Few German trained Ethiopian divisions in 1936, How much bloodier would Italian conquest be

Say Germany and Ethiopia collaborate similar to what happened in China during the 1920s and 1930s

What would be the impact of 1 to 4 German trained Ethiopian divisions on the Italian conquest.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-German_cooperation_(1926–1941)#Germany_and_Chinese_military_modernisation

it's an impossible set

you cannot train medieval/feudal fighters to the standards of the most modern force of 1930-40, a part the material resources the mindset of the manpower would be a definitive no no
 
Say Germany and Ethiopia collaborate similar to what happened in China during the 1920s and 1930s

What would be the impact of 1 to 4 German trained Ethiopian divisions on the Italian conquest.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-German_cooperation_(1926–1941)#Germany_and_Chinese_military_modernisation
This depends on what the situation is in Ethiopia, who is ruling her and how successful modernization has been so far.

In regards to the German-trained Ethiopian divisions, it all depends on how they're used. How are they used in this alt-Second Italo-Ethiopian War?
 
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it's an impossible set

you cannot train medieval/feudal fighters to the standards of the most modern force of 1930-40, a part the material resources the mindset of the manpower would be a definitive no no
I don't think its impossible but it ultimately depends on the POD.
 
Have Empress Zewditu and Fitawari Habte Giyorgis die in the 1918 flu pandemic, allowing for Ras Tafari Makonnen to come to power earlier and completely consolidate his control over the Ethiopian government without much hindering his efforts. After gaining tacit French approval, Haile Selassie concludes the Treaty of Addis Ababa with Berlin which sees Weimar Germany receiving raw resources and investment opportunities while Ethiopia receives assistance in the modernization of her military. A German Military Mission is sent to Ethiopia, led by the famed von Lettow-Vorbeck who had been personally requested to come to Ethiopia by Haile Selassie while a steady supply of German equipment flows into the country. The Imperial Ethiopian Army is established in 1927-28, being a well-trained and well-equipped force of 90,000 men which makes Haile Selassie feel secure enough to institute land and tax reforms that have the nobility revolt. Their peasant militias are crushed by the IEA as Haile Selassie promises amnesty to the remaining men if they join his army, resulting in the Imperial Ethiopian Army growing to roughly 120,000 men who are rigorously trained and indoctrinated to make sure of their loyalty to the Emperor. Extensive reforms allow for much more revenue to flow into the coffers of the Ethiopian government as modernization progresses much faster than before, foreign investment adding to this as infrastructure and industry begin developing steadily.

What do you think, @Noscoper?
 
I was thinking similar to otl maybe a little more industry or resource extraction due to German help
Depending on how early German investment begins, Ethiopia might be able to gain the ability to produce her own small arms but I doubt it but there is one thing that'll help - have Ethiopia declare her willingness to take in refugees from the Russian Civil War, leading to some White Russian nobles settling in Ethiopia and donating part of their capital to Ethiopia's development which could be bolstered by Ethiopia appealing to international aid to assist the White Russians in Ethiopia.
 
Have Empress Zewditu and Fitawari Habte Giyorgis die in the 1918 flu pandemic, allowing for Ras Tafari Makonnen to come to power earlier and completely consolidate his control over the Ethiopian government without much hindering his efforts. After gaining tacit French approval, Haile Selassie concludes the Treaty of Addis Ababa with Berlin which sees Weimar Germany receiving raw resources and investment opportunities while Ethiopia receives assistance in the modernization of her military. A German Military Mission is sent to Ethiopia, led by the famed von Lettow-Vorbeck who had been personally requested to come to Ethiopia by Haile Selassie while a steady supply of German equipment flows into the country. The Imperial Ethiopian Army is established in 1927-28, being a well-trained and well-equipped force of 90,000 men which makes Haile Selassie feel secure enough to institute land and tax reforms that have the nobility revolt. Their peasant militias are crushed by the IEA as Haile Selassie promises amnesty to the remaining men if they join his army, resulting in the Imperial Ethiopian Army growing to roughly 120,000 men who are rigorously trained and indoctrinated to make sure of their loyalty to the Emperor. Extensive reforms allow for much more revenue to flow into the coffers of the Ethiopian government as modernization progresses much faster than before, foreign investment adding to this as infrastructure and industry begin developing steadily.

Sounds good to me
 
The number of trained divisions is too high as China from 1927 to 1937 only managed to get 80,000 man trained.
Wasn’t that because of various disagreements between different Chinese factions? Considering that Haile Selassie’s forces have absorbed men of the peasant militias which were huge at times, I don’t think it’s implausible.
 
Wasn’t that because of various disagreements between different Chinese factions? Considering that Haile Selassie’s forces have absorbed men of the peasant militias which were huge at times, I don’t think it’s implausible.
To add to this, his reforms have made him more popular which could raise the number of volunteers alongside those being drafted from the former nobles’ forces.
 
How are they going there to begin with? Eritrea and Somalia are Italian, Djibouti is French and the rest around it is British.

Everyone freaked out about a German military mission to the Ottomans in 1910, there's no way they're greenlighting this one.
 
And Germany gets what for this? China was a huge market, had extremely valuable mineral reserves, bountiful raw materials, and relatively easy transport in and out of the country via its large numbers of ports. Ethiopia is a relatively tiny market, does not have huge mineral reserves and those that it had were not well developed, limited raw materials, and the only economical transport in and out of the country is via the Djibouti railroad, which means that it is under French supervision - and French control. There's not enough in Ethiopia to make it so that the Germans would engage in a relationship on the scale needed to make a difference.
 
How are they going there to begin with? Eritrea and Somalia are Italian, Djibouti is French and the rest around it is British.

Everyone freaked out about a German military mission to the Ottomans in 1910, there's no way they're greenlighting this one.
I don't think any German Military Mission is going to be to arrive in Ethiopia until after 1923 but if Italo-French colonial tensions get bad enough, France might allow German material support to come through Djibouti.
 
And Germany gets what for this? China was a huge market, had extremely valuable mineral reserves, bountiful raw materials, and relatively easy transport in and out of the country via its large numbers of ports. Ethiopia is a relatively tiny market, does not have huge mineral reserves and those that it had were not well developed, limited raw materials, and the only economical transport in and out of the country is via the Djibouti railroad, which means that it is under French supervision - and French control. There's not enough in Ethiopia to make it so that the Germans would engage in a relationship on the scale needed to make a difference.
Could France cede French Somaliland to Ethiopian control?
 
I don't think any German Military Mission is going to be to arrive in Ethiopia until after 1923 but if Italo-French colonial tensions get bad enough, France might allow German material support to come through Djibouti.
The French mode of operation is that they get to give loans which then have to be used to buy French weapons and military services.
 
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