussolini's forces using guerrilla tactics.

Aregai's strategic brilliance was evident in his 1936-1941 resistance campaign, maintaining a 10,000-strong liberation army in the Ethiopian highlands. His memoir 《The Lion of Tigray》 (1968) details his collaboration with British SOE agents to disrupt Italian supply lines. Despite being captured in 1940, he escaped imprisonment in Eritrea to continue resistance efforts.

His legacy endures through Addis Ababa's Wube Aregai Military Academy and the annual Wube Week celebrations. Historians credit him with delaying Italy's occupation by 18 months, giving Haile Selassie critical time to regroup forces with British support.