A Cuban-armoured Ethiopian offensive took Jigjiga from an unexpected direction

Evidence

In an atmosphere of mounting apprehension in February 1978 Somalia officially entered the war and announced a general mobilization. The long-awaited Russian and Cuban counter-offensive was now properly underway and already claiming some successes. The final putsch occurred at the beginning of March when, after subjecting the 8,000 strong Somali force between Jigjiga and Harar to heavy aerial bombardment, the 10th Ethiopian division supported by an entire Cuban armoured brigade of sixty to seventy tanks bypassed the Marda Pass and attacked Jigjiga from the unexpected direction of the north. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 571

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Russian and Cuban reinforcements stalled the W.S.L.F.’s advance on Harar into stalemate; Russian and Cuban reinforcements turned the Ogaden offensive into stalemate — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 569

Related

• Russian and Cuban reinforcements turned the Ogaden offensive into stalemate (similarity 0.90)
• Russian and Cuban reinforcements stalled the W.S.L.F.’s advance on Harar into stalemate (similarity 0.89)
• Internal army purges sapped Ethiopian resistance in the Ogaden (similarity 0.81)
• Ethiopia’s Soviet-Cuban campaign shifted from the Ogaden to a harder Eritrean front (similarity 0.80)
• Ethiopia won a tactical victory at Addis Ababa over Somalia (similarity 0.80)
• Somali-allied rebels nearly seized Harar but Ethiopian defenses held (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Russian and Cuban reinforcements turned the Ogaden offensive into stalemate #expands (0.50) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 569