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Lost Lions of Judah

Haile Selassie's Mongrel Foreign Legion 1935–41

Christopher Othen
In October 1935 Fascist Italy invaded independent Ethiopia. The Ethiopians were no match for the well-armed and airborne Italians; they needed to seek outside help. This book unravels the complex and often bizarre international diplomatic situation and the near chaos inside the country as mercenaries of every description, from German Nazis to Zulu kings, answered Emperor Haile Selassie’s call to arms. Christopher Othen tells the story of how this ragtag foreign legion fought to save Ethiopia from Fascism.
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RRP £20.00

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Product information:
  • Publisher: Amberley
  • Year: 2017
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 288pp
  • Illustrated: No
  • Dimensions: 234x156mm
  • ISBN: 9781445659831
  • Condition: New
  • Weight: 0.6kg
Product code:
226007
Product information
Full publisher description
In October 1935 Fascist Italy invaded independent Ethiopia. The Italians had planes, high explosive, and mustard gas. The Ethiopians had swords and spears. Emperor Haile Selassie needed expert outside help. What he got was a crazy gang of mercenaries who could barely shoot straight and were further to the right than Mussolini. There were Americans posing as fake French counts, Fascist Belgian guns for hire, an African-American pilot duo known as the Black Eagle and the Brown Condor (they hated each other), a Cuban veteran of three failed far-right coups, an Austrian Nazi doctor, Swedish soldiers who preferred fighting communism, and an alcoholic English dropout.

Haile Selassie's international state support was equally disreputable. Hitler backed Selassie as part of a plot to grab back the Rhineland and Japanese secret societies pushed a penniless Tokyo princess into marriage with an Ethiopian prince. Together, this bizarre foreign legion tried to save Ethiopia from Fascism. This is the first time the story of Haile Selassie's motley combatants has been told, researched from primary records, some in French, Swedish, Spanish and Czech. In his own fast-paced style, Christopher Othen demonstrates how the invasion of Ethiopia almost turned into a worldwide race war.
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